DOCSLIB.ORG

Ainu Names Found in “Gishi Wa-Jin Den”「魏志倭人伝」

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ainu Names Found in “Gishi Wa-Jin Den”「魏志倭人伝」 52 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Ainu names found in “Gishi Wa-jin den”「魏志倭人伝」 Tresi Nonno MA in sociocultural anthropology, independent scholar; Chiba, Japan; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract Generally it has been thought that personal names found in the text of “Gi-shi Wa-jin den” can be interpreted through Early Old Japanese. However, until Kofun period there was no wide and regular spread of ‘Korean’ technologies so it’s possible to doubt that Early Old Japanese existed in the epoch of Yayoi. From the other hand wide spread of Ainu toponyms in Western Japan in Jōmon and Yayoi is a common place so interpreting names through Ainu language can be perspective. Having reconstructed original pronunciation of names I realized that names with kǝw/ko/hu endings are met only among names of higher nobility. These endings are supposed to be variants expressing the same word that i.e.: kur “respected being/person” that is usual ending in names of mythological heroes in modern Ainu folklore narratives and could probably be a component of aristocratic names in the epoch of Yamatai. Key words: Gishi Wajin den; Yamatai; Ainu; queen Himiko Problem introduction “Gi-shi wa-jin den” 魏志倭人伝 “Report about Wa in the book of Wei” or “Wa-jin den” 倭人 伝 “Report about Wa people” are conventional short titles used to denote a part of chronicle of Wei kingdom (220–265 AD), in which are described some territories neighbor to China, and among others are described states existed in Japanese archipelago in 2nd – 3rd centuries AD. Short title is used as far as full title is rather long and complicated: San-goku-shi gi-sho maki san jū ugan senbi tōi den wa-jin-jō 『「三国志」「魏書」巻三十、「烏桓・鮮卑・東夷伝」 「倭人条」』“Chronicle of Three Kingdoms, 30th volume of Wei book, part of Wuhuan, Xianbei and Dongyi, chapter of Wa people”. “Chronicle of Three Kingdoms” covers the period of Late Eastern Han dynasty (184 – 220 AD) and the period of three kingdoms (220 – 280 AD). Three kingdoms were: Wei, Shu and Wu (pic. 1); they appeared after the decay of Late Eastern Han. The chronicle was written by Chen Shou in 3rd century AD on the base of local chronicles and reports. Text of the chronicle is considered as official and authoritative document of the epoch. “Wa-jin den” seems to be written by someone who really visited Japanese archipelago as far as distances are expressed quite closely to modern estimations. In “Wa-jin den” there are some names and toponyms which are written down by meaningless sets of Chinese signs used phonetically. Current paper is devoted people’s names 53 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) There is a presupposition that personal names represented in “Wa-jin den” are words of Old Japanese. For instance, name of queen of Yamatai, that is pronounced as [Himiko] in modern Japanese and was pronounced as [Pimiko] in Early Old Japanese; the name is generally supposed to be a typical Japanese female name with female ending ko 子(literally “child”) and it is usually interpreted as: 姫子 Pimeko “princess”/ “noble lady”; or 日巫女 Pimiko “prophetess of kami of Sun” (Tsunoda 1951). I consider such interpretations as rather naïve since they don’t take into account the possibility that those names could be words of other languages and the fact that Old Japanese didn’t exist yet in that epoch. Pic. 1. Map representing three kingdoms (source: https://chinahistorysg.wordpress.com/tag/wei/ – accessed May 2015) Why is it possible to doubt that personal names met in Wa-jin den are words of Old Japanese? Main objection against Japanese origin of names is the absence of Japanese language in that epoch. Before contemporary history spreading of certain language should correlate with 54 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) spreading of correspondent culture: if we don’t see wide and regular spread of certain technologies then there was no correspondent language. In the case of Japanese facts are the following: Japanese language is a language of Buyeo stock; languages of Buyeo stock are actually closely connected with ‘Korean’ cultures. Despite it is often thought that early Japanese