Nagoya ¨C Coronavirus has once and for all nixed spectator attendance at the –|¾©Îå݆ (T¨ky¨ Gorin, Tokyo Olympics), including the é_»áʽ (kaikaishiki, opening ceremony), save for a few ‚¥¤¤ÈË (erai hito, bigwigs).
As much of a downer as the run-up to the ¥ª¥ê¥ó¥Ô¥Ã¥¯¤Îé_Ä» (Orinpikku no kaimaku, start of the Olympics) has been, the simple concept of beginning can open up a treasure trove of useful Japanese.
Interestingly, neither of the primary two kanji that mean ¡°beginning¡± are used in the word é_»áʽ. The é_ (kai/hira/a) kanji does mean ¡°opening,¡± though, and fits into a variety of useful words about beginning: é_»á (kaikai, opening), é_ÔO (kaisetsu, establishment/setting up), é_Ä» (kaimaku, raising the curtain), é_ʼ (kaishi, start), é_´ß (kaisai, holding or hosting) and é_¤«¤ì¤ë (hirakareru, to be open), are all used for the beginnings of different occasions.
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