文芸
ぶんげい · bungei · JLPT N2 · noun
literature
📚 文 = writing + 芸 = art: art made of writing equals literature
文 means writing or text. 芸 means art or skill, as in 芸術 (geijutsu, art). Together they name art made from words.
文 — pictograph of crossed lines on a chest
文 originally depicted a person with patterns or tattoos drawn on the chest, shown as crossed or interwoven lines. From this image of decorative markings, it came to mean 'pattern,' then 'writing,' 'script,' and 'literature' or 'culture.' The modern senses all trace back to the idea of meaningful marks.