language existed yet in the epoch of Yayoi we don’t see any serious ‘Korean’ influence before Kofun period (4 – 6 centuries AD). In the period of Kofun we can see regular and wide spread of ‘Korean’ technologies in Japanese archipelago but we don’t see their regular spread before All items of ‘Korean’ origin seen in the epoch of Yayoi are mostly elements of cargo cult, i.e. copying of some items without due understanding of their true meaning; such are, for instance, famous dōtaku bells (pic. 2) that had no practical use but were used just as ritual objects; while their prefigurations obviously had practical usage (pic. 3). Pic. 2. Dōtaku; left is 52.8 cm height; right is 45 cm: (source: http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/outline/publication/rekihaku/121/witness.html – accesed May 2015) Pic. 3. Dōtaku prefigurations; from the left: 2,400 years old, site of excavation unknown, height: 22.3 cm; 2,400 years old, Korea, height: 15.9 cm; 3,500 years old China, height: 9.1 cm; 3,700 years old China, height: 8.4 cm; 3,900 years old, China, height: 2.6 cm (source: http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/outline/publication/rekihaku/121/witness.html – accessed May 2015) 55 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Metal industry and metal items were exotic in the epoch of Yayoi while in the epoch of Kofun we can see regular spreading of these issues and other ‘Korean’ technologies (pic.: 4 – 9). Pic. 4. Korean swords with ring pommels 5th – 6th centuries (source: http://www.martialartsplanet.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105468 – accessed May 2015) Pic. 5. Kofun swords (source: http://www.forensicfashion.com/500KofunWarriorSword.html – accessed May 2015) 56 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Pic. 6. Korean 5th century personal armor (source: http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Korean_armour – accessed May 2015) Pic. 7. Kofun 5th century personal armor (source: http://www.forensicfashion.com/500KofunWarrior.html – accessed May 2015) 57 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Pic. 8 Korean Tomb Painting 4th century (source: http://www.art-and- archaeology.com/korea/goguryeo/an01.html – accessed May 2015) Pic. 9 Late Kofun tomb painting (source: http://www.asukanet.gr.jp/asukahome/ASUKA2/TAKAMATUTUKA/takamatutuka.html – accessed May 2015) 58 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Also if we take an impartial look at architecture of Yoshinogari site (pic. 10) that was settlement of Yayoi epoch and at Sannai-Maruyma settlement (pic. 11) of late Jōmon we see almost no differences; it isn’t a great mistake to say architecture of Yoshinogari was just development of that of Sannai-Maruyama. Pic. 10 Yoshinogari site (source: http://tabisite.com/gallery_as/japan/japanen.shtml – accessed May 2015) Pic. 11 Sannai-Maruayama site (source: http://tabisite.com/gallery_as/japan/japanen.shtml – accessed May 2015) 59 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Pic. 12. Map representing location of Sannai-Maruyama and Yoshinogari sites (drawn by the author after Google map screenshot) Also If we take a look at Yayoi pottery and at pottery of Late Jōmon we also don’t see difference between two potteries (Pic.13, Pic. 14) be we can rather say that pottery of Yayoi is a continuation of late Jōmon pottery with just slight continental influences. Thus it can be concluded there was no Japanese language in the epoch of Yayoi yet and so it can’t be perspective to interpret names of Wa-jin den through Japanese language. 60 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Pic. 13 Late Jōmon pot (photo source http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/maibun/english/artifact-en1.html – accessed May 2015) Pic. 14 Early Yayoi pots (photo source http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/maibun/english/artifact-en1.html – accessed may 2015) 61 CAES Vol. 1, № 2 (May 2015) Why is it possible to suppose that certain personal names met in Wa-jin den can be words of Ainu language? The fact that there are many toponyms which are words of Ainu origin in the places located outside of area where Ainu live in recent times (Chamberlain 1887) means that Ainu language was widely spread in ancient epochs. These toponyms obviously were spread in the epoch preceding wide migration of Buyeo languages speaking people, i.e.: before Kofun epoch. Due to this case it seems to be rather logical and correct to interpret names in “Wa-jin den” through Ainu language. In the texts of Wa-jin den we can find the following personal names: 1. 