Origins
躾
shitsuke
good manners, taught
ORIGIN · SOURCED MADE IN JAPAN

A body, made beautiful

身body
+
美beautiful
= 躾

躾 is made of 身 (body) and 美 (beautiful). Dictionaries mark it as a kokuji, a kanji made in Japan, and explain it as making one's bearing beautiful.

The word shitsuke means manners and everyday habits, taught mostly at home from early childhood.

The word itself is said to come from two other jobs: setting out rice seedlings, and the loose basting stitches that hold a kimono's shape while it is being sewn. Basting thread is still called shitsuke-ito.

One encyclopedia adds that the character is said to have been made for the graceful bearing expected of a samurai.

What we don’t claimThe rice and kimono senses and the samurai link are reported with "is said to" in the dictionaries, so we hedge them the same way. No dates, nothing about China.

Sources

  1. Kanjipedia, 躾
  2. Wiktionary, 躾
  3. Kotobank (Nipponica / Heibonsha World Encyclopedia / MyPedia), しつけ

Checked 2026-09-26. The story above is in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us on Instagram.

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