Japanese

Ohatsu and Tokubei, characters ofSonezaki Shinj

The Japanese language uses three words to convey the English equivalent of "love".
Because "love" covers a wide range of emotions and behavioral phenomena, there are
nuances distinguishing the three terms.[32][33] The term ai ( ), which is often associated with
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maternal love[32] or selfless love,[33] originally referred to beauty and was often used in religious
context. Following the Meiji Restoration1868, the term became associated with "love" in
order to translate Western literature. Prior to Western influence, the term koi ( )generally
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represented romantic love, and was often the subject of the popular Man'ysh Japanese
poetry collection.[32] Koi describes a longing for a member of the opposite sex and is typical
interpreted as selfish and wanting.[33] The term's origins come from the concept of lonely
solitude as a result of separation from a loved one. Though modern usage of koi focuses on
sexual love and infatuation, the Many used the term to cover a wider range of situations,
including tenderness, benevolence, and material desire. [32] The third term,ren'ai ( ), is a
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more modern construction that combines the kanji characters for both ai and koi, though its
usage more closely resembles that of koi in the form of romantic love.[32][33]