台与 (traditional: 臺與) [ʔjitjɨăh]1 – girl who was chosen by Yamatai nobility to be the ruler after Pimiko death; 2. 伊支馬 [ʔjittɕiămaɨ’]/[ʔjittɕiămɛ:’]/[ʔjittɕimaɨ’]/[ʔjittɕimɛ:’] – a person who was in the palace of Pimiko; 3. 狗古智卑狗 [Kewkɔ’triăhpjikew]/[Kewkɔ’triahpjiĕkew]/[Kewkɔ’trihpjikew]/[Kewkɔ’trihpjiĕkew] – ruler of [Kewnɔ] kingdom 狗奴国; 4. 彌彌[Mjiĕmjiĕ]/[Mjimji] – ruler of [Dǝwmaɨ’]/[Dǝwmɛ:’] kingdom 投馬国; 5. 彌彌那利[Mjiĕmjiĕnalih]/[Mjimjinalih] – assistant of [Mjimji]; 6. 弥馬升[Mjimaɨ’ɕiŋ] /[Mjiĕmaɨ’ɕiŋ]/[Mjimɛ:’ɕiŋ]/[Mjiĕmɛ:’ɕiŋ] – person who was in the palace of Pimiko; 7. 弥馬獲支 [Mjimaɨ’ɣwǝɨjktɕi]/[Mjimaɨ’ɣwǝɨjkɕiă]/[Mjimaɨ’ɣwɛ:jktɕi]/ [Mjimaɨ’ɣwɛ:jktɕiă] [Mjimɛ:’ɣwǝɨjktɕi] / [Mjimɛ:’ɣwǝɨjkɕiă] / [Mjimɛ:’ɣwɛ:jktɕi] / [Mjimɛ:’ɣwɛ:jktɕiă] / [Mjiĕmaɨ’ɣwǝɨjktɕi] / [Mjiĕmaɨ’ɣwǝɨjkɕiă] / [Mjiĕmaɨ’ɣwɛ:jktɕi] / [Mjiĕmaɨ’ɣwɛ:jktɕiă] / [Mjiĕmɛ:’ɣwǝɨjktɕi] / [Mjiĕmɛ:’ɣwǝɨjkɕiă] / [Mjiĕmɛ:’ɣwɛ:jktɕi] / [Mjiĕmɛ:’ɣwɛ:jktɕiă] – person who was in the palace of Pimiko; 8. 爾支[Ɲjĕtɕiă]/[Ɲjĕtɕi]/[Ɲitɕiă]/ [Ɲitɕi]– ruler of [ʔjitɔ] kingdom 伊都国; 9. 奴佳鞮 [Nɔkaɨjtɛj]/[Nɔkɛ:jtɛj] – person who was in the palace of Pimiko; 10.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mother of the Nation: Femininity, Modernity, and Class in the Image of Empress Teimei
    Mother of the Nation: Femininity, Modernity, and Class in the Image of Empress Teimei By ©2016 Alison Miller Submitted to the graduate degree program in the History of Art and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Maki Kaneko ________________________________ Dr. Sherry Fowler ________________________________ Dr. David Cateforis ________________________________ Dr. John Pultz ________________________________ Dr. Akiko Takeyama Date Defended: April 15, 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Alison Miller certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Mother of the Nation: Femininity, Modernity, and Class in the Image of Empress Teimei ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Maki Kaneko Date approved: April 15, 2016 ii Abstract This dissertation examines the political significance of the image of the Japanese Empress Teimei (1884-1951) with a focus on issues of gender and class. During the first three decades of the twentieth century, Japanese society underwent significant changes in a short amount of time. After the intense modernizations of the late nineteenth century, the start of the twentieth century witnessed an increase in overseas militarism, turbulent domestic politics, an evolving middle class, and the expansion of roles for women to play outside the home. As such, the early decades of the twentieth century in Japan were a crucial period for the formation of modern ideas about femininity and womanhood. Before, during, and after the rule of her husband Emperor Taishō (1879-1926; r. 1912-1926), Empress Teimei held a highly public role, and was frequently seen in a variety of visual media.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Kinship Between Mandarin, Hokkien Chinese and Japanese (Lexicostatistics Review)
    LANGUAGE KINSHIP BETWEEN MANDARIN, HOKKIEN CHINESE AND JAPANESE (LEXICOSTATISTICS REVIEW) KEKERABATAN ANTARA BAHASA MANDARIN, HOKKIEN DAN JEPANG (TINJAUAN LEXICOSTATISTICS) Abdul Gapur1, Dina Shabrina Putri Siregar 2, Mhd. Pujiono3 1,2,3Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Sumatera Utara Jalan Universitas, No. 19, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia Telephone (061) 8215956, Facsimile (061) 8215956 E-mail: [email protected] Article accepted: July 22, 2018; revised: December 18, 2018; approved: December 24, 2018 Permalink/DOI: 10.29255/aksara.v30i2.230.301-318 Abstract Mandarin and Hokkien Chinese are well known having a tight kinship in a language family. Beside, Japanese also has historical relation with China in the field of language and cultural development. Japanese uses Chinese characters named kanji with certain phonemic vocabulary adjustment, which is adapted into Japanese. This phonemic adjustment