THE R I G H T H O N O U RA B LE

SIR C HA R LE S E L I O T ,

E TC .
,

’
E TC L ATE L Y HI S MA J E S TY S

A MB A S S A D O R TO J AP AN , AS

A TO K E N OF R E S P E CT F O R
HI S LE AR N I N G A N D G RATI

T UD E F O R HI S C O U N S E L
 P R E F ACE
HE chief bj ect o f this work is t o p r ovi de m ate rial fo r
T
o

st u dy o f the affil iati ons o f the Japanese langu age and , ,

in s o far as phil ol ogical evidence is o f valu e for inquiry int o ,

the o rigi ns o f the Japanese race bu t it has be en so planned

as to be I h ope O f i n tere s t to st u dents o f general linguistic
, ,

the ory I tru st als o tha t advanced st u dents o f Japanese

.
,

especially th o se who wish to r ead early and m edieval texts ,

wi ll find it u sefu l as a w ork O f reference and even th o se

who are c oncerned o nly wi th the m o dern sp oken and wr itten
langu ages will I believe find m any o f their di ffic u lties
, ,

rem o ved by gaining s om e kn owledge o f the devel opm ent of

gra mm atical form s and the growth o f c omm o n idi om s .

The qu esti on o f the racial o rigins o f the pe ople n ow

inhabiting the Japanese archipelago has n o t yet been s olved .

Recently m u ch attenti o n has been paid to the P o lynesian ,

‘
as o pp o sed to the U ral —Altaic the ory bu t the ph il ol ogi cal ’

argu m ents o n b oth s ides have as a ru le been based o n in com

plete data so far as c o ncerns the v o cab u la ry and gram m atical
stru ct u re o f the Japanese langu age in its ea rliest kn own
stages In the foll owing pages an atte m pt is m ade to re m edy
.

this deficiency and I have p u rp o sely c o nfined m yself to a

,

p u rely descriptive treat m ent w ith ou t c onsci o u s b i as t owards

,

either the o ry leaving it t o c om parat ive phil o l ogists to m ak e

,

u se o f the m aterial s u pplied It wa s m y i ntenti on to fu rnish

.

as an appendix an ann otated v ocab u lary of Japanese in i ts

earliest kn own fo rm s bu t the lists which I had c om p iled
,

wer e u nfo rtu nately destroyed in the great ea rthqu ak e o f

, ,

1 923 . There exists h owever in the Tra nsacti ons of the

, ,

A si ati c S oci ety of ap c m (vol x vi pp 2 2 5 —8 5 ) a list c om piled

.
, .

by Messrs Cham berlain and U eda which I believe requ ires

.
, ,

but l ittle revi si o n in the light o f recent research .

Th e chief s ou rces u sed for the following st u dy were the

treatises o f the great pre Rest orati on grammarians su ch as
-

Moto ori and Mab u ch i and their ann otated texts of the earliest
viii PREFA C E
rec ords and anth ol ogi es the i ndispensable stu di es of Ast on ,

Cha mberlain and S at o w th o se great pi o neer sch olars to

, , ,

wh om all Western st u dents o we p r aise and than k s vari ou s

m o dern text b o o ks o n Japanese gramm ar and c om pilati o ns
-

m ade u nder the au spices o f the D epartm ent o f E du cati o n ,

su ch as the c om plete analysis o f the v ocab ulary and gra m

m atic al stru ct u re of the Hei ke M on oga tc m p u blished in two
’

v olu m es O f , pages each in 1 9 1 3 , .

I

O f all these I am m ost indebted to the w or k s o f P r o fess o r

,

Yam ada K Oyfi wh o se great thesis o n Japanese gramm ar

,

( E 2B 3C ii éfi ) and st u dies o f the langu age o f the N ara ,

Heian and Kam aku ra perio ds are a m a z ing m o nu m ents o f

,

learning and indu stry .

The exam ples o f Japanese gi ven in the c ou rse o f the w o rk

are tak en in the case o f classical and m edieval u sages fr om
, ,

th e best ava ilable texts and i n the case o f m o de r n u sages

,

fr om the Readers p ubl i shed by the D epart m ent o f E du cati o n

o r fr om newspapers and o ther c o nte mp o rary d o c u m ents .

G B
. . S .

THE B RI TI S H E MB A S S Y ,

TO KYO .

I
I r e gr e t v
th a t I h a e b e e n u n a b e t o m a k e l c
ly d i s
u s e o f re e nt
c o v e re d MS S o f th e H e i ke M on oga ta m h i h w c S h o w tha t the wo rk
’

.
,

a s u s u a ll w f
y k n o n i s r e a sh i o n e d f
ro m t e t s i n x a n e a r l i e r l a n gu a ge .
 C O N TE N TS
P reface
Intr o du cti o n
Abbrevi ati o ns
Int ro du cti on of Writing
2 . Fu rther devel op m ent o f the S cript and the
representati o n o f Japanese s ou nds
3 . L ater devel opm ents o f the langu age and ,

divergence between sp oken and written fo rm s

The S ubstant ive

The P r on ou n 7 1 D em onstrative p ron ou ns
, .
,

73 In terr ogative pr on ou ns 74 Indefinite

.
, .

p ro n ou ns 7 5 Hist orical devel op m ent o f p ro

, .

n ou n 7 6 P o ssessive pro n ou ns 8 0 Relative

, .
, .

Pro n ou ns 8 1 N um erals 8 2 N umber in the

, .
, .

substant ive 8 5 , .

I I I P redicat ive Words

.

V erbs and adj ect ives , an d their si mple co n

j u gat io n

IV . The Adj ective

Inflected adj ectives 9 8 A u xiliary adj ectives , .
,

1 09 U ninfl e c te d adj ectives 1 1 7

.
, .

V The V erb
.

I . S i m ple c o nj u gat i on 1 2 6 : S tern 1 2 9 P r e

, , .

dic ativ e fo rm 1 3 0 Att ribu tive f o r m 1 3 3

, .
, .

C o nj u nctive f orm 1 3 7 I mperfect

, or .

negat ive base fo rm 1 4 0 P erfect form 1 4 2, .

, .

I mperat ive 1 4 5 S ubstantival fo rm s in ku

, .
-
,

1 47 D evel o p m ent o f c o nj u gati ons 1 5 1

.
, .

b
x C O N TE N TS
V The V erb (conti nued) :
.

I I C om p ou nd C onj u gati o n 1 5 6 : S uffixes de

.
,

n o ting vo ice o r aspe c t 1 5 8 S uffixes fo rm

, .

ing cau sative verbs , 1 6 4 S u ffi xes den o ting

.

tense & c 1 7 3 N egat ive s uffixes 1 9 0 Un

, .
, .

inflected verb s uffixes 1 9 6 Tr ansit ive and

, .

intrans itive v erbs 1 99 , .

V I The A u xiliary verbs am and

. s um

O ther au xil iary verbs

V I I The P art icles
.

Case particles 2 2 4 A dverb i al partic les 2 5 5

, .
, .

C o nj u nct ive part icles 2 7 2 ,E xcla m at o ry .

part icles 2 8 0 :
,

V II I The Adverb
.

I X The F orm ati o n

. of Wo rds
X G rammatical Fu nct ions
.

XI . S yntax

Appendix C ompar is on
. of sp ok en and wri tten fo rm s 34 1

Index
 I N TR O D UCTI O N
N describing the devel op m ent of the Japanese langu age
I it is c o nvenient t o divide it int o stages c o rresp onding t o
peri o ds u su ally distingu ished by Japanese hi st orians and
this m eth o d is partic u larly su itable beca u se th o se per i o ds
c oincide appr o xi ma tely with well m ar ked c u lt u ral phases -
.

The ea rliest peri o d to furnish wr itten rec o rds o f the lan

g u age i s the N ara peri o d c oinciding r ou ghly wi th the eighth ,

cent u ry A D when the C ou rt wa s at N ara Wo r k s n ow

. .
, .

extant which m ay be assigned to that pe ri o d are

1 The K oji ki or Rec o rd o f Ancient Matters c om pleted
.
,
’

in A D 7 1 3 A descripti o n o f this ch ro nicle and s om e

. . .
,

rem arks o n the evidential val u e o f its t ext as rec o nstru cted ,

will be f ou nd i n Chapte r I pp 1 5 e t seq Wh atever d ou bts , . .

m a y b e cast u p o n th e r ec o nstru cted pr o se text there is n o ,

d ou bt that the p o e m s in the K oji ki a r e m o st valu able

m aterial They rep r esent the langu age o f A D 7 00 at latest
. . .
,

and it i s highly pr obable S ince they bear every m a r k o f ,

antiqu ity that they had al r eady at that da te b een preserv ed

,

by oral traditi o n fo r seve r al cent u ries

‘
.

The N ihongi o r Chr o nicles o f Japan c om pleted in

,
’

A D 720
. . O nly the p o em s and a few scattered sentences i n
.

this w o rk a r e o f valu e
‘
.

3 The M a ny é s ln t or C ollecti o n o f a Myriad L eaves an

‘ ’
.
, ,

anth ol ogy o f Japanese ver se c om pleted early in the ninth

cent u ry A D and c o ntaining s om e p o em s whi ch go bac k at least
. .

as far as the late seventh cent u ry N o t all these p o em s are .

di r ectly available as speci m ens o f ea rly f o rm s o f Japanese ,

since they are n o t all written ph o netically bu t by c ollati o n

with o ther p o em s in the sam e c o llect io n and by reference ,

bac k to the p o e m s o f the K ojiki and N ihongi i t is p o ssible ,

t o rec o nstru ct a great pr o p ort io n o f the native verse o f the

N ara peri o d with a high degree o f certa i nty .

4 The S hoku N i li ongi a c o ntin u ati o n o f the N i hongi

.
, ,

c om pleted in 7 9 7 This w ork c o ntains certain I m perial

.

edicts in p ur e Japanese and their t exts c an b e rest ored ,

with c o nsiderable accu racy F or translati on and n o tes see .

,
xii I N TR O D U CTI O N
The E ngi shiki o r Inst it u tes o f the E ng i P eri o d a c o de
,

o f cerem o nial l a w pr o m u lgated in 9 2 7 This c o ntains a n u m .

ber o f S hint o rit u als su ch as p uri fi c ati on s and prayers fo r

,

harvest & c which are evi dently o f great antiqu ity There
, .

is str ong i nternal evi dence to S h ow that these r it u als bel o ng

t o the N ara per io d at latest and i t i s al m o st certain that ,

they are am ong the o ldest extant spec im ens o f Japanese

pr o se F or translat i on and n o tes see S at ow T A S
.
, , . . .

v ol . v ii , of 1 8 79 .

In additi o n to the ab ove there are certa i n fam ily rec o rds
i ) and t op o graphical rec o rds ( 5 1 j ; 53 ) which c o ntain
fragm entary m at eri al bu t alt o gether it a m ou nts to very ,

l ittle There i s o nly o n e st one m o n um ent o f the N ara pe ri o d

.

bea ring an i nscripti on i n Japanese— the so called F o o tpr int -

o f B u ddha ( k s eki ) near N ara All o ther i nscri pti o ns

’
B u s s o n .

o f that t im e are i n Ch i nese U nf o rt u nately for ph i l o l o gi sts.

,

s o st r o ng wa s the i nfl u ence o f Chinese learn i ng i n the eighth

cent u ry that all the d o cu m ents dep o s ited by the N ara C o u rt

i n the st oreh ou se called the S hOS Oin and m arvell ou sly pre ,

served u nt i l to day c ontain n ot m o re than a few d oz en lines

-
,

o f Japanese .

I t will be seen fr o m the f oreg oing acc ount that the m ate ri al
for a gramm ar and v o cabu lary o f Japanese o f the N ara pe ri o d
i s scanty and that the b u l k o f i t i s i n the f orm o f p o etry
, .

Indeed i t i s n o t an exaggerati on to say that ou r kn owledge

,

o f the earliest f o rm s o f the langu age depends chiefly u p o n

the M a ny é shi i
'
.

F o ll owing the N ara peri o d c om es the H eian peri o d s o ,

called beca u se the centre o f g o ver nm ent was n ow at H eian jo -

,

the m o dern Ky ot o In the three cent u ri es and m or e (A D

. . .

8 00— 1 1 8 6 ) c om prised by th i s peri o d there i s n o lack o f

m aterial (vide Chapter I pp 5 3 e t To i t bel o ng several
,
.

i m p o rtant anth ol o gies o f verse s u ch as the K oki ns hu ,

r om ances su ch as the Genji M on ogata ri diaries and mi s c el

,

lan i es su ch as the Tosa N i kki and the M a kn ra n o S é s hi

,

and a n umber o f h i st ori cal w or k s s u ch as the S anda i j i ts u

rokn .F r om these i t i s easy en ou gh t o fix with certai nty the
fo rm s o f written Japanese Wh at i s diffi cu lt h owever is to .
, ,

trace in its earl i er stages the dive rgence between the sp oken
, ,

and written lang u ages There i s n o d oubt that it p rog r essed .

duri ng th is per io d for there are imp o rtant di fferences b e

,
 I N TR O D UCTI O N xiii
tween the langu age o f the verse anth o l ogies and the m o re
seri o u s hist o rical w orks o n the on e hand and the dia r ies , ,

m iscellanies and r om ances o n the o ther

, B u t i t is im p os
.

sible at least in the present state o f ou r k n owledge to f o ll ow

, ,

step by step the devel op m ent o f m or e than a few S p o k en

f o rm s The r e are in the large m ass o f wr itten m ate rial
.

o nly o ccasi o nal passages o f u nd o u bted dial o gu e o r r ep o rt ed

speech Mo re o ver the general t endency o f writer s has always

.
,

been to give a litera r y f orm to rep orted speech This is .

particu larly tru e o f F ar E astern c ou ntries wher e the written ,

w ord is held in high respect and wher e the system o f writing

,

in u s e is ill adapted to ph o netic rec or ding Thanks how

-
.
,

eve r to the devel op m ent du r ing the H eian peri o d o f the

,

ka na syllabary it is p o ssible to discern s om e di ffer ences

, ,

which c a n safely be ascribed t o changes in pr o nu nciati o n .

Th u s when we find in say the Genji M on oga ta ri w o rds

, ,

hithert o written y oki and u ts u ku shi ku appearing as y oi and

n ts n kn s hi n we m a y ass u m e that the latter f o rm s represented
,

c o ntem p orary p ronu nciati o n and fu rther seeing that the ,

o lder f o rm s are preserved in ve r se and in o ther w o rk s o f

the sam e date it is n o t u nreas o nable t o s u pp o se that the

,

langu age o f the Genji M on oga ta ri was s ubstantially the sa m e

as the c u ltivated speech c u r r ent in i ts write r s day ’
.

The H ei an peri o d was s u cceeded by the Ka m aku r a pe ri o d

( 1 1 86 dur ing which the c ou nt ry was c o nt ro lled by
a m ilitary au t o cracy H er e again there is a m ple m aterial
.

fo r the st u dy o f wr itten f o rm s bu t very little exact evidence

,

as to the devel opm ent o f the S p o ken langu age All we can .

say i s that while the C ou r t at Ky o t o re mained the centre o f

the ancient c u lt u re the m ilitary arist ocracy and its adhe r ents
,

devel oped in an o ther part o f the c ou nt ry o n o ther and less

c o nservative lines and c o nsequ ently we find in additi on to
, ,

literat ure based o n classical m o d els as to style and vo ca

bu la r y a n u m ber o f w o rks pa r ticu la rly wa r tales and o ther
, ,

r o m ances which a re plainly u nder the i nflu ence o f the c on

,

tem p ora ry sp ok en langu age U nf or t u nately while all owing

.
,

u s t o m ake the general i nference that the c o ll o qu ial had by

n o w c o nsiderably diverged f r om the sp o ken langu age they ,

d o n o t f u rn i sh m u ch evidence as to the details o f this

va r iati o n .

S i m ilar rem ar k s apply to the next N amboku and Mu r o ,

xiv I N TR O D UCTI O N
m achi perio ds ( 1 3 3 2 th ough it i s probable that by
w orking bac kwards and f o rwards from a deta iled st u dy a d
hoc o f its d o cu m ents a g oo d deal o f inf o r m ati o n c ou ld be
gained as to the devel op m ent o f m o dern c o ll o q u ial f o rm s .

The Yed o peri o d ( 1 6 0 3 especi ally t owar ds its cl o se

,

witnessed a revival o f learning and a ret u r n t o classical

,

m o dels o f the H e i an peri o d bu t this was art ificial and c o u ld

,

n o t s u rvive th ou gh it was n o t with o u t influ ence o n the

,

wri tten langu age The sp o ken langu age m eanwhile de

.

v e lop e d apace o n i ts o wn lines and by the m iddle o f the

,

n i neteenth cent u ry the two langu ages p r esented alm o st as

m any differences as r esem blances .

In the f o llowing st u dy o f the devel op m ent o f the Japanese

langu ag e i t has been necessary for reas o ns o f space as well
,
'

as s im plici ty t o c oncentr ate o n a descripti o n o f the ea rliest

and the latest f o rm s— th o se o f the N ar a and H e i an peri o ds
and o f the present day— with ou t pay ing m u ch attent io n to
the i ntervening stages .

In c om piling a gramm ar o f any E astern langu age o n e i s

c o nfr o nted at o nce by di fficu lties o f classificati o n and n o m en
c la tu r e
. The traditi o nal te rm in ol ogy o f gramm a r s o f m o dern
E u r opean langu ages u nsatisfact o ry i n itself is u nsu itable
, ,

and m isleading when applied to a langu age li k e Japanese ,

wh i ch has gr own u p u nder the infl u ence o f c o ncepts and per

c e p ts that d o n o t c o rresp o nd to th o se which f o r m the basis

o f E u r o pean S peech At the sam e tim e o n e cann o t accept

.

with ou t change the p r inciples o f the great native g ra m

m arians wh o re m arkable as they were by their er u diti o n
, ,

and indu stry knew n o langu age bu t their own and were
,

theref ore ign orant o f general lingu istic the o ry C o nsequ ently
.

in the f o ll owing pages I have been o bliged to c om pr om ise ,

by f oll owing the Japanese practice where it seem ed a dva n

ta ge o u s and eking it o u t with the categ o r i es o f E u r o pean
g ra mm ars .
 A B B R E V I A TI O N S
Exam ples t aken from early texts a re m ar ked as follows
K ofi ki
N i kongi
M any os hi t
‘ ’

The I m p eri a l Edicts o r Rescripts in

the S hokn N i hongi
-

K ok . or Kokin . K oki n shit

Take . Ta ketori M onoga tari
Ise I seM onoga tari
'
G or Gen
. . G enyi M onoga tari
HK . Heike M on oga tari
Mak . M a ki n'
a n o S es hi

T A S
. . . Tra ns a cti ons f
o the A s i ati c S oci ety
o f j apa n
 IN TRO D U CTO RY
1 .
f Wri ti ng
The I ntrodu cti on o

O THI N G is kn own wi th certainty as to the o rigi ns o f

the Japanese langu age It has h ithert o u su ally been
.

c o nsidered to bel ong to the grou p vari ou sly k n o wn as Altai c

or F inn o U g r ian chiefly o n the g ro u nd o f str u ct u ral resem
-
,

blance to o ther m embe r s o f that gr ou p It sh ows a stro ng .

st ru ct u r al lik eness t o Korean bu t very little likeness in

,

v o cab u lary Recent investigati ons tend to discl ose certain

.

si m ila rities in st ru ctu re and v o cab u lary between Japanese

and the Malay P o lynesian lan guages bu t the evidence s o far
-
,

pro du ced is n ot suffi cient to establish any the ory clai ming
a P o lynesian origin fo r the Japanese race or the Japanese
lan gu age .

The o nly langu age to which it is safe to asser t that

Japanese is cl o sely related is Lu chu an H er e the resem blance .

is so c omplete that Lu ch u an c an be o nly a dialect o f Japanese ,

and its v o cab u lary and syntax ther ef or e pr o vide n o indica

ti o n o f the origin o f either langu age A st u dy of Lu chu an .

is h owever o f val u e in b u ilding u p hyp o theses as to the

, ,

f orm s of the ar chaic langu age from which the Japanese o f

the earliest kn own per i o d and the L u chu an vari ati o ns there o f
are b o th descended .

Apart fr om s u ch c o nj ect u res ou r k n owledge of early f orm s

,

o f Japanese is de rived f r o m w r itings o f the beginning o f the

eighth cent u ry o f ou r era which will be presently descr ibed

, .

There is n o t r ace of any system o f writing in Japan pri or to

the intr o du cti o n o f Ch inese b o ok s which m ay be pu t a pp rox i
,

m ately at A D 4 0 0 . . and it was n o t u ntil the S ixth cent u ry ,

with the gr adu al spread o f B u ddhis m that the st u dy o f ,

Chinese b ecam e in any sense gene r al O nce the Japanese .

beca m e acqu ainted with the Chinese system o f writing it was

p o ssible th o u gh n o t by any m eans easy for them to m ak e
, ,

u s e o f that system t o r ep r esent w or ds in thei r own langu age .

F o r reas o ns o f pedantry as well as c o nvenience as a r u le ,

they p referr ed to neglect their own langu age and wri te i n

327° B
2 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
Chinese mu ch as learned m en i n E u r ope at o n e ti m e u sed
,

L atin ; bu t lu ckily for phil ol ogi sts they did elect to per
p e tu a t e
,
by u s i ng Chinese characters as ph o netic sy m b o ls ,

the native f orm o f cer tai n p o em s tales and rec o rds which , ,

had hithert o been preserved o nly by o ral traditi on It is .

these t exts wh i ch f u rnish u s with the m ateri als for the st u dy

o f archaic Japanese .

F o r a pr o per u nderstanding o f the extent and acc u racy

o f the inf or m at i o n as to early Japanese f o rm s which can be

derived from su ch d o cu m ents it i s necessary to st u dy in ,

s om e detail the system of writing devel oped by the Japanese .

More o ver since the adopti on o f the Chinese script had a

,

great influ ence up o n b o th v o cab u lary and c onstr u ct i o ns in

Japanese it is i m p or tant to trace at least in o u tl ine the
, , ,

gr owth o f that system .

The u n i t in Ch i nese wri ting i s a sym b o l whi ch thr ou gh ,

a c u ri ou s but pard onable c onfu s io n o f th ou ght is u su all y ,

styled an i de ograph bu t i s m u ch m o re accu rately described

,

as a l og ogr aph It i s a sym b o l which rep r esents a w or d as

.
,

c ontrasted with sym b ols whi ch like the letter s o f an alphabet ,

o r a syllabary rep r esent s ou nds o r c ombinat i o ns of s o u nds

,
.

I t is tru e that the first Chi nese characters we r e pict o ri al and ,

that a great nu m ber of the later character s have a pict orial

elem ent and to that extent m ay be said to rep r esent ideas
,
.

B u t i n fu lly n i ne tenths o f the cha r acters n ow in u s e the

-

pict o ri al elem ent i s either sec o ndary or c om pletely lacking ,

and the ph onetic elem ent is predom inant A S imple charac .

ter like F] (m oon ) retains s om e vestiges o f i ts pict o rial

q u ality and m ay be said to repr esent the idea m oo n bu t
,

nevertheless it stands for the Chinese w or d fo r m o o n (how

ever that w or d m ay be p r o n ou nced at different p o ints in
ti m e and space— e g ngwet in ab ou t A D 5 0 0 and y ue in
. . . .
,

P eking i d in Cant o n to day) When we c om e to m o re c om

,
-
.

plex character s it i s clear that their f orm ati o n n o t o nly

,

presu pp o ses the existence of a word bu t is g o ve rned by the ,

s ou nd of that w ord Thu s th ou gh 75 fang m eaning squ are

‘
.
, , ,

m ay at on e ti m e have been i de o graphic 37} fa ng to ask

’

, , ,

i s c om p o sed of a ph o netic elem ent 75 fa ng and a sense ele

m ent 5 to S peak and d o es n o t di r ectly rep r esent the idea
’

‘
, ,
'

o f to a sk bu t the w o rd fa ng which is the Chinese w o rd

‘ ,

for to ask When they Wi shed to c o nstru ct a character to

4 HI STO RI CA L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
a Chinese character standing for s om e Chinese w o rd o f which
the p ronu nciati on was the sam e as or as near as p o ssible to , ,

the Japanese s ou nd hi H e w ou ld find for instance the

.
, ,

char acters 3k‘ i f 5k r epresenting Chinese w o r ds m ean

,
‘ ‘
,
’ ‘
,
’
ing r espectively s or t n ot grief and ice bu t all p ro
,
’

, ,
’

n o u n c e d hi or s o m ething like hi S i m ilarly with the syllable

to . He c ou ld u se su ch characters as i } g and m any , ,

o the r s all representing Chinese w o r ds o f di fferent m eanings

, ,

but u nif o rm ly pr o n ou nced to Thu s to write the w o r d hi to.

,

he c ou ld u se any o f the c om binati ons It H; g H; z}

if
, ,

gt
i Z-
if? g} 85 0 Theref ore in applying the Chinese script
, .

t o the Japanese langu age two m eth o ds we r e available ,

which m ay be c o nveniently described as the se m antic and

the ph onetic m etho ds The fi r st m eth o d i ndicates the m ean
.

ing o f a Japanese w o rd the sec o nd m eth o d indicates its

,

s ou nd The m o dern Japanese system o f wr iting i s a c om

.

binati o n o f these two m eth o ds and we m u st n ow p ro ceed to ,

t r ace i ts devel op m ent in ou tline for th ou gh an acc ou nt of , ,

the script u sed to represent a langu age m ay appear to be ou t

o f place in a st u dy o f its gra mm a r the Chinese lang u age was ,

s o mu ch m o re highly devel oped s o m u ch r iche r in v o cab u la r y ,

and sc ope than Japanese of the archaic peri o d that the

, ,

adopt ion o f the Chinese scr ipt was nat u rally acc om panied
by i m p o rtant changes in the Japanese langu age .

Th ou gh there is s om e d ou bt as to exact dates it is pretty ,

certain that chief am o ng the fi r st Chinese b o o ks br ou ght to

Japan were the Th ou sand Character Classic FF 5? 5C) and
the C onfu cian Analects ( fifi f oll owed very S h or tly by
Chinese versi o ns o f and c omm entaries u p o n the B u ddhist
S cript u res . The Japanese sch o lars when reading the Chinese ,

classics wou ld n o d ou bt at first be gu ided only by the sense

,

o f the Chinese sy m b o ls wh ich they had p r evi o u sly lea r ned

, ,

cha racte r by character fro m their instr u ct o rs ; and since

,

the Chinese l og ogr aph c an c o nvey to the eye any m eaning

c onventi o nally assigned to it irrespective o f the s ou nd by ,

which it m ay be k n own i t w ou ld be p o ssible for the Jap anese

,

sch olar to read a passage o f Chinese with ou t k n owing h ow

1
To s i m p l i fy m a t te r s I a ss u m e h e r e th a t t h e Ch i n e s e a n d J a p a n e s e
s o u n d s w e re b o th hi th o u gh a t th e p e r i o d i n q u e s t i o n o n e o r b o th
,

m a y h a v e b e e n p i Th e p ri n ci p le u n d er d i s c u ss i o n i s o f c o u r s e n o t
.
, ,

a fi e c te d b
y s u c h a n as s u m p ti o n .
 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 5
it was p r o n ou nced in Chinese and w ith ou t c o nsci ou sly c on
,

ve rting th e C hinese sym b o ls int o Ja p anese w or ds Thu s to .

,

take a simple passage from the Analects

Mmsw
"

child -

s p eak
~
9 0m) .

kin g ' Km j f
‘
L
ch d Ge m o
f
r

no f
a!) then
2 : n ot
ml
Q {awe
a Japanese st u dent of Chinese m ight take in the m eaning
o f the cha r acte r s with ou t definitely translating the m int o
w or ds either Chinese or Japanese B u t t o r etain in the
,
.

m ind the m eanings assigned t o a la rge nu m be r o f Cha r acte r s

requ i res a ve ry gr eat effor t o f visu al m em o ry It is in .

p r actice an aid b o th to m em o ry and to u nder standing to

ass o ciate s ou nds with signs and the r ef o r e it was c u st om a ry
,

t o r ead Chinese texts al o u d as we m a y infe r fr om the habit

, ,

which per sists am ong b o th Japanese and Chinese to this day ,

o f reciting t o them selves whatever they r ead in t o nes varying ,

acc or ding to the individu al from a gentle m u rm u r to a l ou d

chant C o nsequ ently it was for practical p u rp o ses necessa ry
.

for Japanese reade r s t o assign s o u nds t o th e C hinese charac

ter s which they r ead and it was open to them either to u s e
the Chinese s ou nd o f the wor d rep r esented by the cha r acte r
or t o say the Japanese w or d which c o nveyed the sa m e o r ,

app ro xi m ately the sam e m eaning as that Chinese w o rd If

,
.

they m erely r epeated the Chinese s ou nds then what they ,

recited was n o t intelligible t o a hea re r b eca u se (owing to ,

the great nu m ber o f h omop h o nes in Ch inese) the s ou nd al o ne ,

with ou t the visu al aid o f the cha r acte r is m o r e o ften than ,

n o t ins u fficient t o c o nvey a m eaning even t o a Chinese while ,

a Japanese wh o se kn owledge o f Chinese was by f orce o f cir

c u m s ta n c e chiefly de r ived th r o u gh the eye and n o t the ear

w ou ld be even m ore at a l o ss Add to this the difficu lty

.

that the o rder o f w or ds in Chinese— indeed the wh ole gram ,

m a ti c al st ru ct u r e —is in al m o st eve ry respect the o pp o site o f

Japanese and it is clear that for practical p u rp o ses s om e
,
6 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
a rr angem ent had to be m ade to facilitate the reading o f
Chinese texts by Japanese st u dents who while vi su ally ,

acqu ainted with a n u m ber o f Chinese sym b o ls were n ot ,

fam iliar with Chinese s ou nds and Chinese gra mm ar .

These we r e the i m p or tant c o nsiderati ons which gu ided the

Japanese in b u ilding u p a system by which they c ou ld adapt
the Chinese cha r acters to thei r own needs and they led t o ,

resu lts which mu st su r ely be u niqu e in the hist o ry o f

langu age The p ro blem di ffer ed s om ewhat acc ording to the
.

nat u r e o f the Chinese text in u se for in the per i o d j u st after

,

the int ro du cti o n o f writing i nt o Japan the Chinese b o oks

chiefly st u died by the Japanese fell int o two well m arked -

divisi o ns O n the o n e hand they had the Chinese classics

.

w orks written in p u re Chinese where (as in the speci m en

,

from the Analects given ab o ve) every char acter had a m ean
ing or at least a gra mm atical fu ncti o n O n the o ther hand
.

they had the B u ddhist S cript u res written it is tru e in

, , ,

C hinese characters bu t c ontaining a gr eat deal of ph o netic

,

transcripti o n o f S anskrit w o rds .

In reading the Chinese classics the s ou nd did n o t m atter

,

t o the Japanese st u dent The i m p o rt ant thing was to a pp re

.

ciate the m eaning and to c onvey it to o thers N ow i t m u st .

be u nder st o o d that for on e Japanese to c o nvey to an o ther

i n wri ti ng the m eaning o f a Chinese t ext was n ot at that
pe ri o d a qu esti o n o f translati on as w e u nderstand it S ince .

the Japanese had n o system o f writing o f their own for a ,

Japanese to b e able to read any writing whateve r pr e sup

p o sed in th o se days a kn owledge o f the Chinese written
character and theref or e a greater or less k n owledge o f the
,

s ou nds and m eanings ascr ibed to th o se char acters by the

Chinese them selves What was needed then for the fu ll
.
, ,

c om p r ehensi o n by a Japanese o f a Chinese text was n ot a

change o f the sym b o ls o r the wo rds for which they st o o d
, ,

bu t r ather a r earrangem ent of the sym b ols to acc o rd with

Japanese syntax The separ ate ideas c o nveyed by Chinese
.

cha r acter s we r e clea r en ou gh to a Japanese who had learned

them by r o te bu t he w ou ld n ot u nderstand their aggregat e
,

m eaning u nless he was fam ilia r with the Chinese m eth o d o f

gr ou ping and c o nnecting i deas Ther efor e fo r the benefit
.
,

o f the less learned the m o re lea r ned Japanese and d ou btless

, (
their Chinese and Ko rean teachers) devised a system o f
 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 7
reading the character s by gi ving s om e their Chinese s ou nds
and s om e thei r Japanese m eaning tak ing them as far as ,

p o ssible in the o r der o f w or ds nat u r al to Japanese and s u p ,

p lying o rally the i n fl e x i o n s part i cles and

, s o o n necessary, ,

in Japanese to S h ow the relati ons between w or ds Thu s .

,

they w o u ld take the sentence qu o ted o n page 5 fr om the

Analects and give to its char acters the f oll owing readings
in the o r de r sh o wn— the wo rds in capitals being the native
Chinese s ou nds (or m or e st rictly the Japanese appr o xim ati o n
, ,

ther et o) th o se in italics being the Japanese equ ivalents o f

,

'
the Chinese w ords with i nfl ex i on s added whe r e necessa r y
,

The Master (i e C o nfu ci u s) . .

i wa ku

K UN S HI a gentlem an ”

a ra zare ba if there is n ot
n fl
e w o moku gr avity
e g s u n a ha chi then
wfl n arazu is n ot
7 E. I respected
m eaning C o nfu c iu s said A gentlem an. o rder

respected m u st be ser i ou s
It wil l be n o ticed that th ough the E nglish o rder o f w ords
,

c o rresp o nds cl o sely to the Chinese the Japanese order i n ,

v o lves a rearrangem ent The s ubstantives in Chinese re

.

m ain in thei r Chinese f o rm (S HI K UN S HI and I ) bu t the , ,

r e m aining w o r ds which in Chinese are u n in fl ec te d m on o

,

syll ables wh o se fu ncti on is determ ined by p o siti on a r e c o n ,

verted i nt o inflected Japanese w or ds o r particles The s imple

“

negative 2 F U for instance bec o m es the c omp o u nd verbal

:
, ,

f o rm a raza reba a negative c o nditi o nal In o ther w or ds the

,
.
,

Chinese char acters give the skelet o n o f a statem ent and it ,

is cl o thed in an elab or ate gr amm atical r o be o f Japanese

‘

text u re c om p osed o f m oo ds tenses and o ther intricacies to

, , ,

which Chinese is s o m agnificently su p eri o r The pr ocess as .

thu s described s ou nds exceedingly difficu lt as indeed it was ,

bu t m aking du e all owance for the nat u r e of the scr ipt it

, ,

d o es n o t in essence vary m u ch fro m the m eth o d o f lite r al

t ranslati on f oll owed by sch oo lb oys when c onstru ing L atin
pr o se .
8 HI S TO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
The practical o bj ect ions to su ch a system are o bvio u s It .

was hard for a r eader t o tell in what o r der the characters

were to be r ead what characters i f any were to be taken , ,

t ogether ; which we r e to be gi ven the Chi n ese s ou nd and

which were t o be c o nve r ted int o Japanese wor ds To .

dimi nish these difli c ul ti es as fa r as p o ssible Japanese ,

st u dents o f Chi n ese t exts res o rted to the u s e o f diacrit ics ,

c omb ini ng them w ith a system o f m arkings (equ ival ent t o

the n um erals and brackets in the exa m ple) t o S h ow the orde r
and gr ou ping o f the char acters This is n o t the place t o .

describe thes e devices in full bu t the general principle m ay

,

be ou tli ned as f o ll ows

E ach Chin ese sym b o l i s reg ar ded as being encl o sed in a
sq u a r e and certain d o ts (ten ) o r st rok es at vari ou s p o ints o f
,

thi s im agi nar y squ are repres ent acc or di ng to a fi xed th ou gh

, ,

q uite a rbit r a ry arrangem ent fl exi on al term inati o ns s u ffixes

, , , ,

particles & c whi ch in r ea ding are s upp lied or ally after the
,
.
,

rea ding o f th e char acter Thu s acc o r din g to o n e s u ch

.
,

schem e w hich ca n be represented di agra mm at ically

,

T AR !

KO T O

if w e ta k e the cha racter £3 : and fix as i ts eq u ivalent

‘
the Japanese w o rd ku s hi kami
’

, then
E: l
(a ge r und)
kas hikom i te
kas hi kom u koto
the act o f fe arrng)
(
(p a st tense)
kas hi komi ta ri

and s o o n I t is hi ghl y pr obable that th i s m eth o d o f dia

.
.

critics w as s u ggested by the m ar k s u sed by the Chl n e se to

i ndicat e the t o nes o f Chi nese w or ds
ll
.

I t is o ne o f t h e se s ch e m es whi ch a cc o u n t s fo r th e w o r d Te n t
d
b y J a p an es e gr a mm a ri a n s as a ge n e ri c t e rm fo r p r ti cl es
woha u se a
a n d o th er p a r ts o f sp e e h hi h ar e c w c n e i th e r n o u n s a dj e c ti v e s o r
, ,
 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 9
It w a s a clum sy m eth o d and o bvi ou sly n o t fitted for ,

gener al u s e bu t it su rvived in a rem ar kable w ay partly

, ,

becau se the Jap anese l a ngu age th ou gh r ich in f o rm s was , ,

p o or in v o cab u lary and it was the r ef or e essential to pr e

,

serve a la rge n u mber o f C hinese wo rds which c ou ld n o t b e

satisfact o rily translated int o Japanese The w or d ku nshi .

E is a case in p o int I n the Analects it had a special .

m eaning th e sch o la r gentlem an — w hich c ou ld n o t b e ex

’
-

p r essed i n Japanese and c o nseq u ently ku ns hi was ad opted

,

as a Japanese wor d o n e o f the f or e ru nne r s o f the m u ltit u de

,

o f Chinese w o rds which n o w f o rm the greater part o f th e

v o cab ul ary o f Japanese N or was the ad opti o n c o nfined to .

single un its o f the vo cab ulary Many c o nstru cti o ns and .

g ramm atical devi ces in C hinese c ould n o t be exactly r ep ro

d u c e d in Japanese and we r e o ften b orr owed with little o r n o
,

change eithe r becau se it was di fficu lt to find an equ ivalent

,

o r becau se they we r e a c o nvenient additi o n t o the gram

m a tica l appa r at u s o f Japanese The sentence q u o ted ab o ve

‘
.

S hi i zoa ku the Master says

’

p r o vides a g o o d illu st r ati o n .

, ,

is a Chinese c o nstru cti o n w hile the p u r e Japanese idi o m ,

‘
r eq u i res a ve rb like to s a y at the end n o t the beginning
’

, ,

o f a re p o rted s p eech B u t the Chinese m eth o d was inc or

.

p ora te d int o Japanese syntax and a c o nst ru cti o n si milar to ,

that o f S hi i wuku & c has s u rvived u ntil to day

, .
,
-
.

There was an o ther p owe rfu l r eas o n fo r the su rvival o f the

diacritic m eth o d Its very diffi c ulty was a m erit in the eyes
.

o f the learned m e n who u sed it and the leadi ng sch o ols o f ,

Chinese st u dies as well as s om e B u ddhist sects each had

, ,

thei r o wn system o r system s o f m a rkings which they kept ,

secr et and i m par ted o nly to thei r di sciples It is a cu ri ou s .

instance o f the es o te ric habit which p r evailed and is still ,

disce rnible in art and letter s in the E ast

, .

The u s e o f di acritic m ar kings m ight have c o ntinu ed in

definitely had i t n ot been for the gr owth o f an o the r syste m
v e r bs Te n i wo ha w e r e the fo u r wo r d s a t t he c o r n e r s o f a s ys te m
.
, , ,

c a lle d mo koto ten r e p r e s e n te d b y

KO TO
10 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
which was m ore c o nven i ent i n m any respects This was the .

ph onetic system o f writing Japanese w or ds which we have ,

alr eady b riefly descr ibed The sem antic system grew o u t o f
.

the need to c o nvey to the m ind o f a Japanese reader the

m eaning o f the Chinese w o rk he was st u dying B u t ther e .

were a great nu m ber o f w ork s in reading which it was

essential to k n ow the s ou nd of the characters Chief am ong .

these wer e the Chinese translati o ns o f the B u ddhist sacred

writings in which there wer e m any S anskrit na m es and
,

S ansk rit ter m s which c o u ld be r endered int o Chinese o nly by

a ph o netic m eth o d The Chinese in fact had sever al c en
.
, ,

tu ri e s bef o re the Japanese been c o nf r o nted with the pr o blem

o f applying the l o g ographic sc r ipt o f a m o n o syll abic langu age

to the ph o netic transcripti o n of a p olysyllab i c langu age

ent irely differ ent in gramm atical stru ct u r e How for.
,

i nstance were the Chinese t o translate fr o m S ans krit int o

,

their own langu age n o t o nly Indian nam es o f places and

pers ons bu t als o the term in ol ogy o f the sacred writings
,

which rep r esented religi ou s and phil o s ophical i deas entirely

f oreign to the m The ph onetic m eth o d was the o nly p o s
sible s olu ti o n and the hist ory o f the devel op m ent o f a system
,

of t r ansc ribing S anskrit letters and s o u nds by m eans o f

Chinese Characters is a fascinat ing on e H ere i t is n o t n e c es

.

sary to describe it at length bu t s om e acqu aintance w ith

,

the m eth o d u sed is necessary fo r a pr oper u nderstanding o f

the origin and g rowth o f the system event u ally w or k ed ou t
by the Japanese .

If we take the great L o t u s S u tra as a typical exam ple ,

we can see at o nce what di fficulties the translat o r had to

s urm ou nt Its very title S a ddha rrn a P u nda r i ka was difficult
.
, ,

to render and in the fi r st translati o n extant (N anj o 1 3 6 ) an

,

attem pt is m ade at a ph o netic rendering by m eans o f the ,

cha r acter s [IE 5; [512 i i] which stand for Chinese w o r ds

,

p ro n ou nced respectively s om ething lik e s a da n pa n do and , , , ,

li.
I
Reading these character s t ogether and paying n o atten ,

ti o n to their m eaning we have S a da n pa ndoli which is a

, ,

r ou gh appr oxi m ati o n to S addharin a P undari ka bu t of c ou rse ,

c o nveys n o m eaning t o a Chinese reader ign orant o f the

o riginal S ansk r it . This was clearly a m akeshift m eth o d and ,

The se ar e o n ly a p p ro x i m a te a n d I d o n o t p re te n d th a t the y a re
I
,

the c orr e c t s o u n d s o f th e C hi n e s e w or d s a t the p eri o d i n q u e s ti o n .

12 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
for instance c o nsists la rgely o f spells o r talis m anic w o r ds
,

a n i ) s u ch as a ny e ma ny e i n a n e m a n i a n e which cann o t
(dh a r , , , , ,

b e translated any m ore than say a bra ca da bra S ince these , , .

incantati o ns were regarded as of gr eat p owe r and val u e the ,

translat o rs o f the S u tras were o bliged to find ph o netic equ i

v al e n ts fo r the m S o in an ea rly translati o n the ab o ve
w o rds are rep r esented by f w
.
, ,
‘

Q Q iii g ,ijifi , ,

wher e each char acter represents a syllable of the S anskrit

words and is u sed enti r ely with ou t refer ence to its Chinese
m eaning .

We see then that s om e system o f ph o netic transcr ipti on

, ,

o f the S anskr it alphabet was essential and that the Chinese ,

wer e obliged to adapt thei r own script to this p u rp o se H ad .

they carried fu rther the pr o cess o u tlined ab o ve they m ight ,

fr om these beginni ngs have devel oped a S i m ple alphabet o r

syllabary This they failed to d o bu t we m u st at least give
.
,

t o the Chinese and n o t to the Japanese the c r edit fo r the

, ,

first ph o netic u s e of the Chinese cha r acter U nf o rt u nately .

,

instead o f establishing a u niform system o f ph o netic tran .

scripti o n which m ight by gradu al si mplificati o n have led to

,

the form ati o n o f an alphabet the Chinese t r anslat or s see m ,

to have deliberately ch o sen n o t o nly a di ffic u lt and irreg u la r

schem e o f transcripti o n bu t als o a gr eat variety o f su ch
schem es S tanislas J u lien in his m asterly w o r k o n the s ub
.

jec t gives a list o f Chinese cha r acters which we r e u sed

t o rende r the f o r ty two letters o f the S anskr it alphabet i n
-
,

clu ding the c o m binati o ns o f the c ons o nants with all the
vowels and diphth ongs and this list is far fro m c o m plete, .

N o t o nly wa s a given S anskr it lette r r ep r esented by m or e

than o n e Chinese char acte r bu t the sam e Chinese character ,

was u sed to r epresent m o r e than o n e S ansk r it letter Thu s .

,

acc or ding to J u lien the Chinese characters 513 fi fl

m
, , , ,

and , p ro n ou nced in Chinese cha tsi eh chi to and che , , , ,

r espectively were all u sed to rep r esent the sy m b o l 3 da

,
°

while the cha r acter in Chinese che is f ou nd standing fo r ,

S ansk rit djha dha dy a dhy a and cha

, , , , .

With su ch m o dels before the m it is n ot su rp rising that ,

the Japanese we r e sl ow in devel oping a ph onetic script o f

even relative simplicity Their p r oblem was n o t u nlike that
.

which had faced the Chinese t ranslat or s o f B u ddh ist w ritings ,

since they had to find Chinese characte r s to stand for the

 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 13

s ounds in a p olysyllabic langu age It is hard to say when .

the first attem pts were m ade by the Japanese to p u t thei r

o wn langu age in writing The ea rliest ch r onicles su ch as
.
,

the K oji ki and the N ihongi c o ntain references to hist orical

rec or ds o f events in Japan preserved in writing Thu s in .
,

the p r eface to the Koji ki the au th o r states that the E m per o r

‘
,

Te n m u c omplained that the chr o nicles o f the em per o r s and

the o rigi nal wo r ds in the p o ssessi o n o f the vari ou s fam ilies
’

wer e inexact We m ay infer fr om this that written rec o rds

.

had existed l o ng befor e the reign o f Tenm u which began ,

in 6 7 3 .

In the N i hongi u nder the date 4 0 3 the app o int m ent o f

, ,

pr ovi ncial hist o ri o gr apher s is m enti o ned bu t the chr o n ol ogy ,

o f this pa r t o f the N ikon i is du bi ou s and since it is p r etty

g , ,

certain that the fi rst Chinese b o o ks ca m e to Japan n o t m u ch I

s oo ner than A D 4 00 we m a y safely place the app oint m ent

. .
,

o f these rec ording o ffice r s seve r al decades later Their fu nc .

ti o n n o d ou bt was in the nat ur e o f a cadastral su rvey and ,

they needed the r efo re n o gr eater kn owledge o f writing than

w ou ld suffice for c o mpiling lists o f fa m ilies and p o ssibly
m rm a
( since the N i ho ngi u nde r the date 4 0
, 5 enti o ns the f o ,

ti o n o f a Tr easu ry ) lis ts o f p ro pe r ty and taxes F or this .

p u rp o se it w ou ld be sufficient to write in Chinese and the r e ,

i s n o d ou bt that at first the cle rical o fficials at the C ou rt

wro te their r ec o rds and acc ou nts in the Chinese langu age .

