穀Remembering Koku |
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5 January 2026 - Erlenbach
The study of Japanese doesn't often lead to flashbacks, but today I had a big one when I learned koku (written 穀 in kanji). The word means "grain", and I realized that I knew it well from middle school. My teacher, Mrs. Gordon, was teaching us about the history of Japan and had us wargame the establishment of the Shogunate to help us learn. Over the course of several weeks we had a large map of Japan on the wall that tracked the various territories each of us had conquered or lost. I don't remember who won or lost or what territories I represented by I do remember every morning getting an allotment of koku based on the number of territories each of us held. We could then use this koku to buy armies, feed peasants, etc. How strange it is to reëncounter this word over three decades later and be flooded with memories of that game and period in my life.
