櫓
oar, tower
Readings
On'yomi
- ロ
Kun'yomi
- やぐら
- おおだて
Meaning
櫓 centers on a tall wooden structure: a tower or a long oar used to propel a boat. Both senses share the idea of a large, upright wooden implement.
Most common words using 櫓
- 櫓やぐら
turret; watchtower
- 櫓ろ
Japanese scull (oar attached to the rear of the boat by a traditional peg-in-hole oarlock)
- 櫓太鼓やぐらだいこ
drums which announce the opening of a stage performance or commencement of bouts; the sound produced by such drums
- 櫓投げやぐらなげ
inner thigh throw
- 櫓杭ろぐい
fulcrum peg (fitted into the cavity in an oar as part of a traditional oarlock)
- 櫓櫂ろかい
sculls and paddles
- 櫓臍ろべそ
fulcrum peg (fitted into the cavity in an oar as part of a traditional oarlock)
- 火の見櫓ひのみやぐら
fire lookout; watchtower
- 物見櫓ものみやぐら
watchtower; observation tower; lookout
- 見櫓みせやぐら
observation tower; scout tower
Study
Etymology
櫓 combines 木 (wood) with 魯, which likely contributes the sound ロ. The character originally referred to a wooden tower or a large oar, both made of wood.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is wood 木, and the right side 魯 looks like a fish 魚 over a fire 灬. Picture a tall wooden tower by the water where fish are grilled, or a long wooden oar shaped like a fish skeleton.
Reading mnemonic
For ロ, imagine a row of wooden towers along a river: row -> ロ, and each tower is made of wood like the left side 木.