was a Japanese

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, chiefly known for his dictations of

yukar ( ain, ユカㇻ) are Ainu sagas that form a long rich tradition of oral literature. In older periods, the epics were performed by both men and women; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when Ainu culture was in decline, women were general ...

, or sagas of the

Ainu people The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Y ...

, as well as his study of the Matagi dialect. He is the author of the dictionary ''

Meikai Kokugo Jiten is a private university in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. History The university was founded in 1970, and obtained its present name in 1988. Programs The university's School of Dentistry is located in Sakado, Saitama is a city in Saitama Prefect ...

''.

Biography

Kindaichi was born in

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

. His son Haruhiko Kindaichi was also a prominent linguist. He was active as a poet and had good contacts with

Ishikawa Takuboku was a Japanese poet. Well known as both a tanka and or poet, he began as a member of the Myōjō group of naturalist poets but later joined the "socialistic" group of Japanese poets and renounced naturalism. He died of tuberculosis. Major wo ...

In popular culture

A fictionalised Kindaichi appears in the anime ''

Woodpecker Detective's Office is a 1999 Japanese mystery novel written by Kei Ii. An anime television series adaptation by Liden Films aired between April and June 2020. Setting The novel is set in the Meiji era, and follows fictionalized versions of the poet Takuboku Is ...

.''

Honours

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...

(1954) * Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class, Grand Cordon (1971, Posthumous award) *

Junior Third Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the politi ...

(1971, Posthumous award)

External links

1882 births 1971 deaths Linguists of Ainu Linguists from Japan Japanese lexicographers University of Tokyo alumni University of Tokyo faculty Taisho University faculty People from Morioka, Iwate Laureates of the Imperial Prize Recipients of the Order of Culture 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century linguists 20th-century lexicographers Linguists of Japanese {{ainu-stub