It is specifically stated in the N i hongi that it was Wang in -

and other learned Ko r eans who kept the fi r st rec ords o f

‘
in goings and ou tc omings — the I m perial b u dget— and they ’

nat u rally w ou ld u s e Chinese and n o t Japanese B u t the pro .

vi n c i a l rec o rder s m u st have had to write d o wn the Japanese

nam es o f places and pers o ns and we m ay su pp o se that , ,

between A D 4 00 and 5 0 0 they ev o lved s om e system of

. .
,

transcripti o n for that p u rp o se pro bably with the assistance ,

o f Wang i n o r his c o lleagu es or s u ccess o rs

-
It is n o t even .

necessary t o assum e that these K orean sch ola r s wer e fam iliar
I
l
I t i s p ro b a b e th a t s o m e k n o wl d
e ge o f th e C h i n e s e a n gu a ge a n d l
c
s r ip t h a d r e a h e c d c
J a p a n t w o o r thre e e n t u ri es e ar i e r b u t i t w a s l ,

d l
o u b t e ss c fi
o n n e d to a e ry fe w p e o p ev w ho a te l
a s i n t e r p r e t e rs
,
c d
w
b e t e e n J a p a n a n d K ore a T
h e r e i s n o i n i a t i o n th a t th e r e
. er edc w
c d f
a n y r e o r s o r b o o k s i n J a p a n b e o r e th e a rr i a o f th e K o r e a n s r ib e v l c
W a n g- i n , hi h c a n h ar y b e p a e e a r ier th a n A D 4 0 0
w c dl l c d l . . .
14 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
with the ph onetic m eth o d u sed in the Chinese versi o ns of the
B u ddh ist S cr ipt u res fo r in thei r o wn c ou nt r y they mu st have
,

already had to c o nside r the qu esti o n o f writing by m eans o f

Chinese Characters the nam es o f per s o ns and places in K o re a .
I

H owever th at m ay be it is t ole r ably ce rtain that by the end

, ,

o f the fifth cent u r y o f o u r era the Japanese had lea r ned t o ,

m ake u s e o f the Chinese cha r acters as ph o netic sym b o ls fo r

r ec o rding Japanese w o r ds That their u s e in this way was
.

rest ricted is clear f rom the existence o f hereditary c orp o ra

ti ons o f r eciters m enti o ned in the N i hongi u nder the nam e
,

o f K a ta ri be The p r ecise du ties o f these officials is n ot k n own

.
,

bu t it is safe to assu m e that they c om m itted to m em o r y fo r ,

recitati o n at C ou rt fu ncti o ns and religi ou s festivals p r ayers ,

to the g o ds s om ething li k e the S hint o rit u als which have

been preserved for u s in the E ngi s hi ki nati o nal legends and , ,

p o ssibly the c om m ands of p r evi ou s e m per o r s We m ay .

accept with ou t m u ch q u esti o n the statem ent in the K oji ki

that a ce rtain Hiyeda n o A re lea rned by hea r t in the latte r
‘
half o f the seventh cent u ry the geneal ogies o f the em pe r o r s
and the w ords o f f o rm er ages A re is said to have had s u ch
‘
an excepti onal m emo ry that he c ou ld repeat with his m ou th
whatever m et his eyes and rec o rd in his hea r t whateve r
st ru ck his ears We m ay ther ef ore reas o nably c o ncl u de
’
.

that the r e existed at that peri o d certain fragm entary rec o rds
in writing and that these we r e su pplem ented by o r al tradi
,

ti o n ; that the rec o r ds we r e for the m ost part in Chinese

bu t c o ntained ph o netic repr o du cti o ns of Japanese nam es and
p o ssibly o f the native f o rm of s om e prayers and p o e m s which
w ou ld c om e u nder the heading o f ancient words ’
.

The fi r st Japanese b o o k o f which we find specific m ent i o n

i s the Ky uji ki which was c om piled i n A D 6 2 0 bu t this
, . .
,

I
We kno w t h a t Ch i n e s e c r i b e s w e r e e m p l o ye d i n c o u n t r i e s
s ,

b o r d e r i n g o n Ch i n a f r o m a v er y e a r ly d a t e
, Th e r e w e re Ch i n e s e
.

s e c r e ta ri e s a m o n g t h e T a rt a r p e o p l e s i n t h e N o r th and th o u gh
, ,

t h e r e c a n b e n o c e r t a in ty a s t o d a t e s i n thi s m a t te r i t i s h i gh ly ,

p r o b ab l e t ha t th e re w e r e s c r ib e s i n K o r e a a t l e a s t a s e a r ly a s th e
fi rs t c e n tu ry o f the C hr i s ti a n e ra I t i s s ign ific a n t th a t th e re c o r d e d
.

n a m e s o f t h e e a r ly r u l e r s o f s o m e K o r e a n k i n gd o m s a s w r i t t e n i n
,

C h i n e s e c h a r a c te r s a r e e v i d e n t l y p h o n e t i c t r a n s c r i p ts f r o m a n o n
,

C hi n e s e l a n gu a ge F rom a b o u t A D
.
4 0 0 o n w a r d s th e c h a r a c t e r s
. .

h a v e a m e a n i n g a n d th e n a m e s a r e o b v i o u s l y i m i tat i o n s o f C hi n e s e
,

names .
 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 15

was destr oyed i n A D 6 4 5 and we have n o k n owledge of i ts

. .
,

c ontents beyo nd a statem ent in the N i kongi to the effect that

it was a hist ory o f the e m perors and the leading fam ilies .

The o ldest existing Japanese b o ok is the K ojiki or Rec ord ,

o f Ancient Matte r s which was c o m pleted in A D

, 71 2 It . . .

is a l ong and c o nsec u tive hist ory o f Japan c omm encing w ith ,

the c r eati o n o f H eaven and E arth and pro ceeding i n an , ,

ascending scale o f credibility to the year A D 6 2 8 That , . . .

the c ompiler o f the K ojiki was u nder st r o ng Chinese influ ence

is ab u ndantly clear from i nternal evidence His p r eface is . ,

as Cham berlain p o ints ou t a tour de force m eant to sh ow

,

that the writer c ou ld c om p o se in the Chinese style if he ch o se

to d o s o bu t this very fact tends t o pr ove as m any o ther ,

i n dicati ons c o nfir m that his a im in the b o dy o f the w o rk

,

was to write in s u ch a way as wo u ld all ow him to inc o rp o rate

in the text the native na m es and ph r ase ol ogy which it was
‘
desi r ed t o preserve— the a n c i ent w or ds referred to in the
.
’

I mperial decree H e explains his m eth o d at the end of the

.

preface as f o llows
,

‘In hi h antiqu ity b oth s ech and thou ht w ere s o s im le

g pe g p
that it w ou ld be di ffi cult to arrange phra ses and c ompo se pe ri ods
in the characters To relate everything in an ideographic t ran
.

scrip tion w ould enta il ina dequate expres sion o f the m e aning to
write a ltogether according to the phonetic m etho d w ould m ake
the st o ry o f events to o lengthy F o r t his re a s on I ha ve so m e
.

tim es u sed the phonetic an d ideogra phic system s c onj o intly a nd

have s om etim es in on e m atter u sed the ide ographic rec ord
exclu si v ely
.

Th ou gh this statem ent is clear en ou gh to on e fam il iar with

the text o f the K oji ki i t mu st be expanded and illu st rated
,

if we are to u nderstand the m eth o d adopted in the first

atte m pt o n a large scale to repr o du ce the Japanese lang u age
i n writing . F or details the reader is referred to Cha m ber
lain s t r anslat io n o f the K oji ki (T A S
’
x S u pplem ent )
. . .
, ,

and the speci m ens o f Japanese given in Ast on s gra mm ar ’

o f the w r itten lang u age bu t the f oll owing o u tline will give
a gener al idea o f the p roblem s bef o re the writer and the way
in which he s olved them .

It m u st fi r st be reiter ated that a r chaic Japanese was a

p o lysyllabic langu age c onsisting o f u nin fl ec ted su bstantives
, ,

highly inflected verbs and adj ectives and a large n u m ber of ,

16 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
agglu tinative suffixes and particles— a langu age m ark edly
synthetic in Character and thu s the o pp o site in alm ost every
,

respect o f Chinese which is m o n o syllabic u ninfl ec te d and

, , ,

analytic F u rther the task bef o re the c o m piler o f the Koji ki

.
,

was u nli k e that o f the scribes who had to rec o rd f o reign

s ou nds by m eans o f Chinese sy m b ols in that his O bj ect was ,

t o assign sym b o ls to b oth s ou nds and m eanings in his own

lang u age We m ay best exa m ine the pr o cess by taking a
.

passage from the K oji ki and endeavou ring to rec onstru ct ,

the pr o cess by which it wa s written I select for c o nvenience .

that part o f the first v o lum e o f the w o rk which describes

how the go d I z anagi and the g o ddess I z ana m i the latter ,

having given bi rth to sever al islands— a pr ogeny with which

they were diss a tis fi e d— repai r ed to heaven and wer e in
f o rm ed that their o ffsp ring was n o t g oo d becau se in the
‘
, ,

c ou rtship which led to the p r o creati o n o f these islands the ,

w om an had sp o ken first The narrative g o es on to tell that

the god and g o ddess thereu p on again descended fr o m heaven
‘ ’
and circled again a certain a ugu st heavenly pillar which
‘
they had er ected I z anagi saying first 0 I what a fair and
, ,

l o vely m aiden and I z anam i then r eplying O what a fair

’

, ,

and l o vely y ou th In writing this the c om piler began by

’
.

setting d own the f oll owing Cha racte r s

{751 cau se
fl
"
that
X
i ret u rn
é
F descend
This c ou ld be r ead in Chinese char acte r by cha r acter and , ,

to o n e fam iliar with that lang u age w o u ld be q u ite intelligible .

B u t a Japanese who wished to read it in Japanese w o u ld

, ,

have to assign Japanese equ ivalents to the cha r acte r s The .

Japanese equ ivalent o f 52

‘ (there u
’
p o n )
‘
is s or e ga
y u e u i ,

where s ore that stands for a and y u e ca u se stands fo r

, ,
’

iii bu t in Japanese the particles ga‘and n i m‘

, u st be s u pplied ,

j u st as in E nglish w e m u st add by and o f to give the ’ ’

‘
phrase by r eas o n of that Fu rther i t will be n o ticed that ’
.
,

the order o f wo r ds i s reve r sed in Japanese W being r ead ,

fi r st and 32 sec o nd Again instead o f taking these two

, .
,

characters separately the Japanese reader might t r eat them ,

as a c om p ou nd and regard them as representing the single

,
 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 17
‘ ‘
w ord s una hachi which appr o xim ates i n m ean ing t o s ore
’

‘
,

m m
’ ’

g a
y u e n i u ch as the r ef o re in E nglish appr o xi ates to

Th u s the two characters fffC mc an be

‘
,

by r eas o n of that ’
.

r ead in at least three di ffe r ent ways

( 1 ) acc ording t o thei r Chinese s ou nd o r to the cu st om ary ,

Japanese i mi tati o n o f that s ou nd ,

( )
2 acc o rding t o their lite r al m eaning in Japanese Charac ,

ter by character— su pplying the necessary gram

m atic a l links ,

( )
3 acc o rding t o their m ean i ng in c o m p o s i ti o n by u s i ng ,

a single Japanese w ord of appro xi m ately the sa m e

m eaning .

It is obvi ou s that u nles s the wr iter o f a text of th is nat u re

,

g ives s om e special i nd icati o ns i t is n o t p ossible to say by

,

which o f these m eth o ds he i ntends it to be read There is n o .

m eans o f telling for exam ple whether the wr iter o f the

, ,

K oji ki intended {at W to be read s ore ga y u e n i o r s u na hachi .

The great c omm entat or on the K oji ki Motoori did it is , , ,

tru e rec o nstru ct the wh ole o f the text in p u re Japanese

,

with ou t any adm ixtu re o f Chinese w o rds o r phrases what

ever bu t it i s qu ite certain that m any o f his readings are
,

entirely c o nj ect u r al and a n um ber of them are u ndoubtedl y

,

false The ab o ve exa mple will have s ufficed to S h ow that

.

at least s om e readings a r e d o ubtful and that ther ef ore , ,

wi th ou t special i ndicati o ns (which as we shall presently see , ,

exist in s om e cases) the text o f the K oji ki cann o t pr o vide

,

evidence as to the vocab u lary and f orm s of archaic Japanese

‘
.

Afte r the ab o ve wo r ds which m ay be translated There

,

f ore they descended agai n the passage c o ntinu es as f o ll ows

1 E. again 6
2 .
(c onnective s uffi x)
2 (33
.
go 7 131] . au gu st
3 £5]
.
1 t u rn 8 .
fig pillar
4 i t:
. that 9 . im li k e
5 35. heaven 10 .
i t; bef ore
‘
which m ay be t r anslated i nt o E ngl i sh They again went
’
r ou nd the heavenly au gu st pillar as before The Japanese .

r ende ring inv o lves a c o mplete rea rr ange m ent o f the cha r ac

ters and the additi o n o f Japanese gr a mm atical f orms The .

f oll owing is Moto ori s rec o nstru cti on

’

3270 D
1 8 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
s a ki
10 .
5h
no

s gotoku
e y u ki
s e megu ri
ta ma i ki

H ere Mo to ori has suppl i ed the particles zoo and n o n o d oubt ,

c orrectly and he has added the hon orifi c verb ta ma u in its

, ,

past tense ta rna i ki th ough there c an clearly be n o certainty

,

as to whether th i s was i ntended by the wr iter We n ow .

c om e to the passage
h? on

this
g} I
jfig ZA
3313 NA
M GI
63 » r u ler (hon orifi c )
55 first
33
C !
speak
‘
wh ich m eans Thereu p o n Hi s A u gu stness I z anag i spo k e
first and is rendered by Mo toori K oko u i I za n agi n o M i koto
madzu n ori ta ni a i ki H ere koko u i i s the equ ivalent o f
’
.

the Ch inese 773 i n a dz u o f 51

5 and n ori ta ni a i ki o f
, $5 It .

wi ll be n o ticed that fit;was i n the previ ou s sentence rendered

by s a ki s o that again we have two readings ascribed to o n e
,

character It i s clear then that the Japanese reading s o far

.
, ,

i s n ot based o n any fixed c o rresp o ndence between a gi ven

Chinese character and a given Japanese w ord bu t i s rather ,

i n the nat u re o f a t r anslati o n fr om a Chinese text I t is .

i m p o ss ible to say exactly how the c om pilers intended thei r

text to be read P r obably they had n o precise ideas o n the
.

subj ect them selves and theref or e Mo toori s rec o nstru cti o n ’

m ay in m any respects be n o t inc orrect In s o m e cases h ow .

,

ever there c an be n o d ou bt as to the reading F i rst of all

, .

we have su ch p r oper nam es as I za n agi which we find r ep r e ,

sented by the char acters (31 }H t standing fo r the f ou r

S 3313 lig
syllables I Z A N A GI , ,
These are o bvi ou sly ph o netic
,
.

renderings of Japanese na m es c orresp onding exactly wi th ,

20 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
selected 2 as an equi valent for n o L ater h o weve r we find .
, ,

a grou p o f char acters 5? fig 2 Be} wher e ii élé d o es n o t ,

m ake sense in Chinese and we are b ou nd to assum e (on the

,

evidence o f ph onet i c writing in o ther parts o f the w or k) that

this is a Japanese c onstru cti o n and that 5? 1515 rep r esents
‘
,

ha eri mas u an hon ori fi c f o rm of the verb ka eru to retu rn

’
.

‘
, ,

S im ilarly we m ay read I}? as toki ti m e c onsistently with ’

, ,

the Chinese u se o f the character B u t it is very dou btfu l

.

whether 2 S h ou ld he r e be read n o as ab o ve fo r ka eri rna su ,

n o toki i s n o t g oo d Japanese and we ther ef ore m ay infer

that 2 mu st be regarded her e as a ph o netic and read s hi .

We then get by adding s hi to the stern of the verb mas u

, ,

haeri rn as hi s hi which is the preter ite o f kaeri ma s u s o that

‘
, ,

the wh ole reads ka eri rn a shi shi toki and m eans when he ,

ret u rned which is the sense requ ired by the c ontext I t

’

,
.

w ill be seen that Z is u sed b o th sem antically and ph onetic

.

ally— to represent the m eaning o f n o and the s ou nd o f s hi

and it is easy fr om this o n e exam ple to im agine how diffi cu lt
is the rec o nstru cti on o f a c o m plete text wri tten in su ch a
c o nfu sing fashi o n B u t we can already see the beginn ings
.

o f the syste m which was later ev o lved The r e wa s n o t m u ch .

difficu lty in assigning Chinese cha r acter s to Japanese s ub

s ta n tiv e s
,
adj ectives and verbs sin ce Chinese had a far
, ,

greater v ocab ulary than Japanese It was m erely a qu esti o n .

o f deciding u p o n an appr o priate character— o n e which had

a m eaning c orresp o nding as cl o sely as p o ssible with that of

the Japanese w ord— and agr eeing to u s e that character as
the c orr ect sym b o l for the Japanese w or d in q u esti o n A s .

we shall see the Japanese did n ot always f oll ow the appa

,

r e n tl
y S i m ple r u le o f keeping o n e character f o r o n e w o rd and

o n e w or d for o n e character ; bu t they di d grad u all y no ,

d ou bt f oll owing the u sage o f the K ojiki in m ost cases b u ild ,

u p a syste m by which each cha r acte r was given a rec o gni z ed

‘
Japanese reading Thu s in a Japanese text Ll] m ou ntain ’

‘
.
, , ,

wou ld nat u rally be r ead as the n ou n y ama fertile ’

‘
, ,
’
wou ld be r ead as the adj ective toy o and fit to go as the , , ,

verb yu ku S o far it is plain sailing It is when we c om e

. .

to the Japanese par ticles and term inat i o ns that the di ffic u lty
begins We need n ot trace in detail the devel op m ent o f the
.

system which was finally ado pted bu t a few exam ples will ,

S h ow the lines on wh i ch i t pr o ceeded We have already seen .

 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 21

that fo r the pa r ticle n o the c o m p iler o f the K oji ki selected

as a su itable equ ivalent the char acter 2 which perf o rm s in ,

C hinese an office sim ilar to bu t n o t identical with that of , ,

no In the sam e way for the pa rticle u i u sed as a l ocative '

‘ ‘
.
, ,

m eaning in or at he u sed ifs which in Chinese can be

’ ’

, ,

u sed in a si m ila r sense and he wr o te for instance koko u i

‘
, , , ,
’
her eat as , p u tting the char acter s in thei r Chinese
o r de r S o l o ng as appr o xi m ate Chinese eq u ivalents c ou ld be
.

f ou nd for s u ch p ar ticles a n d su ffixes in Jap anese this m eth o d ,

was n ot u nsatisfact ory B u t the r e we r e m any gr a mm atical.

devices in Japanese which have n o par allel in Chinese C hief .

a m ong these we r e the in fl ex i on s o f the adj ective and the

‘
ve rb Thu s the adj ective for g o o d in Japanese is y o (the
.
’

stem ) with an att rib u tive f orm y oki and a p r edicative f o rm

y os h i N o w the cha r acte r s 15: and
A in Chinese st o o d fo r hé
‘
.

(m o dern Mandari n ha o) g o o d and ji n (m o der n M andar in

’

, ,

j )
en , a m a n Theref o r e a Japanese at the peri o d in q u esti o n
m ight read it? A eithe r koji n a c om p ou nd which if familiar , , ,

m ight be intelligible t o the Japanese e a r or he m ight read ,

it y oki hi to su pplying the in fl e xi on ki which the character

, ,

d o es n o t rep r esent bu t which was essential I n J apanese As .

m ay be i m agined the infl u ence o f Chinese u p o n Japanese

,

sch ola r s wa s s o gr eat that m any single' Chinese w ords and ,

m any c om p ou nds o n the m o del o f kOj i n were ad o pted by ,

them and g rowing s o u su al that they we r e intelligible in

, ,

speech s oo n beca m e nat ur ali z ed This p ro cess on a gradu ally

, .
,

i nc r easing scale has c o ntin u ed u ntil the p r esent day so that

, ,

the v o cabu lary of m o der n Japanese is la rgely c o m p o sed o f

s u ch S in o Japanese c om p ou nds B u t if a w riter wished to
-
.

ensu r e that the two characters 11? A were given their p u r e

Japanese reading nam ely y oki hi to he m u st s om eh o w o r
, , ,

o ther sh o w the syllable ki N o t l o ng after the K oji ki was

.

written the idea o f u sing Chinese characte r s as ph o netic

,

sym b ols to r ep r esent Jap anese s ou nds m u st have bec o m e

fa m iliar to Japanese sch olar s who we r e by then accu st om ed ,

to seeing Japanese nam es and o ther Japanese w o r ds s u ch as

th o se qu oted ab o ve (I za n agi wotome written in this , ,

wa y . It w ou ld theref or e nat u rally o ccu r to them to write

the syllable ki by m eans o f s om e Chinese char acte r p ro
n ou n c e d hi or s om ething l i ke ki This is what they did and . ,

y o k i,
fo r instance w ou ld be wr i tten either
, 13 (i (
! where 181
22 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
rep r esents the m eaning o f the stem y o and (i the s ou nd o f ,

the term inati o n hi ) o r Q (i (where represents the s ou nd

y o and (i the s o u nd ki
) It m ight be s u pp o sed that the .

ph o netic m eth o d o f (i w ou ld be m or e c o nvenient than

the du al m eth o d o f ll? (i which being a c o mbinati o n o f the , ,

sem antic and ph o netic m eth o ds is likely t o cau se c o nfu si o n ,

.

B u t the r e we r e practical disadvantages in the u s e o f the

ph o netic m eth o d al o ne the m o st seri ou s of which wa s the ,

gr eat lab ou r it entailed If we tak e for instance a w o r d

‘
.
, ,

l ike kashi korn i a w o rd m eaning awe which is o f freq u ent

’

o cc u r r ence in early texts we see that its ph o netic representa ,

ti o n inv o lves writing a character for each o f the syllables ka ,

s hi kc and mi e g in
, , ] 2 i513 W while the m eaning has hi
, . .
. ,

koni i can be represented by the single cha r acter F u r ther ,

since all w ords in Chinese fu ncti o n indiffer ently as verb ,

’
n ou n adj ective o r adverb 9g} stands n ot o nly for awe bu t
‘ ‘ ‘
, , , ,
’ ’ ’
als o for awfu l awfu lly and to h o ld in awe
,
The r e , .

f or e in o rder to rep r esent the Japanese adj ect ive ka shi koki
‘ ‘
, ,

awfu l or the Japanese ve rb kas hi kornu to h o ld in awe

’

, ,
’

it was b o th intell igible and c o nvenient to wr ite the s i ngle

cha r acter it} and t o f o ll ow it by the distingu ishing final
,

syllable (or syllables) wr itten ph onetically Th u s it was .

p o ssible to represent a c om plete series o f Japanese w ords

each by two or three characters instead o f f ou r five or , ,

six ph o netics In the f oll owing list the characters u sed

.

ph o netically are distingu ished by s m aller type

K a shi komi (n ou n ) or fi fi
K as hi koki (adj ective ) fl it
”

K a shi korn u (verb p r esent tense) ,

‘
SEfi t
‘

K a shikorn i te (geru nd )
K a s hi korn i ta ri (past tense) filfi 3 $ 11
This m eth o d was n o t o nly sh o rter than the ph o netic m eth o d ,

bu t it als o has the advantage o f sh owing clearly that a

cha r acter m u st be given a Japanese reading Thu s the .

char acter fig with ou t any special indicati on c ou ld be read

, ,

ky o which is its S inic o Japanese pr on u nc i ati on o r i t c o u ld

,
-
,

be r ead os ora or ka shikomi since b oth these wor ds have ab ou t ,

the sa m e m eaning B u t if fl is fo ll owed by the ph o netic

.

mi the reader kn ows at o nce n o t o nly that it m u st b e

,

read a s a Japanese w ord bu t that that Japanese w ord m u st ,

 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 23

have a ste m ending in mi and m u st therefor e be kashi komi

,

and n o t os ore .

B y the end o f the ninth cent u ry this style o f wri ting w a s

well devel oped and established in u s e It m u st n ot be u nder .

st oo d that it was u niver sal fo r the o ve rwhel ming p r estige

,

o f the Chinese lang u age and lite r at u r e tended to disc o u rage

the u s e o f Japanese in writing except wher e there was s om e

,

special reaso n for r ec ording Japanese w ords The g reat .

chr o nicle which f o ll owed sh ortly after the K oji ki the

‘
,

Chro nicles o f Japan (N i hongi ) c o m pleted in A D 7 2 0 is

’

, . .
,

written i n Chinese and m akes n o attempt to prese rve

,

Japanese c o nst ru cti o ns except in the p o em s which ar e

, ,

written ph o netically F or p o em s the ph o netic m eth o d was

.

nat u r ally the best s u ited since it was necessa ry to preserve

,

every syllable o f the o rig inal ver ses for m etrical reas o ns , .

C onseq u ently the first great anth o l o gy o f Japanese ve rse is

,

written ve ry largely by m eans o f what are called ka n a ,

‘
b o rr owed na m es which sign ifies that Chinese sym b ols we r e
b orr owed to perfo rm a ph o netic fu ncti o n The nam e o f this
‘
.

anth o l o gy wa s the M a ny o shu o r C o ll ecti o n o f a Myriad

,

L eaves and the characters thu s u sed we r e kn own as M a ny o

a n a In this w o rk the o rder o f w o r ds is Japanese and
g .
,

th ough s om e cha r acte r s a re e m pl oyed to r epresent m eanings ,

there is ve ry little di ffic u lty in r ec onst ru cting the f ull

Ja p anese text becau se the adm ixt u re o f ka na is c o nsiderable
,

and the m etre serves as a gu ide to the n u mber o f syllables .

Th u s if we take a line li k e it}? Q I t) 255 E we kn ow fr o m

, , ,

its p o siti on that it m u st c o ntain seven syllables in Japanese .

The fi r st two char acte rs a re o bvi ou sly ph o netic and r ead

‘
os o
.
fig is s o m eti m es p u t for n a ri the ve rb is bu t this
,

w ou ld all ow u s o nly th r ee syllables fo r £3; E and the re a r e

n o eq u ivalents for these tw o cha r acters which w o u ld give
that c ou nt C o nsequ ently It) als o m u st be ph o netic and
.
, ,

r ead a The r e m aining f o u r syllables m u st theref o re be

y .

a w o r d o r w or ds o f which the m eaning and n o t the s o u nd

is represented by g E s o that {is m u st stand for kon o and
,

E fo r ki mi the line being th u s r ead 03 0 y a kon o ki n u It

,
.

will be seen that o n these lines the text o f the M a ny o shu

c a n be r est o r ed with a ve r y high degr ee o f ce r tainty and ,

this c ollecti o n is the m o st val u able o f all extant s o urces for

the st u dy of early Japanese Mo re o ver by c o llating w o rds
.
,
24 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
and phrases in the M a ny é shu with the text o f the K ojiki
we c a n p o st u late wi th o u t m u ch d ou bt a large n u m ber o f
readings in the latter w ork .

F oll owing u p o n the K ojiki there cam e an other class of

l iterat u re in which early Japanese f o rm s are p r eserved with
c o nsider able accu racy These are the S hi nto rit u als o r
.

N ori to which are rec o rded i n the E ngi s hi ki the Inst i t u tes o f ,

the E ngi peri o d pr omu lgated in 9 2 7 In these d o cu m ents

, .

the Chinese characte r s a re arranged in the o r der r equ ired by

Japanese syntax with very few except io ns wh ich c a n be
, ,

acc ou nted for o n gro u nds o f c o nvenience and speed Th u s .

fo r the negative f o rm s o f verbs the character >f fu §

i s placed bef o r e the character represent ing the ve rb as in

‘
,

2 E13 d o es n o t say which i n Japanese i s m osazu where

’
2 , ,

the negat ive is expressed by the suffi x zu ; bu t as a gene ral

r u le the order is the c o rr ect Japanese o rder and the particles ,

and term inat i o ns a re wri tten by m eans o f cha r acters u sed

‘ ’
ph o net ically Th u s the verb ts utoni u to w or k is repr e
.
, ,

sented by the single character i t) for Chinese ki n wh ich has ,

the sa m e m eaning ; while the f orm ts utomes hi rn ete (which

is the ger u nd o f the ca u sative f orm o f ts utorn u ) is r epresented
by y} 2 9k £5 where the last th r ee characte r s are ph o netic
. ,

for s hi mete . The r ec o nstru cti o n o f the exact o ri gi nal w o rds

o f the rit u als theref o re presents b u t l i ttle di ffic u lty and all ,

external and internal evidence tends to S h o w that they are

re m a rk ably free from Chinese i nfl u ence whether as to s ub ,

stance or to langu age They are therefo re a m o st val u able

.

s ou rce o f m ate ri als fo r the st u dy o f a r cha ic Japanese They .

sha r e with the p o etry o f the K ojiki and the N i hongi the
distinct i o n o f being the o ldest extant speci m ens o f Japanese .

The next w ork o f i m p o rtance in which indigen o u s f o rm s

are preserved is the S hoku N i hongi a c o ntin u ati o n c om , ,
‘

ple te d i n A D 7 97 o f the N i hongi

. .
,
B o th these w o r k s are .

m ainly in Chinese bu t the S hoku N i hongi c o nta i ns a n u m ber

,

o f I m perial edicts w ri tten by a m eth o d s im ilar to that u sed

fo r the S hi nt o rit u als and evidently intended as an exact

,

rec o rd o f the Japanese ph r ase o l o gy e m pl oyed when these

edicts were pr o n ou nced in p u blic The syste m o f w riting is .

n o t enti r ely r egu lar bu t the w ords o f the edicts c an be

,

rest or ed with a high degree o f acc ur acy Thu s the phrase

a m anifest go d i s written Q m in}! which
‘
.

a ki ts u mika rn i
’

, , ,
 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 25

i s u n i ntelligible in C hinese E lsewher e we find NJ] m

.
l W and
these tw o in c o nj u ncti o n s u ggest a r eading a ki ts u mi karni ,

which is c onfi rm ed by r efe r ence to the S hint o r it u als .

,

wher e we find in a S i m ila r c o ntext the ph onetic transcript

(i 3 1; i 711] fit a ki —ts u ni i ka rn i
- - - -
.

It will be seen that by the end o f the eighth cent u ry

, ,

the Japanese were in a fai r way to establishing a c o nvenient

system o f rep resenting Japanese w o rds o n the basis o f what
was styled Ka n a maji ri o r the Mixed Ph onetic S c ript
, ,

becau se the p rincipal w o r ds in a sentence were written by

Chinese Cha r acters u sed acc or ding to thei r m eaning and ,

these we r e e k ed o u t as to te rm inati o ns s u ffixes & C by

, , , .
,

Chinese characte r s u sed acc o r ding to s ou nd The m eth o d 13 .

well ill u st rated by the exam ple o f ts u torn eshi rn ete qu o ted ,

ab o ve It m ight have been s u pp o sed that o nce the system

.
,

gained a f o o ting it w o u ld be g r adu ally m ade si mple and

,

u nif o rm b u t Japanese sch o la r s in the s u cceeding cent u r ies

,

devo ted the m selves alm o st exclu sively to Chinese st u dies or

t o B u ddhist w o r ks and paid bu t little attenti o n to their own
lang u age The native w o rds and the native idi om were
.

em pl o yed for ve r ses and r o m ances the r ec r eati o n o f seri ou s

,

sch ola r s o nly in thei r lighte r h ou r s In this aesthet ic field .

,

the aim was n o t si m plicity bu t elegance and since in the , ,

E ast callig raphy is n o t a m e r e m echanical acc om plish m ent

,

bu t o n e o f the fine arts there was a tendency in w rit i ng

,

d own verses to u s e a sc ript selected n ot s o m u ch fo r easy

c om prehensi o n as fo r its bea u ty o r interest O ften a p o et .

o r a sc ribe t o r epresent a si m ple Japanese w o r d w ou ld

, ,

u se s o m e character o r g r ou p o f characte r s which c o u ld be

r elated t o it o nly by a str o ng flight o f fancy and he w o u ld ,

delibe rately o rnam ent o r c om plicate his script very m u ch

as a m edieval m o nk in E u ro pe m ight em bellish a m issal o r
a legend by illum inati o ns and fl o u rishes .

These ea rly wr ite rs c a n ce r tainly be said to have displayed

what D r J ohns o n declar ed to be the highest p raise o f p o etry
.

s u ch inventi o n as by p r o du cing s om ething u nexpected

, ,

s u rp r ises and delights They s u rp rised and delighted the

’
.

r eader n o t o nly by elab or ate w o r d plays in the b o dy o f a -

p o em bu t als o by devices in the sc ript c o m pa r able to the

,

r iddle the r eb u s the acr o stic and the palindro m e Th u s

‘
.
, , , ,
’
o n e wishes to exp r ess the m eaning o f idzu ru t o go o u t ,
.

E
26 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
To u s e the si mple character {Hw ou ld be du ll and u n i nterest
‘ ‘
i ng s o he p u ts [I] J ;
,
P
fi [ I] o n a m ou nta i n an o ther
m ou ntain beca u se [I] i s the sym b o l for m ou ntain and [I]
’

, ,

u p o n [1] g i ves 51 A sec ond writes the c o mm on c om binati o ns

.

‘
o f part i cles ts u ru karn o with the characters fig (H E
, st or k
’
du ck beca u se st ork i s ts uru and d uc k is karno A third
‘ ‘ ‘
, .

gives ffi sea instead of {Q A sea m an for a ni a a fi sher

’ ’

, ,

man
’
and a f ou rth writes a part o f a character instead o f
the wh o le a practice which as we shall see had i m p ortant
, , ,

res u lts .

B u t q u ite apa r t fr om th i s deliber ate creat io n o f d iffi

,

c u l ti e s the m e r e fail u re o f Japanese sch o lars t o appreciate

,

and grapple with the p ro ble m of S im plifying the ir sc ript led

t o an om alies o f every descript io n Many o f these a re i n .

herent in the nat u r e o f a l o g ographic system as bec om es ,

clear when o n e st u dies the p ro cess by which Chinese sym b ols

we r e all o cated to Japanese w o rds I n the fi r st place th ou gh .
,

each Chinese character stands for on e and o nly on e Chinese , ,

w o rd it m u st n o t be s upp osed that each Chinese w o rd has

,

o n e fixed and i nva r iable m eaning In any langu age there .

are a n u mbe r o f w o rds o f which the m eaning extends o ver

‘
a wide range as for instance in E nglish bea m which m ay
, ,
’

be eithe r a n o u n m eaning a piece o f w o o d the side o f a ship , ,

a ray o f light o r a verb m eaning to shine B ut Chinese

, .

presents this phen om en o n in a m o st intense deg r ee par tly ,

becau se it has been a lite rary langu age for th ou sands o f

years partly becau se i ts pecu liar st ruct u re and script f orbid
,

the easy assi m ilati o n o f f oreign w or ds to express shades o f

m eaning and partly becau se it d o es n o t d i ffer entiate s u ch
,

parts o f speech as n o u n and adj ective verb and adverb , .

To tak e an exa m ple the w o rd s heng which is inva ri ably , ,

wri tten w ith the char acter fig rep r esents the i dea o f gr owth , ,

as is indicated by the character i o f which the ea rly fo rm ,

wa s i depicting a plant piercing the s oil From th i s

,
.

prim ar y m eaning (which in Chinese c o vers the s ubstantive

‘ ‘
growth the verb to gr ow a n d the adj ect ive
’

,
’

the r e ar o se a large n u m ber o f sec o ndary m eanings s u ch as ,

bi rth to be b o rn to bear to p ro du ce new b or n new fr esh

, , , ,
-
, , ,

st range raw a living thing to live alive life a disciple ;

, , , , , ,

and th ou gh it is n o t diffic u lt to trace the ass ociati on o f i deas

by which this gro u p o f m eanings was m ade i t can be easily ,
28 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
to Japanese w o r ds and th o u gh there we r e even pedant i c and
,

es o te ric influ ences w o rking against it intelligibility and c o n ,

v e n i e n c e were b o u nd to s o m e extent to prevail And s o we .

find that by degrees certain Characte r s cam e to be regarded

, ,

as the c orrect eq u ivalents for ce r tain Japanese w o rds t o ,

the c o mplet e or pa r tial exclu si o n o f o ther Cha r acte r s F or

‘
.

instance for u rn u to bear in the r est ricted sense o f the ’

, , ,

act o f pa rt u riti o n g was u sed in prefe r ence to £13 s o that

‘
, , ,

in writing the w ords tamago zoo u mu to lay an egg E ,

’

, ,

w ou ld be m or e c o rr ect than i while u rn u in the gene r al

‘
,

sense o f to b ring int o existence w ou ld be better rep resented

‘
by 512 as i n ka n e ga ka n e zo o u rh u m o ney begets m oney
, ,
’
.

These are exam ples whe r e on e Japanese wo r d has seve r al

m eanings to each o f which c a n be assigned a different
,

Characte r Then we have the cases whe r e on e Chinese

.

Cha r acter stands for several m eanings which in Japanese are

c o nveyed by di ffe rent w o r ds We need n o t l oo k f ur ther than .

this sa m e i which we have been disc u ssing It stands fo r

‘
.

o n e Chinese w o rd s heng that has the m eanings to g row

’

‘ ‘
, , ,
’ ’
fr esh and to live expressed in Japanese respectively by
‘
, ,

the w o rds ha eru n ama and i ki ru F or haeru to g ro w the

, ,
.
,
’

Japanese c o u ld find n o m o r e su itable sym b ol than 5 which ,

they acc o r dingly ad opted for that p u rp o se F o r n a rn a .

‘
,

fresh ’
again was the o nly appr opriate Character and
‘
, ,

was therefor e u sed to r ep r esent that w or d F or i ki ru to .

,

live the r e was available 2g representing rather life in the

’

, ,

sense o f m ovem ent and c o nsequ ently he r e (as with u mu ,

ab o ve ) b o th £13 and 2? m ight be u sed each being reserved ,

to exp r ess a spec i al shade o f m eaning .

In additi on to the categ o ries j u st described there was o f ,

c ou rse a la rge g rou p o f Japanese w o rds for which it was easy

to find a single satisfact o ry Chinese eq u ivalent M o st na m es .

o f S i m ple things o r si m ple ideas nat u r ally fall int o this

, ,

gr ou p and there c ou ld be n o do u bt or diffic u lty ab ou t the

‘
,

selecti o n o f s u ch Characte r s as 7Kfor lei t r ee 7 Kfor midzu

’

‘ ‘ ‘
, , ,

water E] for
’
hi the s u n it] : fo r
y oki g oo d and $3} for ’ ’

‘
, , , , ,

zoa r u ki bad ,
H ere there c ou ld be n o alternative B u t
’
. .
,

as we have j u st seen in the case o f the very c omm o n sym b o l

£5 th ou gh it was p o ssible to app rop riate certain Cha racte r s
,

exclu sively fo r ce r tain Japanese w o rds even a delibe r ate ,

e ffo rt to devise a u niform system of c orresp ondence between

 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 29

wo rd and sym b o l was in the nat u r e o f things b ou nd to, ,

fail C o nseq u ently even to day in S p ite o f all o pp o sing

.
,
-
,

tendencies Japanese is r ec or ded in a script c om plex in its

,

nat u r e and irregu lar in its u s e to an alm o st incredible degr ee .

Its defects cann o t be bette r illu st r ated than by the si m ple

m eth o d o f c o pying fr om a dicti o nary s o m e o f the readings
ass o ciated with the characte r 5b which we have ch o sen as an
exa m p le in the f or eg o ing desc ripti o n In a m o dern dicti o nary .

o f Chinese Cha r acters as u sed by Japanese we find u nder the

"
,

heading ft the f o ll owing c o mm on readings o f that Character

Q u rnu , u ni aru to bea r to be b orn
,

n a ma - u o f resh fish r aw fish ,

ki -i to r a w sil k
flag ;

5L: ka aru oeru ,

to gr o w
£1; i ki ru i keru , to be alive to k eep al ive ,

and in additi o n to these there ar e given ab ou t twenty o ther

readings which th o u gh less u s u al a re all p o ssible
, , .

S o far we have treated o nly o f Chinese w o r ds for which

i t was p o ssible to find a m o re o r less s u itable Japanese
eq uivalent bu t there wa s a la rge class o f Chinese w ords
,

which were the na m es o f things o r ideas u n k n own or u n

fa m ilia r to the Japanese It m u st be r em e mbered that u p .
,

to the ti m e o f the first i m p o r tati o n o f Chinese lea rning int o

Japan let u s say u ntil ab ou t A D 4 0 0 Japanese Civili z ati o n
, . .
,

was o f a si m ple p ri m it ive s ort while China had already

, ,

a l o ng hist o ry o f c u lt u re reaching back for m o re than two

th ou sand yea rs S o the r e were m any k inds o f k n owledge
.

for which the Japanese wer e indebted to China A m o ng the .

o bj ects which we r e new to the Japanese o n e nat u rall y thin k s ,

o f the instru m ents u sed for w r iting fo r which since writing , ,

was u nkn own to the m befo re they cann o t have had na m es ,

.

An exa m inati on o f the present Japanese w o r ds for a pen and

a written d o cu m ent sh ows as o n e m ight expect that they , ,

a r e b o r r o wed fr o m Ch i nese F u de f o rm e rly p u te m eaning .

, ,

a writing b ru sh is al m o st ce rtainly the Chinese

,
which ,

pr o n ou nced s om ething like pi t in ea rly Chinese ca m e int o ,

Japanese by way o f Ko rea whe r e it is p r on ou nced put ,

.

S i m ila rly fu rn i a wr iting is the Chinese i t n ow pr o n o u nced

, , , ,

toen bu t f o rm e rly having a s o u nd like fu n

,
O ther o bj ects .

i ntr o du ced at a very ear ly per i o d fr om China were m etal

30 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
c o ins (Ch inese s en Japanese z eni ) and p ossibly the h o r se
,

( Chinese ma Japanese u rn a ) Here we have exam ples o f

, .

Chinese w o rds which wer e fu lly nat u rali z ed O the rs n o .

,

d ou bt thr ou gh being in less frequ ent u s e were less th or ou ghly

‘
, ,

assi m ilated S u ch a r e w or ds like ra i jig cere m o ny ga hu ’

‘ ” ‘ ‘ ‘
.
,

mu sic s hiki a rites ky o fig a s u tra s o (a a m o n k

’ ’ ’

‘
, , ,

fi an argu m ent which we r e taken o ver with o nly

’
ron fi -
,

s u ch change in pr onu nciat io n as was necessitated by the I

di fference between Chinese and Japanese s ou nds .

I
I t i s i n te r e s ti n g to n o t e i n p a ss i n g th a t s i n c e th e p r o c e s s o f
b o rro w i n g Ch i n e s e w o r d s c o n t i n u e d o v e r a l o n g p e r i o d d u r i n g w h i ch ,

th e re w e r e s u cc e ss iv e ch a n ge s i n C h i n e s e p r o n u n c i a ti o n th e e a r ly ,

b o r ro w in gs c a n b e d i s t in gu i s h e d f r o m t h e l a t e o n e s Th e C h i n e se .

p r o n u n c i a t io n j u s t a d o p t e d w a s th a t o f th e p r o v i n c e o f G o (W u i n
m o d e r n C h i n e se ) i n whi c h w a s s i tu a te d th e c a p i t a l u n d e r th e E a s te r n
,

S h i n d yn a s ty i n th e f o u r th c e n t u r y Th e p r o n u n c i a t i o n c u r r e n t i n
.

th a t p r o v i n c e w a s th a t whi ch w a s giv e n b y th e J a p a n e s e t o m o s t
o f th e w o r d s wh i c h t h e y b o rro w e d a t th e b e gi nn i n gs o f th e i r i n t e r

c o u rs e with Chi n a a n d th e re fo r e a gre a t p a rt o f th e sp e c i a l v o c a b u l a ry

,

o f B u dd h i s m a n d a n u m b e r o f n a m e s o f c o m m o n o b j e c t s a r e s t i ll
, ,

p r o n o u n c e d a cc o r d i n g t o wh a t the J a p a n e s e c a ll G o ou o r Wu -
,

so u n d B u t th o u gh W u w a s th e p r o v i n c e m o s t a cc e ss ib l e t o J a p a n
, ,

i ts d i a l e c t w as a d m itte dl y p r o v i n c i a l a n d th e s t a n d a r d S p e e c h w a s ,

th a t o f H an a n wh e r e th e m o d e l s o f th e H a n d yn a s ty w e r e s t i ll
,

f o llo we d The J a p a n e se s cho la rs a s the y gr e w m or e d is cri m i n a to ry

.
, ,

a b a n d o n e d t h e W u d i al e c t a n d w e n t t o th e p u r e s o u r c e o f H a n
, ,

whe n c e the y b orro we d the p r o n u n c ia tio n k n ow n a s K a n - on o r H a n

sou n d Th e K a n o n s o o n r e p l a c e d t he G o- on a n d i t w a s th e p r o
-
,

n u n c i a t i o n u s e d for a ll b o rro w i n gs d u r i n g th e s u cc e e d i n g c e n t u r i e s ,

e xc e p t fo r a fe w s p e c i a l w o r d s i m p o r t e d i n c o m p a r a t i v e l y r e c e n t

t i m e s whi ch w e r e p r o n o un c e d i n a n a p p r o x i m a ti o n t o t h e c o n t e m
,

p o r a ry C hi n e s e s o u n d a n d h a v e n o t C h a n ge d s i n c e
, Th e s e l a tter a r e .

k n o w n a s To i n l ite r a lly -
T a n g s o u n d s th e n a m e o f t h e T a n g
,

d yn a s ty b e i n g u s e d i n a ge n e r a l w a y to m e a n Chin a W e th u s h a v e .

i n J a p a n e s e t h r e e t yp e s o f p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f i m p o r t e d C h i n e s e w o r d s ,

a n d s o m e t i m e s th e s a m e C hi n e se w o r d a pp e a r s i n e a c h o f th e se th r e e

t yp e s ha v i n g b e e n b orr o w e d e i th e r a lo n e o r i n c o m p o s i t i o n a t t hre e
,

d i ffe r e n t t im e s A go o d e x a mp l e i s the r e a d in g o f th e C h ar a cte r B

.

B ,

wh i ch i s r e a d my o a cc or d in g t o G o ou m ei a cc o r d in g t o K a h on a n d -
,
-
,

m i n a cc o r d i n g to th e s o c a lle d Ta n g p r o n u n c i a ti o n
-
.

I t i s w o r th m e n ti o n i n g h e r e th a t th o u gh w e s p e a k o f th e C hi n e s e ,

p r o n u n c i a t i o n s i n J a p a n o f i m p o r t e d C h i n es e w o r d s th e s e w e r e b y ,

n o m e a n s e x a c t r e p ro d u c t i o n s o f C h i n e s e s o u n d s s i n c e (q u i te a p a rt ,

f ro m th e to n e s o f Chi n e s e sylla b les ) the J ap a n e se v o c a l a p p a r a t u s

c o u ld n o t e a sily c o m p a ss m a n y c o m m o n Chi n e s e s o u n d s Th e .

J a p a n e se fo r i n s t a n c e c a n n o t s a y I whi ch i s fr e q u e n t i n C h i n e se
, , , ,

a nd th e r e a r e s e v era l c o m b i n a t io n s o f s o u n d s i n C h i n es e w h i c h a re
 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 31
The Chinese w o rds which we have j u st described as
adopted int o the Japanese v o cabu la ry with a greater or ,

less degree o f assi m ilati o n to Japanese fo rm s were single ,

w o rds r ep r esented by o n e characte r B u t Chinese has an

, .

u nrivalled facility fo r f o r m ing c o m p o u nds by m eans o f ,

which it can exp r ess ideas o u tside the sc o pe o f independent

w or ds o r if need be can li m it or expand the significance
, , ,

o f s u ch w o r ds There are o f c ou rse a n u m ber o f c omp ou nds

.

fo r which it is easy to find a parallel in o ther lang u ages

‘
like 716 beifu n rice fl our which is m erely the j u xta ’
-
,
‘
,

p o siti o n o f two n ou ns or Q 352 ha ku i white cl o thes which , ,

is an ep ithet in Cl o se ass ociati o n with a n o u n Chinese how .

