蔑

contempt, disdain, scorning; despising; ignoring

Kanji 2107

After reading this essay, you'll know how to do all of this: talk about looking down on others, express contempt, accuse men of sexist thinking, and say that you despise someone. You'll also understand why a famous thinker thought Japan should bid good riddance to the rest of Asia, why the nobles viewed samurai as savages, and how a word for "scorn" relates to a carpentry technique.

Revision history:

Feb. 9, 2022: Added links to sources on pp. 9 and 12.

Feb. 8, 2022: 

• p. 2, Etymology Box: Added a Henshall etymology and updated the Sears link.
• p. 12: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Nov. 14, 2014: Originally published.