Setsuyōshū

The was a popular Muromachi Period Japanese dictionary collated in "iroha" order and subdivided into semantic categories. The title word "setsuyō" means "reduce usage; economize" and alludes to the "Lunyu" (compare the "Kagakushū"). "Confucius said: 'If you would govern a state of a thousand chariots (a small-to-middle-size state), you must pay strict attention to business, be true to your word, be economical in expenditure and love the people'." (tr. Muller [http://www.hm.tyg.jp/~acmuller/contao/analects.html#div-5] )

The origins of the "Setsuyōshū" are unclear. The oldest extant edition is dated 1496 CE, and the text was probably compiled shortly before the Bunmei era (1469-1487 CE). Despite much speculation about the dictionary's anonymous author, Bailey (1960:47) concludes "a nameless fifteenth-century Zen priest is the likeliest candidate."

Unlike many early Japanese dictionaries of Chinese characters that were intended for literati, the "Setsuyōshū" was a true Japanese language dictionary and entered vocabulary current in Muromachi times. Each main entry gives the word in "kanji" (Chinese characters), notes Japanese pronunciation in "katakana" on the right, and occasionally adds etymologies and comments on the bottom.

There are numerous "Setsuyōshū" editions (over 180 from the Edo Period) and many vary in content and format. Most versions collate words according to their first syllable under 43-47 "iroha" divisions ("bu" ) with 9-16 semantic subdivisions ("mon" ), which usually begin with "Heaven and Earth" ("Tenchi" 天地) and end with "Unclassified words" ("Genji" 言辞). This arrangement combines both "Iroha Jiruishō" phonetic ordering and "Kagakushū" semantic classifications.

The Japanese linguist Hashimoto Shinkichi analyzed differences among early "Setsuyōshū" editions and found three categories, distinguished by the first word beginning with "i"- appearing under the first '"Heaven and Earth" heading. The dictionaries' initial word is either "Ise" (伊勢 "old name for Mie Prefecture"), "Indo" (印度 "India"), or "inui" (乾 "northwest"). "Ise" editions" have few appendices, put place names near the beginning of subject headings, and are probably the oldest redaction. "Indo" editions" have many appendices, including place names, and clearly have been supplemented from the 1444 CE "Kagakushū". "Inui" editions" are usually printed with movable type, have more entries and corrections, and are the newest version.

"Setsuyōshū" has a parallel with "Webster's" informally meaning "English language dictionary". Nakao (1989:37) notes this dictionary "remained popular for so long that the name "Setsuyoshu" was used as a generic term for Japanese dictionaries (with the entries arranged in the order of "iroha")."

References

*Bailey, Don Clifford. (1960). "Early Japanese Lexicography". "Monumenta Nipponica" 16:1-52.
*Nakao, Keisuke. (1998). "The state of bilingual lexicography in Japan: learners' English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionaries." "International Journal of Lexicography" 11.1:35-50.
*Takanashi Nobuhiro 高梨信博. (1996). "節用集 ("Setsuyōshū")." In "Nihon jisho jiten" 日本辞書辞典 ("The Encyclopedia of Dictionaries Published in Japan"), Okimori Takuya 沖森卓也, et al., eds., pp. 167-170. Tokyo: Ōfū. ISBN 4-273-02890-5

External links

* [http://www.tulips.tsukuba.ac.jp/exhibition/jyousetu/tsukubane/tsukubane.html 饅頭屋本節用集] , 5 Muromachi editions of "Setsuyōshū", Tsukuba University Library
* [http://www1.gifu-u.ac.jp/~satopy/reki01.html 室町時代の節用集] , 4 Muromachi editions of "Setsuyōshū", Gifu University Library
* [http://ddb.libnet.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/exhibit/i048/i048cont.html 節用集] , rare edition "Setsuyōshū", Kyoto University Library