of kanji is called Kango. This research discusses about the kinship of Mandarin, Hokkien Chinese in Indonesia and Japanese Kango with lexicostatistics review. The method used is quantitative with lexicostatistics technique. Quantitative method finds similar percentage of 100-200 Swadesh vocabularies. Quantitative method with lexicostatistics results in a tree diagram of the language genetics. From the lexicostatistics calculation to the lexicon level, it is found that Mandarin Chinese (MC) and Japanese Kango (JK) are two different languages, because they are in a language group (stock) (29%); (2) JK and Indonesian Hokkien Chinese (IHC) are also two different languages, because they are in a language group (stock) (24%); and (3) MC and IHC belong to the same language family (42%). Keywords: language kinship, Mandarin, Hokkien, Japanese Abstrak Bahasa Mandarin dan Hokkien diketahui memiliki hubungan kekerabatan dalam rumpun yang sama.
    [Show full text]
  • A Dictionary of Chinese Characters: Accessed by Phonetics
    A dictionary of Chinese characters ‘The whole thrust of the work is that it is more helpful to learners of Chinese characters to see them in terms of sound, than in visual terms. It is a radical, provocative and constructive idea.’ Dr Valerie Pellatt, University of Newcastle. By arranging frequently used characters under the phonetic element they have in common, rather than only under their radical, the Dictionary encourages the student to link characters according to their phonetic. The system of cross refer- encing then allows the student to find easily all the characters in the Dictionary which have the same phonetic element, thus helping to fix in the memory the link between a character and its sound and meaning. More controversially, the book aims to alleviate the confusion that similar looking characters can cause by printing them alongside each other. All characters are given in both their traditional and simplified forms. Appendix A clarifies the choice of characters listed while Appendix B provides a list of the radicals with detailed comments on usage. The Dictionary has a full pinyin and radical index. This innovative resource will be an excellent study-aid for students with a basic grasp of Chinese, whether they are studying with a teacher or learning on their own. Dr Stewart Paton was Head of the Department of Languages at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, from 1976 to 1981. A dictionary of Chinese characters Accessed by phonetics Stewart Paton First published 2008 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • The Myth of the Goddess of the Undersea World and the Tale of Empress Jingu’S Subjugation of Silla
    Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1993 20/2-3 The Myth of the Goddess of the Undersea World and the Tale of Empress Jingu’s Subjugation of Silla Akima Toshio In prewar Japan, the mythical tale of Empress Jingii’s 神功皇后 conquest of the Korean kingdoms comprised an important part of elementary school history education, and was utilized to justify Japan5s coloniza­ tion of Korea. After the war the same story came to be interpreted by some Japanese historians—most prominently Egami Namio— as proof or the exact opposite, namely, as evidence of a conquest of Japan by a people of nomadic origin who came from Korea. This theory, known as the horse-rider theory, has found more than a few enthusiastic sup­ porters amone Korean historians and the Japanese reading public, as well as some Western scholars. There are also several Japanese spe­ cialists in Japanese history and Japan-Korea relations who have been influenced by the theory, although most have not accepted the idea (Egami himself started as a specialist in the history of northeast Asia).1 * The first draft of this essay was written during my fellowship with the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, and was read in a seminar organized by the institu­ tion on 31 January 199丄. 1 am indebted to all researchers at the center who participated in the seminar for their many valuable suggestions. I would also like to express my gratitude to Umehara Takeshi, the director general of the center, and Nakanism Susumu, also of the center, who made my research there possible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Wai