,

ever g o es m u ch farther than these si mple c o ll ocati ons and

, ,

th ou gh it is n o t necessa ry here to desc ribe all the m any

va rieties and u ses o f its c om p ou nd w o rds it is as well to ,

re p u gn a n t to th e e a r if n o t i , d ffic l
u t fo r th e t o n gu e o f a J a p a n e se ,
.

Mo re o e r t he C h i n e s e e a r n e b y th e J a p a n e s e w a s ik e t h e F re n h
v , l d ,
l c
f d
o f S tr a t o r a tt e B o
-
w
e a s a r u e a h o m e p r o u t s i n e fe w o f th e m
-
, l d c c
v d
c a n h a e h e ar f l
i t ro m th e ip s o f n a ti e s o f C h i n a or e e n K o r e a v v .

I t wa s d l
o u b t e ss fo r p u rp o s e s o f s tu y r e p re s e n te
, d
b y C hi ne s e , d
c d
C h a ra te rs u se c ll c c c
p h o n e ti a y , a n d s i n e e a h C h a ra t e r r e p r e s e n ts a
ll l v
s y a b e e e ry C h i n ese orw d w c ll w ld
r i tt e n p h o n e t i a y ou a p p e ar t o

c o n s is t o f o n e o r m o r e s ll l w
y ab e s , f c l
h e re a s i n a t n e a r y a ll C h i n e s e
w do r s a re m o n o s
y ab ill c T . ll c
h u s b y t he s y a b i m e th o d
t h e n e a re s t
, ,

a J a p a ne se c ld
ou ge t t o w c d
r i ti n g s u h s o u n s a s l i a o a n d l i a ng w c
hi h ,

a r e fo r
p r a c c l
t i a u
p p r o s e s m o n o s y a ll l w ld
b e s , o u b e r i -
y u
a -
w c
hi h ,

ll l l l
m a k e s thr e e s y ab e s i n J a p a n e s e S i m i a r y so u n s ik e rnok ( 7 ) d l .

k ,

a n d ngzo a t b e c o m e m oku a n d gwa ts u b e c a u s e J a p a n e s e w r i ti n g

Fj ) ,

k no w s n o fi n a l c o n so n a n ts .

A t the s a m e t i m e i t i s w o r th re m a r k i n g t h e c o rre s p o n d e n c e s
, ,

b e tw e e n o r i gi n a l C h i n e s e s o u n d s a n d the i r J a p a n e s e i m i ta ti o n s a re
fa irly u n ifo r m a n d a c o m p a r iso n o f th e tw o i s o fte n o f gre a t v a l u e
,

i n d e term i n i n g p h o n e ti c c h a n ge s th a t h a v e t a k e n p l a c e i n b o th
l a n gu a ges A n i n te re s ti n g e x a m p le i s a S in ic o J a p a n e s e wo r d l ik e
.
-

ky o to r ob Thi s wa s f o rm e r ly w ritte n i n J a p a n kefu which ,

fro m o the r i n d ic a tio n s w e k n o w t o h a v e b e e n p r on o u n c e d so m e thi n g

lik e kepu a n d th is c o n firm s the s u pp o s itio n o the rwi se d e riv e d fro m
, ,

C hi n e s e s o u r c e s th a t th e C hi n es e p r o n u n c i a t i o n wh e n th e w o r d w as
,

b o rr o we d b y th e J a p a n e s e w a s a p p r o x i m a t e l y kep C o n v e rs e l y th e r e .
,

a r e m a n y i n d i c a ti o n s f r o m C hi n e s e th a t t h e s ll a b l e s n o w p ro n o u n c e d
y
i n J a p a n hi ho ha he fu o r i gi n a ll y h a d a n i n it i a l c o n s o n a n t r e
, , , , ,

s e m b l in g
p o r p e r h a p s ph O n e s u c h i n d i c a t i o n i s t h e f a c t th a t i n
. ,

s e l e c t i n g C h i n e s e c h a r a c t e r s t o r e r e se n t th e s e s ll a b l e s p ho n e t i c a lly
p y ,

t h e J a p a n e s e p r e f e rr e d tho se o f wh i ch th e C h i n e s e s o u n d h a d a n i n iti a l
p , a s
H : p i f o
, r t h e fi rs t s y ll a b l e o f t h e w o r d n o w p r o n o u n c e d h i to .
32 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
ill ustrate s o m e o f them by exa mples O n e im p ortant class .

i s c om p o sed o f antithet i cal c o m p ou nds li k e E i f? ché ta n -

‘
,

literally l ong sh o rt which stands for the idea exp ressed in

-

‘
E nglish by the w o rd length bu t is m o re l og ical since it
’

expresses a synthesis by specifying b o th elem ents and e m

p h as i z in
g neithe r S i m ilar w o r ds are A /J da i s hé great \ -

‘ ‘
.
,

s m all m eaning s iz e
’ ’
ka nda n C o ld ho t m eaning -
’

‘
, , , ,

te m per at u re ii 55; y en ki n fa r near m eaning distance

, ,
-
’

, ,

and s o o n N early all su ch c o m p ou nds we r e c o ncise and

.

c o nvenient n otati o ns o f ideas di ffic u lt if n ot i mp o ssible to

exp r ess in early Japanese which was ill equ ipped with the -

‘
,

na m es of abstract ideas The idea o f l ong ness c ou ld be ’

-
.

c o nveyed by a periphrasis li k e n aga ki hoto whe r e n aga ki i s

‘ ‘
,

the adj ective fo r l o ng and koto is the w o rd m eaning thing

’ ’

in an abstract sense ; o r by the w o rd n aga s a whe r e s a i s ,

a s u ffix s om ething like ness in E nglish B u t n aga ki koto-

’

‘
.

is c u m b r ou s and naga s a th ou gh g o o d en o u gh fo r l o ng ness

,
-

d o es n o t c o nvey the abst r act idea o f length Mo re o ve r the .

,

c om p ou nd ché ta n by extensi o n has vari ou s sec o nda ry

-

‘
, ,

m eanings s u ch as m e r its i n the m er its o f a case its str o ng

’

‘
, ,

p o ints and sh or tc om ings or the gist of a m atter— what we

‘
,

sh ou ld call the l ong and sh or t o f it Japanese engaged in ’

.

st u dying Chinese w o rk s w ou ld nat u rally be i mpressed by the

b r evity and u sefu lness o f s u ch c om p ou nds and they w o u ld ,

desire to t ranslate the m int o thei r own lang u age B u t it is

‘
.

j
o bvi o u s that a w o rd li k e n a a ki ni i i ka ki fo r
’

g l o ng sh o rt - -

is alt ogether to o u nwieldy and f o reign to the spi r it o f the ,

Japanese langu age and it was m u ch si m pler to take o ver

,

the Chinese c o m p ou nds as they st oo d Alth o u gh the anti “

.

thet ical c om p ou nds j u st described a re the m o st Characte ristic

and perhaps the m o st i m p ortant Class there a re c om p o u nds ,

o f m any o ther types The r e are fo r instance a great n u m ber

.
, ,

f o rm ed by the j u xtap o siti o n o f two w o rds o f si m ila r m eaning

‘
,

s u ch as ki n ki rej o icing where b o th ki n and hi signify

,
’

gladness S u ch c omp ou nds a r e r edu ndant but o ften they

.
,

se r ve to express ideas differing slightly from th o se rep re

sented by thei r separate ele m ents standing al o ne An o ther .

very c o nvenient Class c om p rises c om p ou nds which d o n o t

essentially di ffer ver y m u ch fr om su ch desc riptive w o rds as
ha ku i E] 255 C i ted ab o ve except that they carr y the p ro cess
, ,

as far as the ass ociati o n of abstract i deas Th u s we have .

 I N TR O D UCTI O N O F W RITI N G 33
‘
f
’

Q gg a a ku tal k st
, u dy that is the st u
-
dy o lang u ages , , ,

for which we have had to i nvent the m isleadi ng term phil o

‘ ’

fi‘ 3 a igo l ove pr o tect which c orresp onds to the

’
l o gy -

‘
, ,

f
’
E nglish che ri sh fi fi l k r th inspecti on
’

‘ E j e en t u or -
,
-
,

verificati o n and a h o st o f s im ilar c om p ou nds for which

’

Japanese c ou ld rarely furn ish a si m ple equ ivalent or even

a c o nvenient paraphrase I t i s n o ticeable that these c om .

p ou nds are freq u ently best translated int o E nglish by a w ord

o f G ree k o r L atin o rigin .

E n o ugh has been said to sh o w that the Japanese c ou ld

ha r dly fail to ad opt w o rds s o u sefu l and s o flex ible and ,

indeed the hist ory o f the v ocab u lar y of Japanese for m any
cent u ri es after the intr o du cti o n o f Chinese learning m ay be
s um m ari z ed as a tale o f b orr owing fr om Chinese c om m enc ing ,

with independent wo rds and c o ntinu ing o n an increasing ,

scale with c om p ou nds TO day the Chinese w ords i n the

, .
-

lan gu age are far m ore n um er ou s than th o se o f nat ive o rigin .

The r e is on e aspect o f this b orr owing p ro cess wh ich is o f

inte r est in its bear ing u p on the stru ct u ral devel op m ent o f
Japanese The Chinese langu age is pec ul iar in that it d oes
‘
.

’
n o t d istingu ish what we call pa r ts o f speech that i s to say , ,

categ ori es o f words c orresp o nding to psych ol og ical categ ori es ,

as a n ou n c orresp onds to a thing a verb to an act o r a state , ,

an adj ect ive to a pr operty The u nit o f Chinese speech i s

“

a fixed m on o syllable s u bj ect to n o s u ch variati ons as are

,

pr o du ced by infi e x i on or su ffixes in o ther langu ages The

‘ ‘
.

’
word a i stands i ndifferently for l o ve to l ove l oving ’

‘
, ,

and bel oved and i ts gra mm atical fu nct ion is determ ined
’

s o lely by i ts p ositi on and c o ntext Japanese on the o ther .

,

hand has spec i al f o rm s fo r special fu ncti o ns It has a large

,
.

n u mber o f u ninfl ec te d wo rds which are n ou ns and i t has ,

inflected w ords which a r e verbs o r adj ect ives or n ou ns

acc o rd ing to their infl e x ion C o nseq u ently in b orrowing .
,

a Chinese wo rd i t was necessary i f it was to be freely u sed

, , ,

to pr o vi de s o m e m eans o f di fferentiating i ts fu ncti on as verb ,

adj ective n ou n o r adverb as the case m ight be S ince all

, ,
.

Chinese w ords are u n infi ec te d and the n o rm al type o f a n ou n ,

in Japanese is u n infl ec te d it was sim ple en ou gh to ta k e o ver ,

Chinese w o rds for u s e as n o u ns with ou t any change o r addi

‘
ti o n Thu s éfi ran argu m ent is a single wo rd and fi fii
‘
.
,

s hé zoku ,
c ost um e a c om p ou nd w or d and b oth were em
’

, ,

F
34 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
b o died as they stand i n the v ocab u lary of Japanese B ut .

when i t cam e t o u sing them as verbs it was necessary to ,

find s om e way of p roviding them with i nfi exi ons which the

Japanese verb req u ir es in o rder to establish its fu ncti o n and
t o bring i t int o relat io n with o ther w o r ds I t m ight o n .

general gr ou nds be s u pp o sed that th i s resu lt c o u ld be

achieved by si mply adding the necessary term inati o ns to the
Chinese w ord as we in E nglish have taken a s u bstant i ve o f
.

‘
,

f o r eign o rigi n l ik e chr onicle and given it o u r nat ive i n ’

‘ ‘ ‘
,
’
fl ex i on s in chr o nicles ch r o nicled chr o nicler and s o o n ’ ’
.
, , ,

B u t this p r o cess wa s n o t easy to apply t o Chinese w o r ds

beca u se on acc ou nt o f the ir sh o rtness any m u tilati o n m ight
, ,

m a k e the m u nrec o gni z able and on acc ou nt o f their s o u nds , ,

they c ou ld n o t well be c omb ined with J apanese s ou nds fr om ,

which they differ in type with ou t s om e m u t ilati o n I kn ow

'

.
,

o f o nly o n e o r tw o cases whe r e a Chinese c o m p o u nd was

ta k en and c o nj u gated li k e a Japanese wo r d O n e is s ké zoku .

,

c o st um e which has j u st been q u oted Th i s wor d happened .

t o bec o m e r ather m ore fa m iliar than m o st o thers wa s c or ,

ru p te d to s é zoku and beca u se o f a q u ite f o rt u it o u s r esem

,

blance to a c omm o n native verb s hi ri zoku it wa s in classical

‘
,

tim es given nat ive i nfl e xi on s like s ozokzte dressing s ozo

’
’

‘
, ,
’
ke ba if he dresses where it is seen fu ncti o ning as a ve rb
‘
.
, ,

An o ther su ch instance i s the verb ry é m to c o o k which ’

, ,

is a barbar ou s and c om paratively recent f o rm ati o n f ro m the

‘
Chinese c o m p ou nd ry é ri 16} B u t s u ch f o rm a
’
c o ok ery .

ti o ns are q u ite excepti o nal and c ou ld i n any case o nly o cc u r ,

when the termi nal s ou nd o f a Chinese w ord was s im ilar to

the term inati o n of a Japanese verb o r adj ect ive Thu s i t .

w ou ld be i m p o ssible with ou t d oing vi o lence to b oth lan

gu ages to c o nvert Chinese w o rds like gy é kwa i or kwa n i nt o
, ,

typ i c al v erb f or m s which m u st l ik e y u ku y u ki y u ka & c

‘
-
.
, , , , ,

end in v owels or adj ective f o rm s which m u st li k e y oki

, , ,

z o r s ki S o rm s as gy ou
’

y os h i end i n the syllables k u ch f

‘
.
, ,
'
i w ld be m nst r o sities Mo re o ver
’

k w w k
’

gy oz , a zs k z k a n o u ,
-
o .
,

even had they n o t been im p o ssible o n gr ou nds o f e uph ony

and intelligibility the im p orted Ch inese w or ds in the per i o d
, ,

o f which we are spea k ing were far fr o m being f u lly assi m i ,

lated They still retained their alien indivi du ality and it

.
,

1 The r e a r e h o we v er s o m e a dj e c ti v e s form e d by a dd in g a s p e c i a l
, ,

t er m i n a ti o n s hi ki to C hi n e s e w or d s a s in bi bi s hikz y uy u s hi ki & c
’

-
, , , , , .
36 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
cher ished and s o o n In m any cases the Chinese w o rd
’
.
,

retai ns its character as a n ou n s o fu lly that it is disting u ished

as being in the o bj ective case by m eans o f the app ro priat e
‘
particle s o that we c an say b o th ken s u s um to inspect ’

‘
, ,

and kens u mo s u m to m a k e an inspecti o n with a slight

,
’

di fference o f em phasis .

It will be seen that th i s m eth o d o f em pl oying wo rds m u st

have had a far reaching effect u p o n the v ocab u lary O f
-

Japanese beca u se it permitted the u s e of i m p or ted w o r ds

,

to fulfil alm o st any gra m m atical f u nct io n and yet r etained ,

the m in alm o st eve ry case wi th n o change in their f o rm .

C o nseq u ently the Japanese v o cab u la ry o f to day i s divided -

i nt o two well c o ntrasted classes— on the o n e hand the native

-

w o rds o n the o ther the i m p orted o nes each bearing very

, ,

clear m ar k s o f its o rigin I t is i nteresting to c om pare this.

c onditi o n with that which p r evails in the langu ages o f

E u ro pe whe r e m u t u al b o rr owing has been for cent u r ies s o
,

c o ntinu ou s and frequ ent that their v o cab u laries have an

h om ogene ou s aspect and the distincti on between nat i ve and
fo reign w ords is o ften appa r ent o nly to o n e with expert
k n owledge N o b o dy bu t a phil ol ogist c ou ld say O ff hand -

‘
.

what wa s the hist ory o f an E nglish w or d like ch o o se bu t ’

any du nce in Japan c a n t ell fr om their m ere shape and s ou nd

‘
, ,

that s entei i s Chinese and em bu Japanese for to ch o o se ’

.

If they we r e to be fu lly u tiliz ed the Chinese elem ents ,

had s om eh ow to be m ade to serve n ot o nly as verbs bu t

as adj ectives and adverbs Fu ll details o f the pr ocesses by .

whi ch s u ch adaptati o ns were carried out will be f ou nd in the

b o dy of th i s w ork and we need n ot d o m o re than sketch
I
,

the m briefly here To t urn a Chinese n ou n i nt o an adj ective

.

there was a c o nven i ent gramm atical appa r at u s ready to hand

in the nat ive verb u ari which i s the equ ivalent o f ou r c op u la
‘
,
"
to be and in c omm on with all o ther Japanese verbs has
, , ,

special attrib u tive and adverbial f orm s C o nsequ ently

‘
.
,

ta k ing a w o rd l ik e ki rei fi g m eaning pretty it was x

’

necessa ry o nly to attach to i t uum the attrib u tive fo rm o f ,

u ari f o rm i ng the c om binati o n hi rei u a m which can be pre -

‘
, ,

fixed to any su bstantive as in ki rei n a m hau a (l iterally an -

‘
,

Th i s is the n o rm al ’
is pretty
-
for a pretty fl ower .

S e e in p a rt i c u l ar u n d er Adj e c ti v e s p 1 2 1 a nd u n d er A dv e r b s
I
, .
, ,

p . 290 .
 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 37
m eth o d o f u sing Chinese c om p ou nds as attribu tives and has ,

given r ise to th e c orr esp onding c o llo qu ial ki rei nu ha nd ,

where n u is sim ply a c o ntracti o n o f n a m O ther m eth o ds .

o f b r inging Chinese c o m p o u nds int o an att r ib u tive r elati o n

wi th n ou ns a r e n o t want ing and th ou gh they are less i re

,

q u ent they a re o f inter est as sh owing that the adopti o n O f

C hinese w o r ds f orced u p o n the Japanese langu age cer tain
o r at least b r o u ght int o c o mm o n u se
'
s tru c tu r al c ha n ge s ,

syntactical and o ther devices which w ou ld have o therwise

r em ained u n u s u al A characteristic exam ple is the b orr owing
.

o f m eth o ds o f which Chinese avails itself in the absence o f

i nfl e x i o n as when the Japanese u s e su ch adj e c tiva l ph r ases

,
’ ’
as s eijij é a: Q 1 ; p olitical gutai teki a
, E] c o ncrete
14, , ,

wher e J : and a!) are the Chinese s kang and ti which are ,

fu ncti onally i nfl ex i on al affixes H ere then we have cases .

, ,

where Japanese has b o rr owed a pa r t o f the Chinese gram

m a ti c a l apparat u s .

S i m ilar expedients were res o rted to when it was desired

to u s e Chinese w o r ds as adve rbs The p r oble m was si m ple
.
,

beca u se Japanese adverbs a r e u nin fl ec te d and it was meces ,

sary only to a ffix to the appr op riate Chinese w o rd o n e o f the

native adverbial part icles u i o r to th u s f orming n o t an
‘
, ,
’
adverb bu t an adve rbial phrase as ki rei u i prett ily , , ,
’
tots u zen to s u ddenly
, .

Alt ogether the infl u ence u p o n the Japanese langu age o f

,

Chinese i mp o rtati o ns has been c o nside rable They have as .

,

we have seen wrou ght an i mm ense change in the c on s titu

,

ti o n o f its v o cab u lary ; they have p rofou ndly m o dified its

stru ct u r e by grafting o n to an inflected st o ck a n um erically
prep o nderant u n infl e c ted elem ent and they have in m any
respects alte r ed or enlarged its gramm at ical apparat u s All .

these r esu lts it is i mp or tant to n o tice have n ot o nly fl owed

, ,

nat urally fr om the pec u liar st ru ct u r e o f Chinese bu t have

been du e in n o s m all meas u re to the diffi c u lty o f adj u sting the
,

highly devel oped sc ript o f a lite rary lang u age t o the req u ire
m ents O f an entirely alien speech with n o literary hist o ry .

While the ou tstanding feat u res o f the effect pr o du ced by

Chinese u p o n the devel op m ent o f Japanese have been de
scr ibed ab o ve there is n o d ou bt t hat m any l oc u ti ons and
,

p ro bably m any gramm atical devices which appear to be

indigen ou s are in reality du e to Chinese i nflu ence exerted ,
38 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
ch iefly thr ou gh Japanese t r anslati o ns o f Chinese w or k s It .

is nat u rall y i m p o ssible to give definite pr o o f o f s u ch infl u ence ,

since the first rec o r ds o f Japanese a re in the sc ript o f the

lang u age which we s u pp o se to have exerted it and they were ,

c om piled at a pe ri o d when Ch i nese had al r eady been u sed in

Japan for at least two or three h u ndred years We m ay .
,

h owever reas o nably assum e that at least the s ongs o f the

,

K oji ki and m o st o f the S hint o rit u als are in p u re Japanese ,

free from any alien adm ixt u re and the r e i s a m ark ed c o n

,

trast between the langu age o f th o se texts and that o f say , ,

the m ain b o dy o f the K oji ki itself or the I m perial rescripts

o f the S hoku N i hongi B u t this is very u ncertain g r ou nd
.
,

a nd I c o nfine m yself to giving a few exa m ples o f what I s u p

p o se t o be c o nstru cti ons in i m itat io n o f Chinese practice ,

rem inding the reader that in the early days O f Chinese st u dies
the m et ho d o f literal translat i o n m u st in the nat u re o f ,

things have been freely foll owed

, .

I m agin e a Japanese st u dent endeav ou r ing to read the

Analects and c o m ing u p on a passage l ik e
,

‘
fi, do
3C g overn m ent
u by
virt u e fi
c om pari s on
g
li k e flu
n o rth i ll:

drag on E
‘
which m eans He who exerci ses g overn m ent by m eans o f
,

his virt u e m a y be c om pared to the P o le S tar

’
I
.

This he w ou ld r ead in Japanese f oll owing the o riginal as ,

cl o sely as p o ssible ,

a m a ts u rigoto (we )

g s u m ( )
n i
{g toku
13 ,
m
( )
o m ooni te

( s u reba )
g ta toi (we )
if
, 5 2 h o k u s k i n

g m ( )g
n o ot os hi
I F or s i m p l i c ity th e o r i gi n a l t e x t i s h e r e sli ght ly a b ri d ge d .
 I N TR O D U CTI O N O F W RITI N G 39
whe re the w o rds in brackets are th o se s u pplied to f u lfil the
gr amm atical requ irem ents o f Japanese The translati o n . .

th ou gh n ot inc o rrect Japanese is alm o st liter al and far from

, ,

being idi om atic The Chinese char acters are ta k en on e by

.

On e and the nearest literal equ ivalent in Japanese for each

,

is u sed bu t the res u lt th ou gh intelligi ble en ou gh to th o se

,

acc u st o m ed to s u ch texts is o btained by f o rcing Japanese

,

wor ds int o al ien c onst ru cti o ns When fo r i nstance the .

, ,

t ranslat o r c om es to 131 which stands for a Ch i nese ins tru

‘
,

m ental particle o f which the o riginal sense wa s to u s e he

’

do es n o t render it by an equ ivalent Japanese part icle bu t

‘
,

by a phrase mo mooni te m aking u s e o f and for the si mple ’

‘ ‘
, ,

by vi rt u e he says toku mo mocki te u sing virt u e

’ ’

la , ,

This l o c u t ion has n ow ta k en its place in the Japanese in ,

the f o rm s mo mooni te and ma matte which are c omm o nly

‘
,

em pl oyed in the written langu age to den o te by m eans o f

’

It is easy to m u ltiply exam ples wher e as in this case a , ,

c o nst ru ct io n has c om e int o c omm o n u s e thr ou gh Chinese

influ ence It is n o t as a r u le p o ssible to p r ove that su ch
.

c o nstru cti o ns have been b o dily t ransferred fro m Chinese ;

bu t we m ay s u spect that m any c o nstru ct io ns which we r e n o t
u s u al in early Japanese beca m e c om m o n u nder the stress o f

necessity in t ranslating Chinese wo rks An anal ogy fro m

‘
.

E nglish is perhaps seen i n the u s e o f s u ch phrases as these

things being d o ne m o delled u p on the ablat ive abs o l u te
’

c o nst ru ct io n o f L atin They cann ot be rej ected as n o t

.

E n glish bu t they are im itat ive

, .

There is little d ou bt that the K oji ki c onta ins m u ch

ph rase ol ogy o f th is nat u re and th ou gh it wou ld be too m u ch
,

to say that any c o nstr u cti o n or f orm which d o es n o t appear

in the Rit u als or the S ongs sh ou ld be rega r ded with s u spici o n ,

we m ay go s o fa r as to say that the appearance of a given

l o c u ti o n in even the ea rliest texts o ther than th o se two is
n o t c o ncl u s ive pr oo f that it is indigen ou s .

I append a few s u ggest io ns as to u sages n ow frequ ent in

Japanese wh ich m ay be d u e to Chinese influ ence
o f tokoro to f o r m relative cla u ses
( I ) The u s e ‘ as y u ku ,

tokoro n o hi to the m a n who g o es This seem s to f ollow ’

‘
, .

the Chinese u se o f y? as in 4} E? fik that which the heart

’
desi r es .The m ean ing o f Bi as an independent w ord is
40 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘ ’ ‘ ’
place and place i n Japanese i s tokoro s o that the
, ,

Japanese w o u ld translat e the ab ove l iter ally as kokoro n o

kos s um tokoro the hea r t s des ire place
’ ’
-
,

( ) Chi nese havi ng n o spec i al verb f o rm s to express spec i al

2 -

aspects l ik e tenses ti m e i s expressed by analytic m eth o ds as

‘
, ,
’

5 fi ( spea k fi n ish fo r -
Japanese ve rbs have
special s uffi xes to express the c o m plet i o n o f an act bu t in the
‘
,

K oji ki for instance we find phrases li k e 55 fi ifii hav i ng “

‘
, ,
’
sp ok en (literally speak finish then which 18 rendered I n
Japanese by i i oete I t see m s l ik ely that Japanese l o c u t ions
.

o f th i s nat u re a r e d u e t o Chinese and that the frequ ent u s e ,

i n the written lang u age of s hi ka s hi te a c omm o n reading o f ,

fffi i s als o c opied fr om Chinese pr o se

, .

‘ ‘
(3 ) A c omm on Ch inese l o cat ive particle ‘
’
15
jjb at o r in

wh i ch I s rendered I n Japanese by n i ai te placed I n Th i s ’

l o c u t i o n see m s to be du e to t ranslati on s i nce theu su al

,

Japanese l o cative particle ni c a n be m ade to serve all , ,

necessary p u rp o ses .

‘ ’

( )
4 In Ch i nese o cc u rs i n l ik e
very freq u ently i n phrases
‘ ‘
,
’ ’
equivalent to thu s how & c The Japanese equ ivalent
, , .

i s an adj ect ive gotoki and in Japanese pr o se we find it i n

‘
,

c omm o n u s e as in kaku n o gotoku th u s where i n p u re

, ,
’

Japanese kuku w ou ld b e suffic i ent It i s pr obable that the .

extended u s e o f gotoku i s imitated fr om Chinese .

The d ou ble negative as i n um m m bekam zu m u st n o t

(5 ) ‘
, ,

for m u st be i s p o ssibly d u e to Chinese i nfl u ence

’
not b e
’
.
,

This and m any sim ilar l o c u ti o ns wh ich c om e perhaps rather

u nder the heading o f style than o f syntax as fo r instance , , ,

the ant ithetical gr o u p o f w o rds o r ph r ases are characterist i c ,

feat u res o f Chinese pr o se .

‘ ’
6
( )The u s e o f classifiers i s n ot frequ ent i n the early
langu age and i t m ay b e that their freq u ency to day has
,
-

been br o u ght ab ou t by the exam ple o f Chinese The need .

o f classifiers o r s om e o ther device t o prevent a m big u ity is

u rgent i n a lang u age f u ll o f h o m oph o nes b u t n ot in a p o ly ,

syllabic langu age like Japanese wher e h o m oph o nes th ou gh , ,

n u m er ou s are n o t u su ally s u ch as to cau se m isu nderstanding

,
.
 F U RTHER D EVEL O PME N TS 41

2 . F u rther D evelop men t of the S crip t a n d the ,

R ep res enta ti on of j ap a n es e S ou n ds

We have t raced the pr o cess o f adapting the Chinese sc ript

to Japanese r eq u ire m ents u p to a p o int whe r e the ph o netic
u s e o f Chinese sy m b o ls t o r ep r esent Japanese pa r ticles and
term inati o ns was well established by i ts u s e in vari o u s
chr o nicles and anth ol ogies c om piled f ro m the fifth to the
ninth cent u ry The p ro cess was a g r adu al o n e The ver ses
. .

in the M a ny é shu are n o t exclu sively written in ka n a The .

ea rly p o em s say th o se u p to the end o f the seventh cent u ry

, ,

are written with char acters u sed acc o r ding to m eanings and ,

the ir rec o nstru cti o n is n o t easy ; bu t th o se o f the m iddle

o f the eighth cent u ry a r e w ri tten ph o netically We have .

al ready observed that the u s e o f a c o m plete Chinese char acte r

t o r epresent each syllable o f w or ds in a p o lysyllabic langu age
was an awkwar d and tires om e m eth o d It m u st be rem em .

be r ed h owever that these Char acters wer e as a ru le w ritten

, ,

n o t in the way in which they appear in printed b o o ks b u t in

‘ ’
an abbr eviated c u rsive style kn own as the g rass hand
‘
, .

Thu s the char acter 951] chi kn owledge u sed as a p h o netic ’

, ,

sym b o l for the s o u nd chi was written i n a r u nning hand i

, ,

and this wa s g radu ally abbreviated thr ou gh va ri ou s stages

su ch as 2 u ntil it t o o k the si m ple f o rm5
,

,
It is nat u ral .

to s u p p o se that the c o nvenience o f these abb r evi ati o ns s u g

gested to the Japanese the selecti o n o f a n u m ber o f si m pl ified
Cha racters to be r ese rved fo r ph o netic u ses The Japanese .

traditi o n a ffi rm s that K ob o D aishi a fa m ou s p r iest who ,

lived f rom A D 7 74 —8 3 5 hi m self ch o se f or ty seven o f these

. .
,
-

signs and fixed the m as the c o nventi o nal equ ivalents o f

f o rty seven syllables int o which the s ou nds o f the Japanese
-

langu age h a d been analysed These we r e called hi mga n a

.
,

which m ay be taken to m ean easy kun u and c o nstit u te an

alphabet o r rather a syllabary by which Japanese w ords
, ,

c a n b e written acc o rding t o their s o u nd I t is qu ite li k ely .

that Kob o D aishi was resp o nsible for this selecti o n bu t it is ,

i nc o rrect t o say that he was the invent o r o f a Japanese

alphabet The idea o f u sing Character s as ph onet ics wa s
.
,

as w e have seen n o t a new o n e and it had been applied

, ,

by the Chinese cent u ries bef ore K ob o D a i shi if it was he

.
, ,

can hardly have d one m o re than sim plify the f o rm s and

3270 G
42 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
redu ce the n u m ber of kunu B efore th i s the selecti o n o f .

Chinese characters to represent Japanese s ou nds was m or e

or less a m atter o f i nd i vi du al taste Many differ ent charac .

ters were u sed for each s ou nd s om et im es the sa m e cha r acter ,

w a s u sed fo r m o re than on e s ou nd E ven when the u s e o f .

si m plified character s becam e c om m on there was n othing i n ,

the nat u re of a fixed alphabet and the t o tal n u m ber o f hi m ,

ga n a sym b o ls u sed t o represent f orty seven s ou nds was

-

nearly three h u ndred Many o f these have b een elimi nated .

,

and the hi mga n u i n c om m on u s e to day m ay be said to b e -

standardi z ed and to sh ow as a ru le l i ttle m o re variat i o n than i s

,

seen i n the different styles o f wri t ing or p rint ing ou r alphabet .

An o ther syllabary wh i ch cam e int o u s e at ab ou t the sam e

,

peri o d as the hi mguna i s m ade u p o f what are called kuta ,

’
kun a o r s i de ka nu These are abbreviat ions of the squ are
.
,

and n o t the cu rs i ve typ e o f Chinese character generally ,

f o rm ed by on e part or side (kuta ) being taken t o represent

the wh ole Thu s while m is the hi raga n a for i f o rm ed by
.
, ,

a c u rsive abbreviati o n o f the character 13 (wh ich is p ro ,

n ou n c e d i ) the c or r esp o nd ing kuta ka n a f o rm i s 4

, which i s ,

the S i de o f the character fl} als o pr o n ou nced i S im ilarly , .

b o th katukana and hi mga nu s igns for the s ou nd 7 0 are

der ived fr om the Character 5 the kuta kuna bei ng a which , ,

i s a part o f 5 and the hi mga nu bei ng 73 wh i ch is a c u r s i ve

,

f o rm o f the wh o le character 5 .

A s m ight be expected the c onveni ence of these syllabar i es ,

enc ou raged the u se o f what we have called the Mi xed

P h o n etic S c ript (K a n an mji ri ) and th i s has n ow after ce r tai n ,

vic i ssit u des c om e to be the n orm al script for representing

Japanese empl oyed i n all pri nted and m an u script d o cu
,

m ents The a dmixt u re o f [zo n e varies acc o rding to the wr i ter

.

and to the l i ter acy wh i ch he expects f rom his reader There .

i s n o general r u le bu t the m eth o d m ay be r ou ghly described

,

as f o ll ows
1 . All w ords o f Chinese o rig in m o st u ninfl ec te d Japanese -
,

w ords and the ste m s o f i nflected w ords are written

,

by m eans o f c om plete Ch inese characters u sed ,

sem antically .

2 . G ramm atical terminati o ns and particles are written in

hi mgan a .
44 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
whether ancient or m o dem is al m o st u nattainable In su pp o r t .

o f this state m ent it is o nly necessa r y t o r efer to the m eth o d ,

i n general u se in printed m atter for which wide p u blicity is

s o u ght o f p u tting at the side o f eve ry cha racter s m all ka n a
,

which rep r esent its s ou nd In nearly all newspape r s and

.

p op u la r m aga z ines this practice i s followed An exa m ple will

.
I

m a k e it clear
‘
F to
3111)
”
“
1% 3

m
0)

£2 3
$ 5 ,

I:

m
9
O ne hesitates fo r an epithet to desc r ibe a system O f writ ing
which is s o c om plex that it needs the aid o f an o ther system
to explain it There is n o d o u bt that it p r ovides for s om e
.

a fasc inating field o f st u dy bu t as a practical instru m ent i t

,

i s s u rely with ou t infe ri o rs . O n e m ight s u pp o se that o n e o f

the two syllabaries c o u ld be s u bstit u t ed enti r ely for the
Chinese character with great advantage to Japan bu t q u ite
, ,

apa r t fr o m that nat u r al c o nservatis m which r esists any

attem pts to b r ea k d own what has been b u ilt u p in the c o u r se
o f cent u r ies there are seri o u s practical o bj ecti o ns t o s u ch
,

a reform This is n o t the place t o discu ss them bu t they

.
,

m a y be s u mm a ri z ed by sayi ng that with the i m p o r tati o n

,

o f Chinese w o r ds Japanese has devel o ped in s o m e m eas u re

,

the h o m o ph o n ou s q u ality o f Chinese and the visu al aid o f

,

the Chinese char acter is still necessa ry fo r u nde r standing

1
E v e n i n th e o ffic i a l R e a d e r s u s e d i n p r i m a r y s c h o o l s th e r e
a pp e a r o cc a s i o n a lly c h a r a c t e r s t o w h i c h ka n a m u s t b e a ffix e d ,

b e c a u s e w i th o u t th e m t h e r e a d i n g i s u n c e rt a i n
, , Th u s i n m a ny
.
,

c o n t e x t s n o bo d y c a n s a y wi tho u t a ka nu gl o ss wh e the r L sh o u ld
, , ,

b e r e a d aga m , t o go u p o r n abom to a s ce n d
 F U RTHER D EVEL O PME N TS 45
a Japanese text The fu ncti o n o f the faun a written at the
.

side o f the cha racter s i s n o t to exp lain the m bu t t o eke o u t ,

their m eanings by specifying t hei r s ou nds It is as difficu lt .

t o read the ka n u with ou t the cha r acters as to read the

cha racters with o u t the kan u .

In disc u ssing the nat u r e o f the Chinese sc ript we have seen

that it is m or e c orrectly desc ribed as l og ographic than as
ide ographic The Chinese w or d which a single cha racter
.

r e p r esents d o es it is t ru e c o nvey an idea and since o n e

, , , ,

Chinese w o r d is invariably r epresented by o n e and the sa m e

Characte r the cha racte r is to that extent an ide ograph B u t
, .

the m eaning o f a Chinese w o r d m a y vary en o rm ou sly acc o rd

ing to p o siti o n and to c o ntext while the character r em ains ,

with ou t change and in Chinese theref ore the cha r acter m ay

pr ope rly be said to rep r esent a w o r d r ather than an idea . .

The Japanese u se o f the Chinese cha r acte r m ay h oweve r , ,

with s o m e r eas o n be rega r ded as ide ographic We saw in .

disc u ssing the character that alth ou gh it stands always

‘
,

for o ne Chinese w o r d s heng this w o r d m a y m ean to live

’

‘ ‘
, , ,
’ ’
t o bear to be b o rn raw st r ange to grow a p u pil
’ ’ ’ ’

, , , , , ,

and so o n B ut in Jap anese when we find the character

.
,

we assign to it a di ffe r ent w or d acc or ding to the idea which

i t is intended t o c onvey reading it for instance as u mu if
‘ ‘
, , ,

it m eans to bear and i hi m if it m eans to live

’

,
I n o ther ’
.

words a Japanese r eader c o nsiders the wh o le r ange o f ideas

,

c overed by the character £13 and then selects as its equ ivalent ,

the Japanese w ord which c o nveys the pa r ticu la r idea i n

tended We m a y therefo re say with ou t ab u se o f langu age
.
, ,

that th ou gh the Chinese script as u sed by the Chinese is n ow

a l og o graphic script as u sed by the Japanese it i s largely
,

ide ographic .

There is o n e i m p or tant aspect o f the devel op m ent o f the

Japanese sc ript which m u st be given special attenti on and ,

that is the m u t u al relati o n between Japanese s o u nds and

what we m a y call Japanese spelling I t is evident that at .
,

s om e pe ri o d in the devel op m ent o f the script pr obably ab ou t ,

the ti m e when the hi mga n a and kuta kun a syllabaries were

c o ntrived Japanese sch o lars began to analyse the s ou nds
,

o f which Japanese w o rds were c o m p o sed and since they , ,

selected f o rty seven sym b ols in each set o f kan a we m u st

-
,

su pp o se that they discerned f orty seven s ou nds -

.
46 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
I t was n o t u ntil s o m e cent u ries later (the eleventh cent u ry )
that an o ther classificati o n appeared i n the f o rm o f a table ,

described as the schem e o f fifty s ou nds N ow the di stin .

gu ishing feat u re o f these and all o ther nat i ve classificati o ns

o f Japanese s ou nds i s that the u nit is always a syllable and ,

i t has always been the c u st om i n analys i ng Japanese w o rds

, ,

to d i stingu ish o nly syllables and n o t to go f u r ther by dis

,

s e c tin g t h o se syllables int o their c o nstit u ent v o wels and

c o ns onants This is a p oint which sh ould be b orne i n m ind

.

in all disc u ss io ns o f Japanese ety m o l ogy I have seen i t .

stated in a learned essay u p o n the o rigins o f Japanese that

, ,

Japanese m u st always have been a syll abic langu age beca u se ,

when they ca m e to w r ite it they wr ote it syllable by syllable .

S u ch a statem ent will n o t bear exam inati o n It is o bv i ou s .

that the syllab i c m eth o d o f w riting Japa nese is du e in the

first place to the fact that the Chinese system which they
b orrowed was a syllab i c o n e and c ou ld n o t be u sed in any
,

o ther wa y B u t that d o es n o t by any m eans p r o ve that

.

the fu rther div i sio n o f Japanese s ou nds wa s u nnat u ral o r

i m p o ssible The classificati o n m ade by the sch olars wh o
.

drew u p the tables o f kan a was a classificati o n of sym b o ls

and n ot a class ificati o n o f s ou nds I f we ta k e a Japanese .

verb l ik e yu ku and exam ine i ts va ri ou s f o rm s we find y u ki ,

y u k a
, and y u ke Wh i ch o f.these are w e t o regard as a ste m ,

if for ety m ol og ical p u rp o ses we wish to p o st u late on e The

c onstant p o rti on o f all these fo rm s is y u k Tru e i t cann o t .
,

b e written by m eans o f the Japanese syllaba ry bu t that

fact al o ne is n ot su fficient to p ro ve that su ch an entity never
existed I t is tru e that to m o dern Japanese f orm s like y u k
.

signify n o thing and I am far fr om asserting that these are

,

the real stem s o f Japanese verbs The qu esti on o f ea r ly .

Japanese s ou nds i s a ver y obscu r e on e and cann o t pr operly ,

b e disc ussed in a treatise on gramm ar bu t I allu de to it he r e ,

beca u se i t has s om e bearing o n gramm atical pr oble m s F or .

instance if y u k is a stern then the f o rm s y u ka yu ki y u ke

, , , , ,

y u k u are m ade by aggl u tinati o n and we sh o u ld

, expect t o find

that the agglu tinated v owels had at on e ti m e s om e i n d ep en

dent S ignificance If o n the o ther hand y u k is n o t a ste m
.
, , ,

the vowels a i e and u are i nfl ex i on s I am inclined t o the

, , , .

latter view bu t I d o n o t thin k i t sh ou ld be taken for granted

,

that syllables are the u lt im ate c onstit u ent s o f Japanese w ords .

 F U RTHER D EVELO PME N TS 47
It i s tr u e h owever that as Japanese w o rds are n ow p ro
, ,

n o u n c e d and it appears as they were pr o n o u nced at least

, , ,

as far bac k as the seventh cent u ry they are all c om p o sed o f ,

syllables c o nsisting either o f a v owel or o f a c o ns o nant

, ,

f oll owed by a v owel The fifty s ou nds ab ove referred to

.

m ay be set f orth as f o ll o ws as represented by kuta ka na and,

a u nif o rm transliterati o n .

( A h m
o e character w a s later u sed t o represent the final
n s o u nd which strictly speak ing did n o t exist in Japanese
, , .

In early texts for instance f u t u re f orm s which are n ow

, ,

written with n as m a n were written w ith mu as a m mu

, , , .

The final n s ou nd d oubtless was du e to the need for repr o

d u c in g the te rm inati o n ng o f Chinese w o rds ) .

The s ou nds in c olum ns 1 and 2 call for n o c omm ent I n .

c olum n 3 the syllable rep r esented by s i is n ow pr o n ou nced

,

m o re like s hi bu t i t i s.p roba ble that its earlier pr on u ncia

,

ti o n was s i In c olu m n 4 ti is n ow pr on ou nced chi (as in

.
,

There is n o evidence as to the early p ro nu nci a

ti on bu t ther e a re indicati o ns that all the syllables i n th i s
,

series o nce had an i nitial s ou nd i nterm ediate between t and

ts. S i m ilar o bservat io ns a p ply t o tu which i s pr o n ou nced ,

ts u . C olum n 5 offers n o di ffic u lty In c olum n 6 the m o dern .

pr o nu nciati o ns a re ha hi fu he ho There is very g o o d

, , , , .

evidence to sh ow that the early f orm s o f these syllables were

n o t aspirat e pl u s v owel bu t labial pl u s v owel wh i ch m ight ,
48 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
be represented appr o xi m ately by pa pi pu pe po or better , , , , ,

perhaps by pha phi phu phe pho , , , , .

I

C o lu m ns 7 and 9 requ ire n o c omm ent C olu m n 8 r e pre .

,

sented by y a yi y u y e y o has it will be seen n o kan a

, , , , , , ,

eq u ivalent for y i and y e bu t it is al m o st certa i n fr om e tym o ,

l o gical evidence that a syllable y i did o nce exist A t present .

y i is ass im ilated t o i 4 A s for

y e th o u gh there i,s n o ka n a .
,

sym b o l for it there is very l ittle d ou bt that the sym b ol an

, ,

n o w assigned to the s o u nd e o riginally st o o d fo r y e and , ,

i ndeed that the m o dern pr o n u nc i ati o n o f x i s nearer y e than .

e. In c o lu m n I O there is n o ka na fo r wu bu t here again i t ,

is pretty certa in fr o m early texts that zou originally existed ,

and that it was originally represented by 7 which has n ow ,

be en transferred to the c o l um n o f sim ple v owels as u .

Th ough the ab o ve table represents what are called in

‘
Japanese the p ure s ou nds the r e are i mp u re s ou nds c orre ,

s p o n d i n g to each o f the c o l u m ns 2 3 4 6 na m ely G A G I , , , , , , ,

GU GO ; Z A Z I Z U Z E 2 0 ; D A D I D U D E
, GE , ,
-
, , , , , , ,

DO and B A B I B U B E B 0 These are represented by

‘
.
, , , ,

adding a d i ac ritic m ark called a n igori o r i m p u rity t o

’

,
‘
the ka n a for the p u r e syllables Thu s we have i : = ka and
’

‘
.

zy = ga There a r e als o half im p u re s o u nds P A P I P U -

.
, , , ,

PE ,
represented by a m ar k
PO, as fo r pa Ther e is .

n o t m u ch d ou bt ab ou t the ea r ly pr o n u nciati o n o f these

‘
i m p u re s ou nds bu t there i s a difference o f opin i o n as t o
’

thei r pr oper transliterat io n O n the wh o le ji is p r eferable .

fo r 9 si m ply becau se m o re u su al than zi b u t for e tym o

, ,

l o gical p u rp o ses o n e sh ou ld di stingu ish between the s o u nd

‘
m o r m o f s hi and the s ou nd i which
j i ,
which
‘
is the i p u re f j , ,

is the im p u r e f o rm o f chi alth ou gh in o rd ina ry p ro nu ncia

’

t i o n little or n o difference can be n o ticed S i m ilarly the .

,

i m p u re f o rm s o f s u and ts u b oth u m a lly w ritten zu sh ou ld

,
, ,

n o t be c o nfu sed and it is u sef u l to write z u for the f o rm er

,

and dzu for the latter .

I t will already be clear that the kan a spell ing o f Japanese

wo rds is n o t easy There are m any di fficu lties which we
.

have n o t yet exp o sed It i s n ot necessa ry he r e to give a f u ll .

c
I re m e m b er o n e s e e in g a J a p a n e se ka n a r e n e r i n g o f th e t i t e
I d l
W h o s W ho ’
w c
h i h i f r e a a o r i n g t o t h e u s u a t ra n s i t e r a t i o n
, d cc d l l ,

w as F u s u F u I t i s s i gn i a n t th a t th e s o n a n t o r m s fic
o rr e s p o n i n g f c d
t o th e gr o u p ha , hi , fu he ho a r e ba bi bu be, bo , , , , , .
 F U RTHER D EVEL O PME N TS 49
acc ou nt o f the way in which the syllabary i s u sed to rep r e
sent c om p ou nd s o u nds bu t i t i s des irable to state the chief
,

r u les The k e y to all o f them i s that the old langu age never
.

has a syllable beginning with a v o wel except at the be ,

ginning o f a w o rd The next im p or tant r u le is that except

.
,

at the beginning o f a wo rd the aspirates o f the ha c o lum n

,

are l o st in pr o nu nci at io n It f o llows that the c om b inati o ns

.

g iven bel ow f orm by crasis the c om p ou nd s ou nds sh o wn

aga inst them .

a pl u s i t bec om es 6

a fu 6
o u b
o f
u 6
o ho 6
0 mo 6
y e u yo
y e f
u yo
ye 0 yo
y e ho y é
i f u i ii
S i milarly ,

plu s fu bec om es cho

te
de fu ]0 ‘
he fu hy b
se fu s he

and s o o n— a str o ke o ver a v owel indicat ing that it i s l o ng .

