A few weeks back, a friend in academia wrote to ask me a question about Japanese politics. It seems that back in 1992, a group of conservative politicians formerly known as the 日本青年社 (Nihon Seinen-sha, Japan Youth Association) banded together with other like-minded organizations to form the 戦う国民連合： 風の会 (Tatakau Kokumin Rengō: Kaze no Kai, which translates as Federation of Battling Citizens: Wind Society).

In his long-running Black Angle cartoon in Shukan Asahi magazine, satirical illustrator Shoji Yamafuji had scoffed at the group, labeling them the Shirami no Kai or "Louse Society." The parliamentarians were not the least bit amused, and Yamafuji's cartoon set off some inflammatory exchanges.

But what, my friend wanted to know, is the connection between the wind and lice? Look carefully. The kanji for wind is 風 (kaze); the kanji for common louse is 虱 (shirami). As you can see, the only difference is that the latter character is missing the downward curving stroke on the left. An astute reader would immediately grasp the change from the kaze in Kaze no Kai to shirami, in what could be described as a graphic pun. The fact that the stroke on the left had been removed to form the contemptuous term shirami — whose nuisance is not that different from the word "lousy" in English — also hinted at the group's right-wing sympathies.