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The , rendered on the cover as ''Racvyoxyv'', was a 1598 Japanese dictionary of
kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
"Chinese characters" and compounds in three parts. The
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
Mission Press published it at
Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
along with other early Japanese language reference works, such as the 1603 '' Nippo Jisho'' Japanese–Portuguese dictionary. The ''Rakuyōshū'', also known as the ''Rakuyoshu'' or ''Rakuyôshû'', is notable as the first dictionary to separate ''kanji'' readings between Chinese loanword ''on'' ( "pronunciation") and native Japanese ''kun'' ( "meaning"). In contrast with the numerous ''Rakuyōshū'' studies written in Japanese, the primary research in English is by Joseph Koshimi Yamagiwa, Professor of Japanese at the University of Michigan, and Don Clifford Bailey, Professor of Japanese at the University of Arizona.


Title

Although the title ''Rakuyōshū'' (落葉集) literally reads as a ''shū'' (集 "collection; assembly") of ''rakuyō'' (落葉 "fallen leaves", or ''ochiba'' 落ち葉 in ''kun'' reading), the preface explains it metaphorically means "collection, in ''iroha'' order, of fallen (left-over, overlooked) words".
To be sure, many Japanese dictionaries have appeared in the world before now. Of these, however, it may be said that they are deficient either in that they provide the ''koe'' hinese readingof characters, omitting the ''yomi'' apanese reading or that they record the ''yomi'' and ignore the ''koe''. Herein we propose to assemble "left-over 'rakusaku'' ''kanji'' and compounds long in use but hitherto overlooked and to arrange them, after the manner of the ''Irohashū'', in ''iroha'' order, their ''on'' hinese readingsto be on the right and their ''yomi'' to be on the left, and thus to produce in one volume a dictionary to be designated the ''Rakuyōshū''. Thereafter we propose to add a section of characters and compounds similarly grouped in ''iroha'' order but arranged in terms of their Japanese readings.
''Rakusaku'' comes from the
Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...
word ''luosuo'' (落索 "wither, shrivel; fall low, fall on hard times; lonely, lonesome"). Thus, the title blends ''raku'' (落 "fall; drop") meaning words "dropped" (overlooked, missed) by other Japanese dictionaries plus ''yōshū'' (葉集, or ''hashū'' in ''on''-reading) abbreviating ''Irohashū'' (色葉集 "''iroha'' collection") meaning a dictionary collated in ''iroha'' order (e.g., the 12th-century '' Iroha Jiruishō''). Despite the compiler's intention of including overlooked words, Bailey discovered that more than half of the ''Rakuyōshū'' entries are found in contemporary Japanese dictionaries, primarily 15th-century '' Setsuyōshū'' editions, and many others occur in Chinese rime dictionaries.