Kit Wicky Tse University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tse, Wai Kit Wicky, "Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Abstract As a frontier region of the Qin-Han (221BCE-220CE) empire, the northwest was a new territory to the Chinese realm. Until the Later Han (25-220CE) times, some portions of the northwestern region had only been part of imperial soil for one hundred years. Its coalescence into the Chinese empire was a product of long-term expansion and conquest, which arguably defined the egionr 's military nature. Furthermore, in the harsh natural environment of the region, only tough people could survive, and unsurprisingly, the region fostered vigorous warriors. Mixed culture and multi-ethnicity featured prominently in this highly militarized frontier society, which contrasted sharply with the imperial center that promoted unified cultural values and stood in the way of a greater degree of transregional integration. As this project shows, it was the northwesterners who went through a process of political peripheralization during the Later Han times played a harbinger role of the disintegration of the empire and eventually led to the breakdown of the early imperial system in Chinese history.
    [Show full text]
  • An Investigation of Chinese Learners' Acquisition and Understanding of Bushou and Their Attitude on Formal In-Class Bushou Instruction
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses Dissertations and Theses November 2014 An Investigation of Chinese Learners' Acquisition and Understanding of Bushou and Their Attitude on Formal In-Class Bushou Instruction Yan P. Liu University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Recommended Citation Liu, Yan P., "An Investigation of Chinese Learners' Acquisition and Understanding of Bushou and Their Attitude on Formal In-Class Bushou Instruction" (2014). Masters Theses. 98. https://doi.org/10.7275/6054895 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/98 This Campus-Only Access for Five (5) Years is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN INVESTIGATION OF CHINESE LEARNERS’ ACQUISITION AND UNDERSTANDING OF BUSHOU AND THEIR ATTITUDE ON FORMAL IN- CLASS BUSHOU INSTRUCTION A CASE STUDY A Thesis Presented By YANPING LIU Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS September 2014 Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Asian Languages and Literatures AN INVESTIGATION OF CHINESE LEARNERS’ ACQUISITION AND UNDERSTANDING OF BUSHOU AND THEIR ATTITUDE ON FORMAL IN- CLASS BUSHOU INSTRUCTION
    [Show full text]
  • Rites and Rituals of the Kofun Period
    Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1992 19/2-3 Rites and Rituals of the Kofun Period I s h in o H ironobu 石野博信 The rituals of the Kofun period were closely connected with both daily life and political affairs. The chieftain presided over the principal rites, whether in the mountains, on the rivers, or along the roadsides. The chieftain’s funeral was the preeminent rite, with a tomb mound, or kofun, constructed as its finale. The many and varied kofun rituals have been discussed elsewhere;1 here I shall concentrate on other kami rites and their departure from Yayoi practices. A Ritual Revolution Around AD 190, following a period of warfare called the “Wa Unrest,” the overall leadership of Wa was assumed by Himiko [Pimiko], female ruler of the petty kingdom of Yamatai. Beginning in 239 she opened diplomatic relations with the Wei court in China as the monarch of Wa, and she died around 248. Makimuku 1 type pottery appeared around 190; in 220 or so it was followed by Makimuku 2，and then by Makimuku 3, in about 250. The 92-meter-long keyhole-shaped Makimuku Ishizuka tomb in Sakurai City, Nara, was constructed in the first half of the third century; in the latter half of the same century the Hashihaka tomb was built. Hence the reign of Himiko, circa 190 to 248，corresponds to the appearance of key­ hole-shaped tombs. It was the dawn of the Kofun period and a formative time in Kofun-period ritual. In the Initial Kofun, by which I mean the period traditionally assigned to the very end of the Yayoi, bronze ritual objects were smashed, dis­ * This article is a partial translation of the introductory essay to volume 3 of Ish in o et al.
