glabrous sarcandra herb; Sarcandra glabra
A plant species. In everyday contexts, often written in katakana as センリョウ.
Some households use sarcandra for New Year decorations.
very large sum of money; 1000 ryō
Only when written 千両
Historically, 1000 ryō was an enormous amount. In modern use, it figuratively means a huge sum of money or very high value. Sense 3 is the literal historical meaning.
This painting is said to be worth a fortune.
In the Edo period, 1000 ryō was a huge sum of money.
両 is the old currency unit; 千両 specifically means 1000 ryō or, by extension, a very large amount of money.
Standard kanji spelling for both the plant and the monetary senses.
Katakana spelling often used for the plant name in botanical contexts.
Rarely used kanji form for the plant.
千 (thousand) + 両 (ryō, an old currency unit). The plant name is an ateji usage, likely from the resemblance of its red berries to coins.