Contents

The ''Rakuyōshū'' text comprises 108 folios (''chō'' 丁 "leaf of paper, folio; block") in three parts, succinctly described by Joseph Koshimi Yamagiwa.
(1) A 62-folio section consisting of (a) the ''Rakuyōshū'' proper, which is a listing of Chinese-Japanese characters (''kanji'') and compounds arranged in terms of their ''on'' pronunciations, that is, the pronunciations borrowed into Japanese from Chinese, (b) a list of the characters used in writing the numbers, and (c) some errata;
(2) a 27-folio section consisting of (a) the ''Irohajishū'' 色葉字集, which is a listing of ''kanji'' and compounds arranged in terms of their ''kun'' pronunciations, that is, the pronunciations of the Japanese words represented by the Chinese characters, (b) some errata, (c) a listing of the names of one hundred Japanese government offices together with their Chinese equivalents, and (d) a listing of the sixty-odd provinces of Japan; and
(3) a 19-folio section consisting of (a) the ''Shōgokuhen'' 小玉篇, which is a listing of the ''kanji'' in terms of 105 'radicals,' and (b) some errata.
Part (I), entitled the ''Rakuyōshū'', gives Chinese ''on'' readings of ''kanji'' and ''kanji'' compounds. It includes nearly 1,700 main character entries (''boji'' 母字 "mother character; head character") with approximately 12,000 run-on entries of multi-character compounds (''jukuji'' 熟字 "compound; idiom; phrase"). Part (2), the ''Irohajishū'' ("''Iroha''-ordered character collection"), gives the equivalent Japanese ''kun'' readings of ''kanji''. It is less than half the size of (1) and only gives about one-fourth as many ''kanji'' compounds, around 3,000. The ''Irohajishū'' frequently lists graphic variants that have homophonous ''kun'' readings, for instance, defining ''hō'' 芳 "fragrance; aroma", ''fun'' 芬 "sweet smell; fragrance; perfume", and ''kō'' 香 "scent; aroma; fragrance; incense" as Japanese ''kōbashii'' "nice-smelling; savory; aromatic; fragrant; favorable". This part includes two appendices: the ''Hyakkan narabi ni Tōmyō no taigai'' (百官並唐名之大概 "Outline of the hundred government offices and their Chinese equivalents") and the ''Nippon Rokujūyoshū'' (日本六十餘州 "The 60-odd provinces of Japan") gazetteer. Part (3), the ''Shōgokuhen'' (小玉篇 "Little ''Yupian''"), classifies 2,366 characters, mostly from Parts (1) and (2), according to 105 (''bushu'' 部首) " radicals" and gives their respective ''on'' and ''kun'' readings. The title and format follow the circa 543 CE Chinese '' Yupian'' ("Jade Chapters") dictionary, in analogy to the circa 1489 '' Wagokuhen'' ("Japanese ''Yupian''"). The ''Shōgokuhen'' begins with an index that semantically classifies the radicals under 12 headings (''mon'' 門 "gates") of ''tenmon'' (天文 "natural phenomena"), ''chiri'' (地理 "geographical features"), ''jinbutsu'' (人物 "human matters"), etc., and gives the radical numbers within the main text. Unlike previous Japanese dictionaries, this index also gives a common name for each radical. Another feature useful to students of Japanese ''kanji'' was cross-listing some characters under more than one component radicals (''kō'' or ''suki'' 好 "like; love" can be listed under the "woman radical" 女 and the "child radical" 子).


Textual arrangement

''Rakuyōshū'' Parts (1) and (2) are called the ''honpen'' (本編 "main text") and (3) is the ''kōhen'' (後編 "later text"). The main text is dated 1598 and the undated ''Shōgokuhen'' probably was published circa 1599. One of the most significant lexicographical improvements in the ''Rakuyōshū'' is separately listing the ''on'' and ''kun'' readings of ''kanji''. Contemporary Sengoku period Japanese dictionaries like the ''Setsuyōshū'' listed characters by one or the other, or mixed them. Bailey believes the reason was because the ''Rakuyōshū'' was designed for Europeans who could not easily distinguish between ''on'' and ''kun'' readings. This dictionary's internal arrangement combines the main text giving ''on'' and ''kun'' readings for ''kanji'' according to ''iroha'' order with the later index giving readings arranged by graphic radicals. Dictionary users who know either the Japanese or Chinese reading of a character can locate it in the main text, and those who cannot ascertain a character's reading can find it through the radical index. Unlike the ''Nippo Jisho'', this dictionary does not use ''
rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...
'' to romanize Japanese pronunciation, other than the title page spelling ''Racuyoxu''. This unique Jesuit romanization system was based on Portuguese and differs from the usual
Hepburn romanization is the main system of Romanization of Japanese, romanization for the Japanese language. The system was originally published in 1867 by American Christian missionary and physician James Curtis Hepburn as the standard in the first edition of h ...
. The Japanese historical linguist Morita Takeshi (森田武) discovered that many ''Rakuyōshū'' character entries and almost half of the compound entries are alphabetized in the Jesuit system; most consistently after the 12th ''kana'' ''wo'' を. Bailey summarizes that
the arrangement of compounds in the main text of the ''Rakuyōshū'' is primarily alphabetic, but inconsistent to the extent that words of related meanings are often grouped together, especially in the early portions of the ''honpen''. In addition, there are a few places where entries are listed in apparently arbitrary order, neither alphabetic nor semantic arrangement obtaining.


