Some years ago I explained to my superior that this character

once meant killing the snake. We were using the Japanese idea of 'kaizen' for a campaign in our offices in order to improve our routines and procedures among the employees. As a reminder of the new order they were given T-shirts with Japanese characters printed on them, the first of which was the sign above.

The character shows a snake (left) and a hand holding a cane or stick (right). You must kill the snake (old rules and habits) as a first step towards making reforms.

I did not realize at that time that the snake also can be regarded as the last phase of the moon. The Dying Snake it was called by various peoples all over the world (according to Zehren). Supposedly the last visible phase of the moon, looking like a snake, was going to meet death (matar) on the hot coals left from the fire of the sun. The meat of the snake / moon would fry.

The year is the domain of the sun, the month the domain of the moon. We must now change our view. In the month the periods may vary in length, but variability is not congruent with the sun. Instead everything will remain as it is. Every morning the sun will rise exactly as yesterday and in all other days. It will not change its appearance and it will not disappear.

The sun does not change. It is rigid, not fluid. The sun is like a male being. The moon is like a woman, whose phases are intertwined with those of the moon.

Our Western culture is sun-oriented. Logic and hard facts prevails. The Japanese idea of kaizen therefore cannot be transplanted to us. My superior saw the campaign as a one-time effort, not as a continous evolution.

The days are like beads on a string. Every bead is like all the others, in the same way as everybody is alike in a democracy. No quality survives in the glare of the sun. Evolution does not exist.