The , commonly called the ''Shinmeikai'' or affectionately the , is a popular

Japanese dictionary have a history that began over 1300 years ago when Japanese Buddhist priests, who wanted to understand Chinese sutras, adapted Chinese character dictionaries. Present-day Japanese lexicographers are exploring computerized editing and electronic ...

published by

Sanseidō is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing dictionaries and textbooks. Notable publications Dictionary * ''Daijirin is a comprehensive single-volume Japanese dictionary edited by , and first published by in 1988. This title i ...

. They also publish the analogous '' Sanseido Kokugo Jiten'' dictionary, a lexicographical sister that shares several of the same editors. This

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...

reference work has frequently undergone revisions and republications. The first two editions were called the , and the six subsequent ones were published under the current ''Shin'' "New" name. *1943, 1st edition ''Meikai kokugo jiten'' *1952, 2nd edition ''Meikai kokugo jiten'' *1972, 1st edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten''　 *1974, 2nd edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *1981, 3rd edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *1989, 4th edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *1997, 5th edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *2005, 6th edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *2011, 7th edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' *2020, 8th edition ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' The chief editors of the early versions were Kindaichi Kyōsuke (1882-1971), Kindaichi Haruhiko (1913-2004), Kenbō Hidetoshi (見坊豪紀, 1914-1992), and most notably Yamada Tadao (山田忠雄, 1916-1996). The 6th edition, which contains some 76,500 entries, still lists Yamada as chief editor, but was edited by Shibata Takeshi (柴田武) and Sakai Kenji (酒井憲二). The ''Shinmeikai kokugo jiten'' is one of the most popular dictionaries among high-school students. According to Sanseido, all the editions have collectively sold over 19,500,000 copies. Following the death of Yamada Tadao, the ''Shin meikai kokugo jiten'' acquired a certain notoriety in Japan after the publication of the humorous bestsellers by

Akasegawa Genpei was a pseudonym of Japanese artist , born March 27, 1937 – October 26, 2014 in Yokohama. He used another pseudonym, , for literary works. A member of the influential artist groups Neo-Dada Organizers and Hi-Red Center, Akasegawa went on to mai ...

(1996, "Mysteries of the ''Shinkai-san''") and Suzuki Makiko (1998, "How to read the ''Shinkai-san''"). They revealed the idiosyncratic nature of many dictionary definitions written by Yamada. In addition to providing a general definition of a word, this editor sometimes added personal commentaries reflecting his experience and philosophy, making the otherwise bland definitions an enjoyable and at times philosophical reading. For example, compare these definitions of ''ren'ai'' ( 恋愛 "love") in a common dictionary and the ''Shinmeikai'':

*Love between a man and a woman, or the feeling one feels in such a situation. *To feel an affection for an individual of the opposite sex so intense that one would not regret sacrificing anything for that person; the person is constantly on one’s mind, prompting the wish to always be together and share a private world; one feels happy when that desire is satisfied and anxious or depressed should the slighted doubt about that person’s affections arise. (tr. The Japan Forum 2005)

"This is probably the best-selling and most well known of the smaller ''kokugo'' dictionaries," writes Gally (1999), "though its fame rests less on its authority than on the quirkiness of its definitions." Based upon Yamada's definitions, Gally describes him as "a misogynist cynic who enjoyed eating fish (many of the definitions of fish names identify the particular fish as tasty, an opinion that may not be shared by all)."

References

* * * *The Japan Forum, (2005)
The Japanese Language Boom: Renewed appreciation for the beauty and pleasure of the language
''Takarabako'' 4.

External links

新明解国語辞典第八版
Sanseido homepage for 8th ed. ''Shinmeikai kokugo jiten'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten Japanese dictionaries Sanseido books