Historical aspects

Japanese ''Kirishitan ban'' (キリシタン版 "Christian publications") refers to the books, grammars, and dictionaries published 1591–1611 by the Jesuit Mission Press.See . In 1590, the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano brought a
movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable Sort (typesetting), components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric charac ...
printing press to Japan. Compared with contemporary woodblock printing in Japan, Üçerler calls this technological superiority the "First IT Revolution". The ''Rakuyōshū'' is printed in ''kanji'' characters and ''
hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...
'' syllabary. The ''kanji'' font resembles handwritten semi-cursive script more than printed Japanese
regular script The regular script is the newest of the major Chinese script styles, emerging during the Three Kingdoms period , and stylistically mature by the 7th century. It is the most common style used in modern text. In its traditional form it is the t ...
. The ''hiragana'' font includes some outdated hentaigana forms. In the history of Japanese printing, the ''Rakuyōshū'' was the first movable-type dictionary to incorporate two ''kana'' innovations that were already used in handwritten Japanese, and have survived to this day. ''
Furigana is a Japanese reading aid consisting of smaller kana (syllabic characters) printed either above or next to kanji (logographic characters) or other characters to indicate their pronunciation. It is one type of ruby text. Furigana is also know ...
'' is printing smaller ''kana'' alongside a ''kanji'' to indicate the pronunciation, a practice which allows less-educated people to read Chinese characters. ''Handakuten'' (半濁点) is printing a small circle to the upper right of a ''kana'' to indicate the
voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies v ...
bilabial stop ; for example, compare ''ha'', ''hi'', ''hu'' (は, ひ, ふ) with ''pa'', ''pi'', ''pu'' (ぱ, ぴ, ぷ). Most of the original ''Rakuyōshū'' copies were lost. Today, only four complete copies, two incomplete copies and two collections of fragments are known. Two complete copies were survived during the turbulent feudal period of Japanese history: one is now held by the Tenri Central Library, in Tenri, Nara, and the other is held by the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
through
Ernest Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British diplomat, scholar and Japanologist. He is better known in Japan, where he was known as , than in Britain or the other countries in which he served as a diplomat. He was ...
who bought this copy from an antique dealer in Edo. The other two complete copies are preserved in Europe, by the Earl of Balcarres, and the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
in Rome. Two ''Rakuyūshū'' copies missing Part (3) are owned by the
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Two collections of fragments are held by the Tenri Central Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale, respectively.


Conclusion

"The ''Rakuyōshū'', being a product of the Jesuit Mission Press and the Jesuits' views on the treatment of ''kanji'' and ''kana''," concludes Bailey, "possesses a rigid yet comprehensive format making it something of a milestone in dictionary compilation in Japan." He lists six of this dictionary's aspects that enhanced its usefulness four centuries ago and make it of interest today: #Its reproduction of ''kanji'' not in the square or printed style but in a form resembling longhand. #Its attempt to use phonetic rather than historical ''kana'' spellings of Japanese words. #Its use of alphabetization as a major sorting device in the listing of entries in the main text. #Its semantic classification of radicals in the index of the "Shōgokuhen." #Its listing of ''kanji'' under more than one radical in the "Shōgokuhen." #Its fairly consistent use, in ''kana'' spellings, of small circles (''han-dakuten'') to distinguish words pronounced with a voiceless bilabial stop.


Notes


References

* * * Bristol: Ganesha Publishing 1998 reprint. * Footnotes


Further reading

*


External links


''Rakuyōshū'' 落葉集 (''Racuyoxu'')
bibliographic entry from the Ricci Roundtable on the History of Christianity in China
''Racuyoxu''
title page and description from , Doshisha University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rakuyoshu Kanji Japanese dictionaries Society of Jesus