of, this
之 is a grammatical kanji that marks possession or reference, roughly equivalent to 'of' or 'this'. Its meaning is entirely relational and does not describe a concrete object or action.
之 originated as a pictograph of a foot or a sprout emerging from the ground, later borrowed for its sound to serve as a grammatical particle. The modern form is highly abstract and no longer clearly depicts the original image.
The shape of 之 looks like a zigzag path or a mark pointing to something. Think of it as a pointer that says 'of this' or 'belonging to this'.
For シ, imagine a shepherd's crook marking ownership: 'sheep' -> シ, and the crook points to the sheep that are 'of' the shepherd.
Susanoo (deity, younger brother to Amaterasu); Susanoo-no-Mikoto
Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. (name of a publishing company)
zig-zag motion (esp. warship)
kanji "road" or "advance" radical (radical 162)
to exaggerate
not only ... but also; also
steadfastness; firmness in one's conviction; having a heart that does not change as easily as a stone rolls about
got it; roger; leave it to me
first emperor to rule the land (title bestowed upon Emperor Jimmu on his coronation)
Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical (now Astellas Pharma)
where there's a will, there's a way
Kagutsuchi; fire deity who burned to death his mother Izanami during childbirth (and was therefore beheaded by his father Izanagi)
extraordinary perceptiveness; sharp insight
humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus); Napoleon wrasse; Napoleonfish; Maori wrasse
inseparable friendship
Mercenaria stimpsoni (species of Venus clam)
Xenograpsus novaeinsularis (crab species)
to let a chance to do something slip through one's fingers
mountain avens (Dryas octopetala); eightpetal mountain-avens; white dryas; white dryad
Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)