It w ill be seen that the c o rrect ka n a spelling o f m any

c omp o u nd s ou nds i s a m atter o f c o nsider able difficu lty and ,

indeed i s o ften the s u bj ect o f c o nt r o versy I t is frequ ently .

hard to say whether the s ou nd s ho for instance sh ou ld b e , ,

written by ha na representing s e fu or th o se represent ing s hi -

ya u o r s hi ya fu o r even s hi y o fu
- - - - -
.
,

These r u les i f b o rne in m ind expla i n a n u m ber o f s ou nd

, ,

changes i n Japanese which are o therw i se p uz z ling Chi ef .

a m ong these are

1 . The particle u su ally wr itten ha is always pr o n ou nced
ma beca u se o f its nat u re i t cann o t c om e at the
, , ,

beginning o f a w or d bu t is rega r ded as inc orp or ated

,

with the w o rd which it f oll ows and m o difies Thu s .

ha n a ha bec o m es ha n awa becau se the asp i rate i s ,

H
50 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
l o st in pr o n u nc i at io n and since Japanese d o es n o t ,

t o lerate two si m ilar v o wels i n s u ccess io n the c o m ,

bI n a tI o n ha n a a i s m ade ha n a wa in o rdinary speech .

2 . The particle he in the sam e way i s pr o n ou nced e

, ,
.

F o r s im ilar reas ons verb c o nj u gati o ns which i n the

, ,

c orrect ka na spelling a r e written o n the m o del o f ,

amofu om ohi , omoha oni ohe are pr o n ou nced omou

, , , ,

o moi , o mowa , oni oe .

O wi ng to these pec u lia rities o f the ka n a spelling the ,

pr oblem o f transliterati o n int o o u r alphabet is a di fficu lt o n e .

F or practical p u rp o ses the s i m plest s o l u ti o n is t o r epresent

alphabet i cally the m o dern Japanese s ou nds The practice .

f oll owed by Ast o n Cham berlain and S at ow i n their phil o

, ,

l og ical w or k s o n Japanese w a s to rep r o du ce exactly the faun a

spelling writing for instance s afu rafu fo r a w o rd which is
, , ,

n ow p r o n o u nced $ 5 7 5 and this plan has the m erit o f m a king

clear the devel op m ent o f m any f o rm s wh i ch i s o bsc u red by
the m o de r n alphabetical spelling I t i s an appr o ach to a .

sc i entific m eth od bu t i t is n o t enti r ely sat isfact or y The

, .

i deal m eth o d for phil o l ogical st u dies w o u ld be t o u s e a c o m

, ,

p le te ph o net i c n o tati o n and to apply it h i st o r ically by re p r e

,

senting every w o rd q u o ted as it was pr o n ou nced at the peri o d

u nder d i sc u ssi o n To wr i te s afu rafu c o nsistently for 8 5 7 5
.

o bvi ou sly d o es n o t f u lfil these req u i r e m ents We kn o w that .

the ea rliest rec o rded ka n a spelling o f $ 67 6 was 3 7 9 7 ”

which we m a y ch oo se t o t r ansliterate as safurafu bu t we

d o n o t kn ow whether s afu rafu represents the pr o n u nc i ati o n
o f say the N a r a pe r i o d any m o re acc u rat ely than d o es $ 6 7 6
, , ,

while we are at least certain that $ 5 7 5 displays with s om e

accu racy the m o dern p r o n u nciat io n A st u dent o f Japanese .

who has en ou gh kn owledge t o p u rs u e etym o l ogical inq u iries

cann o t be m isled by s u ch a spelling as 3 67 6 since he m u st ,

be acqu ainted with the lines al o ng which Japanese s ou nds

have devel o ped A pers o n learning Japanese for p ractical
.

p u rp o ses d o es n ot need to k n ow that $ 5 7 5 was at o n e ti m e

pr o n ou nced s om ething lik e s afu rafu In the f oll owing pages . ,

the r efo re I have th ou ght i t best n o t to ad opt any a rbit r ary

,

t r ansliter ati o n bu t to retain that which is in c om m o n u s e

,

i n Japan when it is desired t o write Japan ese w ords in o u r

alphabet In th i s system c o ns onants are s ou nded as in
.
52 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
w e have seen t o tak e al o ng wi th i t b o th Chinese w o r ds and
, ,

in a m u ch less degree Ch inese c o nstru cti ons We have

, .

theref ore on the o n e hand the special influ ence of Chinese

u p o n all m o des o f wr i t i ng Japanese and o n the o ther hand ,

the general infl u ence o f c oll o qu ial f o rm s wh i ch i n all lan ,

gu ages t ends to break d own the c o nservative f o rces o f

,

sch o larship and let u s add pedantry The hist ory o f the
, , .

devel op m ent o f Japanese after the archaic peri o d i s largely

a h i st o ry o f the c onflict between these two infl u ences B ut .

it is a c onflict i n which there i s an u nu su al elem ent for ,

the written langu age depends u p o n symb ols whi ch have a

p rim arily vi su al appeal and theref ore O pp o ses resistance t o
,

the invasi on of c oll o qu ial f orm s designed for the ear and ,

n o t the eye . I t i s o nly a ph o netic script which c a n pr operly

repr o du ce c o ll o qu ial u sages and c o nsequ ently the divergence
,

b etween Japanese wr iting and speech is in it s extrem es , ,

a very wide on e When st u dying it we sh o u ld always bear

.

in m ind that in s o far as the script rem ained i de o graphic o r

,

l og o graphic n o t o nly c ou ld the written langu age n ot easily

,

i mitate the sp ok en lang u age bu t als o c o nve r sely the sp o ken

, , ,

langu age c ou ld n o t fr eely inc o rp o rate w ords and l o c u ti o ns

which the written langu age was able to tak e o ver fr om
Chinese with l ittle o r n o change .

F oll owi ng u p o n the archaic per io d cam e what we m a y

descr ibe as the Classical peri o d o f which the chief lite r ary ,

m o nu m ent s fall int o two well c o nt r asted divisi o ns— the fi r st

-

c om pri sing the p o em s o f the M a ny 6s hu(the later v o l um es ) and

K oki n shu and p ro se w o rks li k e the P reface t o the K oki n s hu
, ,

the Tos a N i kki & c ; the sec o nd c o nsisting o f pr o se and

, .

p o etry written by Japanese in Chinese o r a c om b inati o n o f ,

Chinese and Japanese It i s c onvenient to desc ribe first the

.

langu age o f this latter gr ou p The Chinese p o etry th o u gh .

,

n ot with ou t lite r ary i m p or tance m a y be neglected The , .

pr o se h o wever exercised a gr eat influ ence u p o n the su b se

, ,

qu ent devel op m ent of Japanese and i t is theref ore desirable ,

t o desc ribe it in s om e detail We have seen that when the

.
,

Japanese first becam e acqu ai nted with the Chinese script ,

they c o nfined them selves fo r a ti m e t o wr iting Ch inese o r , ,

it w ou ld perhaps be m o re acc u rat e to say their a im was ,

t o write Chinese The earliest speci m ens o f Chinese pr o se

.

written by Japanese n o d oubt u nder the eyes of Chin ese

,
 LATER D EVEL O PME N TS 53
o r K o r ean instr u ct o rs we r e relatively p u re and free fr om
,

i i m
’
—1 1 8 6 the infl u ence
j p
a o n c s s In the H eian
. peri o d (8 00 )
o f Chinese c u lt u re was exceedingly p o werfu l in g ove rn m ent ,

and cer em onies as well as in art and letters and th ou gh the ,

B u ddhist r eligi o n had a wider appeal than the C o nfu cian

ethic its d o ctrines were spread in Japan th r ou gh the m edi um
,

o f the Chinese langu age N u m e ro u s academ ies b o th p u blic

.
,

and private dev oted to Chinese learning fl ou rished in Ky o t o

,

in the early part of this pe ri o d and n o c o u r t n oble or official ,

c ou ld h ope to rise to e m inence if he were n ot able to wr ite

Chinese verses and to m a k e apt q u o tati o ns fr om the Chinese
Classics F r om A D 7 9 7 there were s u ccessively c ompiled in
. . .

Japan a n u m ber o f hist o rical w o rks like the S hoku N ihongi ,

the N i kon G oki and the S a nda i j i ts u roku anth o l ogies o f

, ,

ver se laws cerem onial c o des and m iscellane ou s treatises all

, , , ,

o f which were in the Chinese lan gu age Meanwhile i m p orted .

Chinese w or k s were being c o pied and exp ou nded and ,

Japanese sch o lars wr o te their c o m m entar ies in Chinese I t .

was probably no t o ften very go o d Chinese bu t i t passed ,

m u ster and m ight have been u nder st o o d by a Chinam an .

S oo n h owever u nder the infl u ence o f the system o f read ing

, ,

Chinese texts with the aid o f diacritics acc o rding to Japanese

syntax there sprang u p a s tyle o f pr o se wh i ch was n o t an
,

i mitat io n o f Chinese s o m u ch as an i m itati o n o f a literal

t r anslati on o f Chinese I t i s d ou btfu l whether the hist ory
.

o f langu age c o ntains a m or e ast o nishing exa m ple o f the

mu tilati o n o f a f o reign to ngu e I t is s o c u ri ou s and c om .

plicated that it is di fficu lt to describe intelligibly bu t perhaps ,

s om e idea o f its nat u re c an be c o nveyed by saying that it i s

as if a wr iter o f E nglish wer e to set d own his th ou ghts in
L atin or what he su pp o sed to be L atin and then to read
, ,

what he had written in acc ordance n o t with the L at in syntax

and w o rd or der bu t his own leaving s om e w ords u nchanged , ,

c o nverting s om e i nt o E nglish n ow f o ll owing o r im itating the ,

L atin c o nstru cti on and n ow adding E nglish wo rds to eke

,

o u t the sense This pr o cess o f writing what is u su ally called

.

S inic o Japanese is then a threef o ld o n e

-
, The writer first
, .

thinks o f a sentence i n Japanese This he t ranslates i nt o .

Chinese o r as near as he can get to Chinese which m eans

, ,

that he m u st set d own a series of char acters in an o rder

q uite di fferent from the Japanese o rder o f w o rds and mu st ,
54 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
s u bstit ut e for the par t icles and the term inat i o ns o f verbs
va r i ou s Chinese gram m atical devices o f an entirely di ffer ent
nat u r e Then when he o r an other c om es to r ead it the
.
, ,

m iss ing particles and term inati o ns m u st be s u pplied and ,

the final resu lt is neither the Japanese sentence first th ou ght

o f n o r its c orr ect Chinese t r anslati o n bu t a hyb r id thing
, , ,

inc om prehensible to a Chinam an and even to a Japanese ,

w ith ou t special st u dy To u nderstand the devel op m ent o f

.

this c u r io sity of lite rat u re o n e m u st realiz e that the Japanese

,

a s a r u le p o ssessed n o t s o m u ch a k n owledge o f Chinese as

a k n owledge o f Chinese b oo ks The l iving langu age o f China .

was ra r ely k n own to them and they were probably for the ,

m o st part far less capable o f w riting g oo d Chinese p r o se than

a m o dern Classical sch o lar o f t u rning ou t a t olerable i m itati o n
o f Cicer o .

H ad the Japanese n o t devel oped the ph onet i c u s e o f

Chinese characters they might have c o nt inu ed to w rite in
,

u nrelieved S inic o Japanese w ith res u lts too h o rr ible t o c o n

-
,

t em plate F or t u nately o ther influ ences were at w o rk The

. .

si m plificati o n of the var iou s syste m s o f kana favo u red the

gr owth o f a wr itten langu age in wh i ch the native elem ent
c ou ld b e u sed al one o r m ixed with Chinese i n whateve r p ro
,

p ort i o n was desired while certain changes i n the p olitical

relat i ons between Japan and China in the reign o f the
E m per o r U da seem t o have s o m ewhat di m in i shed the p r estige
o f Ch i nese st u dies C o nsequ ently we find in the tenth c e n
.
,

t u ry a n u m ber o f w or ks in a m ixed ph o netic script which

, ,

we m ay regard as p u re class ical Japanese pro se They c on .

s i st chiefly o f folk l or e and fairy tales s om e o f which like

-
, ,

the st o ries o f the White Rabbit and o f Uras hi ma the ,

Japanese Rip V an Winkle had already been rec o rded in ,

the S in i c o Japanese o f the ea r ly ch ro n i cles ; or they a r e

-

r om anc es o f m o r e r ecent c o m p o siti o n o ften m ak ing u s e o f ,

m aterials b or r owed fr o m China They are c om prehensively

‘
.

styled mon oga tari which m eans sim ply tales and the
,
’

ea rliest o f them appear to be the I s e M on ogatari and the

Ta ketori M on oga tari asc r ibed t o the early par t o f the tenth
,

cent u ry They are written in p u r e Japanese o f the peri o d

. ,

by m eans o f kan a with a slight adm ixt u re o f Chinese cha r ac

ters The c o nstru cti ons sh ow n o sign o f Ch i nese influ ence
.
,

and th ou gh the vo cab u lary incl u des Chi nese w o rds these are ,
 LATER D EVELO PME N TS 55
evidently w o rds which were al r eady well assi m ilated s o that ,

alt o gether o n e cann o t be far o u t i n a ssum ing that their '

lang u age is s u bstantially the sam e as the c u rrent speech o f

the pe ri o d These ea rly wo r ks represent classical Japanese
.

p ro se in its p u rest f orm They we r e f oll owed by o ther mon o

.

a ta r i o f a si m ilar nat u r e and by ce r tain dia r ies and m i sc e l

g ,

lanies in which the elem ent o f p u re Japanese p r ed om inat ed .

F o r o u r p u rp o ses it is s u fficient t o refer o nly to a few o f

thes e — the Tos a N i kki K oki nshu p r eface and the G enji
, ,

M on oga ta ri .

The Tos a N i kki is a travel dia r y desc ribing events in ,

A D 9 3 5 It o pens with a passage in which the a u th o r

. . .

explains that he has set o u t to w rite a w om an s diary an ’

inter esting statem ent by which he m eans that he u ses the

Japanese langu age and a m ixed ph o netic scr ipt in which
ka na p r ed om inate whe r eas m e n as a ru le u sed the Chinese
,

character and wr o te in Chinese The K oki ns hu preface .

which is the w o r k o f the sam e au th o r si m ila rly p u rp o r ts ,

to be p u r e Japanese p r o se b u t i t is wr itten i n a fl o wery

“

style clear ly infl u enced by Chinese and it is s om ewhat o f ,

an exhibiti o n o f literary dexte r ity r ather than a st raight

f o rward piece o f o r dinar y Japanese writing These tw o .

works and the earliest mon oga tari are h owever s u ffi cient
, , , ,

to sh o w that in the t enth cent u ry it was p o ssible for the

Japanese to write in the native script which they had by
,

then br ought to a fai rly p r actical stage the native langu age ,

as it was then sp o k en and a p r o se which was n o t a slavish

i m itati o n o f Chinese F ro m these pr om ising beginnings ther e
.

m ight have g r own bu t for cer tain u nfav ou r able i nfl u ences

,

which we shall p r esently disc u ss a native pr o se n ot widely ,

divergent fr om the sp o ken langu age yet capable o f all o rdina ry

u ses whether na r r ative descriptive didactic o r o fficial
, ,
And , ,
.

indeed during the tenth cent u ry classical Ja p anese pr o se did

u nde r g o a f u rther devel o p m ent and r eached in the G enji ,

M on oga ta ri a very high p oint bu t bey o nd this it did n o t

p ro gr ess .

The Genji M on oga ta ri written by a C o ur t lady called

‘

M u ra s a ki S hi ki bu in ab ou t A D 1 0 0 0 is regarded by
, . .
,

m any Japanese as the high wate r m a r k o f Japanese litera -

t u r e and th ou gh we a re n o t c o ncer ned her e with its literary

, ,

excellence it is tru e that in the hands o f its rem ar k able

, ,
56 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRA MMAR
a u th oress classi cal Japanese pro se becam e a p owerfu l and
,

flexible instrum ent o f expressi on The sp ok en langu age o f

.

the day with i ts n ow well establ i shed syntax and i ts p ro

,
-

f u si o n o f gra mm at i cal appl iances is enr i ched by o ccasi o nal

,

adaptati o ns rather than i m itat ions o f Ch inese c o nstr u ct i o ns

and d ivers ified by a m oderat e u s e o f w ords o f Chinese o rigin .

The wri ter s s k ill enables her to u s e for p u rp o ses wh i ch are

’

ch i efly bu t n ot excl u s ively narrat ive and descript ive the

, , ,

speech c u rrent in the cu lt ivated s o ci ety to which she b e

l onged to m ak e of it a literary m ediu m mu ch better express
,

ing the native t em pera m ent than the hybr i d S in ic o Japanese -

o f her m asc u line c o nte m p o raries That the langu age o f the
.

G enji M onoga ta ri i s except in the m atter o f care and p o l i sh

, ,

n o t essent i ally d i fferent fr om the c o ll o q u ial o f the peri o d

is clear fr o m i nternal ev i dence We find for instance .
‘ , ,

ph o net ically repr o du ced i n the t ext va ri ou s c o ntract io ns li k e

a ra za n na ri fo r arazaru n a ri ta k6 for ta ka ku & c
-
, wh i ch are , .
,

o bv io u sly c o ll o q u i al f o rm s wh i le Chinese w o rds are s om e

,

t im es wr itten o u t at length i n their c u rrent pr o nu nc i at i o n

, .

B u t rem ar k able as wa s the ach i evem ent o f Mu rasaki n o

,

S h ikib u i n wr i ting a very l o ng n o vel i n her native t o ngu e

for i t m u st be rem em bered that previ o u s mon oga tari had been
bri ef and d isj ointed— even her gen iu s c ou ld n o t o verc om e
the i nherent defects o f the p u re Japanese style Th ou gh .

her w o rk is u nd ou btedly the finest speci m en o f native pr o se

o f the classical per i o d and th o u gh it c o ntains a fair pr o p o r
,

ti o n o f Ch inese w o rds it cann o t b e said to display any o f

,

the m erits of c o nc i seness wh i ch d ist ing u ish written Chinese .

O wing to the stru ct u ral pec u liar i t i es o f Japanese it is c om ,

p o sed of i ncredibly l o ng sentences terr ibly inv o lved and to

, ,

m o dern readers at least s om eti m es obscu re ;'and s ince i ts

Characters are pers ons o f h igh c ou rt rank it s o ab ou nds in ,

hon orifi c w or ds and phrases that i t i s s o m eti m es d iffic u lt

t o disentangle the m . F o r a leisu rely descr ipt i o n o f the
elab o rate cerem on i ou s and art ificial l i fe ab o u t the C ou rt
, , ,

s u ch a style was well su ited bu t i t m ay readily be im agined

,

that the i nterm inable and i ntr icate Japanese sentence leading
thr ou gh a m a z e o f geru nds up to a fa r distant final verb -
,

the c om plicated syste m o f agglu tinative su ffixes even the ,

length o f i ndividu al w or ds when wr itt en o u t syllable by

syllable i n kana i nstead of figu red by a sin gle sym b o l were , ,
 LATER D EVEL O PME N TS 57
fo r m o re i mm ediately p r actical p u rp o ses than th o se o f
r o m ance n o t s o c o nvenient as the br i ef and si m ple c o n
,

s tru c ti o n s o f Chinese I d o n o t go s o far as to say that

.
,

g iven the intenti o n and the indu cem ent Jap anese classical ,

p ro se c o u ld n o t have been fashi o ned int o an inst ru m ent well

adapted for all lite rary p u rp o ses S u ch a devel op m ent was .

d ou btless p o ssible bu t it did n o t ta k e place and this fail u r e ,

is du e in a gr eat m easu r e to the s u per i o r p r estige o f Chinese

st u dies and to the g r eat advantages o f the Chinese system
,

o f w r iting which despite all its o bvi o u s defects is we m u st

, ,

adm it an u nrivalled m e diu m fo r c o ncise and c om pact stat e

,
'

m ent F o ll o wing the G enji M on oga ta ri the r e ca m e a nu m ber

.

o f r o m ances sketches and dia r ies in a si m ilar style bu t i t

, , ,

is significant that nearly all o f these wer e the w o rk o f w om e n .

The r eas o n is n o t fa r to s e ek We have al ready n o ticed that

.

Ts u r a yu k i ex p lained the f o rm o f his dia r y by saying that he

had written in the cha r acte r o f a w o m an ; and b r o adly
speaking it m ay be said that at his pe ri o d and for a l o ng ,

ti m e su bsequ ently p r o se writing in ka n a was rega r ded as

,

o nly s u itable fo r w o m en while Chinese was the pro per

,

m edi u m for m e n C o nsequ ently we find f rom the tenth

.
,

cent u ry o nwa r ds tw o distinct kinds o f p ro se w rit ing in

,

Japan the o n e descended f ro m s u ch w or ks as the Tos a N i kki

, ,
‘
the o ther d erived fr o m Chinese The classical Japanese .

pr o se was n o t far rem oved fr om c u r r ent speech the S inic o ,

Japanese p r o se was in its m o st rigid f o rm s a p u r ely literary

, ,

m edi u m I t is here that we have the beginnings o f the

.

divergence between sp o ken and w ritten Japanese which has

c o ntinu ed u ntil r ecent ti m es F r om the Classical pr o se there
.

devel oped a classical epist o lary style and a style u sed in ,

n ovels u ntil the beginning o f the Meij i pe ri o d F u rther

w
.
,

there t o o k place f r om the latte r part o f the eighteenth

,

cent u ry a nati o nalist r evival in learning and r eligi o n led by

,

su ch great native sch o lars as Mab u chi and Mo to o ri who in

their treatises delibe rately r everted to the classical style In .

thei r capable hands it seem s to be an adm irable m eans o f

expressi o n it is p u r e and l u cid alth ough it r igidly o bse rves
the ancient g ra mm atical r u les The s ubj ects o f which they .

t r eated whether r eligi ou s or phil o l o gical o r hist orical we r e

, ,

all d rawn from Japanese antiq u ity s o that the classical ,

v ocab u lary and the classical style were fo r their p urp o ses as
3270 1
58 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E SE GRA MMAR
adequ ate as they were appr opri at e B u t this n e o classical .
-

pr o se w a s a rt ific i al and s o f ored o om ed to fa ilu re After

, .

fl ou rishing in a restricted field for less than a cent u ry i t

, , ,

fell i nt o disu se The s ole s u rviving descendant i n the direct

.
,

line o f classi cal Japanese pr o se is n ow the ep i st olary lan

,

g u age u sed by w om en and even th i s i n the last few yea r s

, , ,

has g o ne o u t of fash io n .

We see then that p u re Japanese by which we u nderstand

, , ,

the nat ive langu age wi th ou t i mp ortant stru ct u ral change

and with o nly a spari ng adm i xt u re o f im p o rted w ords was ,

destined n o t to bec om e a l iterary m edi um I n the classical .

perio d as we have p o inted ou t ther e existed al ongside o f the

, ,

native p r o se the style o f wri ting k n own as S i nic o Japanese -

.

I t i s fr om this c om p o sit e f o rm that the m o dern written

lang u age o f Japan is derived While in the t enth cent u ry .
, ,

p o em s r om ances and belles lettres i n general were bei ng

, ,

written i n the classical style graver i f less agreeable w or k s

,

were bei ng c om p o sed i n Chinese wh i ch vari ed i n p u ri ty

acc ording to the t im e the s u bj ect and the writer s sk ill
, ,
’
.

By a nat u ral d ivis io n o f fu nct i o n the Sin ic o Japanese style -

wa s u sed fo r p olit i cal d o c u m ents and w or k s o f a sim ilar

nat u re for while the nat ive langu age wa s well s u ited fo r
,

p o etry and r om ance these seri ou s c om p o sit ions i t was felt

, , ,

m u st be c ou ched in the m ore learned style sanct ified by s o

m any cent u ri es o f Chi nese chr o nicles and pr o cla m ati o ns and
eth i cal treat i ses The m o st characteri st i c speci m ens are
.

theref o re to b e f ou nd i n the early m edieval edicts which ,

(apart from s om e bel o nging to the N ara peri o d which are

rec orded in the S hoku N ihongi ) are all i n Chinese c om p o sed
by Japanese I t i s i nterest ing to n o te that the o ffi cial
.

hist ories o f the H ei an peri o d and s u ch q u as i—legal w ork s as

the I nst i t u tes o f E ngi (E ngi shi ki ) are in Chinese while ,

hist ory ( mm a r o m antic tinge as i n the Yeigzoa M on ogata ri , ,

i s m o delled in style u p o n the p r evi ou s r o m ances An i dea .

o f the i m p o rtance attached to Chinese st u dies m a y be ga i ned

fr om the fact that i t was th ought pr oper to f u rnish the

K oki ns hu an offi c i al anth ol o gy o f nat ive verse wi th a
, ,

Chinese preface in additi o n to the Japanese preface written

’
by Tsu r ayu ki Indeed it is stated that Tsu ra yuk i s preface
.

was a translat io n o f the Chinese o n e .

We have already traced the beg inn ings o f the S i nic o

60 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
classical native pr o se which we have descr ibed That as we .
,

have seen descended in a di r ect line fro m the a r chaic native

,

lang u age and wa s relatively free fr om Ch inese influ ence

,
.

The S inic o Japanese h owever c o r ru pt and if we m ay u s e

-
, ,

the term jap on i c iz e d had a Chinese o rigi n f ro m which it

, , ,

c o u ld never ent irely depart A s t im e went o n writers .

,

aband oned even the Ch i nese o r der o f w o rds and wro te s om e ,

thing which was a n appr o ach to the c o ll o q u ial in which their

th o u ghts were f o rm ed ; bu t the l ong u s e o f Chinese and
pseu d o Chinese had established a n um ber o f Chinese l o cu
-

t io ns as part o f the gram m atical apparat u s o f the written

langu age and these we r e r etained Mor e o ver f r om the latter
, .
,

part o f the H eian peri o d the ad opti o n o f Chinese w o rds and ,

Chinese c om p ou nds int o b o th sp o ken and wr itten langu ages

had pr o ceeded apace E ven wi th ou t th o se special reas o ns
.

which as we shall presently see exist in the case o f Japanese

, , ,

writing c a n abs orb a greate r n u m ber o f f oreign w or ds than

speech Chinese c o m p ou nd w ords in partic u lar were m o re
.
, ,

c o nvenient and expressive than the p o lysyllabic equ ivalent s

i n Japanese and it was nat u r al that the special v o cab u la r ies
,

o f B u ddh i s m C o nfu cianis m and m any branches o f learning

, ,

sh ou ld be ad opted fr om Ch i na We find the r ef o re devel op .

, ,

ing fr om the Kam aku ra peri o d o nwards a written langu age ,

which is the ancest or o f the w ritten lang u age o f to day and -

i n which we can discern two i n fl u e n c e s— that o f the c o ll o

q u ia l u p o n which the u lti m ate stru ct u r e o f the sentence
,

depends and that o f Chi nese which p r ovides a great part

, ,

o f the v o cab u lary a n u m ber o f idi om s and t u rns o f ph r ase

, ,

and it m ight b e added certa i n tricks o f style li k e the d ou ble

, ,

negat ive the rhet o r ical qu esti o n and the antithetical ph r ase
, ,
.

The ea rly stages o f this lang u age are well exhibited in su ch

hist o rical r om ances as the Hei ke M on ogatari (c 1 2 0 0 ) and the .

Ta ihei ki (c B o th these w ork s and in partic u lar the

.
,

latter m ay be regarded as the f ou ndati o n o f m o dern liter a ry

,

Japanese Thei r lan guage differs f rom that o f the mon o

.

g a ta ri o f the H eian peri o d in several i m p ortant respects .

O wing t o the infl u ence o f S inic o Japanese si m plified f o rm s -

,

t ake the place o f the elab or ate gr amm atical stru ct u re o f say , ,

the G enji with its fu ll apparat u s o f pa r ticles and te rm ina

ti o n and the v o cab u lary inclu des a very high p r o p orti on
o f Ch i nese w o rds m any o f wh i ch have n o t passed thr o u gh
,
 LATER D EVEL O PME N TS 61

the c oll o qu ial b u t have been taken direct fr om Chinese

literat u r e in particu lar f ro m B u ddhistic w ork s
,
.

It is ha r dly necessa ry to t r ace fu r the r the devel op m ent o f

the Japanese written langu age u ntil the Meij i pe ri o d n or ,

indeed c a n it be satisfact o rily d o ne wi th ou t st u dy of o riginal

texts In the foreg oing pages I am c o nsci ou s o f havi ng
.

drawn s om ewhat to o definitely the distincti o n between

vari o u s styles L angu age is a flu id thing and o n e style c an
.
, ,

o f c o u rse easily m e r ge int o an o the r

,
Thu s th ou gh I have .
,

stro ngly c o ntrasted the devel opm ent o f Classical Japanese

and S inic o Japanese i t is obvi ou s that except in the ir
-
, ,

ext r em e p urity they m u st have had a m u t u al influ ence

,
.

B u t s u bj ect to this r eser vati o n I thin k that the m ain lines

, ,

o f devel o p m ent we r e s u bstantially as stated ab ove ; and

they c a n be sh own diag r am m atically as f o ll ows

A rcha i c J a p a n e se C hi n es e P r os e 5 th c e ntu ry .

P ro s e

l
E ar y C a s si l c al S in i co J p ne s e
-
a a 8 th c entu ry .

P r os e e arl y m e d i e v a l

l
C a s si a c l
E s s a ys E p ist les R o m a nc es l l D o cu
a r y s ty e

m e n ts

W o men Me iji O rdi n ary Me n s Me iji

’ ’
N eo s
l
C assi a c l L e t ters N o vels Me iji L e t te r s S ini co
P r os e (o b s ol es (ob s o le s P ro se (o b so l e s J a p a n es e
l
( o b s o e te ) c e nt ) c e n t) c e nt ) ( ob s o l e t e )

This table st ops sh o rt at the Meij i peri o d beca u se fr om , ,

the sec o nd half o f the nineteenth cent u ry when Japan wa s ,

th r own open to inte r c ou rse with the Western w orld her ,

langu age in c omm o n with all he r instit u ti ons was s ubj ected
, ,

to a n ew set o f i nfl u ences which are still o perative The ,

.

later develop m ents o f Japanese ther efore requ ire separat e

t reat m ent .

S o far we have referred o nly i n passing t o the devel op m ent

o f sp o ken Japane s e and c o nfined o u rselves to re m ark ing
,

that the c o ll oqu ial has c o ntinu ou sly exe r cised an influ ence
u p o n the w r itten lang u age There is g oo d reas o n to believe .
,
62 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
a s w e have seen that the m edieval c oll o qu i al did n o t s ub
,

s ta n ti a lly di ffer fr o m the p r o se o f the m edieval r o m ances .

B u t already i n the days o f the mon oga ta ri there are evidences

o f a divergence be tween sp o k en and written f o rm s The .

sp ok en lang u age o f the Middl e Ages i f we a r e j u stified as , ,

I believe we a r e in assu m ing it to be si m ilar to the written

,

lan gu age o f the Genji had the f o ll owing m ain character istics
,

I The stru ctu re of the sentence was of the native Japanese

.

type Any statem ent h owever c om plicated f o rm s

.
, ,

o n e sentence wh o se m e m bers are gra m m atically

‘
i nterdependent Th u s you d o n o t say This egg is
‘
.
,

bad I cann o t eat it bu t This egg be i ng bad eat ’

.
, , ,

can n o t The less i m p ortant w o r ds in a sentence

’
.

precede the m ore i m p ortant o nes s o that adj ective ,

precedes n ou n adve rb precedes verb ou r prep o si

, ,

t i ons are in Japanese p o st p o siti ons and the verb i s -

,

always the final elem ent .

2 . Moo ds tenses and sim ilar aspects o f the verb are

, ,

exp r essed by the agglu tinati o n o f su ffi xes o ften ,

f o rmi ng c om p ou nds o f c onside r able length and c om

p l e x i ty‘ Th u s.we have kiku t o hear
, b u t ki kar e , ,

ta ri s hi has been heard ’

.
,

The n umber of these s u ffixes in classical Japanese

was c o nsiderable and the r ules g overning their u s e,

were c om plicated .

3 . The v o cab u la ry c onsi sted ch i efly o f nat ive w o rds o f ,

a p o lysyllabic type and c o ntained o nly a few w or ds ,

o f Ch i nese o rig i n wh i ch had bec om e nat u rali z ed by

,

frequ ent u s e .

It is clear that thi s was a langu age d iam etrically o pp o sed

in al mo st every respect to Chinese Japanese was p o ly
'
.

syllabic and di ffu se Ch inese was m o n o syllabic and brief I n

, .

Jap anese the relati ons between w ords were i nd icated by a

fu ll system o f particles and s u ffi xes in Chinese they were ,

sh own as a r u le only by p o siti on tense m oo d & c being , , .

,

expressed by special devices o nly where essential t o prevent

a m bigu ity Japanese has few h om oph ones which are li k ely
.

t o be c o nf u sed Chinese has m any

, I n Japanese the or der .

o f w o rds i s the reverse o f that i n Ch i nese I t f o ll o ws that .

 LATER D EVEL O PMEN TS 63

every appr oxi m ati o n o f the Japanese written language to

the Chinese f o rm invo lved a divergence between writing and
speech in Japanese We have seen that at o n e t im e the
.
, ,

Japanese endeav ou red by wri ting in what we have called

,

S inic o Japanese to f o rce the ir written langu age i nt o a

-
,

Chinese m ou ld bu t that th o u gh this hybrid style m anaged

,

to s u rvive i n a r em ar kable wa y it d id at last break d own ,

u nder the m o re vital i nfl u ence o f the c oll o qu ial The f u nda .

m ental str u ct u re o f all bu t the m o st learned S inic o Japanese -

was the stru ct u re o f the nat ive Japanese sentence At the .

sam e ti m e the written langu age wa s able to inc orp orate i n

,

that st ru ct u re a n u m ber o f feat u res bel o nging to Chinese

which fo r on e reas o n o r an o ther the sp oken lang u age d id
, ,

n o t r equ ire o r c o u ld n o t assi m ilate This is tru e o f m any .

idi om s and o f certain c onstru cti ons bu t i t i s m o st apparent

i n the m atter o f v o cab u lary We have seen that fro m the .
,

earliest days o f i nterc ourse with China the Japanese began ,

t o b o rr ow Chinese wo rds This p r o cess c o ntin u ed o n an

.

inc r easing scale as they becam e better acq u ainted w ith

’

Chinese things B u t there is in all langu ages a nat u ral

.
, ,

li m it to the abs orpti on by the c ollo qu ial o f im p o rted w o rds .

The wri tten langu age has a m ore p owerfu l or a l ess fastidiou s
digesti o n and c a n assi m ilate al m o st anything that pr omi ses
,

t o be u sef ul while everyday speech w ill n o t ta k e i n an al i en

,

fo rm u ntil i t has been th or ou ghly tested C o nsequ ently there .

were m any Ch inese w ords which th ou gh adm itted in wr iting , ,

were n o t c urrent in ordinary c o nversati on Mor e over q u ite .

,

apart f rom th i s nat u ral li m itati on there was a spec i al reas on , ,

and a very i mp or tant o n e why Ch inese w o rds h owever u s e

, ,

fu l i n writ ing c ou ld n o t be freely adm itted i nt o speech

, .

Chinese c o ntains an extra or dinary n umber o f h omoph one s

wo rds o f the sam e s ou nd bu t o f different m eanings A great .

deal o f Ch inese syntax and o f s u ch accidence as Ch inese m ay

,

be said to p o ssess is c oncerned with expressing dist i nct ions

,

between these h om oph o nes and these m eth o ds are s upple

m e n te d by the u s e o f t o nes The Japanese h owever c o u ld .
, ,

n o t i n sp eech i m itate e i ther the Chinese t o nes o r the gra m

, ,

m a ti c a l devices i n qu est i o n and they were theref o re u nable ,

t o ad opt int o the c o ll o q u ial as m any Chinese w o rds as they

o therwise m ight have d o ne In writing it was an o ther .
,

m atter for each o f a gr ou p o f Ch inese h om oph ones had its

,
64 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o wn sy m b o l ab ou t wh i ch there c o u ld be n o m i sta k e
, Thu s .
,

as we have seen th ou gh fa ng m ight m ean either squ a r e o r

,
’
to a s k there c ou ld be n o q u est ion as to the respective
,
‘
m eanings o f jj and as I t will be seen then that m aking .
,

d u e all o wance fo r the vitality of all sp o k en f o r m s as c o m

pared with w ritten o nes the infl u ence o f Chinese u p o n ,

Japanese especially tended to differ ent i ate the wr itten fr o m

the sp ok en lang u age .

Fu rther the sp o k en langu age i tself has s in ce the classical

,

per io d i n additi o n to changes in v o c ab ula ry u nderg one a

, ,

devel op m ent which has n o t been f oll owed by the writt en

langu age In this case the divergence is du e to the c o n
.

servati o n by the written lang u age o f f o rm s which the sp o ken

langu age has gradu ally aband o ned It can be best explained .

by s o m e si m ple exam ples In the first place we have a dif .

ference br ou ght ab ou t by ph o netic changes wh i ch is well ,

i ll u strated by the adj ectival ter m inati o ns I n classical .

Japanese the adj ect i ve had an attrib u tive and a predicative

‘ ‘
f o rm e g y oki hi to a g o o d m a n hi to ma y os hi the m a n
,
. .
,
’

, ,

is good In m o dern c oll o qu ial Japanese the d istincti on

’
.

between attrib u t ive and predicative is dr opped and by ,

ph o net i c change the f o rm y oki bec om es y oi s o that w e n o w ,

say b o th y oi hi to and hi to Iva y oi I n the written langu age .

,

h owever the fo rm s y oki and y oshi b o th pers i st I t will be

, .

n o ticed that this phen om en o n i s n o t entirely anal o g ou s to

a change o f pro n u nciati o n n o t acc om panied by a change
in spelling which often o ccu rs in E nglish S i m ilarly in
, .
,

class i cal Japanese there were a large n um ber o f verb s u ffixes

, ,

expressing m o o d tense v oice & c Many o f these have , , ,

.

b ec om e obs o lete in the m o de r n langu age b o th sp ok en and ,

written bu t s om e while s u rviving in writing a r e n o l o nger

,

u sed in speech Thu s the tense su ffix ts u as in y u ki ts u did

.
, ,

o i
’

g o is
, n l o nger u sed in speech and o nly n deliberately ,

o l d fashi o ned writ i ng

-
In c o ll oq u ial its place has been taken
‘
.

by a su ffix ta as in i tta went which is i tself a c o rru pti o n

, ,
’

o f ta ri
-
and this su rvives in the w ritten langu age o nly as
‘
, ,

i n y u ki ta ri went (which has bec om e i ki ta ri i ki la and

,
’

, ,

finally i tta in c oll o q u ial ) S i m ilar exam ples m ight b e al m o st .

indefinitely m u ltiplied bu t they can b e f o u nd in thei r app ro ,

p ria te places in the b o dy o f this w o r k H er e it is s u ffi cient .

to say that owing to the var io u s c ons i de r at i o ns o u tlined

,
 LATER D EVEL O PME N TS 65

ab o ve the sp o ken langu age whi ch i n the tenth cent u ry was

, ,

p r actically identical with the written lang u age had by the ,

beginning o f the Meij i perio d bec om e s o different fr om it as

to inv o lve for f o r eign st u dent s a separate st u dy o f each .

The diffe r ence c a n be su mm a ri z ed by saying that the sp ok en

langu age by ph o netic change and by si m plificati o n l o st a
, ,

g o o d deal o f its agglu tinative and synthetic character while ,

the wr itten langu age r etained m o st o f the g r amm atical

ap p arat u s which the c o ll o qu ial discarded .

The devel o p m ent o f the langu age after the beginning o f

the Meij i peri o d is still pr ogressing and i t theref ore beh o ves ,

o n e to S peak with rese r ve o n this s u bj ect S om e interesting .

p hases which beca m e apparent fr o m the m iddle o f the nine

t ee n th cent u ry are h o wever w orth n o tice
, ,
It m a y be said .

that fr om the end o f the Kam a ku ra peri o d neither the

, ,

written n o r the sp o ken langu age u nderwent any special

change d u e to alien influ ence The sp ok en lan guage f oll owed
.

the u su al lines of ph o netic change as we have seen ; the ,

w ritten langu age was m o r e c o nservative and the tendency ,

at the end o f the eighteenth cent u ry wa s r ather to neglect

Chinese m o dels and to rever t to a p ure Classical style .

S trangely en o u gh when Japan after 1 8 5 0 began to ad o pt

,

o ccidental c u lt u r e i t was t o China that she t u rned when she

,

wished to find new w o r ds to nam e the new things and the

new ideas w ith which she had bec o m e acqu ainted Yet n o t .

s o st r ange when o n e r e m e m be r s the p o we r fu l advantages

o f the Chinese sc ript The Japanese m ight attem pt to

‘
.

‘
nat u rali z e E nglish wo rds like railway or electricity bu t ’ ’

these c ou ld neve r be o the r than ba rbar ou s intru ders they

c o u ld never be written by m eans o f the Chinese character
and the li m i ted r es ou rces o f the ka na c ou ld at best m ake o f
them s om e m u tilated transc ript like rei m ei and erekku chi
ri s hi chi It was far m o r e c o nvenient to b o rrow fr om Ch i na
.

the c omp ou nds which had al r eady been invented ther e to

na m e these new things fii ya : tets u d 6 ir o n r o ad fo r r ailway -

‘
, , ,

and Q i den ki lightning spi rit fo r elect ri city Thu s we

. ,
-
’

, .

find that the Japanese langu age th rou gh ou t the nineteenth ,

cent u ry appr op riated o n an i mm ense scale the Chinese

,

v o cab u lary and this while Japan was deliberately t u rning

,

h e r back u p o n Chinese c u lt u r e I t is a phen om en o n n ot

.

wi th ou t parallel in E u r ope where t o nam e ou r m o dern

,

3270 K
66 HI S TO RICAL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
d i sc o veri es l ik e the teleph one and the vermif o rm appendix
, ,

we have res o rted to the lang u ages o f G reece and R om e while

steadily recedi ng fr om thei r ways of th ou ght The effect o f .

this trem end ou s influ x o f Chinese w o rds u p o n the written ,

and to a less extent the sp o k en langu age o f Japan was ,

alm o st rev olu t io nary The o rdi nary m o dern Japanese pr o se

‘
.

d o cum ent t o qu o te Chamberlain has scarcely anythi ng

, ,

Japanese ab ou t it save a few particles and the c o nstru cti o n

and the sam e is tru e th ou gh n o t to the
’
o f the sentence , ,

sam e extent of all bu t the m o st fam iliar everyday speech

, .

The f r eq u ency o f Chinese h om oph o nes prevents their assim ila

ti o n by the c o ll o qu ial in s u ch n um bers as can b e i ntr o du ced
i n wr iting for the i de ograph spea k s n o t t o the ear bu t to
,

the eye E ven so the m o dern Japanese in the ir daily inter

.
, ,

c ou rse u s e m any Chinese w o rds and expressi o ns which w ou ld

,

have been all b u t u n i ntell igi ble i n speech a generati o n or s o

a go . The old Waga ku sha the native classical sch o lars o f,

the type of M otoori — a n ow u nhappily vanished sch o o l ,

sw orn f o es o f Chinese learni ng— wou ld have been sh o ck ed to

hear and u nl ikely to u nderstand y oung st u dents disc ou rsing
‘
ab ou t (for i nstance ) s eiji teki kwa n nen p o litical c o nsci ou s
-
,

ness for n ot o nly are s eiji and kwa n nen Chinese c om p ou nds ,

bu t teki is BK ] a p u rely Ch i nese gr amm at i cal dev i ce u nbl u sh

,

i ngly b o rr o wed by m o dern Japan .

Th ou gh the nat u re o f their scri pt m a k es i t difficu lt for the

Japanese to em b o dy in thei r langu age f orei gn w ords o ther
than Chi nese there are a few l i ke ba ta fo r b u tter bi ru for
, , , , ,

beer wh i ch have been th or ou ghly assimilated and a n umber

, ,

o f ter m s m o stly t echn i cal

, and m o stly E nglish which a r e
, ,

u sed m o re or less freely s o m eti m es al o ngside o f s o m eti m es

, ,

i n preference t o the i r S in i c o Japanese equ ivalents which a r e

-
,

n ot eas ily i ntelligible i n speech B u t generally speak ing .

,

the i nflu ence o f E u r o pean langu age s — in practice on e m ay ,

say the i nflu ence o f E nglish— has been m ore m ark ed in

,

phrase o l ogy than i n separate u n i ts o f the v o cab u lary F or .

m any decades there has p ou red fr o m Japanese presses a c on

ti nu ou s fl o o d o f t r anslat i o ns o f E ngl i sh w o rds the da i ly ,

newspapers are f ull o f bald and alm o st l it eral render ings o f

press t elegram s or si m ilar news item s and it is (or it was ,

a sh ort ti m e a go) fash i onable to em bellish o ne s c o nversati o n ’

wi th scraps of E ngl i sh C o nsequ ently m o dern Japanese

.
,
68 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E SE G RA MMAR
m any depart m ents o f p u blic and p rivate affai r s w i th which
the written char acter is inti m ately ass o ciated I t w ou ld
.

re m o ve s om ething which has certainly c o ntrib u ted to the

beau ty and inte r est o f O riental life O n the o the r hand it
.
,

m ay b e a rgu ed the intr o du cti o n o f a si m ple alphabet w o u ld

,

f orce u p o n the wr itten langu age a clarity and a balance in

which it is n ow lac k ing becau se the ide og r aph in itself is s o
,

ter sely expressive that its u se r s ar e apt to rely u p o n the

visu al appeal o f sym b ols rather than the a u r al appeal o f
w o rds— which are afte r all the t ru e and u ltim ate ele m ent s
, ,

o f w r it ing as well as speech .Fu r ther the ti m e which the

,

Japanese n ow spend in learning to r ead and wr ite by thei r

o wn c o m plicated syste m c o u ld be dev o ted t o the st u dy o f

Western w o rds and Western things Whether a kn owledge

.

o f th o se w o rds and things i s w o rth the sac r ifice it i s for the

E ast t o determ i ne.

 THE S U B S TA N TI V E

HE distingu ishing feat u re o f the s u bstantive in Japanese

is that it is u n infl ec te d I t cann o t by itself express
.

nu mbe r o r gende r I t is b r ou ght int o relati o n with o the r w o rds

.

by m eans o f p artic le s thr ou gh a p ro c e s s whic h m ay be rega r ded

,

as aggl u tinative o r by m eans o f the app ro p riate i nfl ex io n s o f

th o se w o r ds or by m er e j u xtap o siti o n Th u s taking the .
,

substantive otoko a m a n it is b r ou ght int o relati o n with

,
’

( 1 ) o ther n o u ns and ve rbs by m eans o f particles as in

, ,

otoko n o te a m an s hand ’

otoko zo o mi ru to see a m a n
otoko n i am t o give t o a m a n
y
(2 ) adj ect ives by m eans o f their appr op riate i nfl ex ion
, ,

y oki oto ko a g o o d m a n

( )
3 ve r bs ,
o ften by m eans o f si m ple j u xtap o siti o n ,

otoko ta ts u a m an stands
bu t whe r e p r ecisi o n de m ands it by m eans o f a particle as in
, , ,

otoko ga mes hi zoo ta bem the m a n eats r ice

It fo ll ows that the hist or y o f the su bstantive in Japanese
has been n o t a d evel op m ent o f significant f o rm bu t m erely
a growth o f v o cab u lary V o cab u la ry is n o t within the sc ope
.

o f this w o r k b u t r efe r ence will be m ade late r to the m eth o ds

,

by which it has been increased n o tably by the f o rm ati o n o f ,

c om p ou nds and by the i m p ortati o n o f Chinese w o rds It is .

