Len Walsh > Quotes

“A pictograph of a Chinese drum and cymbal set , played at all the festivals, symbolized music and pleasure. The Chinese first simplified it to , then wrote the final form 楽, meaning music or pleasure. Used as a word by itself, generally meaning pleasure, it is pronounced TANOSHI-I. In compound words it is pronounced RAKU or GAKU. 音楽 ONGAKU, sound-music, means music. 気楽 KIRAKU, spirit-pleasure, means happy-go-lucky or carefree. A 楽器 GAKKI, music-utensil, is a musical instrument.”
― Len Walsh, Read Japanese Today: The Easy Way to Learn 400 Practical Kanji