    [Show full text]
  • T H E a Rt a N D a Rc H a E O L O Gy O F a N C I E Nt C H I
    china cover_correct2pgs 7/23/04 2:15 PM Page 1 T h e A r t a n d A rc h a e o l o g y o f A n c i e nt C h i n a A T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E The Art and Archaeology of Ancient China A T E A C H ER’S GUI DE PROJECT DIRECTOR Carson Herrington WRITER Elizabeth Benskin PROJECT ASSISTANT Kristina Giasi EDITOR Gail Spilsbury DESIGNER Kimberly Glyder ILLUSTRATOR Ranjani Venkatesh CALLIGRAPHER John Wang TEACHER CONSULTANTS Toni Conklin, Bancroft Elementary School, Washington, D.C. Ann R. Erickson, Art Resource Teacher and Curriculum Developer, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia Krista Forsgren, Director, Windows on Asia, Atlanta, Georgia Christina Hanawalt, Art Teacher, Westfield High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia The maps on pages 4, 7, 10, 12, 16, and 18 are courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The map on page 106 is courtesy of Maps.com. Special thanks go to Jan Stuart and Joseph Chang, associate curators of Chinese art at the Freer and Sackler galleries, and to Paul Jett, the museum’s head of Conservation and Scientific Research, for their advice and assistance. Thanks also go to Michael Wilpers, Performing Arts Programmer, and to Christine Lee and Larry Hyman for their suggestions and contributions. This publication was made possible by a grant from the Freeman Foundation. The CD-ROM included with this publication was created in collaboration with Fairfax County Public Schools. It was made possible, in part, with in- kind support from Kaidan Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis Title: Shimenawa: Weaving Traditions with Modernity – Interdisciplinary Research on the Cultural History of Japanese Sacred Rope
    Thesis Title: Shimenawa: Weaving Traditions with Modernity – Interdisciplinary Research on the Cultural History of Japanese Sacred Rope Shan Zeng, Class of 2019 I have not received or given unauthorized assistance. 1 Acknowledgements I would like to express my greatest appreciation to my advisors Professor Morrison and Professor Laursen, as well as Professor Sassin and Professor Garrison, without whose support this project would not have come to fruition. I also want to thank my Japanese instructors Hayasaka sensei, Takahashi sensei, and Cavanaugh sensei, whose exceptional language classes gave me the courage and competence to conduct fieldwork in Japanese. My thanks go to Professor Milutin for patiently sifting through emaki and ancient Japanese poems with me and to Professor Ortegren for sharing her experiences on ethnographic fieldwork. I would also like to thank my first-year advisor Professor Sheridan, and all the other faculty and staff from the Middlebury Department of Religion and Department of History of Art and Architecture for their valuable feedback and support. I extend my special thanks to the following people, who not only graciously accepted my interviews but showed me the incredible hospitality, kindness and patience of the Japanese people: Orihashi san and her fellow colleagues at Nawawaseya, Shiga san and his family, Nagata san of Izumo Oyashiro, Nasu san and his colleagues at Oshimenawa Sousakukan, Matsumoto San, Yamagawa san and his father at Kyoto, Koimizu san, Takashi san, Kubishiro and his workshop, and Oda san. My appreciation goes to all the other people who have helped me one way or another during my stay in Japan, from providing me food and shelter to helping me find my lost camera.