,

h owever app ropri ate to me nti o n her e that p ractically all

,

Chinese w o r ds are i m p o rted in the f o rm o f s u bstantives as ,

is to be expected in view o f the fact that the Chinese langu age

d o es n o t di ffe r entiate between parts o f speech any wo rd being ,

able as a general ru le to perfo rm any gramm atical fu ncti o n

‘
.

’
Th u s a t which in Chinese can stand fo r eithe r l o ve to
‘
, ,

l ove or l o ving bec om es in Japanese the s u bstantive a i

’ ’
.

‘
,

Fr om this can be c o nstru cted a verb a i s um to l ove ,

-
,
’

while in c om binati o n it can se rve as an adj ective as in ai shi

‘
, ,
’
n a bel oved child
fl a .
70 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
Th ere i s o n e speci al characterist i c of the Japanese langu age
which it is c o nvenient t o describe in t r eating o f the su b
s ta n tiv e Japanese even in its m o dern f orm seem s to retain
.
, ,

vestiges o f a c o nditi o n in which ther e wa s i m per fect dif

fe r e n ti a ti on o f g r a m m atical categ or ies The Ind o E u r opean .
-

lang u ages have f o rm al gram m atical cat eg or ies c or r esp o nding

t o certa i n psych o l ogical categ or ies— w or d classes s u ch as -

‘
,
’
n ou ns c o rresp o nding to the psych o l ogical categ ory thing
‘
,

verbs c orresp o nding to the psych ol ogical categ ory acti o n

‘
,
’
or state ; and adj ectives c orr esp o nding to the psych o,

l ogical categ o ry p r ope r ty In Japanese eithe r the psych o ,

l ogical categ ory i s n o t fu lly differ entiated or the c orr e s p on ,

dence b etween gram m atical and psych ol ogical categ ories is

inc om plete The Su bstantival or n ou n categ o ry seem s t o be
.

the prim ary o n e and to have been retained in s om e cases

where in o ther langu ages new categ o ri es have devel oped
, ,
.

This feat u r e is diffi c u lt t o explain p r ecisely b ecau se o f its ,

psych o l ogical aspect ; bu t the f o ll owing illu strati o ns m ay

serve t o m ake it clear .

1 . The typical f orm o f a si m ple statem ent c om prising s u b

j e c t and p r edicat e in m o dern c o ll o q u ial Japanese is sh o wn in
otoko
g a t a ts u the m a n stands H e r e f u nct i o
. nally ta ts u is

a verb bu t hist o rically it is a su bstantive and the f o rm al

, ,

equ ivalent o f the sentence in E nglish is standing o f m an

’
.

2 . Relat i o ns exp r essed in E nglish by p r ep o siti ons are

u s u ally c o nveyed in Japanese by m eans o f s u bstantives .

Thu s u e is a n ou n expressing the idea ab ove To translate

‘ ‘
ab o ve the Cl ou ds we mu st say kumo n o u e n i lit at the
’

, .

ab ove o f the cl ou ds There is a c o nsiderable grou p o f w o r ds

o f this nat u r e o f wh i ch we m a , y m enti on

‘
ma e i n tera n o ma e n i bef o re the tem ple
’
bef o re as
‘
, ,

n ochi after , fi s ki n n o n oc hi n i after the ea r th

,
’
qu a k e
‘ ’
ha ko n o u chi n i inside the b o x
‘
,
’
has hi n o s hi ta n i bel ow the b r idge
,

3 A n u m ber o f adve rb s in Japanese are f orm ally n ou ns

. .

Thu s i ma the p r esent and is u sed as the equ ivalent o f

‘
,

n ow as in i ma ma i ri ma s u I am c om ing n ow wher e it is an
,

adve rb th ou gh in i ma n o y o the p r esent day i t is a n ou n

, ,
’

,
.

S o m eti m es these w o rds requ ire the aid o f a part i cle bef ore
 THE S UB S TA N TIVE 71
they can fu ncti o n as adverbs The wo rd koko is h ist o rically
‘
.

a n ou n = this place It se rves as the equ ivalent of the

’

‘ ‘
.
,

adverb her e e g in koko u i oru he is her e

’

, . .
,
’

4. As w i ll b e seen later b o th predicative and attr i b

, u tive
w ords in Japanese have special s ubstantival f o rm s or s u b
‘
s ta n ti v a l u ses o f o ther f o rm s Y oki in y oki otoko a g oo d .
,

m a n is an adj ective ; bu t in a s hi ki zoo s ute y oki zo o tom

’

, ,

to rej ect the g oo d and take the bad the w ords a shiki and ’

‘
,
’
oki are n o u ns In tori n a ku bi r ds sing n a ku is a ve r b
y ‘
.
, , ,

bu t in tori n o n a ku zoo ki ka zu he d o es n o t hear the birds ,

singing it is a n ou n Wh at a r e called the stem s of ve rbs

’

, .

and adj ectives c a n u su ally stand al o ne and fu nct io n as

‘
,
’
n ou ns Thu s the stern a ka o f the adj ective a ka ki red in
‘
.
, , ,

su ch a phrase as a ka n o momohi ki r e d drawers is a n o u n ,

’

, ,

u sed attrib u tively I t represents the i dea o f the q u ality

‘ ‘
.

r edness rather than o f the attrib u te r e d — the c oncept o f

’

a thing is n o t fu lly differentiated from the c o ncept o f a state

‘
.

S i m ilar ly m i the ste m o f the verb mi ru to see is a s u b

’

‘ ‘
, , ,

s ta n ti v e in mi n i y u ku o r in ha na mi fl owe r
’
t o go to see , , ,
’
viewing .

S ince apart fr om the c o ns i derati o ns m enti o ned ab o ve

, ,

the s u bstantive in Japanese has u nderg o ne as s u ch n o ; ,

m arked change th ere rem ain to be t r eated u nder this heading

,

o nly the spec i al i z ed classes o f s ubstantive P r on ou ns and ,

N u m erals .

THE P RO N O UN
O ne acq u ainted o nly wi th m o dern Japanese w o uld s u pp o se
that the langu age c o ntained n o tru e per s o nal p ron ou ns bu t
o nly a n u m be r o f periph r astic f o rm s In the N ara pe ri o d .
,

h owever the f o ll o wing pers o nal p ro n ou ns are f ou nd

,

I s t pers o n a a r e w a war e , , ,

2 n d pers o n na n a r e ,

3 rd pers o n s hi
)
These a re the o nly excl u sively pers o nal pro n ou ns The fo l .

l owing a re instances of their u s e

A and WA
a ga s e K m y l o ver
( ) .

a ga ka u koma N
( ) the c o lt which I k eep .

f
zoa ga uta ri n es hi K
( ) we tw o slept t o gether .
72 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It will be n o ticed that in the ab o ve exa m ples the pr on ou n
is ass oc i ated with the p o ssessive part i cle ga and c a n in each ,

case be regarded as a p o ssessive pr o n ou n It c a n be fo u nd .

in ass o ciati o n w ith o ther particles as in ,

zoa zoo s hi n u bu ras hi (M ) . she seem s to l ove m e

ma n i y os ori (M ) . depending u p on m e
n emo to zoa ha mou (M )
’
. I think I shall sleep
B u t i t is d ou btfu l whether a o r zoa ever st oo d al o ne (i e . .

w ith o u t pa rticle) as the s ubj ect o f a ve rb I have o nly seen .

o n e instance q u o ted and this i s d o u btf u l The fact is that

, .

the verb i n Japanese is neu tral as to pers o n Y u ku as a pre

‘ ‘ ‘
.

d ic a tiv e f o rm c a n be translated by I go
’ ’
we go yo u
‘ ‘ ‘
, ,
’ ’ ’ ’

go he g o es
, it g o es o r they go , The s u bj ect is n o t , .

expressed except where necessary to prevent a m bigu ity and ,

this characte ri stic m u st be b o rne i n m ind when c o nside ring

the devel o p m ent o f the p ro n ou n in Japanese It nat u rally .

leads o n e to expect p o s sess ive fo rm s m o r e freq u ently than

_ _
I

n o m i na tive .

In what are pres um ably the very earliest extant speci m ens
o f the lang u age the p o em s i n the K oj i ki and the N i hongi
, , ,

a i s f ou nd in direct ass o ciati o n with n o u ns E g in a dzuma

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
. .
,
.

my w i fe ago m y Ch ild use m y sp o u se a ki m y dear

’ ’ ’ ’

, , , , , ,

bu t s u ch f o rm s d o n o t persist .

A re u nli k e a is f ou nd stand ing al o ne as a s u bj ect Th u s

, , .

a re ka eri komu M
( ) . I will r et u rn
wh ile o n the o ther hand i t is n o t fou nd ass o ciated w i th the
, ,

particle ga There d o es n o t appea r to be any di fference in

.

m eaning b etween a and a re and i t is to be ass u m ed that ,

a re is s u bstit u ted fo r p u r p o ses o f e u pho ny o nly The elem ent .

re i s p o ssibly c o gnate wi th ra a s u ffi x to which in its earliest ,

u ses n o definite m eaning c a n be assigned (v u nder F o rm ati o n .

o f W o r ds p , .

With ou t g o ing int o details it m ay be stated that zoa and ,

zoare are equ ivalent to a and a re r espect ively S u ch evidence .

as is available indicates that a and a re a r e pri or fo rm s They .

are n ow o bs olete bu t zoa su rvives in the m o de rn language

,

in the p o ssess ive f orm zoaga m y Wa re is in fai rly c om m o n .

u s e th o u gh it cann o t be said to r ep r esent the pers o nal p ro

,

n ou n I By a c u ri ou s sem ant i c devel op m ent it has c om e ,

 PR O N O UN S 73
with zoaga to have a certain reflective valu e The redupli
‘
.
,

c a te d f o rm zoa rez
’
o a re is freely u sed we .

N A and N A R E These f o rm a pair s im ilar to a and a re

. .

E xa m ples o f thei r earliest u se a r e

n a kos o ha zoo ni i mas e ba (K ) since th o u art a m a n (ha i s .

the sepa r ative pa r t icle zoo ,

m an
n a re mo mo (M )
a re th ou and I b oth
.

n a re n a ri keme y a (N
) was it th o u perchance
.
P

S om e c u ri ou s c om binati ons o f n a with n ou ns anal o g o u s to ,

us e ago & c cited ab ove we r e in u s e in the N ara pe rio d

‘
, ,
.
, ,

n ase = th o u b r o ther n a bi to
-
th ou pers o n n a ne th o u -

sister n a oto
’

, th ou y ou nger b r o ther They seem to have ’

.

been te rm s o f a ffecti o n o r perhaps had a cer tain hon orifi c ,

val u e A si m ila r c om p ou nd is n amu chi p r es um ably derived

.
,

from n a and mu chi o r m uts u (gentle ) which gave rise to the ,

fo rm n a nji (thr o u gh n amuji ) in c om m o n u s e in the later

‘ ‘
,
’
langu age as a pr o n o u n th ou with a plu ral n a nji ra ye , ,
’

Ther e is n o t race of a pr o n ou n o f the third pers o n u nless ,

s hi (v i nfra ) m a y be regarded as s u ch
. .

A TI VE PR
D E MO N S TR O N O UN S

I n the N ara peri o d we find

k o and k o r e
so , s or e ka , ,

k are , and s hi
K0 is f ou nd al one as i n ko s hi y oroshi this i ndeed i s
,

goo d (s hi her e i s an em phat ic part i cle) B ut it i s u su ally .

c ombined with the pa rticle n o in the f o rm kon o which s u b , ,

sists in the m o dern langu age as the equ ivalent o f the de m on

s tra tiv e adj ective this Thu s kon o y a ma mi chi th i s ,

m ou ntain r o ad kon o mi ki A n u m ber o f

’

th i s wine
’

,
.

c omp ou nds are f o rm ed by the a i d o f ko s u ch as kotoshi , ,

this year koy oi to night koko here kochi h ither

,
-
, ,

K O R E bears the sam e relati o n to ko as are to a It has s u r .

vive d i n the m o dern langu age as the d em pr o n o u n th is .

SO and S O R E are pa r allel wi th ko and kore except in m in or ,

details . 5 0 gives rise to the fo rm s s on o the d em adj that ,

. .

33 70 L
74 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
s oko ,
ther e & c and s ore s u rvives as the d em pr o n ou n
.
, . .

C
that
KA and K AR E resem ble s o and s ore bu t see m to be s om e ,

what later f o rm s I n the texts o f the N ara peri o d they d o

.

n o t appear with s u ch frequ ency as the latter The differ ence .

i n m eaning between the m is best explained by stating that

s on o rep r esents a p o siti o n inte rm ediate between kon o and

ka n o ka n o be ing appl i ed to m o re d i stant s on o to less distant

, ,

o bj ects .

S HI seem s to have been ident ical in m eaning with s o ,

except that , u nlike s o it appears at ti m es to act as a pers o nal

,

pr o n ou n as , in

s hi ga m 6shi s hiku ( Res ) as he said

ts u ba ki s hi ga ha na the ca m ell ia i ts fl o we r s
,

s hi ) g a ha (N . its leaves
By the end o f the N ara peri o d s hi is already obs olescent .

IN TE R R O G A TI VE PR O N O UN S
’
=
= ‘
who ? n a n i
’
These are ta and t a r e what ? and i ts u ,
wh i ch E xa m ples o f their u s e are

ta ga ta me n i (M ) . fo rwh o se sa k e ?
ta re u i mi s emu (M ) . to wh om shall I S h o w
n a n i zoo ka o mozoa mu (M ) . what shall I thin k ?
i ts u e M
( ) . in which directi o n ?
These pr o n ou ns a re frequ ently but n o t necessarily u sed with
the interr o gat ive particle ka to c om plete the sentence as i n ,

tare n i mi s emu ka to wh o m shall I sh o w it

'

TA and TA R E requ i r e n o special c omm ent Ta re has s ur .

v iv e d i n the m o de r n langu age u s u ally ta k ing the f o rm dare , .

N AN I is an interesting exa m ple o f i m perfect differ entiati o n .

I n the two sentences q u o ted ab o ve it clearly m eans what ?

‘
bu t in m any cases it is eq u ivalent to how ? or why ? and
there is g o o d reas o n to believe that this n a was m o r e in the
nat u r e o f an adve rb than a pr o n ou n and has given rise t o ,

the fo rm s n ani and n a do b o th originally m eaning how and ,

b oth adverbs .
7 6 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
S u ch is the p o siti o n wi th regard to p r o n ou ns in the N ara
peri o d E ven pri or to that pe ri o d we m ay ass u m e alm o st
.

with certainty there existed a fai rly c o m plete set o f special

i z e d pr o n o m inal f o rm s They m ay be r ep r esented schem atic
.

ally as f o ll ows

P ron ou ns at begi nni ng f

o N a ra P eri od .

Pe r s o n a l
D e m o n s tra ti v e s o , s ore

I n t erro ga t i v e

I f we c ompare this list w ith a list o f p r o n ou ns u sed in

m o dern Japanese we find a c u ri o u s phen om en o n
, The .

dem o nstrat i ve and interr ogative p r on o u ns have s u rvived

with ve ry little change the pe r s o nal pr o n o u ns have al m o st
,

c om pletely vanished It is interesting to t race the devel op

.

m ent o f the lang u age in this r espect between the two per i o ds .

Already in the N ara peri o d we find s u bstit u tes fo r sim ple

pers o nal p ro n ou ns in the shape o f h on o rifi c a ppellati o ns o r
.

hu m ble term s su ch as mi mashi th o u which is apparently -

‘
, ,

c o m p o sed o f the ho n o rifi c prefix mi and mashi m eaning to

‘
,

to exist (in space ) and c o nveys s o m e s u ch idea as

’ ’
dwell , ,

a u gu st being We have als o i mashi and even ma s hi with

’

‘
.
,

o u t prefix (mas hi mo a re m o
’
th ou and I ) as well as
ki mi l o rd) and n amu chi (v ab ove ) all eq u ivalent to
‘
.
,

th ou ’
There is f u rther a f orm wa ke o f o bscu r e o rigin
‘
.
, ,

which appears to m ean b o th I and th o u

’

N o t i nfreq u ent exam ples o f these f orm s are to be f ou nd

i n the R escrip ts and the M a ny 6 shi t
'
In su bseq u ent pe ri o ds
.

the fu ncti o n o f p r o n ou ns is perform ed by a d ou ble p r o cess

the free u s e of hon orifi c o r h u mble appellati o ns and the
devel op m ent o f an intricate system o f ho n orifi c and h um ble
verb f orm s It is i m p o ssible in c onside ring this phen om en o n
.

to dist i n guish between cau se and e ffect to say whethe r the ,

tendency to dispense with per s o nal pron ou ns res u lted fr om

a prefere nce for hon orifi c f orm s or whether the pe r s o nal p ro
n ou ns disappeared for o ther reas ons and we r e perfo rce r e
 PR O N O UN S 77
placed by hon ori fi c fo rm s The fi rst seem s the m o st likely
.

p ro cess The r e a re n o signs o f atro phy in the pers o nal pro

.

n ou ns in the earlier texts— on the c ont rary they were ,

devel o ping new f o rm s as has been indicated ab o ve— bu t the

,

langu age in u s e at the centre o f cult u r e the C ou r t at N ara , ,

tended t o be cer em o ni ou s and ext r avagant and it was this ,

langu age which fu rnished a standar d th rou gh being rec o rded ,

in c o llecti ons o f verse and m agnil o qu ent d o c um ents like the

I mperial Rescripts B u t even in the alm o st prim itive ve r ses
.

o f the K o i ki ther e are al r eady instances o f ho n o r i fi c ve r b

j
f o rm s as for instance the u se o f cau sative f o rm s like tata s u
, , ,

as ho n orifi c s ubstit u tes for the s im ple f o rm ta ts u (v u nder .

su ,
verb suffi xes p , Underlying these tendencies is
.

d ou btless s om e char acteristic which m ight be explained o n

gro u nds o f r acial psych ol o gy This h o weve r is a qu esti o n
.
, ,

which m ay be left to sp ecialists in that dist r essing st u dy .

Whatever its cau ses the devel op m ent o f the p ro cess ou t

,

lined ab o ve th r ou gh the H eian pe ri o d on to the p r esent day

, ,

p ro vides interesting m ate rial and I the r ef o r e sketch it ,

b riefly as f o ll ows
, .

In the Heian peri o d a and a re a re p ractically o bs o lete zoa ,

s urvives o nly in the p o ssessive f o rm zoaga bu t zoare is fre ,

q u ent Meanwhile the w or d zoata ku shi c om es int o u s e Its

. .

o r iginal m eaning is s o m ething like p r ivate

’
o t selfishness
(n
as is O ften said) as c a n be seen from
,

zoa ta ku s hi n i m o i to kos o inwa rdly was m u ch rej o iced

u r es hikere
‘
bu t later it devel oped the m eaning o f I and it i s the ’

standa r d f orm in the m o de r n c oll o qu ial .

N a and n are fall ou t o f u s e and a r e r eplaced by n a nji

n a mu chi ) and ki nji (pres u m ably ki mi mu chi ) as p r o
n ou ns o f the sec ond pers o n .

In the thi r d pers o n we find s om e o f the dem onstrative

p ron ou ns alo ne or in c om binati o n act ing as pers o nal p ro
, ,

n ou ns Th u s :
.

so
ga i ikeraku (T o sa N ik k i) he said
and a n u mber o f cases where s u ch c omp ou nds as s ona ta
‘
s on o ka ta that , s oko by a slight shift o f
m eaning c om e to signify pers o ns and n o t places actin g as ,

pr o n o u ns o f the sec ond and even of the third pers on K are

, .
78 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
i n pa r tic u lar fr eq u ently stands fo r he
’
and this u sage has ,

s u rvived u ntil the present day in the wr itten langu age E g . . .

ka re ga m6 s a mu koto I n ni rep o r t to His M aj esty what

s 6 s ey o (Ya m at o M o n o ) he says
.

ka re zo a tare zo (G en ) who is he
I n this pe ri o d we find are a dem o nst r at ive f orm n ot to be
, ,

c o nfu sed with are I u sed in the sam e way as ka re as in ,

a re zo a n a n i koto i h zo ( Mak
) what d o es he say .

and a re is still u sed in the m o der n c o ll o qu ial in this sense ,

s om ewhat i m p olitely .

The s u bstit u ti o n o f de m o nst r ative pr o n o u ns (o r c om

p ou nds the r e o f ) indicating p o siti o n for per s o nal p ro n o u ns
pr o ceeded apace B y the peri o d of the Hei k e M on ogatari
.

we find
s o s or e s oko s on a ta
, ,
2 n d pe r s o n
,

a re 2 n d and 3 r d pe r s o n
ka re 3 rd pers o n
and later we find konata 3 rd pers o n as well as a n a ta 2 md
-
, , ,

pe r s o n This last f orm is the o n e which su rvives in the

.

m o dern c o ll o qu ial .

Cer tain an om alies will be n oticed in the em pl oym ent o f ‘

these f o rm s They arise from the fact that the dem onstrative
.

p ro n ou ns exp r ess th r ee ideas as to p o siti o n viz ko this , .

,

here s o that the r e (nea r) and ka that the r e (distant ) .

‘
, , , ,

C o nseq u ently this pe r s o n here m a y be u sed for the speaker

‘
as well as for a thi r d pers o n who is p r esent that per s o n
there m ay be u sed fo r the pe r s o n addressed o r for a thi r d
’

pe r s o n whether p r esent or absent The su bstit u te fo rm s

, .

are i n fact vagu e and u nsatisfact or y except whe r e there is

‘
, ,

a clear ling u istic c o ntext o r what has been called a sit u ati o n
,

c o ntext Pa r tly n o d ou bt o n this acc ou nt an o ther gr ou p

’
.

o f s u bstit u tes ca m e int o u s e Th o se like ki mi and n a nji have

.

al r eady been m enti o ned They are ho n o rifi c s o r perhaps

.

te rm s o f a ffecti o n After the N ara peri o d they increase in

.

n um ber s We find su ch f o rm s as zoagi mi (app ro xi m ately

‘ ‘
.

‘
my zoa n u s hi ( m y zoa bi to ( m y m a n ) fo r
’

‘
the sec ond pers o n oma e (hon orifi c and fro nt gozen ihl fit]
and gohen 11a] w r being o f Chinese o rigin )
(the t o latte ,

where the sec o nd pe r s o n is expressed by a r eference to p o si

 PR O N O U N S 79
ti o n The r e are als o special f orm s rep r esenting the fi rst
.

pe r s o n s u ch as ma ro 11 which devel o ped an hon orifi c sense

, , ,

and chi n the I m pe rial we i m p o rted f ro m China ( fl )

’

, , .

The su bstit u ti o n for pe r s o nal p ro n ou ns o f pe r iphrastic

f o rm s den oting p o siti o n is very character istic o f Japanese .

It seem s to arise fr o m a kind o f tab u which disc o ur ages ,

dir ect address or di r ect r efe r ence to a pe r s o n pa rticu larly ,

a pe rs o n in a s u pe ri o r r ank The m o st fam ilia r exam ple is .

the wo r d mi ka do au gu st gate for the E m pe r o r bu t ’

, ,

everyday speech fu rnishes ab u ndant ill u st rati o n o f the sam e

tendency Th u s a h u sband refer s to his wife as ka n a i (inside
.

the h o u se) a wife to her hu sband as ta ku (the h o u se) the

‘ ‘
,

u s u al eq u ivalent fo r Mr is don o a (la rge) b u ilding and .

’

,
’

so on . It is di ffi cu lt t o say t o what extent this habit is

de rived fro m Chinese u sage Ce r tainly in the K ojiki the .

m o st a u g u st and even divine pers o nages a r e freely m enti o ned

“
by nam e S u ch elegant ap p ellati o ns as denka fl F (lit
‘
.

‘
.

’ “
ka kka
’
u nder the pavili o n ) fo r Highness F (lit u nder , .

‘
the c ou ncil cham ber ) for E xcellency ki den ’ ’

fl (lit
‘ ‘
.
,

respected pavili o n ) fo r you are o f Chinese pr o venance

’ ’

, .

It sh ou ld be n o ticed by the way that f o rm s li k e denka c a n

stand b o th fo r sec ond and third pe r s o n— His H ighness as
well as Y o u r Highness .

It is u nnecessa ry to en u m erate m o re of these f o rm s O n e .

need o nly state that they a re exceedingly n u m er o u s and ,

m any we r e bu t ephe m eral They ca m e int o fashi o n at o n e .

peri o d and van ished at an o ther B u t the habit o f u sing .

periphrastic su bstit u tes for the pe rs o nal p ro n ou n has per

sisted s o that in m o dern Japanese a great n u m ber o f
,

equivalent f orm s a r e in u s e Th u s instead o f the sim ple .

,

p o n o u ns o f the early N ara pe ri o d we n ow have

r ,

‘
W a tak u s h i w a r e t e m a e ( bef o re the hand a
’
1 st pe r s o n , ,
‘
.
,

h um ble w o rd ) b o k u servant in c o mm o n u s e)
,
’

, ,

s ess hu cl u m sy pers on ) go j i n (35 A ) w a ga h a i (lit

‘
.

‘
, ,

m y c o m pani o ns bu t u sed
’
I as well as we
,
and
seve ral o the rs .

2 n d pe r s o n An a t a k i m i k i k u u k i d e n k i s a m a o m a e
.
, , , , , ,

o n o r e o f va r ying degrees o f p o liteness

,
‘
.

3 rd pe r s on A r e a n o h i to ( that pe r s o n
, k a n o hi to k a n o jo ,
‘ ‘
.

( that w om an in written langu age she a n o k a ta

’

, ,

&c .
80 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It i s i mp o rtant to rem ember that in Japanese sentences , ,

c a n eas ily be c o nstr u cted where o w i ng t o the ex i stence o f ,

speci al hon orifi c l o cu t io ns the pers o nal pr o n ou n c a n be

,

o m itted w i th ou t a m bigu ity It m ay i ndeed be stated that

.

a typical Japanese sentence d o es n ot incl u de a pers o nal p r o

n ou n and where o n e i s u sed i t generally has an e m phatic
,

valu e Thu s :
.

i rass hai ma s u ka
are you g o ing ?
ma i r i ma s u I am g oing
The u s e o f ho n o ri fi c or h umble ve rbs dispenses w ith the need
for a p r o n ou n and if pr o n ou ns are u sed as i n a n a ta i rass ha i
, ,

ma s u ka the sentence i s better t r anslated i n an em phatic

,

way Are y ou g oing

PO S S E S S I VE PR O N O UN S
Wh at has been wri tten ab ove applies mutati s muta ncli s to
the p ossess ive pr o n ou ns The ea rliest fo rm s are th o se like
.

aga zoaga
,
& c which have already been disc u ssed .

Where n ou ns are u sed periph rastically as pers o nal p r on ou ns ,

their p o ssess ive f orm s are nat u r a lly c o nstru cted in the
o rd i nary way by m eans o f the p o ssess ive particles n o and
‘
,

m m
’

g a s o that fo r instance fo r y hat we u st say zoa ta

‘
,

ku shi n o b6s hi y ou r hat a na ta n o b6shi and so o n wi th

, , ,

the reservat io n that pr o n ou ns a re n o t u sed whe r e there is n o

fear o f am b i gu ity Thu s th ou gh ki mi zoa ka s a zoo zoa s u reta
‘
.
,

ka is l i terally H ave you fo rg o tten u m brella u nless there

i s in the c ontext evi dence to the c o ntrary the sentence m eans

Have you f o rgo tten y ou r u m bre lla To say ki mi n o kas a
w ou ld be s u perflu ou s Indeed in m o st cases the u ne mphatic
.
,

u s e o f a pe r s o nal pr o n o u n o r a p o ssess ive pr o n ou n is a

s o lecis m in Japanes e .

P arallel with the u s e o f ho n orifi c w o r ds as s ubst it u tes fo r

pers o nal pron ou ns is the u s e o f hon orifi c prefixes o r si m ilar
l o cu ti o ns i nstead o f p o ssessive p ro n ou ns To ta k e the .

sim plest and m ost frequ ent case that o f the ho n orifi c p r efix ,

0 o r on : where this is prefixed to a n ou n its val u e c an

u s u ally be g i ven in translat i o n by a p o ssess i ve pr o n o u n
‘
.

’
Thu s 0 ka o ga a ka i y ou r face is red or if a third per s o n
‘
, , ,

Sim ilarly
’
is being respectfully referred to his face is red
‘ ‘
.
,

0 ko s ama
’
o ta ku is y ou r h o u se
’
y our children and s o on
, , .
 PR O N O UN S 81
F or ep i st o la r y u s e o r i n cer em o ni o u s lang u age a n u mber o f
, ,

m o re elab o rate l o c u ti o ns a r e available— m o stly o f Chinese

‘
o rigI n Th u s while I wri te o f m y wife as ga s a i o r kei sa i ’

‘
.
, ,

a st upid o r a r u stic sp ou se I refer to y ou r wi fe as Interi o r

‘
,

Madam (okusa ma ) My fathe r is plain father y ou rs is

’ ’

‘
.
,

a stern p rince (ge nku n ) My h ou se is a wretched h ovel

’
.
,

y o urs is a splendid palace M any o f these hype rb olic expres .

si ons a re of c ou r se stilted and fantastic bu t a n u m be r o f ,

them have by fr eq u ent u sage l o st their explicit hon ori fi c

Characte r and are m erely ste r e o typed f o rm s with prim a rily
,

gra mmatical fu ncti o ns It i s o bvi o u s for instance that .

, ,

when a c omm e rcial c om pany i n its advert isem ents o r its

c orresp o ndence styles itself hei sha a bro k en d own c o nce rn ,
-

it d o es n o t expect to be ta k en literally .

Th ough it has been stated that hon ori fi c f o rm s act as

s u bstit u tes for pers o nal p ro n ou ns i t m u st n o t be assum ed ,

that ho n orifi c s and pers o nal p ro n ou ns represent exactly the

sam e psych o l ogi cal categ o ry I t is m ore acc u rate to say that .

the p r esence o r absence o f ho no rifi c or hu mble f o rm s in m o st ,

c ontexts al l ows the spea k er to dispense with pers onal or

,

p ossessive p r o n ou ns and by c o ntext he r e m u st be u nder

st o o d n o t o nly the verbal c o ntext bu t the sit u ati on c o ntext
‘
.

Th u s 0 tega mi standing al o ne m eans a r espected letter

, , ,
’
.

It m a y acc o rd ing to c o ntext m ean the letter of the pers o n

‘
, ,

addressed i e y o u r letter o r the letter o f s om e third per ’

‘
, . .
,

s o n t o wh o m respect i s d u e i e It m ay even ’
his letter , . . .
,

by an extensi o n o f the applicati o n o f the hon orifi c refer to ,

a letter which I have written to you and wh ich owing to , ,

its respectable destinati o n i s m enti oned with the respect du e ,

to i ts r ecipient An ext r em e case of thi s s o rt is fu rnished

.

by su ch a c omm on phrase as o ja ma i tashi mas hi ta which i s

‘
,

the eq u ivalent o f P ard on m e for having dist u rbed you ’

‘
.

Literally o ja ma is an h o n ou rable o bstacle bu t it is

’

, ,

h on ou rable o nly in s o far as i t affects an h o n ou rable pers on .

LA TI VE PR O N O UN S R E

These d o n ot exist i n Japanese Their p u rp o se is served .

by a special attrib u tive f orm o f the verb as homu ru hi to

‘
, ,

a m an who praises wher e homuru is the attribu tive form ’

of homu .

327°
 82 HI STO RICAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR

THE N UME R A L
The n um erals in u se befo re the i ntro du ct io n of Ch inese
were as foll ows
1 hi tots u 8 y a ts u
2 f utats u 9 k ok o n ots u

3 mi ts u 10 to, and so in c omb i nat i ons

4 y ots u 20 hata chi
5 i ts uts u 1 00 momo and ho in c om b i nat io ns
,

6 mu tsu chi

7 n a n ats u y orocl zu

These are s ubstant i val f o rm s wh i ch appear i n c omb i nat io n ,

wi th ou t the elem ent ts u Thu s mi s o = 3 0 i ho 5 00 y a o .

, , ,

(y )
a ho 8 0 0 mi s oji ,
m i tos e three years y a ta ,

eight handed
-
.

The i nterm edi ate n um bers were f o rm ed on the m o del to

a ma ri hi tots u on e m o re than t en
’

, eleven .

The system was evi dently cu m br ou s and i n the h igher ,

num bers vagu e The n u mber y ats u for i nstance i s appa

,
.
, ,

r e n tl c g n ate w i th the w o rd iy a wh i ch appears i n the N a ra

y o
‘ ‘
,

perio d as an i ntens ive prefix m ean ing very o r mu ch Ya ’

wi th i ts c om p ou nds i s u sed to signify s im ply a large n u m ber .

Th u s ya o y orodzu n o kami l iterally the g o ds m eans

‘
,
‘
the mu ltitu di n ou s g o ds and si m ilarly u zoo y a tsu kaa zuke
’ ’
,

(M ) is k eep ing m any c o rm o rants B u t n umbers li k e 8 and

.
,

i ts m u ltiples in th ou sands o cc u r freq u ently in B u ddh i st

‘
,

literat u re and the u se of ya i n the sense o f m any m ay be

,
’

derived fr om th i s s ou rce .

N at u rally the Chi nese n um erals were f ou nd m o re con

v eni ent and i n m any cases they dr o ve the Japanese f o rm s
,

c ompletely out of u s e There are h owever s om e c u ri ou s

.
, ,

s urvi vals and an om ali es These cann o t all be specified here

.
,

being m atters for lexical treat m ent bu t the f oll owing are ,

typ i cal exam ples .

The nat ive nu m erals fr om on e to ten rem ai n in u s e as ,

su bstant ives The h igher n umbers are obs olete except that
‘ ‘
.
,

d i st i ll sed i the sense f n i versal all Th s ’

y o r o z u s u n o u u
‘
.
,

a ll pe o ple
’
d h i c nveys the i dea everyb o dy ’

y oro zu n o to o , .

A s attri b u t ives these n um erals appear in c om p ou nds su ch as

‘ ‘
j f m mi kko
’

(
’
u t s u ka , tw o days or the sec o nd o the onth ) ,
84 HI STO R I C AL JAPA N E SE G RA MMAR
u n derst oo d if o n e re m e m be r s that even the ea r liest and

si m plest f o rm s o f n um er als in Japanese c o ntain an ele m ent

c o rresp onding to these speciali z ed n u m erative w ords Thu s .

hi tots u fu tats u & c c a n be res olved int o n u m e r al pl u s an

‘
.
, , ,

a u xilia ry suffix ts u piece and the idi o m requ ir es mon o ’

‘
,

hi tots u thing o n e piece and n o t hi to mon o for on e thing

’ ’
.

‘
, , ,

S i m i la r ly onn a futuri w om an two pers o ns for tw o w om en ,

and n o t futa onn a The s uffix ts u appears als o in the w o rd

‘
.

i kuts u how m any The u s e o f classifie r s s u ch as ma i fu ri

’

, .
, ,

hon kas a ne & c f o ll ows n ot u nnat u rally fro m the u s e of ts u

, , .
, .

It is probable that the fr ee u s e o f su ch classifier s in

Japanese devel oped u nder Chinese infl u ence There i s little .

trace of them in the N a r a peri o d We find h owever .

, ,

chi d o u btless c o gnat e with ts u as in

, ,

mi sochi a ma ri futa ts u n o kata thirty two i m ages -

chi (B u ss o ku seki ) -

ri as in hi tari (m o d ki tori ) o n e pers o n futari two per s o ns

‘
.
, ,

ka m eaning days as in j u ts u ka
’
two days n a n u ka
‘ ‘
, , , , ,

seven days momaka a h u ndred days ’

, ,
’
.

has hi ra m eaning pillar applied to per s o ns bu t chiefly

’

, , ,

to g o ds as in ,

y oh as hi ra n o ka m i (R it u als ) f o u r g o ds
In Chinese the classifiers serve an i m p or tant p u rp o se in
that they help to differ entiate h om o ph o nes Th ou gh sha n
‘ ‘
.

i n Chinese m eans b o th shirt and m o u ntain

’
the u s e o f ’

the app r op ri ate classifier in each case ts o a site for m ou n ’

‘
, , ,

tains and ki en an article o f cl o thing for shi r ts helps to

, ,
’

, ,

prevent am bigu ity in cases whe r e shi r ts m ight be m istaken

fo r m o u ntains In p u r e Japanese this reas o n fo r u sing
.

classifiers do es n ot h old g o o d ; bu t since as a ru le the

n u m erals them selves and a la rge part o f the v o cab u lary in ,

Japanese are o f Chinese origin it is to be expected that

, ,

Chinese u sage in regard to n u m erals w ou ld be foll owed in

a large n u m ber o f cases .

L N UME R ALS O R D IN A

Japanese has n o speci aliz ed o r d inal n um erals In the .

native langu age there is a s uffi x me (an eye divisi o n m ark , , ,

o n a scale ) u sed i n c o m p o siti o n with n u m erals as i n

, ,

migi y ori mi tsu me the third from the r ight

 THE N UMERAL 85

bu t i ts u s e i s li m ited A c om m o n m eth o d o f desc ribing p o s i

.

ti o n in a series is to m ake u s e o f l o cu ti o ns c o ntaining on e o r

m or e o f the Chinese w o rds da i ( step o rde r) ban , ,

(n u m be r) o r go
, (m a rk
) as in ,

dai i chi
i chi ba n
‘ ‘
all m eaning n um ber ’ ’
i chi go on e , or fi rs t

J
dai i chi ban
tla i i chi go

'
With these s om eti m es , a d d in g me the idea ,
of o rder c an be
c onveyed E g . . .

sa mba n me no ki the thi r d t ree

da i s a n s ha a thi r d per s o n
tl a i hachi go kzoa n b u ilding n o 8 .

da i ku r en tai the ninth regi m ent

V ery o ften h owever the idea is exp r essed m erely by j uxta
, ,

p o siti o n as in
,

mi kka the thi r d day (o f the m o nth)

u i gzoa ts u ui chi n i chi
j the 1 1 th o f the 2 n d m o nth
kemp 6 n o nijuha chi 76 A r ticle 2 8 o f the C o nstit u ti o n
It m u st be r em em be r ed that the absence o f a classifier i s
‘
significant in s u ch cases Thu s i f we say n iji thachi ka j 6
‘
.
, ,

u sing the classifie r ka the m eaning is twenty eight -

articles n igzoats u m eans F ebru ary bu t n i kagets u 2 m o nths ; ,

and the om issi o n o f ka sh ows that o r der is intended I t is .

u su al h o wever fo r the sake o f precisi o n to u s e the w o rd

‘
, , ,

dai as in D ai nijuha chi 345 A r t i cle N o 2 8

, , .

ME AN S O F E X PR E S S I N G N UM B E R I N THE
S UB S T A N TI VE
‘
The s ubstant ive in Japanese i s neu tral as to n u m ber .

There are h owever vari ou s s uffixes by m eans o f which

, ,

n umber can be exp ressed These are .

t a c hi , applied n ou ns signifying living things Thu s :

to .

mi kotachi omi tachi momo ts u p rinces n o bles and all offi , ,

ka sa n o hi to tachi ( Res ) ce r s o f state

i ma shi ta chi ( Res ) y u
o
86 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
to m o d o m o U su al ly o f pers ons ( It m eans c om pan i on )
’
, . .

kodomo omohoy u (M ) I think o f my children

.

a s hi ki
y a ts u d om o
( Res ) bad fell o ws .

r a appl i ed to pers o ns
,
‘ ‘
otomera m aidens
’ ’
kora ch ildren
k a ta , ga t a , applied t o pers o ns It m eans
‘
side It d o es n ot
.
’
.

appear in theearl i est texts , bu t is frequ ent in the m edieval lan

guage as for exam ple i n onn aga ta w om en an atagata you
, , , , ,

All the ab ove f o rm s have s u rvived and are in c o mm o n u s e

to day
-
In addit io n there i s the Chinese w o rd t6 g a class
.

and its equ ivalent in p u re Japanese n a do which have rather , ,

the m eani ng of et cetera It is o nly incidentally that t6 and

.

n a cl o f o rm pl u rals .

I t i s im p o rtant to n o t ice that s ince n um ber i s n o t ex ,

pressed in Japanese except for spec i al reas ons m o st s o called ,

-

plu ral fo rm s have special m eanings This i s particu larly tru e .

o f th o se f o rm s c o nstru cted by d u plicati o n which m u st n o t ,

be regarded sim ply as elem entary plu ral form s F or exam ple
‘
.
,

th ou gh toki doki m eans t im es it als o c o nveys the i dea o f ’

‘ ‘
,

fr om t im e to t im e ku nigun i m eans var i ou s pr ovinces

’ ’

‘
,

y a may ama koete m eans n o t m erely cr o ss ing m o u ntai ns bu t

’

cr o ssing m ou ntai n after m ou ntain S i m ilarly s ama r uma n o

‘
mi age i s vari ou s k inds o f presents and kokorogokoro ni ’

‘
,

a s obi i s playi ng acc ording to thei r respective tastes ’

The .

f o rm s c om p o sed wi th the a i d o f the suffixes m ent io ned ab ove

O ften c o nvey a m eaning which is n o t s o lely c o ncerned wi th

n u m ber An inter esting exam ple is the w ord kodomo child

.
,

wh ich in m o dern Japanese has n o spec i al plur al significance ,

and c a n take a fu r ther plur al suffix as in kodomora kodo , ,

motachi sh o wing that the s u ffix domo

, tom o) expresses the
i dea of a gr o u p o r class rather than o f n u m ber In a m o dern .

c o ll o qu i al sentence s u ch as zo ata kus hi domo u i zoa zoakari

‘ ‘
ma s en u the pr o n ou n stands for I rather than we the
’ ’

‘
, ,

translat io n o f zoata ku shi domo being the likes o f m e The ’

‘
.

wo rd tomoda chi friend seem s to be an other exa m ple It

,
’

,
.

has n o plu ral significance th ou gh da chi is n o do u bt ta chi , ,

u s u ally regarded as a pl u ral s uffix There i s an obs olete

‘
.

w ord dochi a c om pani on wh i ch i s pr obably c o gnat e with

,
’

ta chi s o that here aga i n we seem to have a pl u ral suffi x

,

den ot ing class rather than n umber .

 P R E D I CATI VE WO R D S

W H AT are here classified as predicat ive w o rds are th o se

which th o ugh they can perfo rm vari ou s gra m m at i cal
,

fu ncti o ns have this o n e characte ristic i n c omm o n to dis

,

ti ngu ish the m fr o m all o the r w o rds in Japanese that they ,

can f o rm the predicate o f a gra mm at ical pr o p o sit io n with ou t

the ass istance o f a c op ula .

They are r ou ghly divi sible i nt o two classes th o se wh ich ,

predicate propert i es na m ely the Adj ect ives and th o se

, , ,

which predicate acts o r states na m ely the V erbs Th u s , ,

.
,

in the sentence
i s hi ots u st o nes fall
the act or state o f fall ing and in the sentence
,

i s hi ka ta s hi st o nes are hard

the p roperty o f ha r dness is p redicated o f st o nes
, .

It wi ll be at o nce appa r ent that the adj ective here acts in

prec isely the sam e way as the verb It is in fact a special .

characteristic of the Japanese langu age that verb and

adj ective have m any feat u res in c o mm o n They sh o w m o re .

rese m blances than c o ntrasts They a r e the o nly inflected

.

parts o f speech and by m eans o f a schem e o f i nfl ex io n s each

,

c a n f u lfil u ses o ther than predicat ive u ses N o t o nly c a n .

the verb act as an adj ective and the adj ective as a ve rb b u t ,

b o th can act as su bstantive o r adverb It w ou ld i ndeed be .

q u i te in acc o rdance wi th the st ru ct u re o f the lang u age to

treat the verb and adj ective as o n e part o f speech and this ,

i s the m eth o d f oll owed by m any Japanese gra mm arians who ,

classify the m t ogether as y 6gen H }

i m eaning u s e w o rds -

‘
o r ha ta ra ki —
’
kotoba w ork wo rds
,
-
These are pec u liarly ap
.

p pro r i a te na m es f
,o r they describe the w o rds which as m ight ,

be expected fr om a class o f i nflected wo r ds in an o therwise

u ni nfl e c te d langu age serve the m o st i m p o rtant and var i ed
,

p u rp o ses
.

What d ifference ex ists between verb and adj ect ive is o n e

o f degree and n o t o f k i nd It lies i n the fact that while
.
,
 PRE D I C ATIVE W O R D S 89

the verb is capable o f all the u ses o f the adj ect ive it has ,

certai n capaci ties that the adj ective d o es n o t fully share It .

is therefore c o nvenient after d esc rib ing the feat u res wh i ch ,

they have in c om m o n to t r eat them sep arately in detai l ; ,

bu t it cann o t be m ade too clear that this divisi o n r ests on

expediency and n o t o n any fu ndam ental dist incti o n between
the two grou ps as to fu ncti on .

As stated ab o ve p redicative wo rds can ass um e a vari ety

,

o f f o rm s The i nfl ex io n a l pr ocess by which these f orms a re

.

o btained m a y be term ed the S i m ple C o nj u gati o n o f verbs

and adj ect ives This c onj ugati o n is o f an ent irely d ifferent
.

nat u r e from the c o nj u gati o n o r declensi o n of w or ds in E u r o

pean langu ages In E nglish fo r instance the f orm s break
.
, , ,

brea ks brea ki ng broken broke carry i mplicat i o ns o f tense

, , , ,

voice and m oo d to say n o thing o f n u m ber and pers on In

, , .

Japanese the si mple c onj u gati o n in all its f o rms is the n o ta

ti o n o f a si m ple c o ncept whether of an acti o n o r a pr operty ,

o r a state which is n o t li m ited or extended by any c on

,

side rati o ns o f ti m e o r m o de , The si m ple c o nj ugat ion i n ,

o ther w o rds d o es n o t exce p t incidentally p ro d u ce vari a

, , ,

ti ons in m eaning bu t o nly c o nventi o nal va riat io ns in f orm

, ,

by m eans o f which o n e c o ncept m a y in speech be br ou ght

int o relati o n with o ther c o ncepts The f o rm ta bu fo r .
,

i nstance is the special p r edicative f o rm o f the n o tat i o n i n

‘
,

Japanese o f the c o ncept eating and the wo rds tori ta bu ’

‘ ‘
,

m e r ely predicate eat o f bi r d and are c o ncerned wi th n o

’ ’

o t h er relati o n C o nseq u ently they m ay acc o r ding to c o n

‘ ‘ ‘
.
,
’ ’
text r ep r esent the bird eats the bird ate the bird will
‘
, , ,

eat or the birds eat the birds ate o r the bi rds wi ll eat
In a li k e way ta ba ru i s a spec ial a ttrib u t ive form The
, .

te rminati o n m d o es n o t d im inish o r enla rge the m eaning ,

bu t si mply gi ves to the w o rd the c o nvent i o nal f orm by wh i ch

an attrib u tive relati o n is expressed S o that ta buru tori m ay .

m ean the bird o r bi r ds which eat or ate or will eat a nd , , ,

als o the bird o r b ir ds wh ich i s o r are or was o r were o r , , , ,

will be eaten S im ilar c o nsiderati ons apply to all f o rm s o f

, .

the si m ple c o nj u gati on They d o n o t by the m selves express .

c ondit i ons o f ti m e m oo d or voi ce U nder all c o ndit ions the

, , .

verb and the adj ective are neu tral as to pers on n um ber and , ,

gender .

