glabrous sarcandra herb; Sarcandra glabra
A plant species. In everyday contexts, often written in katakana as センリョウ.
お正月の飾りに千両を使う家庭もある。
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.
この絵は千両の価値があると言われている。
This painting is said to be worth a fortune.
江戸時代、千両は大金だった。
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.
box of 1000 ryō
Maesa japonica (species of flowering plant)
star actor; prima donna; leading figure
boldness; daring; guts
beautiful smile; charming smile
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.