    [Show full text]
  • Noah's Ark Hidden in the Ancient Chinese Characters
    Papers Noah’s Ark hidden in the ancient Chinese characters — Voo, Sheeley & Hovee from chapters six to nine.4 The Chinese also have a similar Noah’s Ark story. Notably, a great flood that occurred as a result of the rebellion of a group of people during the legendary period hidden in the (about 2500 BC). In the text of Huai Nan Zi (南子, written in 200 BC),5 legend states that in ancient times, the poles (north, south, east and west) that supported the roof of the ancient Chinese world were broken. As a result, the heavens were broken and the nine states of China experienced continental shift characters and split. Fire broke out and the water from the heavens could not be stopped, causing a flood. Shu Jing (書經, writ- Kui Shin Voo, Rich Sheeley and Larry ten 1000 BC) relates how there was grieving and mourning Hovee all over the earth, and also describes the extent of the flood; how the water reached the sky, and flooded the mountains Legends from ancient China describe a global cata- and drowned all living things. In the midst of this global strophic flood so vast that the waters reached the calamity, a hero by the name of ‘Nüwa’ (女媧) appeared sun and covered the mountains, drowning all the and sealed the flood holes with colourful stones and repaired land-dwelling creatures, including mankind. In the the broken poles using four turtle legs. Nüwa used earth to midst of this global calamity, there stood a legend- create humans to replenish mankind after the flood (Feng ary hero named Nüwa (女媧) who turned back the Su Tong Yi, 風俗通義).6,7 Although the name Nüwa (女 flood and helped to repopulate the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Commented Translation of 魏志倭人伝“Notes About Wa People from The
    13 CAES Vol. 2, № 1 (February 2016) Commented translation of 魏志倭人伝 “Notes about Wa people from the chronicle of Wei” Tresi Nonno MA in sociocultural anthropology, independent scholar; Chiba, Japan; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract 魏志倭人伝 “Notes about Wa people from the chronicle of Wei” is the main source about cultures existed upon Japanese archipelago in second half of Yayoi epoch (1 – 3 centuries AD). Despite the text is very important source for studies of Yayoi cultures, it has never been translated into English proper way, i.e.: until now there were no English translations of “Notes about Wa people” where each sentence of original classical Chinese text would be accompanied by corresponding English translation and required commentaries. Also all academic interpretations of “Notes about Wa people” have been made from the point of view of Japanese state historical mythology; such approach hardly can be productive since there were no Japanese in the epoch of Yayoi yet. In current paper a precise and impartial translation of 魏志倭人伝 is represented; all personal names and place names directly related to Wa people are given in reconstructed forms (i.e.: in forms of Early Medieval Chinese). Key words: Yamatai; queen Himiko; Wa people; Wajin den; Woren chuan 1. About the text 1.1. Text origin 魏志倭人伝 “Notes about Wa people from the chronicle of Wei” (Gi-shi Wa-jin den in Japanese; Wèi-zhì Wō-rén chuan in Chinese) or simply 倭人伝 “Notes about Wa people” (Wa- jin den in Japanese and Wō-rén chuan in Chinese) are conventional short titles used to denote a part of chronicle of Wei kingdom (220–265 AD) in which are described some territories neighbor to China, and among others are described states existed upon Japanese archipelago in 2nd – 3rd centuries AD.
    [Show full text]
  • The Family of Japanese <Em>No-Wa</Em> Cleft
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications World Languages & Cultures 2019 The Family of Japanese no-wa Cleft Construction: A Register- based Analysis Michiko Kaneyasu Old Dominion University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/worldlanguages_pubs Part of the Discourse and Text Linguistics Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, and the Other Linguistics Commons Original Publication Citation Kaneyasu, M. (2019). The family of Japanese no-wa cleft construction: A register-based analysis. Lingua, 217, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2018.10.002 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the World Languages & Cultures at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Author: Michiko Kaneyasu. This is the author final version. Published in Lingua: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2018.10.002 The family of Japanese no-wa cleft construction: A register-based analysis Michiko Kaneyasu Old Dominion University Abstract: This paper presents a comparative study of the Japanese (pseudo-)cleft no-wa construction, schematized as: [clause] no-wa [NP/AdvP/clause] (da), in four spoken/written registers: informal conversations, academic presentations, news reports, and newspaper editorials. The study finds that the no-wa cleft appears more frequently in non-objective discourse that deals with a higher level of complexity. Close examination of instantiations of the no-wa cleft uncovers various register-oriented functions that show a varied degree of family resemblance with one another.
    [Show full text]