, literally meaning "preface word", is a figure of speech found in discourse related to Japanese
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
poetry. ''Jokotoba'' expressions are set before certain words, and makes use of wordplay through similes,
kakekotoba
A or pivot word is a rhetorical device used in the Japanese poetic form waka. This trope uses the phonetic reading of a grouping of kanji (Chinese characters) to suggest several interpretations: first on the literal level (e.g. 松, ''matsu'', m ...
and homonyms.
History and usage
The ''
makurakotoba
are figures of speech used in Japanese poetry in association with certain words. The set phrase can be thought of as a "pillow" for the noun or verb it describes, although the actual etymology is not fully known. It can also describe association ...
'' is closely related to the ''jokotoba'' as a figure of speech in Japanese waka poetry. The main differences are that ''jokotoba'' are not restricted by the number of syllables, and so have greater freedom in terms of length, and they do not have fixed objects which they modify, and so are more bountiful in terms of creativity. For these reasons, in comparison to ''makurakotoba'', ''jokotoba'' can be seen to be more complex expressions in terms of content.
There are two types of ''jokotoba'': ''ushin-no-jo'' (有心の序) and ''mushin-no-jo'' (無心の序). ''Ushin-no-jo'' connect or associate through semantic meaning, while ''mushin-no-jo'' connect or associate through phonetic pronunciation.
Examples
The italics in the examples below indicate the entire ''jokotoba'' phrase.
An example of an ''ushin-no-jo''
* ''秋づけば尾花が上に置く露の'' 消ぬべくも吾は思ほゆるかも (''
Man'yōshū
The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...
'' (MYS) Vol.8,1564)
''aki dzukeba / obana ga ue ni / oku tsuyu no'' / kenubeku mo a wa / omo-oyuru kamo
:This poem plays on the central position of the verb to disappear (消) as functioning both for the disappearing dew (露が消える) with the disappearing self (私も消える).
Translation: When it becomes fall the dew on the silver grass disappears, just so I might pine away in longing for you.
An example of a ''mushin-no-jo''
* ''風吹けば沖つ白波'' たつた山夜半にや君がひとり越ゆらむ (from the ''
Ise Monogatari
is a Japanese ''uta monogatari'', or collection of ''waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most versions ...
'', Episode 23)
''kaze fukeba / okitsu shiranami'' / tatsuta yama / yowa ni ya kimi ga hitori koyuran
:This poem plays on the verb to rise, "''tatsu''" (立つ), describing the rising surf (白波), with the imagined significant other's geographical location, the Mount Tatsuta (竜田山).
Translation: When the wind blows the high surf mounts the shore, as you must be crossing over Mount Tatsuta alone this night.
(Note that the English wordplay is not the same as the Japanese wordplay, since Tatsuta means "dragon-field").
See also
*
Makurakotoba
are figures of speech used in Japanese poetry in association with certain words. The set phrase can be thought of as a "pillow" for the noun or verb it describes, although the actual etymology is not fully known. It can also describe association ...
*
Kakekotoba
A or pivot word is a rhetorical device used in the Japanese poetic form waka. This trope uses the phonetic reading of a grouping of kanji (Chinese characters) to suggest several interpretations: first on the literal level (e.g. 松, ''matsu'', m ...
{{Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry
Japanese literary terminology