When precisi on as to o ther aspects i s required that is to ,

327°
90 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
say when i t i s desired to elab o rate the s im ple idea expressed
,

by the s imple c onj u gati o n this is d one by affi xing a u x il iary

,

w o rds o r term i nati o ns to the appr op ri ate f o rm s o f that c o n

j ugat io n The sche m e o f c omp ou nd form s thu s o bta ined i s
.

descr ibed hereafter as the C o mp ou nd C o nj u gat io n o f verb

and adj ective Th u s by affix ing to the C o nj u nct ive f o rm
.
,

o f the si m ple c o nj u gati o n o f the verb y u ku to go the s u ffix

’

‘
, ,
’
ki we c a n express tense as in y u ki ki
, went
,
A dding to , .

the I mperfect (N egat ive B ase) f o rm the su ffix zu we have

‘
,

y u kazu expressing negati o n d o es n ot g‘ o while the s uffi x

,
’

ru m a k es a passive f o r m as in mi ruru
’

,
i s seen , .

THE S I M PLE C O N J UG A TI O N O F VE R B AN D
A D JE C TI VE
is o f the m o del sh own i n the attached table It w ill be seen .

that i t presents slight vari at io ns i n type bu t all ve rbs (with ,

o nly s ix excepti o ns ) are reg u lar w i thin the i r type .

The f oll o wing is a general acc ou nt o f the nat u re and

f ormati o n o f the f o rm s o f the S imple C o nj ugat ion in so far ,

as i ts feat ures are c omm o n to b o th verbs and adj ectives .

A m ore detailed acc ou nt is g iven u nder the sepa rate head ings
dev o ted to each categ ory .

I . T he S te m .

In verbs this is i dent ical with the form k n own as the Co n

j u nct ive f or m In adj ect ives i t i s the c o nstant p ort i o n
.

rem a in ing when any i nfl ex io n is re m o ved In b o th cases it .

i s the f o r m which enters pr i ncipally int o c om p ou nd w o rds ,

and m ay the r efo r e pe rhaps be r egarded as a m o re ele m entary

f o rm than o ther f o rm s o f the si mple c o nj ugati o n B ut as .

i ts f u ncti o ns and n o m enclat u re are the s u bj ect o f c o n

tro ve rs y i t i s better to describe the ve rb ste m and the
,

adj ective ste m separately u nder their respect ive headings .

II . Fo r m
T he P r e d i c a t i ve .

Th i s i s the tru e verb f orm u sed i n m a king si mple state ,

m ents w i th ou t q u alificat io n c o ncerning the s u bj ect o f a

, ,

pr op o sit io n In .

st ones fall
st o nes are hard
92 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
the f o rm s ots u and katashi serve the p u rp o se o f predicat ing
‘ ’ ‘ ’
falling and hardness respectively and n o o ther p u rp o se ,
.

They a r e ne u tral as to tense and n u mber s o that the tran sla ,

ti o ns given are to that extent a rbit r a ry .

The Japanese gramm arians style this the C oncl u sive form
— s hiis hi kei beca u se o f i ts c o nstant p o siti o n at the
1 1; JB )
end o f a sentence The p r esence o f a ve rb or adj ective in
.

the c o ncl u sive fo rm m ay be taken to i ndicate the p o siti o n

o f a f u ll st o p whe r e as is u su al in Japanese p u nct u ati o n
, , ,

is defective Thu s : .

ya ma ta ka ku ka zoa fu kashi the hills ar e high and the

stream s deep
yama ta kashi kazo a fu ka s hi the hills are high The .

strea m s are deep

Th ou gh the P red icat ive f o rm plays an i m p or tant pa r t in
the written langu age it has p ractically vanished fro m the ,

c o ll o q u ial and su rvives o nly in s om e dialects and in a few

w or ds like y oshi n ashi & c It is replaced by the att rib u tive
, , .

f o rm as in
,

i s hi ga ka ta i ( = kata ki ) for i shi ka tashi

i s hi ga ochi ru ats a m
) fo r i shi ots u
This change has been acc om panied by a devel op m ent o f the
u s e o f the pa r ticle ga which is described elsewhe r e Instead
‘
.
,

o f u sing the predicative f o rm and saying si m ply childr en ,

the later idi om p r efer s to say childr en s

’ ’ ’
c ry o r st o nes fall
‘
,

c rying st ones falling — sentences which a re strictly speak

’

ing c om p o sed o f two su bstantives S i m ilarly i shi ga ka ta i

, .

is hist o rically equ ivalent to st ones ha r dness and n ot st o nes ’

a r e hard
’
.

III . T he Att r i bu ti ve or S u b s t a n t i va l Fo r m .

This f orm as its descripti o n i ntim ates c an serve m o re

, ,

than o ne p u rp o se .

( )
1 It c a n place a ve r b o r an adj ective in an att rib u tive

relati o n to the su bstantive which it p r ecedes

ots u rui shi falling st o nes st ones which fall
,

kata ki i s hi hard st o nes

 S IMPLE
C O N J UGATI O N 93

( )
2 It c an act as a s ubstantive itself
i s hi n o ots u ru zo o kiku to hear the fall ing of st o nes
i s hi no kata ki zoo s hi m t o k n ow the hardness o f
st o nes
ha n a n o chi ru zoo mi ko seeing the scattering o f the
no ha n o ots u ru zoo ki ki fl ower s hear ing the falling
,

o f the leaves
(Kokin P r eface) .

It will be n o ticed that in b o th its u ses this form i s in verbs

si mila r to the E nglish p r esent pa r ticiple The rese mblance .

is h owever n ot c o mplete It is cha racteri stic o f the attri

, ,
.

bu tiv e in c o m m o n with o ther f o rm s o f the sim ple c onj u ga

,

ti o n that it is neu tral as to r elati o ns o ther than th o se which

,

it is its special fu ncti o n to express J u st as the p r edicative .

f orm is s o lely p r edicative s o is this f o rm s olely att rib u tive

,

or s u bstantival It is n ot for exam ple c once rned with tim e

.
, ,

or v oice Thu s mi ru hi to m erely r elates in the l o o sest way

‘ ‘ ‘
.

the two ideas see and pe r s o n It m ay m ean the pers o n

’ ’

‘
.

who sees or the per s o n who i s seen O s oros hi ki hi m a y

’ ’

‘ ‘
.
,
’ ’
be the day which on e fea r s or the day when on e fear s , .

The s ubstantive ots uru m ay m ean either the act o f falling

o r the pe r s o n or thing which falls as is plain fr om the ,

f o ll owing sentences
i s hi n o ots u ru zo o kiku he hears the falling o f st ones
kazou n i ots u ru mo ari the r e were s om e who fell int o the
r I ve r

(3 ) It nder s om e c o ndit io ns act as a c o ncl u sive

c an , u ,

f o rm viz when i t i s preceded in a cla u se by ce rtain par

, .

ti c les s u ch as zo y a & c
, The ru le of syntax g overning this
, .

u sage to which great i m p ortance i s attached by f o r m al

,

Japanese gra mm arians bu t wh ich is n ot always o bserved in ,

m o dern wri t in g is explained elsewhere (v u nder zo)

, The . .

foll owing exa mples will serve to i llu strate it in a gene r al

way °

i shi zoa kazou n i ots u i shi zoa ka tas hi

i shi zo ka zoa u i ots uru i s hi zo ka taki
i s hi y a ka zoa u i ots uru i shi y a kata ki

The attribu tive f or m is called by Japanese gram m ari ans

‘
rentai kei ( E iB) o r f orm j oined to s u bstant ives which
’

, ,
94 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
c o rresp onds cl o sely in m eaning to the term adj ective in ’

E nglish .

I V T h e A d ve r b i a l o r C o n j u n c t i v e F o r m
. .

This f o rm has vario u s fu ncti ons as f o ll o ws ,

(I ) It serves as an adve rb m o difying s om e o the r pre ,

dic a tiv e w o rd Thu s in .

,

koi s ki kn oni on to thin k l ovingly

ny ani ai m os n t o speak r eve r ently

an adj ect ive and a verb respectively m o dify a ve rb I t was .

p rincipally on acc ou nt o f this u s e that the f o rm was styled

Adve rbial by D r Ast o n . .

(2 ) The adve rbial u s e is h oweve r o nly a speciali z ed , ,

applicat io n o f this f o rm the gene r al fu ncti o n o f which is t o

,

c o nnect or c o o rdinate tw o or m or e ve rbs o r adj ectives that

-

bear the sa m e o r a si m ilar r elat io n to an o ther w ord in the

sa m e sentence Thu s in .
,

ao
'
ku a ka kn s hi roki kai blu e red and white shells , ,

the adj ectives a okn and a ka kn stand in the sam e relat io n to

ka i as d o es s hi roki — a n attrib u tive relati o n In .

ta ke zoo hos okn n agas hi bam b oo is thin and l o ng

hos okn l ik e n aga s hi stands i n a predicative relati o n to ta ke
, ,
.

The f orm i s in fact either adverbial or c o nj u nctive as o n e

, ,

ch oo ses to regard it o r as the m eanings o f the w o r ds u sed

,

dictate S u ch a ph rase as a n o hi to zoo os oroski kn ts uy oshi

.

c a n be ta k en to m ean either that the pe r s o n i s ter r ibly str o ng

o r that he is te r rible and str o ng I n ta ke zoa ka naha da shi kn .

ts uy os hi the nat u re o f the w o rd ha n aha das hi all ows o f o nly

‘
o n e m eaning bam b oo is exceedingly str ong The sa m e
’

‘
.
,

r eas o ning applies t o ve r bs Th u s i s ogi y u ku m eans to go

‘
.
,

h u rrie dl y while y nki ka ern m eans to c om e and go

’ ’
.
,

It will be seen that what all these u ses have in c omm on is

that they c o nnect two w or ds S om eti m es they su b or d inate .

o n e t o an o ther as in ,

ka zoo kay uku n ago rn the river fl ows fast

mi dzn zoa han a ha das ki kn the water is extrem ely c o ld ,

ts n metas hi
96 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
f o rm s o f adj ect ives als o seem to act as s u bstant ives in s u ch
phrases as
fn znkn y ori fr om o f o ld
ko ko n o gotos hi li k e this
okn n o hi to m any pe ople
kon o chi ko kn n i in this neighb ou rh o o d
and the c o rresp ondence between verb and adj ective in all
u ses o f this f o rm th u s appears t o be c o m plete B u t th o u gh .
,

I hesitate to di ffer fr om Ast o n I cann o t help thin king that ,

the c orresp o ndence i s o nly s u pe rficial In ve rbs the r e is

‘
.

n o thing to distingu ish the stem fr om the adve rbial f orm ’

.

Ast on perceives (G ro min o r 3 rd e d p 9 1 ) a d i fference , .

, .
,

qu o t ing ts u ka i a m essenger as be ing the stem and ts u ka i ’

‘
, , , ,

a m essage as being the adverbial f o rm S ince the stem

’

‘
.
,

and the adverbial f orm are identical I d o n o t see h ow this ’

statem ent can be p ro ved How can on e c o ntend that ts u ri

‘
.

in ts nri zo o a fishing ro d is n o t the sam e f o rm as ts nri in

,
’

ts n zi n i y u ku A s he hi m self p oints o u t the ’

to go fish i ng, ,

attribu tive f o rm ko s o acting as a s ubstant ive m a y m ean

, , ,

either the act o f lending o r the pe r s o n who lends Why .

sh ou ld n ot the stem which presents the significance of a w or d ,

in its m o st c om p rehensive becau se least speciali z ed u s e be , , ,

capable of the sam e range o f m eanings P S u r ely the si mplest

explanati o n o f these facts is that in ve rbs the adve rbial
‘
, ,

f o rm and the s o called stem a re on e while the adj ect ive

-
’

has a spec i al f orm distinct fro m the ste rn wh ich has ce r tain
, ,

adverbial and c o nj u nctive u ses s im ilar to th o se o f the ve rb

ste m The devel op m ent o f th i s f orm in the adj ective i s o u t
.

l i ned elsewhere (v S u bstant ival f o rm s ending in J an p

.
, .

and i t i s pla in that it d o es n o t c o rresp o nd t o the verb stem .

V . Th e I m p e r fe ct Fo rm or N e ga ti ve B a s e .

In adj ect ives this f o rm is i dentical with the c o nj u nct ive

f o rm wh ich has j u st been described It is u sed in the case .

o f b o th adj ect i ves and verbs i n p r edicating an act o r state o f

the s u bj ect bu t o nly when that act o r state is n ot determ ined
,

o r c o m pleted In verbs i t cann o t stand al o ne bu t m u st

.
,

always be f oll owed by a verbal s uffi x or a par ticle as in ,

‘ ‘
d o es n o t go y nkomn ’
i f he g o es y nkozn
’

y o ko bo
‘
.
, , , ,

wi ll go ’
.
 S IMPLE
C O N J UGATI O N 97
It will be seen that i n each exam ple the state or act i on i s
im perfect bei ng e i ther hyp o thet i cal or negat i ve or fu t u re
,
.

F o r th i s reas o n and in o rder to c o ntrast it with the next

‘
, ,

the P erfect fo rm i t has been styled by Japanese gram

’

m arians mi zen kei ( 5k fiz z fl ) the I m pe r fect or s hozenkei , ,

( 71? $2? 3K) the Fu t u re f orm

,
D r Ast o n nam es it the , . .

N egative B ase becau se o n e o f i ts i m p o rtant fu nct io ns is to

,

serve as a base for negative f o rm s ; bu t seeing that it i s ,

als o a base for c o nditi onal fu tu re passive and cau sat ive , , ,

f o rm s and has n o independent existence i t seem s best to

, ,

call it m erely the I mperfect F o rm .

I

It i s d ou btfu l whether the adj ect ive c an be pr operly sai d

to p o ssess this f orm The o nly feat ure of resem blance
.

between ve rb and adj ect ive in respect of the addit i on o f ,

particles to a base is in the c o ndit i onal f orm s e g

, , . .

ko to kn bo i f it is hard
y n ko bo if he g o es
bu t i t can be sh o wn that this rese mblance is acc idental
u nder C o nj u nct ive P a r ticles zoo ) What i s call ed the , .

I mperfect f o rm i n adj ectives i s therefore with ou t mu ch ,

q u esti on o nly the c o nj u nctive fo rm i n an o ther u s e N o t

, .

mu ch harm i s d o ne h owever by retai ning the separate, ,

classificat io n and i t has the m eri t o f preserving symm etry

,

in the j oint treat m ent o f verbs and adj ect ives th u s bring ing ,

o u t their identity o f f u nct i o n .

V I T he P e r fe ct F o r m
. .

The P erfect fo rm i n adj ect ives is c omp os ite c onsist ing o f ,

the c onj unct ive f o rm of the adj ect ive plu s the perfect f o rm
o f the c op u la om as in ko to kore wh ich stands fo r koto
, , ,

ku + o re .The perfect f orm i s therefore di scu ssed in deta i l

u nder the heading o f V erbs .

x B ut s e e r e m a r k s o n thi s n o m e n cl a tu re , p . 14 1 .
 THE AD J E CTI VE

OT all Japanese adj ect ives are inflected n or as will be

N
, ,

seen fr om the acc ou nt given bel o w o f the adj ective stem ,

are i nflected adj ect ives always u sed in their i nflected f o rm s .

Inflected adj ectives h oweve r f orm the largest and m o st

, ,

characterist i c gr ou p o f p u re Japanese adj ectives and in the ,

present chapter attenti o n is first given to inflected w o r ds and

their u ses the classes o f u n infl e c te d w or ds being su bsequ ently
,

treated and c om pared with the m .

AD JE C TI VE — IN F LE C TE D
THE .

Japanese gramm ari ans dist ingu ish two c onj ugat io ns of

adj ect i ves as f o ll o ws,

F O RMS
The S tein
Pr e di c a ti v e F o rm
Adv e rb i a l o r C o n j u n c ti v e F or m
I m p erf e c t F o r m
A ttri bu ti ve o r S u b s ta n ti v e F orm
Pe rf e ct F o rm
It wi ll be seen h owever that these are in reality two vari et i es
, ,

o f the sa m e c o nj u gati o n ; the o nly d iffe r ence being that ,

whe r e the stern ends in s ki (o r ji as in onoji ) the predicative ,

f o rm is for the sak e o f e uph o ny S h or tened to avo i d s u ch

, ,

f orm s as oshi shi Indeed b o th in m edieval literat u re and

.
,

in the w ork s o f Moto ori these u nc o ntracted f o rm s are to be

‘
,

f ou nd and they are sanct io ned in m o dern p r o se as p er

,

m iss ible u sages by the D epart m ent o f E du cati o n

’

‘
.

The perfect f o rm is evi dently c om p o site and n o t i n

’

fl ex i on a l c o ns i sting as i t d o es o f the adverbial f o rm pl u s the

,

perfect o re o f the ve rb o m It i s h o weve r the c u st om to

.
, ,

incl u de it in the adj e c tiva l c o nj u gat io n .

The m a i n feat u r es o f each f o rm o f c onj u gati o n have

‘
already been indicated u nder the heading P r edicative
The f o llowing is a detailed acc ou nt o f each f o rm
’
W or ds .

and its u ses as displayed by the Adj ect i ve in pa rt i cu lar .

I oo HI STO RICA L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It c an e ven be seen i n a hybri d c om p ou nd li ke o rigoto
mei zoo kn where mei zo okn is Chinese It mu st n o t be u nder
, .

st oo d that su ch c om p ounds c an n ow be f o rm ed freely They .

requ i re the sanct ion o f c o nventi o n .

A n umber of c om p ou nd verbs wh ich are frequ ently r ep re ,

sented in E ngl ish by a S imple verb are f orm ed on this ,

m o del E g
. . .

(b) AS a substant ive The stem s om et im es appears

. to
stand al one as a n ou n e g , . .

the c olo u r red

q u antity a m ou nt ,

a flaw
bu t it wi ll be f ou nd that as a , general ru le these wo rds are ,

u sed i n an attrib u tive relat i o n , u s u ally f o rm ed w i th the aid

o f the part i cle n o as i n ,

o ko n o momohi ki red drawers

where o ko represents the attribu te and n ot the abstract i dea
‘
of redness In o rder to express the abstract i dea i t is
’
.

necessary to add a s uffix to the stem thu s ,

to kos o he ight
,
o ko mi redness okos hi so strangeness
, ,

E xam ples o f this apparent s ubstant ival u s e ar e frequ ent i n

the p o em s and r om ances o f the Hei an and su cceed ing
peri o ds E g
. . .

o
y o shi n o tomi the c omm o n pe ople
omos hi ro n o mon ogatari an amu s i ng tale
A n um ber o f c om p ou nd n ou ns survive in wh ich an adj ect ive
stem is the sec ond elem ent e g , . .

a l ong arm ed pers o n

-

a l ong legged pers o n

-

a blind m an
night chill
l o ng shall ow i e a l ong stretch
, . . of

shallo w water at low tide

()
c A k i n to the ab ove u se is that in which the stem is
 THE I N FLE CTE D A D JE CTIVE 1 01

u sed in excla m at o r y phrases where it has the f o rm ,

of a n ou n
bu t a predicative f o rce e g , . .

oko s hi n okotobo y o (these are) strange w ords

knohi os hi n o ori s o mo ko no what a regrettable sight
o m so mn
y o h ow c o ld (it is )
origo to y o how gratefu l ( I a m )

It i s cu ri o u s that the l iterat u re o f the N a r a peri o d d o es n o t

appear to c ontain these ej acul at o ry f orm s as on e m ight ,

expect in an early stage o f lan guage .

In the m o dern everyday c o llo qu ial ej acu lat ions like A i to

‘ ‘
,

It hu rts l 0 o ts u ! It s ho t l are u sed by speakers who

’

,
’ ’

wish to r elieve rather than to express preci sely thei r feelings

‘
.

Thu s als o 0 kozoo I m frightened A ko s o

’
What a
s m ell
(d) S om eti m es by way o f em phas is a c om p ou nd adj ect ive
, ,

is form ed by d uplicati o n o f the stem e g , . .

li o ko bo ko shi q u ick adro it ,

n ogo n ogo shi ve ry l ong

kon ohoshi zoo bo zo ko rogo ro this p riest is blac k o f heart
y okn fn ko bn ko hoji n o yo and deep o f greed and
zo HK S ha m eless
( ) .

m — u nde r b —
() Ase enti o ned ab o ve ( ) the stem is u sed to
form abstract n o u ns by the additi o n o f certain suffixes .

2 . P r e d i c at i ve F o r m .

The predicative form of the adj ective is a pecu lia r feat u re

o f the Japanese langu age fo r u nli k e the adj ect i ve in E nglish
,

it is u sed as a predicate with ou t the u s e o f a c o p u lative

ve rb Th u s.

kokoro y os hi (K
(his) hear t is g oo d
no osli i ( K )
( )
his
. na m e is bad
The p r edicative f orm o f adj ectives has al m ost enti rely
vanished from the S p o ken langu age s u rviving o nly in s om e ,

dialects and in a few expressi ons like n os/i i y oshi in standard , ,

c oll o quial .
1 02 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It is f ou nd bu t very rarely acting as a n ou n e g in
, , , . .

om os hi a weight , ko ro s hi m u stard (s om ething ,

p u ngent )
s u s hi seas o ned fish
, o koshi a light ,

and a nu m ber o f p roper n ou ns s u ch as Ta ka shi A ts u shi & c , , , .

It o ccu rs c o nsistently with its predicat ive u s e a s the

, ,

sec o nd elem ent o f su ch c om p ou nds as

n a kay os hi an inti m ate
hon en oshi a m an with ou t backb one
The foll owing are exam ples of the u s e o f the P r edicat ive
fo rm o f adj ectives
o so ko ze s o mn s hi ( M the m o rning bree z e is c old
zo aga s eko zoo hom o mo knrn yearning for m y m istress to o
s hi (K ) . is pa i nfu l
kono hos hi zoo fu ts ii n o hi to this priest was S h or ter in
y ori zoo to ke hi kn kn s ei chi height and o f s m a ller b u ild
i s o shi (G ) . than ordinary pe o ple
It m u st be rem em bered that the adj ective i s neu tral as
to tense In any o f the ab ove E nglish sentences the tense
.

m u st depend o n the c ontext of the Japanese verb Ti m e .

relat io ns i n the adj ect i ve are expressed by its c om p ou nd

c onj u gat i on u s u ally with the au x iliary verb o m as in m ono
‘ ‘
, ,

ko ri shi was c o ld s o mn ko ro mn w ill be c o ld & c

’ ’
.
, , , ,

3 . A ttr i b u t i ve or S ub s t a n ti ve For m .

In this f o rm the adj ective c o rresp o nds cl o sely to the

adj ective in E nglish The f o ll owing are i ts u ses .

( )
o P reced i ng a n o u n it i s p u r ely attrib u tive as i n
, ,

y oki kokoro a s hiki n o a g o o d heart a bad nam e

iy os hiki y o do (M ) a m ean dwelling .

mi zn n o ki s oro (To sa ) a waterless s ky

ko shi koki chi chi n o oroko the st up i d s on o f a clever
n o rn ko (G ) father
.

S tanding al one i t c an ac t as a s u bstant ive as in ,

oki zoo t orn t o ta k e the g o o d

y
a shi ki zoo s nts nrn to rej ect the bad
1 04 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR

4 . A d ve r b i a l or C o nju n c ti ve Fo r m .

The u ses of this fo rm a re as foll ows

( )
o AS an adverb m od ifying an other pred icat ive
, o r a ttri

bu tiv e w ord e g
, . .

okn new to leep well

S
y
ho n o ho do s hi kn to ko ki ya zn o an exceedingly h igh hill
kon o yo mo zo o hon oho do shi kn this hill is exceedingly h igh
ta ka s hi

(b) As already n o t iced u nder the general descript io n o f ,

th i s f o rm as c omm o n to b o th ve rbs and adj ectives the ,

adverbi al u s e presents o nly o n e aspect o f its fu ncti o n which ,

is to c o rrelate rather than to m o dify Thu s i n .

,

fo i okn to knmo shi ki nmo a large p o werfu l h orse ,

o toku d o es n o t m o d i fy to kn in o s hiki ; i t d o es n o t m ean

j‘ ‘ ’ ’
largely p owe rfu l bu t la rge and p o werfu l
, The service .

which j o toku perfo rm s i s to c orrelate the two w o r ds futo

and to knmo shi ki and place them i n the sa m e relati on in
-
,

th is case attrib u t i ve to the w or d nmo S i m ilarly in

,
.

ni i zn kiy oko n ogo rn the water r u ns clear

in i zn kiy oko ts u meto shi the water is clear and c o ld
kiy oko stands i n the sam e relat i on to in i zn as do n ogo rn and
ts n mei o shi respectively .

I t w ill be n ot iced that the f orce o f the term inat i on kn i s -

‘
rendered by the w or d and in E nglish It d o es the w ork of ’
.

a c o nj u ncti on and o n acc ou nt of this cha r acteristic f u nct io n

‘
,

is m o re acc u rately described as a C o nj u nctive F o rm than ’

an Attr ib u tive F orm That its adverb ial u s e i s only i nci

.

dental and dependent rather o n the m eaning o f an adj ect ive

,

than on the nat ure o f the f orm is seen in s u ch express i o ns as ,

(1 ) kzooshi zoo kornkn koshi ro ern to m ak e a ca k e light

( )
2 k zoo s hi zoo k or nkn
y o kn t o ba k e a ca k e lightly
Here acc or ding to the m eani ng ascribed to kornkn i t
, ,

( )
1 q u al i fies kzoos hi as an adj ect i ve ,or ( )
2 m o d i fie s y o ko , ,
 THE
I N FLE CTE D AD J E CTI VE 1 05

as an adve rb The dist incti o n bec om es even m o re apparent

.

when an a u xiliary verb s u ch as n ow s u m & c is empl oyed , , ,

.
, .

Thu s in ,

ko ze s n zn s hikn fnku the wind bl ows c oo l

s nz us hikn m a y st ill in a f orm al way be regarded as adverb ial ,

bu t in
koze s nzn s hikn n o w the wind bec om es c o o l
there is no m o dificat io n of the verb and in ,

koze koyo ho the wi nd q u ic kly bec om es

s n zn s hi ku

n o rn c o ol
we have the two u ses S ide by s i de .

The distinct i o n sh ou ld n ot be dism issed as trifli ng for it ,

explains m any characte ristic ter m s o f speech in Japanese in ,

partic ula r the m eth o d by wh ich the adj ect ive is j oined to
a c op ulative verb .

F or this p u rp ose the c o nj u nct ive and n o o ther f or m m u st

be u sed e g , . .

s o mn ko m (s oi nnkn -
o rn )
s o mn koro n ( s o m o kn - o ro n )
s o mo ko rozn
( o ro z n ) so mnkn -

It is by this m eth o d that is c o nst ru cted the c om p ou nd c o n

j ugati on o f the adj ective when it is desired to express the ,

relati o ns o f t im e & c wh ich a re n ot c o nveyed by the simple

,
.
,

adj e c tival f orm s (F or details o f the C o mp ou nd Con iuga ti on

.

o f Adj ectives see bel o w

) , .

()
0 The c o nj u nctive f o rm s erves to relate cla u ses as well ,

as individu al wor ds In .
1L

mo ts n o okn ta ka s hi the pines are green and tall

it c orrelates two w o rds . In
motsn o okn s o n o shi roshi the pines are g r een and the sand
is white
it c orrelates two clau ses , bu t there is clearly no essent i al
I
I n th e e a r l i e s t wr i ti n gs thi s ru e l is not a lwa ys ob se r ve d C f
‘
. .

a ko ki to ko ki totoki m ikoton or i
’
a cle ar lofty and p re ci o u s
, ,

s ayin g

3270
1 06 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
di fference between i ts u ses in these two c as es I t i s a r u le of .
I

syntax in Japanese that when two o r m o re verbs or a djec

tiv e s are c o ordi nated the last o nly ta k es the appr o priate
-
,

infl e x i on and th o se precedi ng i t ta k e the c o nj u nctive f o rm

, .

Acc o rdingly i n the ab ove exam ples and i n s u ch l ocu t ions as

, ,

kokoro y okn okono i to do shi kn his heart i s g oo d his be ,

n o ta kas hi havi ou r c orrect and his ,

fam e high
moi s n o okn s o no s hi roko mi
, S ince the p i nes are green the
, ,

zo kiy okerebo sand white and the water ,

clear .

the prec ise m eaning o f the w ords i n the c onj u nct iv e f o rm is

held in s u spense u nt i l we c om e to the w ord with the s igmi
fi c a n t i nfl e x ion It i s th i s u s e wh i ch has cau sed the Japanese
.

gra mm ari ans to gi ve it the nam e 43 1 1: 35 (choshi hei ) wh i ch

‘
,

might be translated S u spens ive F o rm o r i n o rder to con

’

‘
,

trast i t wi th the C onclu sive F orm the Inc o nclu sive F o rm

’

o f verbs and adj ect i ves

2
.

(d) S om et im es bu t n o t very freq u ently

, ,
and o nly in c o n
v entio n a l phrases the C o nj u nct i ve F o rm
, appears to act as
a n o u n as in
,

tokn e y nkn to go to a far place

fo rnkn y ori from o f old
kon o chi ko kn ni i n th i s neighb o u rh oo d
The f oll owing are examples tak en fr om class ical and c ur ,

rent l iterat u re o f the vari ou s u ses of the C onj unct ive F o rm

,

o f the adj ect ive .

1
The c o llo qui a l te n ds to dis c ard thi s u se , a nd to s u b s ti t u t e
c
s e n te n es o n th e m o de l
m o ts u m o o os hi , s o no mo s hi ros hi
or mo ts u zo o o oku te , s u n o zoo s hi roi .

2
S tu d e n ts o f J a p a n es e p o e try wi ll re c o ll e c t th at thi s fo rm i s m o s t ,

a p p ro p ri a t e l y , a f a v o u r i te o n e wi th w ri te rs o f H o k ku tho s e s h o rt ,

e p i gr a m s wh o s e chi e f c h a r a c t er i s t ha t th e y a re i n c o n cl u s i v e O ne .

e x a m p l e w i ll s u ffic e
u i bo n o n o y o to y o

y ome n o i ko mes hi ku
Th e re a d er c a n c o m p l e te th e s e n te n c e as hi s f a n cy d i c t ate s .

'
S u ch a for rn w ou ld b e f ou n d u se f u l b y tho s e E n gl i sh wr i ters wh o
-

li k e to e nd a p as sa ge wi th a ro w o f li ttle d o ts .
1 08 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
u s e is the sa m e as that o f the i m pe r fect o f the ve rb in that ,

i t serves as a base to which a particle c a n be attached s o as

to express a (yet u nreali z ed ) c o nditi o n Thu s .

samo ku bo if it is c o ld
n o kn bo if (they) were n o t
koi shi kn bo toznn ei e & c i f you desi r e m e c om e and a sk
, .
,

The ex istence o f an I m perfect F o rm is denied by m any

a u th orities who state that s amo ku bo for instance is an
, , ,

elided f o rm o f s o mo kn o ro bo where s omn kn is the u su al c on

-
,

j u nct ive f orm .

Th ou gh this cann o t be p ro ved the weight o f argum ent ,

seem s to be in favou r of the latter view O n e need n o t .

assu m e an original f o rm s omnkn o ro bo h oweve r S ince there

-
, ,

a r e anal o g o u s cases o f the u s e o f the c o nj u nctive f o rm with

o ther particles and w ith o u t the inte r venti o n o f o m Th u s .

so mn kn mo th ou gh (it be) c old

s o mn kn to m o even th ou gh (it be ) c o ld
Retain ing the te rm for the sa k e o f u nifo rm ity ; the fol
l owing m a y be qu o ted as early exam ples of its u s e
ko shikokn tom o o re y oshi n o alth ou gh fearfu lly I will ,

zoo n (N ) . f o ster him

ngo i so n o koe n o kn bo ,
we r e i t n o t for the v o ice o f
ho rn kn rn koto zo o tor e ko the wa rbler who w ou ld ,

s hi ro mos hi (M ) . kn ow the c om ing o f sp ring

6 . T he P e r fe ct Fo r m .

This f o rm is c om p o sed o f the c onj u nctive f o rm y okn

a s hi ho plu s the per fect o re o f the ve rb o m The f o rm s .

ok or e o s hik o r e beca m e y oker e o s hi keze p r es u m ably u nder

-
y
-
, , ,

the influ ence o f the final 6 s ou nd .

S ince this f o rm incl u des a verb it is m o r e c o nven i ently ,

treated at the sam e ti m e as the sa m e form o f the verb .

J u st as in the case o f the pe r fect all o ther relati o ns o f ,

ti m e & c in the adj ective a re as already m enti o ned ex

, .
, , ,

pressed by m eans o f c om p o siti o n with a c o p u la s u ch as the ,

verb o m giving a c om plete schem e o f fo rm s which c o rre

,
 THE I N FLE CTE D A D JE CTIVE 1 09

s p on d to th o se o f the c om p o u nd c o nj u gati o n of the ve rb

E xa m ples

o s hiki hi to a bad pers o n

o s hiko ri s hi hi to a pers o n who
o s hiko ro n hi to a pers o n who
o s hi ko r o n n hi to a pers o n who
s on o hi to os hi kore bo as he is bad
s on o hi to o s hi koro bo if he is bad
&c . &c .

S o un d C h a n ge s i n t h e A d ie ct i va l C o n ju ga ti o n

By a gradu al pr o cess o f s ou nd change the adj ective in ,

the m o de rn S p ok en langu age has ass um ed f orm s different

from th ose n ow u sed in writing .

This p rocess c an be traced in m edieval literat u re

The c oll oq u ial eq uivalent o f the m o del y oki is y oi and s u ch ,

form s were alr eady in u s e in the Heian peri o d e g , . .

knm shi i koto (G ) painfu l things

.
(s hi ki bec o m es s hi i )
zoo ko i kokochi
(G ) y o u thfu l feelings (ko ki
. ko i )
y oi otoko (Mu r a ) .g o o d m en (y ok i y )oi
‘
The adve rbial f o rm o f the type y okn was evidently
’

, ,
‘
o ften pr o n o u nced
y o in the sa m e pe rio d as the f o ll o wing ,

exam ples will S h o w The fit was elided .

(Tak e )
n ts n kn s hi n for nts nkn shikn
oko shi nte Ise ) okos hikn te
( -

to ko (to ko u ) (Uji) to ko ku
ko r oji te (Tak e ) koro kn s hi te

It is c u ri ou s that th ou gh these c o ntracted f o rm s persist

,

in sever al dialects the standard c o ll o q u ial has rever ted to

,

the original fo rm with the o n e excepti o n o f adj ectives j o ined

,

to the verb gozorn as in y o gozo i zn os n knm shi i i gozoi mo s n

’

-
, , ,

which exclu de entirely the f o rm s y okn gozo i mos n & c , .

The A u xi l i a r y A d je ct i ve s
It m ight be expected from the identity o f fu ncti o ns b e
tween ve rb and adj ective in Japanese that similar m eth o ds
wou ld be u sed to a mplify th o se fu ncti ons in each case This .
1 10 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
is prec isely what happens and we have two classes o f ,

a u xili ary w ords that serve th i s p u rp o se

(o) au xili ary verbs whi ch l ik e the verb o m ass ist to f o rm
,

the c omp o u nd c o nj u gati o n o f adj ectives and ,

(b) a u xili ary adj ect ives wh ich ass ist to fo rm the c om p ou nd
c o nj u gati o n o f verbs .

The a u x ilia ry adj ect ives a re fo u r in n u mber I

S tem
BE
M AJ I
TA
G O TO
,

Before discu ssing them in deta il the f oll owing exam ples ,

m ay be given from which to f o rm a general idea o f the i r us e

,

y nkn beshi he w i ll (or shall ) go

y nkn beki hi to a pers o n who will (o r m u st ) go
y u kn m oji he will n o t go
y nkn moji ki hi to a pers o n u nli k ely to go
n ogo ro m gotos hi i t i s as if it fl owed
n ogo ro ro gotoko as if flo wing
zoo re zoo
y o ki to shi I wish to go
mi toki koto th ings I wish to see
It wi ll be seen that these au x ili ari es a m plify the s im ple
f orm s o f verbs by the i ntr o du cti o n o f an elem ent which is
,

neither t im e n or m oo d exclu sively bu t a c o m p ou nd o f b o th ,

.

Th i s characteri stic feat u re of the c o nj u gat io n o f verbs in

Japanese i s d i scu ssed bel ow (u nder Tense S u fli x es p , .

bu t m eanwh ile the ab o ve w ords m ay be exa m i ned separately ,

n o t icing that they differ fr om all o ther adj ect ives .

B E S HI 2
is an adj ective c o nveying an i dea of fu t u ri ty wh ich ,

1
The n e ga ti ve a dj e c ti v e n o ki (no s hi , n a ku ) m i ght p erh ap s b e
i n c l u d e d h e re , b ut it i s t c t ly
n o t s ri s p e a ki n g a n a u x i li ar y, s i n c e i t

t
c a n s an d a lo n e .

2
I t i s n otew o rt hy a s a p a rt f r o m o n o m a t op o e i c s the o n l y p u re
, ,

J a p a n e s e w or d wi th a n i ni ti a l b S yllab le s whi ch i n c om p o si ti o n
.

c o m m e n c e wi th b whe n i so late d b e lo n g to th e s e ri e s wri tte n I \ ho L hi ’

_

7 fn he 3 ho whi ch p ro b ab ly re p re s e n t a n o ri gin a l p or p + h
1 , .

Th u s nmi be c o nta i n s th e s yllab le n ow wri tte n a nd p ron ou n c ed he

,
-
,

whi ch was n o d oub t origin ally 138 or phe .

1 12 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
fnn e n i n om b eki to ko ro the place whe r e they were to
( sa )
T o em bark
s hi s n boki toki zoo i ni o n ori
-
n ow is the ti m e to die
s hos n beki koi o a p raiseworthy thing
‘
After a mus u bi (on e o f the particles zo y o ko & c )
’
.
, , ,

konn i chi n o i ku s a y ou chi n i ,to day s battle— shall we-

’

y o s o beki o kete
, y o s n beki 9 m ake it a night attac k o r ,

S hall it be afte r dayb r ea k P

C o nj u nct ive and I mperfect Fo rm s B E K U . .

ochi n n bekn mi etori it l ook ed as i f it were g o ing

to fall
mi rn bekn bo y u ki lo mi n if it is to be seen I will go
and see it
dote n i n oborn bekorozn ( = bekn d o n o t cli m b o n to the e m
o rozn ) ba n km en t
o ros on bekoro zo m jiji ts n an u ndeniable fact
P er fect F o rm B E KE R E
. .

fnn e n i n om bokerebo since they m u st e m bark

fnn e ni n ornbekerodomo th ou gh they m u st e m bark
M A] I is the opp o s ite in m ean ing o f bes hi It expresses .

the sam e i deas negat ived ,

1
It is fu lly c o nj ugated and like
.
,

bes hi f o ll ows the c o ncl u s iv e f orm o f ve rbs The f o ll owing .

are exam ples o f its u s e

P redicat i ve F o rm
'
zo o s m oy n ni oji (M ) . I shall n ot be able to forget
n mo n i n oon in oji he will n o t m o u nt a h or se
Attrib u t ive F o rm
nm oji ki 2
miko do no kn ro i the nattainable
u r an k of

(R e s ) E m per o r

1
M oj i s ee m s to b e c o m p o u n d e d o f th e i m p e r fe c t for m m o o f the ,

f u ture a u x il i a ry m u p l u s j i th e n e ga ti v e s u ffi x
, , M o i s i t i s tr u e
.
, ,

n o t f o u n d a lo n e , b u t th e a b o v e c o n j e c t u r e i s s u p p o rt e d b y th e _

e x i s te n c e o f M A S H I whi ch m o + s hi (ki s hi ko , a n d p o ss ib ly,

i t e x p l a i n s fo rm s l i k e m i mo kn m i m o hos hi kn & c
, , .

Th e f a c t th a t th e s te m a l o n e d o e s n o t e x i s t i e th a t th ere a re n o
, . .

f or m s c orre s p o n d in g t o ber o bem i s e e m s to s u pp o rt thi s hypo the s i s

, , .

2
F o rm s li k e mo s hij i ki ar e a l so fo u n d i n th e N a ra p e ri o d .
 A U XILIAR Y AD J E CTI VE S 11 3
o rmn o j i ki koto an u n likely th ing ; a th ing
that mu st n o t (S h o uld n o t)
happen
y ormn o jiki ko zoo (N .
) an u nappro achable river
C onj u nct ive Fo rm
Th is f o rm d o es n ot appear in the earl i est texts bu t is ,

f ound in the He ian and later per io ds .

hi to ni kotornmojikn bo mi s on i f you wi ll n o t tell any on e

I will S h ow you
P erfect F orm
y n kn m oji kerebo so s ozoozn S i nce he w o u ld n o t go I w i ll ,

n o t i nv i te him

The oret ically a c om plete c onj u gat io n i s f o rm ed by the c om

p o siti on with the adverb i al moji ko and the verb o m th u s ,

y n k n m oj i kor n,y u ki moj zkerebo & c b u t, i n pract. i ce not

all fo rm s are u sed .

The stem is n ot f ou nd in c om b inat io ns anal og ou s to bemi ,

bozo & c
, .

In m o dern c ollo qul a l moj i ki bec om es moi wh ich i s u sed ,

o nly as a pred icat ive— o n o hi to zoo y n knin o i bu t n o t y u ku ,

mo i hi to .

TAS HI c onveys the i dea of desire and therefore gi ves a ,

desiderat ive f o rm to verbs to wh ich it I S attached It is .

s uffi x e d to the c o nj u nct i ve f o rm Thu s .

zoom mo yo ki to shi I als o wish to go

hi toe ni B utsnd o zoo s hngy o th ou gh I earnestly desire to
en s oro edomo
s hi ta / pract i se B u ddhism
toznne hi hi ta hi koto ori there are th ings wh ich I wi sh
to a sk

As in the case of beshi and moj i toshi in c omm on wi th all ,

ordinary adj ect ives f o rm s a c om plete c o nj u gat io n by its

adverb ial fo rm wi th the verb o m Thu s y uki to korn (to kn .

am ) o ki to kerebo & c
y
, , .

The stem to is f ou nd i n c o m binat i on with s uffi xes thu s : ,

the desire to go
to pers ist in wi sh ing to go
Q
1 14 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The m o dern c oll o qu i al fo rm b oth attrib u t ive and p r edica
,

t i ve is -toi
,
I t i s thi s suffix wh ich is c omm only u sed i n
.

speech to express a wi sh
y o ki to i ( )
I w i sh t o go

o ki to i tokoro a place ( I ) wish t o go to

y
GO TO S HI Th ou gh gotos hi (which exp r esses the i dea o f
.

S im ilarity ) i n m any ways rese m bles the a u x iliary adj ectives

j u st described i t stands i n a class by itself It is em pl oyed
, .

with s u bstant i ves o r with w ords i n the ir s u bstant ival f o r m s

, ,

and i s as a rul e related to the m by m eans o f a part icle

, , ,

n o o r go .The f oll owing are characteri st i c exa mples o f i ts

use :

dongzoo n o me no gotos hi
the b ullets were l ik e ra i n (i e . .

there wa s a hail o f b u llets)

to mo n o gotoki ho a child li k e a j ewel
mi tomo n go gotoko as Y o u r L o rdship o bserves
G otoshi i s der ived fr om a n ou n goto and i t i s pres u m ably
, ,

beca u se i t has n o t ent irely l o st its s u bstantival character

that i t is o rdinarily u sed with a part icle In fact i t m ay be .
,

rega r ded as illu strating a stage in the pr ocess by wh i ch an

u n i nfl e c te d ste m bec o m es an inflected adj ective The f o rm .

i f o u nd i n ea r ly li tera tu r e e g I
g ot o s , . .

komi n o goto ( K ) . li k e a go d
0 mikoto n o goto (R e s ) acc o rding to the Wo r d
ho n o n o goto y o shi kns hi kn bea u tifu l li k e a fl ower
i mo mo mi ru goto (M ) . as you n ow see
The c onj u gat i on i s reg ula r and c om plete but for the per
fe c t f orm wh i ch d o es n o t ex i st
, .

P redi cat i ve F o rm . CO TO S HI
In
tos hi ts nki zoo n ogoro ro goto the m o nths and years seem
s hi t o fl ow
‘
I
A n d i n e xi s ti n g d i a le c ts . The s e ns e o f l
s i m i a ri ty
’
c an s ti ll be
p e r c ei v e d i n s u ch p hr as e s as
s hos ogo to d um b S ho w m i m i c ry
,
'
on igo to p l ayi n g a t d e m o n s (b li n d m a n s b u ff )
m a m agota
‘
p l ayi n g a t h o u se k ee pin g

s hobugoto a t o u rn a m en t s h a m fi ght
, .
11 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
6
A E xamp les ( Inflected)
. .

1 . medeto ki koto o leari del ightfu l th ings are m any

This fo rm i s u nu su al becau se the predicative (o shi )
, of the
adj ect ive expresses the sam e m eanings .

2 . mi ru hi to okorn u chi ni a m ong the m any pe ople who

see
Th i s fo rm i s for s imilar
, reas ons u nu s u al , .

3 . mi ru hi to 6kori shi tome beca u se the pe ople who saw

were m any
4 . mi ru hi to 6koron the pe ople who see will be
m any
mi r u hi to okorozn the pe ople who see are n ot
m any
5 . mi ru hi to okoredomo th ou gh the pe ople who see
are m any
mi ru hi to okorebo as the pe ople who see are
m any
The perfect in th i s f o rm rare . It is s ally
u u of the type
oleere, y okere, &c .

B . E xamp les (Un infl ec te d) .

1 . kon o mochi zoo s hidznko th i s street is qu i et

n on
2 . s hi dzu ko n oon tokoro a qu i et place
3 . s hidznko n ori shi tokoro a place that was q uiet
4 . s hidznko n azazo it is n o t qu i et
s hi dzn ko n o m bo if i t is qu iet
5 . shidznko n arodow a th ou gh i t is qui et
shidznko n orebo as it is qu iet

C (Uninfl ec ted Chinese )

.
, .

HAN Z E N an as (clear) .

H P red . ho nzen tori

Attrib honzen torn

t
.

C onj . honzen tori

- I mp, honzan toro
n
L
P er f . honzen tore
 U N I N F LE CTE D A D JE CTIVE S 11 7
E xamp les .

1 . o ko ho nzen to ri
sh the p roo f is clear
2 ho nzen to m j ij i ts u
. an evident fact
3 jiji ts u hon zen tazi s hi
. the facts were clear
4 s.ho k o ho n z en toro bo if the facts are clear
5 s.ho k o ho n z en tareba as the facts are clear
Instead of the c onj u nctive fo rm the l o cu ti o ns ,

to s hi te

jiji ts u honzen or i nomu bekorozu

u i s hi te
‘
the facts are clear and cann ot be denied ’

may be u sed .

F or an acc ou nt o f these co m p o u nd c onj u gat io ns fr o m the

p oint of view o f the verb u nder o m (p
, s u m (p . .

and als o u nder to (p 2 4 9 ) and ui (p

. .

U n i n fl e c te d A d je c ti ve s
These are o f two s o rts
I
( ) a s m all gr o u p o f adj ectival prefixes wh i ch n ow exist ,

o nly i n c o nventi o nal c o m p o u nds and appear t o be ,

the rel ics o f a b o dy o f prim it ive adj ectives bel o nging

to a pre infl ex i on al peri o d e g 0 s m all 5 great
-
, . .
, , ,

and (I I ) a large gr ou p o f wo rds which th ou gh pr im a rily ,

adj ect ival in m eaning cann o t be u sed in attribu tive

,

or pred i cat i ve sense wi th ou t the aid o f a particle or

o ther s u ffix e g shi dzu ko ho n oy o ko hi rei & c

, . .
, , , .

