「押す」

「押(o)す(su)」 is a Japanese word meaning “ to push [sth.] forward ” or “ to press [sth.] downward ” . in [Japan] , this word is most commonly seen on doors as a sign instructing users to push the door to open it . if one side of a door has a sign of 「押す」 , the other side usually has a sign of 「引(hi)く(ku)」 , instructing users to pull .

of course , fully automatic doors do not have such signs . but stores facing pavements often deploy semi-automatic doors , which require users to press a button on the door to activate the door , in order to avoid frequent unnecessary opening triggered by passersby . such buttons are usually also labeled with 「押」 , but here , the same character instructs users to press the button , rather than to push the door .

since convenience stores and other business establishments are ubiquitous in [Japan] , especially in urban areas ,, visitors can hardly unsee these signs . 「押」 is such a character that a foreign visitor will soon get familiar with after ze visits several stores even if ze knew nothing about the Japanese language .

i thus incorporate this character element into the design of the link button leading to this page .