0009 踊

踊

This is the kanji for odoru, ‘to dance,’ and ‘odori,’ ‘a dance, dancing.’ In Chinese, it’s yǒng, ‘to leap.’ Bon dances—aka bon odori—are held throughout the summer.

The left bit means ‘a foot.’ It’s hard to picture, but, seen from the side, the heel is in the lower left, the toes point to the right, and the ankle is above.

Originally, the right side of the character meant ‘brave, courageous, fierce,’ and looked like this:

勇

The lower part 力 (a picture of a plough) represented ‘force’ and the upper part, meaning ‘path,’ suggested the pronunciation.

So, to dance, you must have a brave foot.