()
I The f o ll o w i ng are the pr i ncipal m e m bers o f the first
gr ou p :
0 small o cc u rring i n m any pr o per na m es and i n s u ch com
, ,

p ositi ons as
M
( ) l i ttle
. Ts u k u ba
twilight
a br o ok
pres um ably c ognate with ho a child ,

a s m all h ill
a pigmy
tallish
1 1 8 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
and in m any places and pers onal na m es su ch as K okum , ,

K oboy o s hi .

0 g r eat
, . Th i s i s pres um ably the stem of the 1 nfl e c te d

adj ect ive 6 - ki . It i s fou nd in c om p o siti on , as in

oki mi
a great k ing
oyo a gr eat h ou se (landl ord)
oy o mo a great hil l
and in m any pr oper na m es s u ch as Odo Ofu no , , , &c .

M I a u gu st s u rvi ves in s u ch w o rds as mika do a u gu st gate

, , , ,

miy o a u gu st h ou se (a palace o r shrine ) mi ko a u gu st child

, , ,

( a p ri nce ) I n the ea r liest literat

. u re it is f o u nd as an ho n o ri fi c

p r efix to verbs e g mi n emo shi ki ( K au gu stly sle p t mi ai

2
. .
, .
,

ma s hi te a u gu stly m eeting I n c om binati o n wi th

, (a b o ve ).

i t has by gradu al s ou nd changes pr o du ced the c om m o n

, ,

hon orifi c prefix 0 th u s ,

5 mi Komi great a u gu st G o d
on
(written oho- n
) yo great a u gu st reign
on kokoro a u gu st hea r t
0 kokoro y ou r heart
M A t ru e su rvi ves
, ,
in su ch c omp ou nds as
moshi ro p u re whi te
mogokoro tru e heart real feel ings ,

mo s ugu straight
mokoto tru e thing tru e w ord the tru th , ,

mos o u i in tru th
‘ ‘ ‘
has the m eanings live
’
KI in
’ ’

, raw p u re as
, ,

kii to r aw silk

ki s obo p u re b u c kwheat
kigu s uri p u re d ru gs
ki mu su me a vi rgin
S U m eans s uch c om p o u nds asbare in
s u o s hi bare feet
s uga o bare face (u npa inted)
s u hodo bare ski n
and it has an i ntensive f orce in wo rds l ik e s u boro shiki ,

splendi d s u boyoki qu ick s unoo gentle

, , , , .
1 20 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
from the i nflected adj ect ives fo r the latter c an be u sed pre ,

d ic ativ ely w ith ou t the aid o f a c o p u lat i ve ph r ase li k e n oi ' i .

I

It is u nnecessary to describe this class o f w ords in deta il ,

bu t they m ay be classified i n a general way acc o rd ing to

their term inat io ns
(o ) Th o se ending in K A These c o nsist of u ninfl ec te d .

w o rds or stem s to whi ch vario u s terminat io ns c o nta ining

,

K A have been added e g , . .

zoo ko o ko (ste m
y ) y ou thfu l
or oko or os oko (ste m )
, f ool ish
to koro ko (stem ) l o fty
ho noyo ko (u n infl e c te d w o rd ) gay fl ower l ik e ,
-

(b) Th ose ending in K E o r GE S o m e o f these bu t n o t .

,

m any c a n exist i ndependently as abstract n o u ns and they

, ,

di ffer fr om the w o rds j u st desc ribed to that extent bu t it

will be f ou nd that su ch n ou ns represent the state o r c ond i
ti o n regarded as an attrib u te rather than the abstract c on
‘
c e p ti o n o f a q u ality Thu s fr om the stem iy o shi m ean ’

‘
.
, , ,

i s f o rm ed iy os hi — i m
’

g e a n o u n den o t ng eanness or rather

‘
, ,

the appea r ance o f m eanness bu t th o u gh iy o s hi ge n o m

’
-

‘
hi to c o nveys the idea a m ean l o oking m an iy os hige I S n o t
’
-
,

as a r u le u sed to represent m eanness s om e o ther l o c u t io n ,

being preferred Thu s .

osor os hige n o m koshi ki a fearfu l appearance

I
A t th e tim e , tho u gh th e y m a y p ar tak e or m a l y o f the
s ame f l
c c
h ara te r o f n o u n s , I v
e n tu re t o thi n k t h a t , r o m b o th p r a ti a a n d f c c l
c l d
the o r e ti a s ta n p o i n ts i t i s a m i sta k e t o o l o
, s to n i n as s i yin g f l wA cl f
th e m as s u h c v f l
I t gi e s a a s e i m p r e s si o n o f th e u s e s e e n o f s u h
. v c
w do r s a s ts uy oge t o i n u e t he m i n t he cl da te go r y o f a b s tra t n o u n s , c c
w lhi e a s for o rm s ik e kiy om , ho n oyo ko oros oko , th e y c a n u n er n o
f l , d
c c c t d l
ir u m s ta n es s a n a o n e , a n d a r e m os t s u i t ab y r e gar e as s te m s , l d d
l
a n a o go u s t o th e a dj c v
e ti e s e m , t
hi h p r o u e p re i a ti e o r a ttri w c d c dc v
f
b u ti v e o rm s b y a gg u ti n a ti o n l I n ee th e y a re e e n es s o f th e
. d d , v l
v
n a t u re o f s ub s t a n ti e s th a n th e a e ti e s te m pr op e r , fo r tho u gh , dj c v
c
for i n s ta n e to ko c a n b e a tr u e n o u n , to ko ro ko erta i n y a nn ot
,
c l c .

2 B o th - e a n d -ko a re i
g e nti e i th th e ord fi dw
hi o r he , m ea ni n g w d
’ ‘ ’
T fix
h e s e s u f e s are n o t o u n i n th e e ar i es t i te r a f d l l
b re a th , s p iri t .

t u r e , t he y ere w f q
re u e n t y e m p o ye i n the Mi
l e l
ge s a n d a re d ddl A ,

n ow u s e d
s p ar i n g y he i s u s e i n th e H e i a n p e ri o i n th e s e n s e o f
l . d d
a p p e ara n ce
hi to no he s u hos ki p e o p le l oo k e d a li ttle
o tor i to m no r i . d ownc as t .
 UN I N FLE CTE D A D JE CTIVE S I 21

os oros hi s o fearfu lness (the q u al ity o f being

fearfu l )
os oros hiki koto fea r fu lness (the fact o f being
fea r fu l )
os oro fea r
Words li ke the ab o ve mu st be distingu ished fro m s u ch c om
‘ ‘
p ou nds as midzu ke m o ist u r e y uge vap ou r ko n a ke ’

‘ ‘
, , , ,

m etallic flav o u r
’
o bu ruke gr easy taste o r feel hi to ge -

‘ ‘
, , ,

presence o f pe ople (hi toge n o ki tokor o a s o litary l o nely ’

, ,

whe r e he o r ge is c omp o u nded with c o ncrete n ou ns

and has its f ull val u e .

‘
)
(‘ Th se ending in R A s ch as ki clear toi ro ,
’
0 o u y or o
‘ ‘
, , ,
’ ’
level s o ko s hi ro c u nning zoo bi s hi ro wretched
, , , ,
’
.

(d) A s m all grou p o f u n infl ec te d w ords of m iscellane o u s

o rigin s u ch as
,

‘
s hiki ri m ) hi i ri u i s hi hi n n o m
’
c o nstant
‘
, (verb ste s k , , .

mi do ri c o nfu sed r b ste m ) midori n i mido ri n ori

’

( ve
‘
, , , .

mo re rare (n o u n ) more ui , mo re n ori

’

‘
.
, ,

ku ren ai c ri m s o n (n o u n ) ku ren a i ni , ku rena i

’

, ,
n o, laure
n oi nom
‘
.

mi dori green (n ou n ) ’

‘ ‘
.
,

o ro to n o m
’ ’
oro to oro to u i afr esh fresh
‘ ‘
.
, , , ,

iy o very
’ ’

, ever , .

Chi n ese Words As has been already p ointed ou t in d is

.

cu ssing S u bstant ives Chinese w o rds are n o t gene rally s u s ,

c ep tible o f classificati o n i nt o n o u ns verbs adj ect ives & c , , , .

,

but c a n with or with o u t the a id o f special g ra mm atical

,

devices be m ade to fu lfil any gra mm atical fu ncti on within

,

lim its i m p o sed by their m eaning It fo ll ows that all Chinese .

words o r c o m p o u nds can (within th ose li mits o f c ou rse) b e ,

used as adj ectives We have as a r esu lt a large class o f .

, ,

adj ect ival phrases f o rm ed p rincipally with the aid o f a ,

c op ulative w o rd s u ch as no m Th u s taking a n um be r o f .
,

Chinese c o mp o u nds s u ch as ,

o n zen f épk safety peace ,

to i s ets u j: { J} i m p ortance
s hiky u g u rgency

R
1 22 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
these can be u sed as adj ect ives as fo ll ows
o nzen no m ko tei a peacefu l h ou seh o ld
to i s ets u n om s hoku mu an i mp ortant du ty
s hi ky u n o m s higoto an u rgent task
oro i o nzen n o ri the r o ad is safe
kono s hi no zoo to i s ets u nori thi s art icle i s i mp ortant
s hi ky u n o ri s hi to me beca u se i t was u rgent
The ab ove exam ples S h ow the predicat ive and attri b u t ive
u ses The c o nj u nct ive f o rm is o bta ined by u s ing the phrase
.

i te
ni s hi te o r n i te, as s hoku mu toi se ota m beko
i shi te

ro zu , duty is i mp o rtant and mu st n ot be neglected ’

There are in additi on to the u se of n o m o ther m eans o f

, ,

g iving these c om p ou nds an adj ec tiva l valu e as for exam ple

‘
,

by e mpl oying the part icle n o (shi ky u n o y oji u rgent b u s i ,

ness ) o r the c o p u lat ive f o rm to m (s o nto n to m ari sa ma

’
- -
,

a dreadfu l bu t these are m o re appr opri ately treated

as specific u ses o f the particles n o and to
O ccas i o nally bu t n o t very o ften a s ingle Chinese w o rd is
‘
, ,
’
f ou nd act ing as an adj ect ive e g bi beau tifu l (cf fukei
‘
. . .

ho no ho do bi n ori the scenery is extrem ely

,

It m u st be rem embered in c ons idering the u ses o f the

,

adj ect ive that b o th Japanese and Chi nese have a great
,

fac i lity for the fo rm at io n o f c om p ou nd w ords Many o f .

these part i cu larly in the case o f Chinese c om p o u nds r ep re

, ,

sent a synthes i s o f i deas wh i ch i n E ngli sh mu st be g iven thei r

respect ive attr ib u tive or s u bstant i val n o tat io ns Th u s while .
,

b oth langu ages c ontai n c om p ou nds o f the type

o nzen - to a safety la m p -

o n zen- ko mi s ori a safety ra z o r-

Japanese m a k es a m u ch m o re extended u s e o f th i s m eth o d

o f si m ple j u xtap o s i t i o n Th i s can be seen o n reference to
.

a d ict io nary where w ill be f ound n u m er ou s c o mb inat io ns

,

s u ch as
ri kken s ei to i i t
“
1EC c o nst i t u t io n g overn m ent -

c onstit u t io nal g o vern m ent

ki ken s hi s o 73; [Q E E
S danger th oughts -
.

danger ou s th oughts
1 24 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It will be n o t iced that these adj ec tiv e s (y o s u s hi ni ku shi & c ) , , .

are si milar to beshi moji to s hi & c in that they are su ffi x e d , , , .

,

to the si m ple c o nj u gat io nal f orm s o f ve rbs They d iffer from .

the m h owever i n that they c an be u sed i nde p endently o f

, ,

ve rbs .

RE C APITULATI O N
M ethods of formi ng A djecti ves
1 .F rom a stem which m ay or m ay n Ot fi rst have existed as
,

an indep endent word These form the m a j ori ty o f pu re J ap anese .

I

adj ectives and take the regular shi ki ku infl ex ion e g yo ki

,
-
,
-
,
-
,
. .
-
,

zoom ki y o shi zoo m shi & c iy o shi o s hi mo m s hi to—shi

-
,
-
,
-
,
.
,
-
,
-
,
-
, .

2 F rom stem s which exist as indep endent w ords— by the addi

.

tio n o f shi shi ki & c e g

-
,
-
,
.
, . .

‘
hi tos hi ki ku s ole from hi to
- ~
,
‘
,

ho no ho do shi ki ku very fro m ho no hodo ~ -

‘
, ,

koi s hi s hi ki ku belo v ed fro m koi l ove

’
- - ~

‘
, , ,

ki ku gentle fro m oton o youthful

’
oton a shi ,
-
,
-
, ,

3 .F ro m ste m s existin g as se a
p‘ ra te w or ds — b
y the addition o f
ro s hi where ro has the f o rce o f like or E g ’ ’
-
,
i sh -
. .

‘
bo ko roshi ki ku - -
f oolish ’
from boko a fool
‘
, , ,

o i r os hi -ki -ku lovable from oi lo ve

‘
, , ,

kodomoro shi -ki ~ku , , childi sh from kodomo child ,

4 . F ro m un in fl e c te d words ,
by the addition of -
kes hi ,
thu s
fresh
s oyo ke- s hi , - ki , - ku

s hi dzu ke s hi ki ku quiet -
,
-
,
-

ka m ke s hi ki ku distant
-
,
-
,
-

These words m ay be t reated as o bsolete and for pr actical ,

purp o ses m ay b e disregarded They are however interesting .

, ,

in t hat they thro w som e light on the developm ent o f adj ectives
1
Thi s i s a m a tte r o f e tym o lo gy b ut i t m a y b e m e n t i on e d
for i n s ta n c e to (far ) ap p e a rs a ttri b u ti v e l y thu s
, ,
“
to ts u ka mi J
to n o ku n i L
'(M )
sumer ogi n o
to n o mi ko do J
and i n the s o n gs o f th e K oj i ki on e fi n d s s u ch form s as
t5 tos hi K os hi n o ku n i th e d i s t a n t l an d o f K o shi
H e r e we s eem to h a ve tr a c e s of a p re i n fl e x i on al p eri o d
-
.
 RE C APITU LATI O N 1 25

in J apanese in p articu lar tho se o f the typ e referred to in (7 )

,

belo w It w il l be n o ticed tha t these w ords ending in keshi are

.

p recisely t h o se w hic h in m o de rn Jap a nese ar e u n i nfl ec te d and

, ,

r eq u ir e the aid o f n o ri In the N ara p eri o d the su ffi x ge do es n o t

.

o cc u r bu t ke is do u b tless the s am e w ord ( It t s a pp ear s

,
-
i ) hu .

t hat the p rocess o f form ing adj ectives by infl ex ion w as ap plied
to w ords like o ki ro ke and t hen abando ned Cf the follow ing . .

examples :
HE I AN .

s aya ka n o ri
a ki ra ho n o ri

s hi zu ko n o ri

su miy o ko n ori
ha m ka n o ri

5 From the stem s

verbs by adding shi ki Thu s :
of
‘
. .
,

bu sy (i s ogu to hasten )
’
i s ogo s hiki -

‘
,

os oro shiki -
fearful (osom to fear ) ’

‘
,

b eloved (s hi tou to l ong for )

’
s hi to zoo s hi ki - I
,

6 S om etim es C hinese roo ts t a ke this te rm in a ti on

.

u u s hi ki bi bi s hi ki b e a u tifu l
y y , ,

7 Fro m u nin fl e c te d words or stem s by the a dditio n o f suffi xes

.
,

like ha a n d ge w hich form qu a si substantives that are m ade -

attribu tes by the use o f a c opulative locu tion .

s hi dzu ko quiet tsuy oge st rength

,
’

‘
1
T h e s e w or d s S ho w h ow c a u ti o u s o n e sh o u ld b e i n u s i n g th e w o r d
S te m The re i s a s far as I k n o w n o thi n g t o p rov e tha t os or o
’
.
, ,

i s ogo s hi to a r e n o t j u s t a s m u ch s te m s a s asore i s ogi s hi ta i In

fa c t i t i s har d t o s e e why the write rs o f gra m m ar s tha t a re n ot p u re
, ,

s tu d i es i n e t m o l o
y gy k e e p u p th e p ra c ti c e o f d i s t i n gu i shi n g a n
,

a rb i tr a ry s t e m .
 V
THE VE R B
I . THE S I MPL E C O N J U G ATI O N
HE full c o nj ugat io n
T
a Japanese verb c an be c on of

v e ni en tly d i vi ded int o two pa r ts which m ay be styled ,

the Simple C onj ugat ion and the C om p ou nd C o nj u gat i on

respectively .

The ch i ef fu nct ion of the Sim ple C o nj u gat io n i s to pr ovi de

vari ati ons in fo rm by m eans o f which the verb c an be b ro u ght
i nt o relat io n wi th o ther w o rds These variati o ns i n fo rm d o .

n o t n ow (th ou gh s om e o f the m o rig i nally di d) exp r ess by

them selves variati ons in m eaning as is the case with th o se
‘
changes i n the f o rm o f the verb i n E nglish li k e break ’

‘ ‘ ‘
, ,

br o k e breaking
’

,
’
br o ken & c wh ich serve t o c onvey
,
’

, .
,

i deas of m oo d tense o r v o i ce , n o r d o any o f the f o rm s o f

, ,

a Japanese verb whether simple or c omp ou nd c o ntain ele

, ,

m ents rep r esenting n u m ber or pers o n E ach f o rm o f the .

S i m ple c o nj u gat io n can serve as a base fo r the add i t io n o f

s uffixes to pro du ce c om p ou nd c o nj u gati onal form s which

express variat io ns in m eaning c o rresp o nding to (th ou gh n ot
exactly c oinci di ng with ) the tenses moo ds & c o f an E ngli sh , , .
,

verb ; bu t standing al o ne it is si m ply on e o f a series o f

fo rm s differentiated by fl exion by m eans o f wh ich the w o rd
, ,

in qu est io n c an fu nct io n as verb n ou n adj ect ive or adverb

‘
, , , ,

acc ording to requ irem ent Thu s for the verb to go we ’

.
,

have in Japanese the fo ll owing form s o f the Simple Co n

j ugati on
‘
I yu k u the predicat i ve f o rm ’

‘
. .

2 yu k u the attrib u t ive f o rm ’

‘
. .

3 yu k i the c o nj u nct ive f o rm ’

‘
. .

4 yu k a the im pe r fect f o rm or N egat ive Base ’ ’

‘
. .
,

5 yu k e
. the perfect f o rm ’
.

‘
The first yu ku I S the t ru e verb fo rm as in hi to y uku a m a n
, , , ,

g o es ’
The sec ond y u ku is an adj ect i val fo rm as i n y uku
‘ ‘
.
, , ,

hi to a g o es m an i e a m a n who g o es
’

,
-
It happens that
, . . .

i n this case the pred icative and attr ib u t ive fo rm s c o incide ,

1 28 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
to tak e a S i m ple exa m ple the i nflected verb s uffi x t ori which
, ,

i ndicates appr o x im ately a pe r fect tense has a S im ple c o n,

j u gati o n :
to ri P redicat ive
to m Attrib u t ive
to ri C o nj u nct ive
‘
to m I m perfect o r N egat i ve Base
’

to re P erfect
s o that the c o m p o u nd c o nj u gat io nal f o rm y u ki to ri which ,

fo r the m om ent we m ay desc r ibe as the pe r fect tense o f the

verb y uku has the fo rm s
,

y u k i to ri P redicative
y u ki tom Att ribu t ive
y u h i to ri C o nj u nctive
y u ki to ro I m perfect o r N egat ive Base
y u ki to r e P e r fect

These f orm s are u sed in exactly the sa m e way as the S i m ple

c o nj u gat io nal f orm s o f yu ku described ab ove Th u s y uki tori
, .

is the tru e verb as in hi to y uki to ri a m an has g one y uki ’

‘
, ,

to m i s an adj ective as i n y u ki to m hi to
, a m an who has
,

while to the appr op riate fo rm s c a n be added fur the r

’
g one
s uffixes inflected or un infl ec ted to pro vi de further variati ons
, ,

in m ean ing su ch as ,

u k i to m beshi w i ll have g o ne
y
y u ki to r i ki did go
y u ki torozu has n o t g o ne
y u ki to re d o th o u gh he has g o ne
It is the c o nj u gat io nal f orm s created by the addit i o n o f
s uffixes to the f orm s o f the si m ple c onj ugati o n whi ch are
hereafter descri bed as c onstit u ting the C om p o u nd C o nj uga
ti o n of the Japanese verb .

There a re fou r regu lar types o f the S i mple C o nj u gat i on of

~

the verb and a few i rreg ular ve rbs It i s u su al to distingu ish

, .

these types by reference to the c o lum ns o f a c o nvent io nal

table o f the Japanese syllabary This table is as f oll ows
.

1. A KA SA TA N A HA M A YA R A WA
2. I KI S HI C HI N I HI M I ( YI ) R I ( WI )
3 U
. K U S U TS U N U E U M U Y U R U ( W U)
4 . E K E S E TE N E H E M E Y E R E ( WE )
 C O N J UGATI O N S IMPLE
1 29

A ve rb o f the F irst C o nj u gati o n s u ch as y u ku has f ou r , ,

f orm s which taken in the o rde r o f the term inal vowels in

,

the h o ri z o ntal r o ws o f the table are y u K A y uK I , , ,

y u K U y uK E , In Japanese gra m m ars and dicti.o naries the

ve rb y u ku is the r efo re described as bel onging to the K o
c o lu m n o f the qu a d rigra d e c onj u gati o n S ince its variati ons ,

c o rr esp o nd to the f ou r syllables in the ve rtical c o lum n headed

by K o It has a f o rm in each o f the fou r grades
. S i m ilarly
the verb ko s u which has the fo rm s ko so koshi ko s u ko s e, , , , ,

is described as o f the S o c o l um n o f the qu a drigra d e c on

j u gati o n
‘
.

The verb to bu to eat is o f the S ec o nd C o nj u gati on I t ’

.
, ,

has the f orm s to bu ta bu m to be ta buro Here the syllables , , , .

m and re a r e aggl u tinated and the o nly fl e x io n a l variati o ns

‘
,
’
a r e to bu and to be This i s desc ribed as the L ower B igr a d e
.

c o nj u gati o n since bu and be are the tw o l owe r g rades o f the

,

B o c o l u m n (B o being the s u r d f o rm o f Ho )
‘
.

’
The ve rb ots u to fall is o f the Third C o nj u gati o n and , , ,

has the f o rm s ots u ots um ochi ots u re The fl e xio n al va ria , , , .

ti o ns are ots u ochi which c o rresp ond to the two m i ddl e, ,

gr ades (i e 2 and 3 ) o f the table in c o l u m n To 0ts u i s

‘
. .
.
,
’
the r efo r e o f the Middle B igr a de C o nj u gati on
‘
.

F inally the ve rb mi m is said to bel ong to the U nigra de

,

C onj u gati o n the m e m be rs o f which u nderg o n o fl exi on al

’

change bu t retain the sam e syllable in all f o rm s as mi m

, , ,

mi m mi mi mi re O nly half a d o z en verbs are of this

, , , .

type
‘
.

‘
The te rm s u nigra d e & c a r e translati ons o f
’ ’
bigra d e , ,
.
,

the Japanese i chido n n i do n & c Japanese gra mm a r s fo r , , .

the u s e o f E u ropeans u s u ally disting u ish the types o f c on

j u gati o n by n u mbe r s The i rr egular verbs cann o t be r eferr ed .

to any o f the c o l u m ns Chief a m o ng them a re the a u xil i a ries

‘ ‘
.

om and s u m to do and the verb ku m to c om e

’

to be
’
.
, , , ,

The f oll owing is an acc ou nt o f each of the S i m ple Con

juga tio n al F o rm s as exhibited by the ver b
I , Th e S t e m .

‘ ‘
In ve rbs the S tern and the C o nj u nct ive o r A dverbi al ’ ’

f o rm a re identical Ast o n d r aws a distincti o n between the .

two which is di ffic u lt to f oll o w and it see m s s u fficient to ,

p oint o u t the identity in appea r ance here and to describe ,

3270 S
1 30 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E SE GRAMMAR
the f unct ions o f b oth u nder the Adverb i al or as I th in k , it
is m ore c o rrectly nam ed the C o nj u nct i ve F o rm
,
.

II . T he P r e di c a ti ve Fo r m .

Th i s i s the tru e verb f orm ,

C onjugati on
u sed in pr i ncipal sentences t o

predi cate an acti o n pr operty or , ,

state o f the s ubj ect as in i s hi

‘
,

ots u ,S t o nes fall Its n orm al

’
.

p o sit io n i s at the end o f a sen

tence i rrespective o f changes i n
, Irregu lar
the o rder of o ther elem ents .

Th u s :

ko re zoo ta bi ta bi Os oko e y uku he o ften g o es to O sak a

Os o ko e zoo to bi to bi y u ku to O sa k a he o ften g o es

I t is for thi s reas on styled i n Japanese the C o ncl u s ive F o rm

( s h us hi kei {Q It wi l l be f o u nd that wi th o n e e x c ep ,

t i on a f ull st op c a n be u sed and a new sentence c om m enced

,

after a verb i n this f o rm when translating i nt o E ngl ish .

‘
,

The excepti o n is the case where the c o ncl u s ive f orm i s

’

f oll owed by the part icle to The sentence then bec om es a .

s ub ordinate on e th ou gh i n Japanese it i s l og ically en ough

,

regarded as a direct narrati on Thu s kazo o u i ots u to i ii

‘
.
,

H e says that they fall int o the r i ver homu to mo hokomji ’

‘
, ,

th ou gh they praise m e I wi ll n o t b o ast

Interj ecti ons c a n of c ou rse f oll ow the c o nclu sive f orm and ,

strictly spea king it sh ou ld be u sed wi th the i nterr ogat i ve

pa r ticles (ko and y o ) .

U nl ik e the o ther f o rm s o f the S i m ple c o nj u gat i on the ,

Pr edicat ive cann o t serve as a base for the c o nstru ct io n o f

c om p ou nd c o nj u gat ional f orm s by the additi o n o f s ufli x e s ,

u nless we except the part i cle to as u sed i n the sentence j u st ,

cited to f o rm a s ort o f c oncess ive

,
.

The d ist inct i o n between the predicative and attrib u t ive

f o rm s has bu t for a few f o ss iliz ed phrases vani shed fr om
, ,

the m o dern S p o k en langu age and on e f orm serves b o th pre ,

d ic a tiv e and attri b u t ive u ses Th u s we have in c oll o qu i al

.

‘
ochi m to fall
,
which i s a vari ant o f ots um and is u sed
’

, ,

instead of the tw o wri tten f orm s ots u and ots u m and s hi nu

i nstead of the two form s shi n u and s hi n u ru — a case where
1 32 HI S TO R I C AL JA PA N E SE G RAMMAR
In c omm o n with o ther f o rm s of the ve rb the P r edicat ive ,

i s ne u tral as to pers o n This is clear from the fact that it

.

u nderg o es n o variat i o n to express pers o n y u ku fo r instance

‘ ‘ ‘
, , ,

standing indiffe r ently for I go ’ ’ ’

y o u go he g o es &c , , ,
.

I n the sa m e way the ve rb in all its f orm s is ne u t ral as to

n u mbe r .

Th i s characteristic is exhibited in a m o st i nterest ing way

in s u ch c o mm o n c o nstr u cti o ns as
kon o mu m zoo K os e to i ii this vi llage is called K o se
The idea o f pers o n or agent is ne ither expressed n or i m plicit
in the ve rb i ii In E nglish the c orr esp o nding l o cu ti on
.

requ i r es the pass ive vo ice which is a gra m m atical dev ice ,

u sed when we wish t o describe an act with o u t refe r ence to

the agent In Japanese an active ve rb i s u sed beca u se the

.
,

u s e o f an active ve r b d o es n o t i nv o lve m enti o n o f the s u bj ect .

In a few excepti onal cases the p redicative fo rm is f ou nd

‘ ‘
acting as a n ou n e g hoto m ’
a firefly kogerou the
‘ ‘
. .
, , , ,

ephem era s hidzu ku a dr o p s u mo u wrestling and s u ch

’ ’ ’

, , , , ,

p roper nam es as To dos u M o s o m K o om Hogemu & c , , , , .

O ccasi onally i t will be f ou nd redu plicated acting a s an

‘
,

adverb in s u ch f o rm s as ko es ugo es u r epeatedly n o hun o hu

, ,
’

, ,

tear fu lly mos umos u i ncreasingly ,

The f o ll owing are exam ples o f cha r acte rist i c u s e o f the

predicative f o rm ta k en fro m ea r ly texts
,

i o y o s e u i y o s u (M ) g r o ws ever thinner and thinner

( ) y
1 .

where y o su is the equ ivalent o f the m o de rn verb y o s em

r ib u tive f o rm m
(.i e the . att
‘ y a s u with a S light v o wel
change ) and y o se is the c o nj u nctive f o rm o f the ve rb
,
’

y os u .

( )
2 morotomo ui
th i ku tomo
o u gh we live o r die to

s hi n u tom o gether( j)
U i
I ku i n m o de r n c o ll o qu ial w o u ld b ei hi m c o rresp o nding ,

t o the attrib u t ive i ku m O n the o the r hand s hi n u is .

a predi cat ive f o rm which has su rvived and o u sted the ,

attrib u t ive f o rm s hi nu m .

( )
3 kon o ko n e hy o ku ry o zoo this s u m o f a h u ndred ry o I
bo n o nji u i o to u (HK ) give to you .

The m o dern c o ll o qu i al f o rm is ato um or oto em i e the , . .

attri bu t ive o f otou .

 THE PRE D I C ATIVE F O RM 1 33

(4 ) y o u i i r i te i ke n o n o ko after dark he c r ept ou t o f

y ori ho i i dete ho u ho u the p o nd and crawled bac k
- -

M iy a ho e ko eri n i keri t o the City

Her e we have a d u plicated fo rm ho u ho u u sed as an , ,

adve rb went back crawlingly

I I I T h e At tr i b u ti ve o r S u b s ta n ti va l F o r m
. .

It will be n o ticed that in the

1 st and 4 th
c o nj u gati o ns the C onj uga ti on

att rib u tive and p r edicative

f orm s a r e identical .

The chief fu ncti o n o f this

f o rm is to place a verb in an
att rib u tive relati o n to a s ub I rr egu lar
s ta n ti v e . In c om m o n with all
att ribu t ive f o rm s in Japanese it
ta k es a p o siti o n i mm ediately
p receding the s ubstantive or
s u bstantival gro u p which it qu alifies Th u s .

y u ku hi to a g o es pe r s o n i e a ,
pe r s o
. n w h o g o
. es
n o ku ho a c ries child i e a child which cries
, . .

AS has been already m enti o ned the f u ncti o n is o nly to ,

establish the r elati o n and n o t to define it exactly The

,
.

definiti o n o f the relati o n is where necessa ry acc om pl ished

, ,

by o the r m eth o ds Thu s u ts u hi to m erely r elates the i dea

‘ ‘
.

S t ri k e
’
to the idea pe rs o n and d o es n o t fo rm ulate the
r elat i o n p r ecisely ; s o that acc o r ding to c o ntext uts u hi to
‘ ‘
, ,

m ay m ean either a pers o n who strikes or a pers o n who

’

is st ru ck ’
.

Japanese has n o relative p ro n o u ns In thei r absence the .

att rib u tive fo rm o f the verb serves a ve ry i m p o rtant p u rp o se .

What a re called in E nglish relative clau ses a re f orm ed in

Japanese by i ts agency E g . . .

C has en u i y u ku hi to pers o ns who go to K o r ea

midzu u i oborete s hi n u m pe r s o ns who die by d ro wning
hi to
These sentences p ro vide st raightf o rward ill u strati ons o f its
u se The f o ll owing exa m ples sh ow that it m e rely establishes
.

the relati o n and d o es n ot define it

 1 34 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
S hogu n n o hi hi i m hei s ots u H ere the verb hi hii m to .
,
’
lead qu alifies hei s ots u s oldie r s B u t the ph r ase d o es
’

‘
, , .

n o t m ean the general s leading s oldiers The w o rd’ ’

‘
.

hi hi i m m erely relates the idea

’
lead to the idea
‘
s o ld iers wi th ou t i ntr o du cing any idea o f tim e o r
’

‘
,

agency The m eaning here i s the s oldiers led by the

.

general
‘
(2 ) hos hi n i obum hoto no
’
A swo rd w o rn in the belt ,

Here obum bei ng an att rib u t ive f o rm relates the idea

‘ ‘
, ,

wear to the idea sw o rd bu t m a k es n o reference to

’ ’

the agent A s m enti oned ab ove in desc rib ing the pre
.
,

dic a tive f o rm the E ngl ish renderi ng i n s u ch cases o ften

,

requ ires a pass ive c o nstru ct i on .

(3 ) hi mi go hem moi i the ball wh ich you ki ck

/

(4 ) bohemon o n o o rozoo m m the gro ve in which the gh o st

mori appea r s
zoo re n o
y u hu tokor o the place to wh i ch I go
6
( ) ha ve n o hore zoo s hu cho the reas o ns for wh i ch he as
s u m zi u serts this
y
‘
N o tice the var i ety in translati o n—J wh i ch m which
’ ’
to
‘
, ,

wh ich and for whi ch I t will be seen that the s u bstantive

t o wh ich the verb i s attr ib u ted i s n o t necessa rily e i ther i ts
o bj ect or i ts s u bj ect .

As an epithet the Attrib u t ive Fo rm exists i n a few c on

‘
v e n ti o n a l c om p ou nds s u ch as y u hue destinat i o n N om ’

‘ ‘
, , ,

homi the S ou ndi ng G o d ts u m be well r ope & c bu t i t

’ ’
-
.
, , , ,

is the C o nj u nctive F o rm which enters int o m ost c om p ou nd

w or d s .

The attrib u tive can als o act as a s ubstant ive in su ch

exp r ess io ns as
u mo m m zoo u res hihu s hi nu m birth i s a j oyf ul death a sad ,

zoo ho n o shihi hoto n o ri thing

‘ ’
Here the attrib u t i ve c o rresp o nds to ou r i nfin it ive to di e
‘
, ,
’
to be b o rn Whe r e as in Japanese the ve rb is ne u tral
.
, ,

as to pers on and n u m ber there is o bvi ou sly n o need for ,

a speciali z ed infinit ive f o rm An extensi o n of the ab o ve .

u sage enables o n e to f o rm l o c u ti o ns li k e

hi to hu m mo ts u awaits a pers on s c om ing ’

no zoo
1 36 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRA MMAR
( ) After the i nterrogative pa rt icles YA and K A
2

hi tori y o ho m hi hu ro s omu S hall I pass the days o f

S pr i ng al o ne
to re s hi n o y o kho ho zoogo what fell ows h ave th u s re
mi ho do u i s omu hi te s hi ho belled aga inst o u r thr o ne ?
s u m (R e s )

I do n o t k n ow o f any satisfact o ry explanat i o n why after ,

the se part icles the su bstantival f orm S h ou ld be preferred to

,

the predicative I t is c u ri ou s to n o te that where ho and y o

.

are final particles ho f oll ows the s u bstant ival yo the pre ,

dic a tive f o rm Thu s .

n o mi zoo y ori he m ho (M ) . have the waves c o m e up

o me fu ri hi y o (M )
ui . did it ra i n
The tendency o f the s ubstantival fo rm to ou st the pre
d ic a tiv e i s h owever very m arked i n Japanese
, I t is o f
, .

c o u rse m o st appar ent in cases where the particle go o f)

i s u sed Thu s hi to go o chi m th ou gh it stands in st rict

‘
.
,

gramm atical analys i s fo r a pers o n s falling has in speech ’ ’

‘
,

inva riably and in writing u s u ally the m eaning a pers o n

falls and has r eplaced the S im ple l o c u ti o n c o m p o sed o f
’

s u bj ect + p r edicate hi to ots u To qu o te Ast o n It is as if

, .

w e gave u p the u s e o f the ind icat ive m oo d and u sed parti

“ ”
c i p le s instead saying fo r instance, he dying o r his , ,
“ “
dying i nstead o f he di es or his be ing killed instead
”

“ ”
of he was killed
The f oll owing are early exam ples o f the vari ou s u ses o f
the Attribu tive or S u bstantival F o rm
i m mo to (M ) . the target which is S h o t at
to biy u hu zoo re (M ) . I who a m j o u rneying
hi to n o mi togomu m zoo s hi not k n owing that o thers
(
rozu R e s ) blam ed them
ots u m momiji n o kozu zoo beh o ld the n u mbers o f the
miy o (Ko k in ) . falling a u t u m n leaves
n o mi y os eho hu m migi zoo (HK )
’
. the wate r s edge to which the
waves c om e beating
tos u hu m It is a nat ur al c u st om to help
‘
hi to zoo zoo ju njo n o
n o m i n ori o thers
 THE C O N J UN CTIVE F O RM 1 37

IV . T he C o n j u n ct i ve o r A d ve r b i a l F o r m .

This is the f o rm u sed as its ,

na m e indicates when it is de
, C onjugati on
si red to bring the idea expressed
by the verb int o the cl o sest p os
sible ass o ciati o n with the i dea
expressed by an other w ord .

C onsequ ently its m o st speci al 4 th

i z e d u s e i s in the f o rm ati o n o f Irregu lar
c omp ou nd w or ds Thu s in su ch
.
,

c ombinati o ns as
‘
ki mon o wear th ings cl o thes ’
-

‘
to bemon o eat th ings = f oo d ’
-

‘
mi ni hu s hi S ee u npleasant = u gly
’
-

‘
ochi i m
’
fall enter fall in
-

the c onj u nct ive fo rm s to be hi mi and oohi act in the sam e

‘
, , ,

way as the adj ective ste m in s u ch w ords as a hogo no r e d

‘ ‘
,

m etal (c oppe r) and chi hoy om to c om e near

’ ’ ’

, app ro ach
, , .

I d o n ot see what pract ical or the o ret ical p u rp o se is served

by dist ingu ishing a verb stem and a c onj unct ive f orm as ,

was d o ne by Ast o n (Wri tten L a ngu age 3 rd To state , ,

fo r instance that mo chi is the ste rn o f a verb wh ich has als o

,

the f orm s mots u moto and mo te is t o assu m e that mochi is

, ,

a pri o r f o rm which has given r ise to the o thers There is .

n o warrant fo r th i s ass u m pti o n All we c an say is that the .

ph o net ic elem ent mot is c omm o n to all f o rm s and if we a re ,

to r ec o gni z e s u ch entities as ste m s mo t i s pr o bably the ste m ,

o f th i s verb .In m eaning the distincti on between S tem and

,

C onj u nctive F o rm cann o t be u pheld O ther f orm s of the

‘ ‘
.

simple c onj ugat io n are eq u ally S te m s o r bases to wh ich ’ ’

further syllables c an be affixed to express va ri at ions or

extensi o ns o f m eaning .

The c onj u nctive f orm of verbs can act as a n oun e ither ,

al o ne o r in c om p o sit io n e g , . .

hi ho ri radi ance hOri ic e

i mo s hi me c ou nsel ts uts u mi par cel
u hetori r eceipt
y o r ohobi jy
o

hoy o ohi early r ising i n uji ni m iserable end

‘
(lit d og dying .
-
1 38 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
There is a difference i n m ean i ng between the c o nj u nct ive
f o rm s o f verbs th u s u sed as n ou ns and the tr u e su bstant ival
‘
f o r m The w o rd y orohobi fo r exam ple m eans rej o icing o r ’

‘
.
, ,

jo y I t stands for a c om prehensive o r abst r act idea while

’
.
,

y oro ho bu pict u r es rather the act o f rej o icing o r even s om e ,

ti m es the agent The d istinct i on is best sh o wn by exa m ples

.

s on o
y orohobi hogi ri n o s hi their joy knew n o b o u nds
ho ho m tohi n i y orohobu zoo at su ch a t ime to rej o ice i s
ts u n e n o n o m i n o r i the u su al cu st o m
y orohobu zoo otoho u i s hi te it is the m e n wh o rej o ice and
n ogehu zoo onn o n o w the w om en who la m ent
Besides entering int o c om p o s it io n with o ther w o rds the ,

c onj u nctive f o rm c a n be u sed to c o o r dinate w ords with ou t -

cl o sely c o nnect ing the m The difference is dependent rather

.

o n the m eaning o f the w o rds e m pl o yed than o n any change

‘
O f f u nct i o n Th u s y u hi hoem i s to c o m e and go while
’

‘
.
,

ho eriyu hu is to go back ; bu t the dist inct io n o b vi o u sly

’

a rises fro m the nat u re o f the wo r ds u sed It i s perhaps

‘
.

clea r er in s u ch ph r ases as n ogehi ho n os hi mu to bewail and ,

la m ent where the tw o parts are o f equ al valu e and the

’

, ,

f o rm n ogehi i s u sed m erely fo r p u rp o ses o f c o o rdinati o n -

,

since Japanese has n o c o nj unct io n c o rresp o nding cl o sely to

‘
E arly exam ples o f th i s u s e are t o be seen i n
’
and .

m o chi ho n ets u (M ) . is nable to wa i t

u
fu to ri n a ra bi i ho toro i shi
- -
(M ) . the two were in c onverse to
gether

( Here b o th n ara bi and i are c o nj u nct ive f orm s of ve rbs ) .

hon o y o mo mi chi zoo y u hi o s hi th i s m ou ntain r o ad wa s bad

hori hori (M ) . to travel
‘
and s u ch c o m b inati o ns as i zo no i —hi hii m to i nvite and
‘ ‘
,

os hi emi chi bi hu
’ ’ ’
lead to sedu ce to teach and gu ide
‘
, ,
’
to instru ct are very frequ ent in the Rescripts The t en
, .

d e n c y to f o rm s u ch g r ou ps was n o d ou bt strengthened by
the i nflu ence of Chinese It is for i nstance m o st l ik ely that
.
, ,

oshi emi chi bi hu is a t r anslat i o n o f the Chinese fi

a It is .

an extens i o n o f this c o or dinat ing u s e which exhibits the -

c o nj u nct ive fo rm in its m ost characterist ic fu nct ion nam ely , ,

1 40 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
c omb ined wi th the au x iliary verb s u m to d o I n the ’
.

m o dern langu age hoss u m hori s u m ) to desi r e is a s u r

’

, ,

viv a l o f this type which m a y be r egarded as the ancest o r

,

o f ve r bs f o rm ed by the add iti o n o f s u m to Chinese w o rds

‘
,

su ch as y bs um to requ ire from y o ’

, S e e als o u nder , ,

Au xili ary V erbs , s um .

V I m p e r fe c t N e gat i ve B F or m
’
. The or as e .

Th i s f orm never o ccu rs as

an independent w or d I t was .

na m ed by Ast o n the N egative

Base bu t since i t is the base
,

for fu t u re and c o nditi o nal as ,

well as negat i ve f o rm s i t , ,

w ou ld seem best su bj ect to ,

the rem a rk s bel ow to f o ll ow ,

the practice o f native gram Irregu lar

m arians and style i t the
I mperfect F o rm (mi zen hei
‘
,

fie as becau se it is u sed
’
for events which have n ot yet ta k en place It is t hu s .

c o ntrasted with the P erfect form S ince we have ,

u ha mu w i ll go
y
y u hazu d o es n o t go

y u ha ba if he g o es

where in each case the acti o n described is i nc omplete while ,

the P erfect fo rm as will be seen always desc ribes a c om

‘
, ,

F u r ther the f orm is i mperfect in the sense

’

p lete d a c t .
,

that i t cann o t stand al one with ou t s uffi x .

N o l ight is thr o wn on its devel op m ent by early texts In .

them as always su bsequ ently i t appear s o nly as a base for

, ,

the c om p ou nd c o nj u gati onal f o rm s j u st m ent io ned It is .

als o the base for passive and cau sative verbs e g , . .

‘ ‘
homo m m homa + m m fr om homu to
’
to be praised
-

, , ,

prai se ’
.

1
Th es e for m s sho u ld
d istin guishe d fro m thos e li k e fu hi s ebo i n
be
haze i to hu fu hi s ebo a s th e w i n d b l e w h a r d w hi ch i s c o m p os e d
‘ ‘
o f fu hi + s e th e te n s e s u ffix s ki i n i ts i m p e r f e c t o r n e ga ti v e b a se
’
,

fo rm The fo r m o ri sebo whi ch o cc urs fre q ue n tly i n e ar ly te x ts i s

.
, ,

o f s i m i l a r c o m p o s i ti o n .
 ‘
THE IMPERFE CT F O RM 14:
’

‘ ‘
ta bero m m to be eaten = to be + ram m fr om to bu m
’

,
to , ,
’
eat
‘
to besos u m to cau se to eat = to be + sos u m fr om ta bu m
’

‘
, , ,
’
to eat
‘ ‘
.

m m m
’

y u has u t o ca u se t
,o go y u ho + s u fr o
y u hu t o , ,
’

go .

It will be n o ted that where the base fo rm do es n o t end in

,

a, the suffixes added to m ake ca u sative or passive f o rm s

c ontain that vowel I t is t o le r ably ce r tain that passive verbs
.

are b u ilt u p by adding to a fo rm o f the S imple c o nj u gati o n

‘
(pr bably the c nj nctive ) the a xiliaries m ( to be ) and
’
o o u u a
‘
u m ( to the verb y u ham m for instance being y u ki , ,

om + um which by crasis bec om es yu ho m m (attrib u t ive)

,

and y u ho m (predicat ive) This is s ufficient to acc ou nt for .

the o in passive verbs and pe rhaps by analo gy in cau sative

, , ,

verbs bu t it do es n o t explain the a term inating the base

o f negative and f u t u r e f o rm s in the first c o nj u gati o n su ch ,

as y uhamu and y uhozu The ru le for o btaining pass ive f orm s

.

is to add m to the negative base wher e it ends in o and ra m ,

where it ends in an other v owel This gives the predicative .

o f the passive while the add i ti o n o f m m o r ra m m gives the

,

c orresp o nding attrib u tive f o rm s B ut th i s is o nly an em pi ri c .

rule and ther e is n o thing to S h o w that hist or ically passive

, , ,

f orm s are b u ilt u p from the negat ive base .

It is i m p ortant to n o te that the N egat ive Base is the only

f orm of the verb wh ich cann o t stand al one This see m s to .

be a g o o d reas on for styling i t the I m perfect f o rm and s o ’

foll owing the u su al Japanese n om enclat u re bu t it has been

p ointed out to me that this nam e m ight cau se c onfu si o n
with the I m perfect tense i n o ther langu ages and I have ,

theref ore s om ewhat rel u ctantly retained the term N egative

, ,

Base .

It sh ou ld be u nderst o o d that n one of the o ther f o rm s of

the verb i s a base in the sam e sense I t i s tru e that suffixes .

c a n be added to the attrib u tive c onj u nctive and perfect , ,

f orm s— even in a lim ited way to the predicat ive f orm— and
they are to that extent bases bu t t ey have als an i d
h o n i 4

vidu al sign ificance which they express standing al one

, ,

whereas the N egative Base by itself has n o m eaning and n o

fu ncti on .
1 42 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
V I T he P e r fe ct F o rm
. .

The P er fect F o rm u nlike the N e ,

F orm
ga tiv e B ase appea r s t o have a cer ,

tain tense s ignifi c a nc e and n o t t o be

-

m e r ely a fl e x ion al f o rm pr oviding a '

base fo r agglu tinati o n I n the e arli .

est texts i t is f ou nd standing al o ne

where on e m ight expect the c o ncl u
s ive i e the ordinary predicative
, . .

f o rm Thu s .

ie have I f org o tten m y h o m e

’
n o ra n o zoag zoo zoa s u rete

om oe
ya (M ) . at N a r a
i zooren u mon o n i a re y a (R es ) are they things n o t to be
sp ok en
zoa re zoo s u m re y o (M ) . have I f o rg o tten
All the ab ove a r e rhet orical qu esti o ns bu t i t will be n o ticed ,

that the verb tends to exp r ess the idea o f a c o m pleted act
or state c o rr esp o nding in s o m e ways to a perfect t ense
, .

