This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

Readings

Kana: カク、くるわ、とりで
Romaji: kaku, kuruwa, toride
Kana
Romaji

Meanings

enclosure, quarter, red-light district

Stroke Diagram

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Kanji Info

Stroke Count:  14
Radical Number:  53
Frequency: 
Grade: 
Skip Pattern:  3-3-11
Korean Reading:  gwag
Chinese Reading:  kuo4
Unicode:  5ed3
JIS:  3347

Indexes

Halpern Index: 3163
Nelson Index: 1529
New Nelson Index: 1633
Spahn Hadamitzky Index: 3q9.1
Four Corner Index: 0022.7
Japanese Names Index: 2239
Daikanwanjiten Index: 9461
Daikanwanjiten Index and Page: 4.0605
Remembering the kanji Index: 2235
Remembering the Kanji 6th Index: 2342
Kodansha Kanji Index: 3923

Words

(くるわ、かく)
district; quarter; enclosure; area enclosed by earthwork; red-light district; wide and empty
一郭 (いっかく)
one block; enclosure
廓清 (かくせい)
purification; cleaning up; purging
輪郭 (りんかく)
contour; outline; border; silhouette; summary; outline; sketch; looks; features; appearance
遊郭 (ゆうかく)
red light district
外郭 (がいかく)
outer wall (e.g. castle); outer block (enclosure); outline; contour
城郭 (じょうかく)
fortress; castle; citadel; enclosure; castle walls
郭言葉 (くるわことば)
sociolect or secret language used by prostitutes in red-light districts (Edo period); vulgar words used by prostitutes (Edo period)
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