露

Rupee (Winter Shopper) // Goddess of Victory: Nikke

Jun Kumaori (Junkuma)

"chasing its tail too much"

Gorgeous royal blue calligraphy! The surname 馬頭 Batō belongs to about 240 people. It's also something else, but that is a secret for the end of the post! And 鍼灸院 [しんきゅういん] means acupuncture and moxibustion clinic.

馬 is read うま, ま, or バ. As the 灬 pawprints/flame radical often indicates, it's an animal! Specifically, a horse.

頭 is read あたま, かしら, -がしら, かぶり, トウ, ズ, or ト. It means head, and it's also the counter for large animals [-とう]. (More on that here.)

鍼 is read はり, さ.す, or シン. It means needle. The radicals are 金 metal and 減 reduce—mnemonic: a needle is a tiny piece of metal.

灸 is read やいと, キュウ, or ク. It means moxibustion, which is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy of burning mugwort (moxa) on different points of the body. (But it doesn't hurt! In my limited experience.) The radicals are 久 long ago and 火 fire—mnemonic: it's a fire technique that's been practiced for a long time.

院 is always read イン. It means institution, temple, school, or mansion. It is often a suffix for temple, building, or organization names.

Okay, now, finally! Time for the secret! When 馬頭 Batō is not a name, it is this:

1 - Kusakabe Kimbei, Japanese Woman in Winter Costume with Child, 1870s.

2 - Tamamura Kozaburo, A Girl Carrying Child on Back, 1880s.