Rakuyōshū

The was a 1598 Japanese dictionary of kanji "Chinese characters" and compounds in three parts. The Jesuit Mission Press published it at Nagasaki 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 (1955), Professor of Japanese at the University of Michigan, and Don Clifford Bailey (1960, 1962), 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" [Chinese reading] of characters, omitting the "yomi" [Japanese 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 "Irohashu", in "iroha" order, their "on" [Chinese readings] to 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. (tr. Bailey 1960:297)

"Rakusaku" comes from the Classical Chinese 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" 漢字) and compounds arranged in terms of their "on" 音pronunciation, 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" 訓 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 "Shōgyokuhen 小玉篇," which is a listing of "kanji" in terms of 105 "radicals," and (b) some errata. (1955:75-6)

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 Rakujūyoshū" (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 (1962:214) 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" 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. 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 or the "honpen". In addition, there are a few places where entries are listed in apparently arbitrary order, neither alphabetic nor semantic arrangement obtaining. (1960:323)

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 Satow 1888). In 1590, the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano brought a movable type printing press to Japan. Compared with contemporary woodblock printing in Japan, Üçerler (2005) calls this technological superiority the "First IT Revolution".

The "Rakuyōshū" is printed in "kanji" characters and "hiragana" syllabary. The "kanji" font resembles handwritten semi-cursive script more than printed Japanese regular script. 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 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 voiceless bilabial stops, for example, compare voiced "ha", "hi", "hu" (は, ひ, ふ) with voiceless "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 through Ernest Satow who bought this copy from antique dealer in Edo. Other two complete copies are preserved in Europe, by the Earl of Balcarres, and the Society of Jesus in Rome. Two "Rakuyūshū" copies missing Part (3) are owned by the Leiden University Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Two collections of fragments are held by the Tenri Central Library, Bibliothèque Nationale of France, 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 (1962:263), "possesses a rigid yet comprehensive format making it somewhat 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. (1962:263-4)

References

*Bailey, Don Clifford. (1960) "The "Rakuyōshū"," "Monumenta Nipponica" 16: 289-376.
*Bailey, Don Clifford. (1962) "The "Rakuyōshū" II, The "Irohajishū" and the "Shōgokuhen"," "Monumenta Nipponica" 17: 214-64.
*Doi, Yoichi (1986). Introduction, "'Two Copies of Rakuyōshū". Tenri, Nara: Tenri University Press.
*Satow, Ernest Mason. (1888). "The Jesuit Mission Press in Japan". London: privately printed. Bristol: Ganesha Publishing 1998 reprint.
* Üçerler, M. Antoni J. (2005) " [http://www.usfca.edu/ricci/events/Ucerler.pdf Gutenberg Comes to Japan: The Jesuits & the First IT Revolution of the Sixteenth Century] ", The Ricci Institute Public Lecture Series.
*Yamagiwa, Joseph K. (1955). "Revisions in the "Rakuyôshû" at the Time of its Printing in 1598," "Monumenta Nipponica" 11: 185-194.

External links

* [http://ricci.rt.usfca.edu/bibliography/view.aspx?bibliographyID=1743 Rakuyōshū 落葉集 (Racuyoxu)] , bibliographic entry from the Ricci Roundtable on the History of Christianity in China
* [http://elib.doshisha.ac.jp/denshika/jesuit/139/images/139_030.jpgRacuyoxu] , title page and description from Satow (1888:35), Doshisha University