The kanji 赦 symbolizes "to pardon," "to forgive," or "to excuse." It carries the meaning of releasing someone from punishment or blame, offering clemency, or granting absolution. It implies a sense of leniency and the act of setting someone free from the consequences of their actions.

・On-yomi (音読み): シャ (sha) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ゆる(す) (yuru(su))

⚫︎恩赦 (おんしゃ) Translation: Amnesty; pardon. ⚫︎赦免 (しゃめん) Translation: Exemption; pardon; remission. ⚫︎罪を赦す (つみをゆるす) Translation: To forgive a sin; to pardon a crime.

The kanji 赦 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. ⚫︎It combines the radical 赤 (seki), meaning "red" or "blood," with the phonetic component 又 (mata), which looks like a hand and indicates the sound and provides the meaning of "again" or "also". ⚫︎The original meaning of 赤 in this context might have been related to blood being released or spilled. The use of 又implies that the act is repeated or done again. ⚫︎Over time, the character evolved to represent the act of pardoning or excusing someone, essentially "releasing" them from the consequences or "red" (blood-related) act.