willow

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 柳 has 9 strokes and refers to a willow tree.
• Basic usage: 柳, the tree, is read やなぎ, while 柳刃, a willow-shaped blade or a long knife for slicing raw fish, is read やなぎば.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• From a tree name to a blade name
  • In 柳刃, the final 刃 is read ば.
• Marking a tool
  • In the example, 柳刃で identifies the knife used to slice raw fish. で marks the tool used for the action.