rhythm, law, regulation, gauge, control
律 centers on a structured, measured order: a rhythm that repeats predictably, a law or regulation that governs behavior, or a gauge that controls and standardizes.
律 combines 彳 (movement, step) with 聿 (a hand holding a brush, associated with writing or recording). Together they suggest a written standard that guides movement or behavior, giving the idea of law or regulation. The rhythm sense likely extends from the idea of measured, orderly steps.
The left side 彳 suggests a path or step, and the right side 聿 looks like a brush writing rules. Imagine a metronome-like brush marking steady beats on a path: that's rhythm, and those marks become laws that control the pace.
For リツ, picture a ruler (リツ) measuring the rhythm of a marching band: the ruler's steady beat cues リツ while the band follows the law of the rhythm.
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law; legislation; act
law (esp. ancient East Asian criminal code); regulation
autonomy (in Kantian ethics)
uniform; even; across-the-board; equal
order; observance; discipline
melody; tune
(religious) precept; discipline; commandment; mitzvah
upright; honest; faithful; conscientious; sincere
tuning (an instrument); temperament
to judge (on the basis of)
ritsuryō; criminal, administrative and civil codes of the Nara and Heian eras based on Chinese models
law of cause and effect; principle of causality
articulation
antinomy; self-contradiction; either-or situation; choice between mutually exclusive alternatives
rhythm
ritsuryō system; ancient East Asian system of centralized governance; in Japan: esp. 7th-10th century
martial law; articles of war; military disciple; military law
Pythagorean temperament; Pythagorean tuning
uniformly; evenly; equally; indiscriminately; across the board
reduction in area of rice under cultivation