It frequ ently o ccu r s al o ne whe r e in the late r langu age , ,

we sh ou ld find a c om p o u nd f o rm den o ting a reali z ed c o n

diti on e g , . .

hotohe no . s o hi zoo eta ma u having th ou ght that the

mon o moe 5 ;
ui ari to o B u ddha was a thing be
orogo mi tatema ts u m (R e s ) st owin g blessedness we ,

w orship it
‘ ‘
H ere omoe m eans becau se we think o r s i nce we have ’

th ou ght — a n idea which w o u ld s u bsequ ently have been

expressed by omoebo which c o nsists o f the sam e perfect ,

f o rm oi n oe
,
a c o nj u nctive particle
,
.

It is n o t p o ssible to say whether the perfect is an inde -

pendent f orm of the S im ple c o nj u gati o n o r whether it is a ,

c o ntracted c o m p ou nd f o rm A st o n ta k es the latter V iew and .

,

c o nsiders that for instance y u he is derived f rom y u ki + o m

, , ,

which bec om es (by a cras i s which i s c omm o n in Japanese )

u hem and then dr o ps the final m H e bases this de r iva
y ,
.

ti o n on the existing m o dern pe r fect tense f o rm s like yu hem , ,

which i s u nd oubtedly c o m p o sed o f y uki + om and m eans

‘ ‘
,

has g o ne o r rather is g o ne ’

,
It is tru e als o that in all ’
.
, ,
1 44 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
u s u al c o ncl u s ive (i e th e predi cat i ve ) f o rm o f verbs at the
. .
,

end of a sentence c o ntai ning th i s pa r t icle Thu s .

hore zoo tamo n o ri this is a j ewel

hore hos o tama n a re th i s i ndeed is a j ewel
B u t i n the earl i est texts a si mi lar idi om i s f ou nd s om eti m es ,

wi th ou t any parti cle s om et im es wi th e mphat ic particles

,

o ther than hoso The sentence

.

zoaga s eho zo o i ts uchi y uhame wh i ther has my bel o ved go ne

is an i nstance of a perfect stand ing al one . O ther exam ples
are
to go hoi n i ora me M
( ) . wh ose l ove can it be
i ho u i o ro me (M ) . how i s it I w onder (lit How
, .

wi ll i t be
where me i s the perfect f orm of the fu t u re verb -
s u ffi x mu . In
i ma zo zoare hure (M ) . n ow I c om e
i ndeed
o me ts u chi no ha mi n o ha re y o is it becau se there are n o
u ru zoos hi hi zo aga ts u ma G o ds o f H eaven o r E arth
s a horu M
( ) . that I a m pa r ted from m y
l ovely wife P
i moho i ho u i omoe ho y o o f what has m y l o ve been
’
zoog

mo ochi zu i me n i s hi miy u th in k ing that every n ight I

(M ) . see her in m y drea m s
we have the particles 20 ha and y a f ollowed by a perfect , , .

Ta k ing these vari ou s exam ples t ogether i t seem s that the ,

perfect f orm indicating as it d o es the definite c om pleti o n

,

o f a pr o cess rather than the lapse o f t im e has a certa i n ,

em phat i c a ffirm ative valu e and th u s n o t u nnat urally c om es

, ,

t o be u sed w i th e m phatic particles D epr ived o f the i r c o n .

text the ab o ve exam ples pe rhaps fail to m ak e this p o int

,

clear bu t in m o st o f the cases I have exam ined I thin k s om e

,

e m phatic valu e can be discerned .

I n the m o dern lang u age the perfect f orm stand ing al o ne

w ith ou t agglu t i nated suffix is u sed only after hoso and thi s ,

is m erely a su rvival Its chief u s e n ow i s as a base for

.

c o ndi ti o nal and c oncessive f orm s su ch as y u heba y u hedo , , ,

explained ab ove I n early texts we find c onditi onal f o rm s

.

c om p osed of a perfect with part i cles o ther than bo Thu s .

 THE
PERFE CT F O RM 1 45

no ni s u re zo ha n a n o how is i t that the fl owers

so hi te hoz u hemu (M ) have n o t c om e to blo om ?
.

(s ure is the perfect o f s uru ’

,

to d o )
azo o mu to om oe hos o i n achi dragging ou t m y life becau se
ts ugi ts u ts u (M ). I h o pe to m eet you
bu t these u ses a re n ow o bs o lete They thr ow h owever an .
, ,

interesting light u p o n the devel o p m ent o f the l o cu ti o n for

expressing a reali z ed c o nditi o n in Japanese verbs I t appears .

that fir st o f all w e have the pe rfect standing al o ne as in the ,

example q u oted ab ove ,

s o hi zoa i to ma u m on o u i ori becau se we th ou ght & c , .

to omoe

Then c om e cases whe r e the perfect f o rm i s reinforced by an

e m phatic o r inte rrogat ive particle s o that the ab o ve sentence ,

m ight read omoe hoso omoe 20 o r omoe y o and these f o rm s

, , ,

fall o u t o f u s e giving way to a c ombinati o n omoebo which

, ,

c ontains the sepa r at ive particle ha or zoo in i ts su rd f o r m bo .

Th e I m p e r a ti ve i n Ve r b s Jap ane s e
In the N a ra pe ri o d the f u ncti o n of the I mperat ive is per
‘
form ed by the pe rfect f o rm o f verbs o f the fi r st c o nj u gati o n
and o f the verb o ru (e g y u he a re) while i n o ther verbs
. .
, ,

the I mper ative is ident ical w ith the N egative Base Con .

sequ ently we find

‘
ts u tome (fr om ts u tomu ru perform
‘
,

tote (fr o m ta ts u stand

‘
,

so (fr o m s u m do
,

and als o i m peratives o f c om p ou nd form s s u ch as

‘
n ose (fr o m n o s u to d o )
’

s hi ro s hi me fr o m s hi r o shi mu ru
’
ca u se to k n ow ca u sa
( t o , ,

tive o f s hi m )
i mas hi te (fr om i mas hi ts u m a past tense f o rm o f i mo s u an
‘
, ,

t o be )
’
h o n o rifi c verb
The additi o n o f the pa rticle y o is n ot essent i al for the form a
ti o n o f the I m per ative It is f ou nd in early texts with verbs
.

o f all c o nj u gat i o ns b u t it is a m e r e excla m ati o n

,
L ater i n .
,

the case o f verbs n ot o f the first c o nj ugat ion i t cam e to be ,

U
1 46 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
regarded as an i ntegral part o f the imperative f orm s o that ,

it is n ow regarded as c orrect to say ts utomey o s eyo & c , , .

S im ilar o bservat i ons apply t o im perative f o rm s i n ro s u ch ,

as ts u hero which are n o dou bt s u rvivals o f di alect f o rm s

, ,

the ro being l ik e y o an i nterj ecti on F orm s su ch as motere

, , .

m ots u + ore) ohere (ohu + ore) appear in the M a ny é s hi i

'

, ,

bu t n ot later .

I t wi ll b e n ot i ced that neglecting the exclam at o ry p ar ,

ti cle s y o and ro a ll im perat ives end i n e

, The im perative .

S h o u ld pe rhaps be regarded as a S pec i al c o nj u gati o nal f o rm ,

bu t it seem s pr obable j u dgi ng fr om the ex i stence o f f o rm s

,

l ik e motore ohere & c that it is m erely a speci aliz ed u s e o f

, ,
.
,

the P erfect .

It m ay be appro pr i ately m ent ioned here that the S im ple

negat ive of a verb i s rarely u sed in Japanese except in very
inti m ate o r very severe c o nversat io n The i m perative o f
‘
.

a p ol i te verb is u su ally added as in o ho eri n o s ai please , ,

c o m e back i nstead o f the plai n im perat ive haere Here

’
.
,

n a s a i i s the c o ll o qu i al f o rm o f n a s are the imperat ive of

‘
,

n a saru a p o l i te verb fo r to d o
’
.
,

The negat ive i m perat ive f ou nd i n the earli est texts i s

‘
f orm ed o n the m o del n o y u ki s o d o n o t go where y uki ,

is the c o nj u nct ive f o rm o f the verb B ut the u s e o f s o i s .

n o t i nva r iable and it i s pr o bably o nly excla m at o ry being n o ,

d ou bt the sam e as the particle zo o r the s o of hos o E xamples .

o f the negat ive i m perative with and w i th ou t s o are

n o s hi se-ta ma i s o ( K .
) deign n ot to di e
mi togo mu behi zoozo n o s o do not do blam eworthy
so ( R e s ) th i ngs
s higu re n o M
( ) furi so . let it n o t rain
n o zoo bi zoaga s eho (M ) . d o n o t gr i eve my l o ver ,

I t i s clear that the negat ive elem ent i s n o wh ich i s d oubtless ,

the sam e as the negative adj ective n o hi na s hi & c -

,
-
, .

The m o dern f orm o f the negative imperat ive i s in the

wr i tten langu age of the type y u hu n o hare H ere n a ha re is .

c om p o sed of the negat ive adj ective n a —hi (pr obably in i ts

c onj u nct ive f o rm n a hu) the im perat ive a re o f the au xi
-
, ,

li ary verb o ru In the m o dern sp ok en langu age the equ i

.

valent i s y u hu n o where n o is added to the attrib u t ive f o rm

,

o f the verb as can be seen fr om c om b i nati o ns l ik e s u m n o

, ,
1 48 HI STO RICA L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
assum e that zoaru hu here is a su bstantive and that a sentence
‘
,

like hon o s a hon a zoo zoaro horozu represents with regard to

’
this fish there is n o t badness .

I n V iew o f the resem blance between these hu fo rms in -

verb and adj ect ive it has been su ggested by s o m e Japanese

gr amm a rians that the c onj u gati o n o f verb and adj ective was
o riginally identical A p ri ori this is n o t u nlikely bu t the
.
,

resem blance i tself c a n l ogically be rega r ded o nly as evi dence

that the elem ent ha is o f the sa m e o rigin in each case It .

d o es n o t f oll o w that it is a c onj u gati o nal f o rm in each case ,

and the fact that hu is f ou nd fo ll owing al m o st a ll the verb

s uffixes tends t o disp r o ve this su pp o siti o n We find it fo r .
,

i nstance f o ll ow ing : ,

1 . The tense su ffi x es
‘
mu as in fu ha mo hu (fr om fu ha mu f u t u re o f fu hu to
, , ,

bl ow ) ’

ts u as in m OS hi ts uro hu (fr o m mé s hi ts u ru past o f m as u

, , ,

to say )
’

nu as in fuhen u ro hu (from fu henu m past of fuheru to

, , ,

gr ow late ) ’

‘
s hi as in to moi s hi hu (fr o m to mo i s hi past o f to mo u
,
to , ,

deign ) ’

2 . The negat ive s u ffi x

‘
zu (n u ) as i n s hi ro n o hu (fr o m
, s hi ra nu , neg . o f s hi m , to
kn ow )
’

and i t i s u nu su al to find o ther ve rb s uffixes fo ll owing these .

Thu s f o llowing the negative s uffix we have only hi in su ch

, ,

c o m p ou nds as omozoozu heri (hi ori ) and this i S rare F o l -

,
'
.

l owing the tense suffi x n u w e have o nly o ther tense suffixes ,

e g n amu n i hi & c and f oll owing the tense su ffix hi we

. .
-
, , .
,

have o nly mu as in hemu In o ther w o rds the s uffi xes to

, .
,

which hu is added are with few excepti o ns te rm inal f orm s , ,

i n any c om p ou nd c onj u gati onal f or m and it i s theref o re n ot ,

safe t o assu m e that hu is a c o nj u gati o nal f o rm .

L eaving aside the c o nj ect u ral identity between the con

j u gati o n o f verb and adj ect ive it is interest ing to exam ine ,

these hu f o rm s in adj ectives We have in addi ti o n to fo rm s

-
.
,

o f the typ e a shi ho a n u m ber o f w o r ds li k e o s hi hehu

, A m o ng .

these are su ch w or ds as haruhehu s oy ohehu o hi ra hehu & c , , ,

.
,
 SUB S TA N TIVALF O RM S E N D I N G I N K U 1 49 -

which at first si ght appear i dentical with o shi hehu in f o rm a

ti on bu t they a re c o nj u gable and have f orm s haru heshi , ,

ha ru hehi & c , They a re adj ectives o f which the stem c on

.
,

tain s the elem ent he whateve r its o rigin The rem ainde r , .

a r e n o t c o nj u gable They appear o nly in the hu f o rm as

.
-
,

S h own in the f o ll owing exa m ples

o n o n a ha n o u hehu ts u ro the w o efu lness and bitterness

y
hehu (M ) . o f life

y os u hehu m o n o s hi M
( ) . ther e is n o restfu lness
ho n as hi hehu (K ) omoiide . thinking o f the grievou sness
We c an hardly s u pp o se that hu in these cases is a c o nj u ga
ti o n a l f o r m It o bvi ou sly f o ll ows a c o nt r acted c o nj u gati o nal
.

f orm o f the adj ective and it is ther ef o re r eas onable to assum e

,

that it has he r e s om e independent significance S eeking for .

anal o gies in o ther w or ds we find the f o rm idzuhu which

‘
,

m eans which place and the evidently c o gnate f o rm s s oho

’

‘ ‘
,

and hoho = that place The elem ent ho i n ’ ’

this place
‘
, . .

hoto a thing is p r es u m ably the sam e We m ay ther ef or e

’
.
, ,

c o nj ect u r e that the hu in s u ch fo rms as i zoa hu and o shihehu

is a vestige o f an o bs o lete w o rd signifying perhaps place
‘
,

I t is n o t p r ofitable to specu late which bu t

’
perhaps thing .
,

Mr Ya m ada ingeni ou sly qu o tes

.

u me n o han a chi ro hu zoo whither have the plum

i dzu hu M
( ) . bl oss om s scatter ed
‘
where chi ro hu is tak en to m ean scatter place ’
-
.

In either case this derivati o n explains the su bstantival

,

character o f the f o rm s u nder discu ssi o n and th ou gh f orm s

like haru hehu m u st be distingu ished from f o rm s like o shi hehu
as explained ab ove it is pro bable that the hu in the n orm al,

adj ective c onj u gati o n (e g zo aru hu) is o f the sam e o rigin as . .

the hu in o s hi hehu .

A p oint which r equ ires explanati o n is the intervening

vowel in oshihehu s uro hu and S i milar fo rms In the case
, ,
.

o f os hihehu o n e m a y ass u m e an o r iginal as hihi hu D r Ast o n -

. .
,

h oweve r suggests a shihi aru hoto which seem s a trifle fa r

,
- -
,

fetched .

The verb form s a re n o t u n iform We have to ma i s hi hu .

,

where hu appears to f oll ow the attribu tive f orm (shi ) o f the

tense suffix hi bu t after o ther suffixes the r e i s an inter
,
1 50 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
c a l a te d o as in fu ha mo hu (fu ha mu
, hu) s hi ro no hu (s hi ,

r onu hu ) and where hu is s u ffi x e d to a verb in its si mple

,

c o nj ugati o n this a als o appear s as in i zoo hu toro hu That

, , .

this a is n o t part o f the o rdinary first c o nj u gat i o n base f orm

is clear fr om the fact that i t o cc u rs in c o m p o siti on with verbs
o f o ther c o nj u gat i o ns and w ith irr egu lar verbs The earl i est .

texts (and all f orm s cited in this acc ou nt are tak en from the
N ara peri o d) c o nta i n s u ra ha ara hu hu ra hu mi ra hu hou rahu
, , , ,

(bigra de) & c In o ther w or ds w ith verbs o f the first or

, .
,

q u a d r i gra d e c o nj u gati o n we have the term i nati o n o hu w i th ,

m o st o ther verbs we get the term inati o n ra hu The latter .

i s n o t m ent i o ned by Ast o n bu t it renders m o re plau sible his

,

der ivati on from oru + hu Taking attrib u tive verb f orm s in

.

each case and addi ng o hu which we ass um e to represent

, ,

o ru + hu we have for exa m ple

, ,

I st c o nj u gati o n tom + o + hu toro ku

n ega u + o + hu n ega zoa hu
2 nd ts uguru + o + hu ts ugu ra hu
3 rd hou ru + a + hu hou ra hu
4 th mi ru + o + hu mi ra hu
I rregu lar verbs o ru + a + hu a ra hu

s u m + o + hu s u ro hu

huru + o + hu hu ro hu
C omp ou nd fu h a m u + o + hu fu h a m o hu

c onj u gati ons s hi ro n u + o + hu s hi ro n o hu

mos hi ts u ru + o + hu mos hi ts ura hu

om ozoos hi muru + o hu omozoo s hi mu ra hu

The o nly f o rm which wi ll n o t fit i nt o th i s schem e is that o f

the type tomai shi hu where hu f oll ows directly the attrib u tive
,

f orm o f the tense su ffix hi bu t the c o nj u gati o n of this tense

su ffi x is o bscu re and probably c om p o site
, .

The evidence is ther ef ore fairly stro ng in fav our o f a

devel op m ent su ch as that s u ggested th ou gh it is clearly ,

u seless to press c o nj ect u r e any f u r ther and i nq u i re whether

there act u ally exi sted an ancestral fo rm aru + hu .

The real interest o f this f orm lies in the explanati o n which

it fu rnishes o f the c omp ou nd adj ect ival c o nj u gati o n o f the
m o del zoaru haru With ou t this cl u e i t is hard to u nderstand
.

the u ses of the adverbial fo rm o f the adj ective part icularly

’

when i t acts as a n ou n .
152 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
t here fore be hardly a ny dou bt that the w ho le bigra de c onj uga
,

tion is deriva tive a n d I S obt ained from the fi rst or qu a drigra d e

, , ,

by agglu tinati o n In o ther w ords the fi rst three c onj u gat i ons
.
,

w ere origin ally o ne This c onclusi on is su pp orted by the fact

‘
.

Cham berlain Luchu a n L angu age T A S , xx iii ) tha t ’

, . .

Luchu an ve rbs altho ugh richer than J a p anese 1n c on j uga ti onal

,

f orm s are all infl ected alike There I S only on e verb c onj uga t i o n
, .

in Luchu an .

It r em ains how e v er to discover w hether the o n e o rigin al c o n

, ,

j ugatio n fro m w hich the fi rst three conj ugati ons arise was
, ,

identic a l w ith the fi rst c onj ugati on (qu adr igra de) o f the N ara and
s ucceeding p erio ds .

The fi r st co n j ugati o n ha s a s its distinguishing f e a t ures , ,

( 1 ) the absence o f a S p ecia liz ed a tt ribu tive form ending in m

(2 ) the i mp erfect f orm ending in a .

I f the original c onj uga tion from w hich the qu a drigra de a n d ,

bigrad e de rive e v er p o ssessed a s p eci a liz ed a tt ri bu tive f orm w e

, ,

m ight ex p ect to fi n d a n a tt ribu tive f o rm in L u chu an o n the ,

r eas o na ble s u
pp o siti o n t ha t tha t l angu age has p reserved f eat ur es
o f the ancest ral lan u a e c o m m o n to it a n d to archa ic Ja anese
g g p .

The att ribu tive form do es in f a ct exist in Lu chu an in all verb s , , , ,

incl uding t hose like tom w hich in J ap anese are o f the fi rst c o n ,

j ugati o n (e g tuyu m w hich by w ell s ubst anti a ted p honetic l a w s

. .
,
-

can be shown to tom ru ) .

F urther u p on ex am ining J a p anese verbs for t ra ces o f a c o n

,

j u gatio n w hich w hil e like the fi rst c on j u gatio n in o t he r resp ects

‘
, ,

ha s a sp eci a l attribu tive fo rm w e fi n d a m on g the i rr egu lar v erb s

’

two w hich shar e feat ures o f the q u a drigra d e and the bigrade
c on j uga ti ons These are .

P red .

Here w e have a c o nj ugati on w hich while it exhibits the Charac ,

teris tic I m p e r fect in a o f the Fi rst C on j ugati o n a ls o ha s a s pecial ,

att ribu tive form in m It is n ot u n reaso n able to co nj ect ure that

‘
.

a n i rre ul a r ve rb m ay see m i rr egu l ar b ec a u se it is a n early f o rm

’

g ,

w hich ha s n o t u ndergone additio ns o r s ubtra cti ons to which o ther

verbs have su bsequ ently b een s ubj ected P u rsu ing the s a m e line .

o f inq u i ry w e m ay turn to the verbal su ffi xes w hich w e c an

, ,

fairly assum e in so m e cases to have been a t o n e ti m e indep endent

verbs The m ost suggestive o f the se is the suffi x s u (v p
.
-
. .
 D EVEL O PME N T O F THE C O N J UGATI O N S 1 53
The f oll o w ing table sho w s its f orm s al ongside o f tho se , of the
a uxil iary verb s u m w ith w hich it is c ogn ate
,

S ufi x A uxi li a ry S ufi x A u xi li a ry
Predic a ti v e su
Att ribu tive su

C onj uncti v e s hi
Here w e fi n d o n the o ne hand an I mp erfect form in a o n the ,

o ther a n Att ri bu ti v e f o rm in m A gain the ho norifi c verb ma s u

.
,

has an attribu tive f orm ma s u ru a n d a n i mp er f ect f orm moso

‘
e h r i hi ma s a mu w ill c m e
( g
. . a e o

The bal ance o f evidence then see m s to b e in fa vo u r o f the

, ,

v ie w tha t the origin al c onj ugati on o f m ost if no t all Jap anese , ,

verbs was o f the typ e

s hi n u , s hi n u ru , s hi ni , s hi n a .

That it ha d an I m p erfect form ending in a is pra ctically certain

that it ha d a special Attribu tive form ending in m is though -
,

n o t certain pro b a ble

,
.

Tu rning n ow to the p resent bigra de conj ugati ons it is w orth ,

while to inquire in wha t way they are derived fro m the supp osed
o ri gin al c on j uga ti o n In the fi rst p lace w e ha v e as m entioned
.
, ,

a bo v e a n u mb er o f verbs n o w o f b igra d e typ e which are fo und

,

in the N ara p eri o d as q u a drigra de Perhaps the m ost instru cti v e

‘
.

o f t hese is ta bu to e a t the s a m e verb as that w hich app ears in

’

, ,

the f orego in g t able as a typ e o f the sec ond (B igra de ) con j uga tio n .

In the N ar a p eri o d the f o l lo w ing form s o ccur

Predic ative ta bu I mperfect ta ba
Att ribu tive ta bu C onj unctive ta bi

Here w e have co m plete all the distinctive forms o f the First

C onj uga tion .

The f o ll o w in g list sho w s o the r ve rbs u nde rgoing the sam e

change :
I mperf C onjunct . .

(todam a P
) todomi .

todomu ru todome todome

os aru os ora

os oruru os ore os are

zoa su m zoos u ro zoa s u re

204 3 14 7 8 1061 8 14 7 8
1 54 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
These are exam ples o f a chan ge o f co nj ugatio n witho u t an y
change o f m eaning or functi on B u t the m aj ority o f v erbs in .

the bigr a de c on j u ga ti ons are s pe cializ ed form s S u ch ar e al l .

P a ss ive Verbs w hich are obt ai ned by agglu tin a t ing the a uxili ar y
,

verb u m (or e m) to the stem W e t hu s fi n d such ve rbs as .

yu ha m (yu ha ru m y u ha re yu ha re) , ,

w hich is the p as sive verb deri v ed from yu hu and is c onj uga ted ,

like u ru in th e seco nd c onj ugati on (u u m e)

, , , .

There is al so a l arge gr oup o f deri v ed verbs pro viding spe ci al ,

t rans iti v e and intran s itive form s w hich ar e obtain e d fro m ,

x

o ri in al
g (kn o w n or c on j ect ur ed) fi rst con j u ga tion forms by agglu
tin a tio n o f u m and a m r esp ecti v ely Thu s from todomu (w hich .

is u s ed in the First C o nj u gati on in the N ara p e ri od) w e have

todoma m to s t ay (int ran sitive )
todomu m
to st o p (t r an siti v e )
tod m o me
w hich are o f the S eco nd C onj ugation .

It see m s p robable that such f orm s as os oru ru (os orer u ) zoas u ,

r uru (zoa s u r e m) & c wher e verbs have m oved from the First to
,
.
,

the S ec o nd C on j ugati on withou t an y chan ge in m e an in g o r func

ti o n ar e d u e to the in fl u ence o f t hese s pecializ ed p assi v e an d
,

si m ilar form s There is a cu ri o u s an d m arked tendency in

.

Jap anese to accum u l a te s uffi xes a t the end o f a w ord w itho u t ,

any p articu l ar addi tion to its m e aning .

The di ffe rence b et w een the S ec ond and Thi rd C o n j ugati o ns

canno t b e explained with cert ai nty The t hird di ff ers fro m the .

sec ond in ha v in g a term in al i in ste a d o f e in the i mpe rfect an d

, ,

c onj unctiv e form s Tha t thi rd c onj ugatio n verbs ar e deri v ed

.

fro m earlier fir st c on j ugati on form s is cle ar fro m su ch exam ples

as i hi ru a n d hori ru w hich c orr es p o nd to e arlier verb s i hu an d hor n
,

in the fi rst c onj ugation It seem s likely that the var i a ti on from e
.

to i is m erely a ccidental bas ed o n gro u nds o f e up ho ny o r p e rha p s

,

du e to the agglu tin a ti o n o f the au xil i ary i m inste a d o f u m o r a m , .

It rem ains to exp l ai n the F o urth C onj ugati on w hich is co m ,

p o sed o i a s m all n u m b er o f ve rb s w i th m o n o syllab ic r o o ts— e gs : .

P r ed . A ttri b . I mperf .

I
v .
p . 1 99 .
1 56 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The c onj ugati on o f o ru wa s and r em ains ,

Pr edicative I mperfect
Att ributive Perfect
C onj unctive
and t here is n o o ther exam ple o f a predicative form ending in i .

The c orresp onding Lu chu an form is a ng which r e present s a m , ,

n o t o ri in Jap anese
, .

The verb om is general ly c onside red to b e a c o mpound o f (zo) i

( E ) and aru (thou gh there is n o s pecial r eas on to su ppose that
it is a c omposite form ) Its pr edicative form in N ara texts is .

app arently (zo) ori to j udge from a fe w exam ples w here the
,

r eadin g 1 5 fairly certain ( i E ) and we m ay t herefore take its ,

c onj ugati on to have been identical with that o f aru The form s .

o f (zo) i ru itself are n o t cle ar bu t in the N ar a p eri o d w e o ccas ,

S i on ally fi n d u zou ) which seem s to have b een the p r edicative

,

form— an other example p erhaps o f a fi rst conj ugati on verb , ,

appro xi m ating to the fourt h co nj u gatio n

‘
.

There is n o explanation for the distinctive form s o f hum to ,

com e (hu huru ho hi hure) but one cann o t expect to fi nd

’

, , , , ,

a u niform devel opm ent in verbs w ith a m on osyllabic stern O n .

account o f their very shortness they dou btless tended to assum e

form s easily prono unced and distingu ished .

II . THE C O MP O UN D C O N J U G ATI O N
It has been sh own ab ove that the f o rm s of the S imple
C o nj u gati o n o f V erbs represent o nly prim ary i deas w ith ou t ,

reference to c onsiderat ions of t im e o r m o de Wh en it is .

d esired to express these sec o nda ry aspects u s e m u st be m ade ,

o f o n e or m or e o f a gr o u p o f s u ffixes wh ich are attached ,

t o appr o priate f o rm s o f the Sim ple C o nj u gati o n These .

s uffixes with ce rtain excepti ons which will be referred to

,

later are them selves ve rbs p o ssess ing as a ru le all the f o rm s

, ,

o f the i r own S im ple C o nj u gati o n to which f u rther s u ffixes ,

o f the sam e nat u re c a n be attached to express f u rther varia

t io ns o f m eaning This is best illu st r ated by a S im ple

.

exa m ple The suffix shi mu ru attached to the I m perfect

.
-

F o rm of verbs transf orm s them i nt o Cau sative verbs thu s ,

y uha shi mum t o cau se to go -

and th i s i s a verb which has all the fo rm s of the S im ple

C o nj u gati o n e g y u hoshi mu yuha shi muru y uho shi me y uho
, . .
, , ,
~

s hi me y u ha s hi mure to which c o ns i stently w i th sense f u rthe r

, , , ,
 C O MP O UN D CO N J UGATI O N 1 57

s uffixes c a n be attached F o r exam ple ra m i s a su ffix .

,
-

den oting the Passive Vo ice and i s attached to the I mperfect ,

fo rm Ther efo r e
.

u ho shi me roruru t o be cau sed to go -

y
and this verb can in its t urn be c onj u gated y uhashi me ra m m -
,

u has hi me roru rare & c and still f«

u rther s u ffixes attach ed
y
-
. .
, , ,

O bvi ou sly as the m eaning o f the ve rb increases in c om

,

le x i ty the n u mbe r o f s uffixes which c a n be attached so as

p ,

t o m ake a c oherent W o rd bec om es less To yu ho shi merom m ,

.
,

h owever it is still p o ssible to m ak e additi o ns— for instance

, ,

t o fix its tense by say the verb s uffi x hi (als o declinable )

, ,
-
,

den o ting past tim e This is attached to the c onj u nct ive
.

fo rm and we have
,

y u hashi mero rehi was cau sed to go .

The or etically it is p o ssible to m ak e even l onger f orm s than

this bu t there is nat urally in practice a l imit to the si z e
,

o f these stru ct u res When they bec om e too c om plex in

.

m eaning or to o cu mbr ou s in length s om e o ther l o cu ti on i s ,

su bstitu ted .

Th ou gh m any o f these suffixes are alm o st certainly them

selves c om p o sed o i o n e o r m ore verbs (su ch as the verbs
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
to have o r get s u m to d o or m ake )
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
a ru, t o be u ru , , , ,

and m ay in that sense be regarded as a u xiliary verbs they ,

differ fr om au xiliary verbs in o ther langu ages i n that they

cann o t stand al one bu t m u st be cl o sely attached to o ther
‘
,

verbs Th u s y ahorum to be b u rned i s n o d ou bt c om ’

.
, , ,

p osed o f y ahu + om + u m bu t the two latter verbs in su ch ,

c om p o siti o ns cann o t fairly be c ompa red with su ch i n d ep en

‘ ‘ ‘
I t seem s
’ ’ ’
dent w ords as to be or to get or to have .

theref ore m istaken to fo ll ow D r O tsu ki in treating the verb .

s uffi xes as a speci al class of A u xili ary V erbs N or is it satis .

fact o ry to inclu de them with the Teni zooha or Particles as ,

was the practice o f the earlier gramm arians They have .

n o thing at all in c omm o n with w ords l ike ni go zoo zoo & c , , , , .

,

except that they are s om eti m es m on o syllabic and a re rather ,

difficu lt to fit in am ong o ther parts of speech Mu ch the .

si mplest and su rely the m ost reas onable m eth o d is n ot to

, ,

regard them as integral parts o f speech at all but as ,

speciali z ed suffixes n o l onger fall ing within the definit ion

,

o f a w o rd by m eans o f which i s fo rm ed the C omp ound

,
1 58 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
C o nj u gati o n o f the verb This is the m eth o d ad opted he r e .
,

and the su ffixes are gr ou ped acc or ding to their fu nct io ns and
n o t acc o r ding to any c o nj ect u red identity o f f o rm .

It is i m p or tant to remem ber that the w o rds f orm ed by

the additi o n of ve rb su ffixes a r e them selves c o m plete
ve rbs The f o rm yu hoshi mum fo r instance is an entity
‘
.
, , ,

c om par able in m eaning only with to cau se to go which

is c om p o sed of i s o lated par ts I t is capable of all the .

activities o f the verb yu hu and is m o re accu r ately ,

described as a cau sative ve rb de rived from y u hu than

the cau sative f orm o f the ve rb yu hu .

B ef o re these s u ffixes are desc r ibed it sh o u ld be m ade clea r ,

that th ou gh the c om p ou nd c o nj u gati o n o f a Japanese ve rb

,

serves to exp r ess relati o ns rou ghly app ro xi m ating to rela

ti o ns o f ti m e vo ice m oo d & c as we u nder stand them it
, , ,
.
, ,

d o es n ot exp r ess exactly th o se relati o ns Fu rther the Com .

,

p ou nd C o nj u gati o n while it is n o t explicit as to cer ta i n

,

r elati o ns r egarded as essential in E nglish c a n express o ther ,

relati o ns which are n o t precisely c o nveyed by any f orm o f

an E nglish verb .

1 . S UF FI XE S D ENO TI N G V O I C E OR AS P E C T
-r ar u

I mperfect of S i mp le
F orm C onjuga ti on p lu s
P redicative
1 . ru -r a r u

2 Att r ibu tive

. ruru r ar u r u - -

3 C o nj u nct i ve re r ar e -

‘
.

m
’

4 I perfect
. o r re r ar e -

N egative Base
5 P er fect t ur e r at ur e - -
.

The two su ffi xes a r e in reality o n e They a r e attached to .

the I m perfect fo rm of verbs and whe r e that f o rm ends in ,

a the s u ffi x m is u sed where it ends in an o ther v o wel ro ru,

-

is u sed thu s ,

‘
n o hu to weep passive n a ha m n aha rum n a ha re & c
’
-
,
-
,
-
, .

‘
, , ,

ta bem to be ro m ta be rom m to be rore

’
to eat
, ,
-
,
-
,
-
,

&c
‘
.

mi r u mi —
ro m mi r am m mi &c
’

, to see , ,
-
,
-
rore , .
 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR .

There i s n ot s ufl i c i en t evi dence to S h ow whether the f orm s

c

i n y u are earlier than th o se in m n o r i s there any definite

- -
,

pro o f o f the o rigin o f ei ther f o rm B u t ther e can be little .

d ou bt that b o th are vest iges o f a c om b inat io n o f the two

‘ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’
a u xiliaries oru to be and u ru to get
, t o have
, No , , .

o ther ass u m pti o n acc o u nts s o c o m pletely for the va r i o u s u ses

o f the verb f o r m s i n qu esti o n as w ill be seen fr om the ,

f o ll owing acc ou nt o f them .

( )
1 T o fo r m P a s s i ve V e r b s .

The P assive V oi ce in E nglish m a y be regarded as a p u rely

gramm at ical device for desc ribing an act ion with ou t m en
tio n in g the agent Passive ve rbs in Japanese while they
.
,

c a n perf o rm this f u nct i o n can have va r i o u s addit i o nal s ig mi

,

fi c an c e s Thu s in
.

u to - m ru to be str u c k
to be- ra m m to be eaten
-

we have an o rdinar y passive B u t while i n E ngl ish o nly .

,

trans itive verbs can be t u rned i nt o the pass ive in Japanese ,

all ve rbs with ou t except io n can f o rm a c om p ou nd c o nj u ga

, ,

t i on w ith the su ffixes m o r raru Thu s taking an i n tr a n s i

- -

‘
.
,
’
tive verb like s hi nu to die we c a n c o nstru ct a sentence
, ,

hoho ho ni s hi n o ro

‘
m eaning the m o ther su ffers the death o f the child ’
. The
nearest rende ring o f th i s in E ngli sh i s perhaps , ,

the m other has her ch ild die ’

on the s a m e l i nes as
he had his cl o thes st o len
or he got stru c k by l ightning ,

where the w o rds ha d and got d o n ot den o te any activity o n

the part of the subj ect bu t a re m erely a m eans o f expressing
‘ ‘
the passive aspect o f the verbs stri k e and steal If we ’ ’
.

assum e s u ch f orm s as shi n ara & c to be derived by elisi o n , .

, , ,

fr om a hyp o thet ical c ombinati o n

s hi n u ( ) -
( )
ar u -
u ru (or s hi n i —
o ri - um )
di e be get
 S U FFIXE S D E N O TI N G
V O I C E O R A S PE CT 1 61

the full range o f their m ean ing bec om es easily c ompre

hen sible Fu rther exam ples o f this u s e ar e given bel ow
.
1

u k i n i fu ray ete s a heru u me pl u m bl o ss om s that had

y
n o ha na (M ) . o pened after havi ng the s u azo

fall o n them
Atoha n o mi na to zoo zoo to s a n they wi shed to cr o ss the har
to s u ru u i has hi zoo hi harete b our of Ataka bu t the ,

hazoa fu kas hi (HK ) . bridge had been p u lled d own

and the ri ver was deep
zoo re zohn u i ta i ki h zoo nu s u I had a large sum st olen by
ma re to ri (Mod )
-
. r obbers
hare zoo hi ts uzo n o ra n u i he wa s greatly disapp ointed
harerorete 6 hi u i s hi ts u bo shi by the wi thering o f his or
tari (Mod ) c hid s

An exam ple where the E nglish and Japanese i di om s are

parallel is fu rn i shed by su ch a sentence as
a ta i towareb a sengoh a hu i f ou a re a s ked the pr i ce
y y ’
hzoa n to i ro ey o (Uji) reply kw an

( )
2 To fo r m
P o t e n ti a l V e r b s .

An extended o r perhaps m ore accurately a parallel fu nc

, ,

ti o n o f the passive f o rm s is to express ability to perf orm an

acti on Thu s in cer tain c ontexts
.
,

u haru m
y
ta bero m ru
mi raruru
Th i s is at first S ight cu ri ou s bu t it i s n ot hard to u nder
,

stand when on e rem ember s that the term inati o n c ontai ns

the verb u ru (to get o btain ) and that this word is u sed in
, ,

the sam e way as the au xiliary verb ca n i n E nglish Thu s .

,

in classical m o dern Japanese we find s u ch l o cu t i o ns as 2

e— i zoo zu cann o t say

mi ru zoo ezu cann ot see
1
I t S h o u ld b e n o ti c e d th a t wh e re th e a ge n t i s n a m e d i t i s d e n ote d
,

b y the i n s tr u m e n ta l p ar ti cl e u i . F u rth er i t s ho u ld b e o b s e rv e d t ha t
,

i n J a p a n e s e a p as s i v e v e rb c a n go v ern a n o bj e c t whi ch i s d e n ot e d
‘ ,

by th e a cc u s ati v e p a rti cl e zoo

’
.

3
I t i s c u ri o u s th a t t he s e fo r m s a r e i n v a r i a b ly n e ga ti v e
. Tha t the
u s e o f e p r e fix e d t o th e p ri n c i p a l v e r b i s n o t a b o rr ow e d C hi n es e
i d i o m i s p r e tt y cle ar from i ts f re qu e n cy i n the m e d i e v a l c o llo qui a l
p re ser v e d i n th e K yoge n a n d i n d i a le c ts .

32 70 Y
1 62 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
whi le m any di alec tS pre serve f orm s l ik e
'

mo i —
e u f m em
y r o r
y o

i hi em -
i horeru
hihi —em hi hoeru
‘
Mo re o ver f o rm s lik e ari u ru (M ) c an ex i st a ri emu ’

‘
, , ,

wi ll be able to exist o cc u r o ccasi o nally in N ara pe ri o d

’

texts .

There c a n be har dly any dou bt ther ef o re that these

‘
P assive f o rm s derive their P o tential m eanings fr om the
’

verb u ru and i t i s pr obable that s om e if n o t all o f the f o rm s

,

in y um c o ntain that verb al one and n ot the verb a ru as

-
,
-

well This assu m pti o n m akes i t easy to acc ou nt for the

.

exi stence o f s u ch pairs as

to be vi s ible
to be seen to be able
, to see
to learn
to be th ou ght
and i s c o nsistent with their di fferent m ean ings (S e e als o .

u nder Trans i t i ve and Intransit ive V e r bs p , .

The p o tent i al u s e o ccu rs i n the earliest wri tings e g , . .

momochi da ru ya ni zoo mo miyu a m yri ad ab ou nding h om e

hun i n o ho mo miy u ( K ) . steads can be seen and the
f u llness o f the land c an be
seen
i mo zoo o moi i mo n eroy enu I cann o t sleep for th in ki ng o f
my l o ve
u chi toheta m i mo n ero rezu being u nable to S leep an easy
(Mak ) . S leep

An interesting extens ion of the p o tent i al u s e is to be observed

in su ch phrases as
n e n omi s hi n o hay u M
( ) . I c an bu t weep (lit . o nly on es
are cried )
koroboro u i omoy u m Ts u hu the land of Ts uku shi for ,

s hi n o hu ni zoa (M ) . which I can bu t feel a l o ng

in g
fude zoo torebo mon o ha ham if you ta k e u p a pen
‘

yo u

(To sa) nat u rally write

 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
II . S UFF I XE S F O R M I N G C A U S A T I VE VE R B S
and s hi m u -s u
,
-s a s u
,

In m o dern Japanese a cau sative ve rb c an be f orm ed from

any o ther verb in its S im ple c onj u gati on by adding to the
‘
I m perfect ( N egat ive Base ) f o rm o n e of the s uffi xes s u
’
-
,

-
s os u o r s hi mu
, V erbs thu s f o rm ed are c onj u gated acc o rding
.

to the f oll owi ng paradigm

1 .P redi cat ive
2 .Attrib u t ive
3 C o nj u nct i ve
.

4 I m perfect or
.

N egat i ve Base
5 .P erfect — s u r e s as u r e - s h im u re

There i s n o dist inct ion between su and s os u except that - -

-
s u i s added to bases ending in a and s as u t o all o thers -
,
-
.

A di st incti on c an be drawn bu t is n ot always o bserved , ,

between the f or ce of these two suffixes and that o f s hi mu -

i n the m o dern langu age : This will be m enti o ned presently .

E xamples o f cau sat i ve verbs f o rm ed as ab o ve are

n emuro s u m t o ca u se to sleep
-

y u ho s u ru t o ca u se t o go
-

to be s os um to ca u se to eat
-

u he sos u m -
t o cau se to rece ive

and als o the f orm s n emu roshi muru yu ho shi mum u heshi , ,

muru to bes hi muru & c

, , .

The hi st ory o f these suffixes is s om ewhat c om plicated bu t ,

deserves st u dy There c a n be little d ou bt that s u i s c ognate -

‘
.

wi th the verb s u m m eaning to d o bu t i t is n o t qu ite

-
,
’

clear how verbs li k e y u has u have c om e to bear the ir p r esent

m eanings In the very earliest wr itings the s u ffix s u seem s
.
-

to have an hon o ri fi c and n ot a cau sative f orce Thu s .

s a obai ni a ri ta tas hi y o
( ) y
1 standing here t o woo her
bo i u i a ri hoy ozoo se (K tru ly g o ing to and fro t o .
,

S o ng ) woo her
zoo go ta to serebo ( )
d o wh i le I a m stan di ng .

(2 ) omi n o otome hotari torus u the m aiden catches firefli es

Th e s e
1
are the w or d s of a go d ( Ya chi hoho -
n o -ha mi ) sp ea ki n g o f
him se lf .
 S UFFIXE S F O RMI N G C A US ATIVE VER B S 1 65

(3 ) a m o te r
-
o s u o m i h a
-
m i (-
K ) the H eaven . sh i ning great -

au gu st D eity -

(4 ) n o tsumas u ho (M ) . m aiden plu cking herbs

( )y
5 a m o d o m a m ora s u ho (M ) m aiden g u
. a r ding the u pland

fields
( )
6 s u m ego mi tachi n o y osa shi the harvest which the S o ve

mats u ramu mi toshi ( R e s ) reign G o ds will best o w

(7) s hi n u bo se zoaga s e (M ) rem em ber m y bel oved
.
,

h o n o emi u i emo s hi s hi hora beca se s m iled w i th the

( )
8 u y o u
u i (M ) . sm ile o f a fl ower
(9 ) A m e n o
-
o s hi o m -
i m i -
n o His A u g u stness A m e n o -

mi hoto ome n o uki has hi o sh i o m i m i standing o n the -

u i ta ta shi te ( K ) . fl o ating bri dge o f Heaven

( )
1 0 oso b o s h i s hi s hi s hi K
( ) the w. i ld b o a r which he was

pleased (to sh oo t ) .

In all the ab ove examples o ne c an t race n o ca u sative

m ean ing bu t only an hon orifi c sense and that (e g in 2
, , . .

and 3) is s om eti m es d oubtful J u dgi ng by anal ogy wi th .

I

cau sative verbs fo rm ed from adj ect ives s u ch as hatamum , ,

s hi romu ru the cau sative elem ent even o f s hi muru itself

‘
, , ,

seem s to res ide in muru (mi u ru to get and n ot in shi ,

’
-
,

which is n o dou bt a part o f —s um I t i s the r efo r e p o ssible .

that the verbs in s u had o riginally n o cau sative m eaning

-
,

bu t wer e m erely slightly e m phatic so that n o ts u ma s u ho ,

w ou ld perhaps c o rresp ond to m aiden who d o st plu ck herbs

S ir E S at ow o n the o ther hand c o nsiders that they are
.
, ,

cau sative ve rbs by o rigi n first by extensi on u sed h o n ori

,

fi c ally and then by a c om mon pr o cess of degradati o n l o sing

,

b o th cau sative and hon orifi c valu e E ither o f these explana .

t ions i s better than the device of m any Japanese gram

m arians who get o ver the di fficu lty by styling these f o rm s
‘
,

lengthened w ords (engen ) and letting it go at that

’
.

P erhaps the existence o f su ch a f o rm as y osos u (v E xa mple .

6 ) is evi dence that s u existed fi rst as a cau sative terminati on ,

since it is f o rm ed from y osu which is in its t u rn a cau sative,

(o r m o r e st r ictly a transitive ) verb derived fr om y om to

2
,

I n ago ho tobo s hi ts u
‘
m y c hi ld h as fi o wn ,
' th ere
c an b e
1

n e i th er h o n o ri fi c n o r c a u sa ti v e s e n s e ; b u t this i s a
p o e m by O m i
O k u r a wh os e l a n gu a ge th o u gh v i vi d i s o fte n c u ri o u s
, .

2 S e e t h e s e c ti o n o n Tra n s a n d I n tra n s V erb s , p 1 9 9

. . . .
 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRA MMAR
Fu r ther it will be seen fr om the two foll owin g
’
appr o ach .
,

qu o tati ons (b o th fr om the s o ngs in the K oji hi which are the ,

earliest available s ou r ce) that a tru e cau sative and a qu asi

hon orifi c f o rm o f the sam e verb c an exist t ogether
zoo go hes eru os u hi n o s uso the sk i rt o f the r obe which
(K ). I am wearing
hi to n i ari s ebo tachi ho he ma if th ou wert a m an O h l I ,

s hi zoo hi nu hi s e mashi zo o
, wou ld gird a swor d on thee
-
,

(K ). O h ! I w ou ld cl o the thee
with garm ents
‘
Here we have form ed fr om hi m to wear the two f o rm s
, ,
’

hi — s u ru and he s u -
.

It will be n oticed that wi th the ex c ep tl on of the two l ast

,

f orm s all the verbs in s u qu oted ab ove are f o rm ed fr om

,
-

verbs with Base ending in o and that their c o nj u gat i o n is -

,

in several cases s u su) so —shi )

-
se thu s differing
,
-
,
-
, ,
-

from the pa r a di gm (s u s uru s e s e s ure) given ab o ve for

, , , ,

the tru e cau sat ive s uffi x .

There are h owever s om e fu rther except io ns wh i ch are

f o rm ed from verbs wi th base n ot ending in o These are of -
.

interest in that they S h ow the o ri gin o f certain anci ent wo rds

which ex i st u nchanged in the m o dern langu age In the N ara .

per io d we find in addi t io n to hes u

, ,

f orm ed fr om nu ru to sleep ,

s uru , to d o
mi ru to see
,

The wo rds
o moos u fr om omou th i nk , to
hihos u hi hu to hear ,

s hi ros u s hi m to kn o w ,

oros u oru to weave

,

are als o f ou nd either al one or c om bined with mes u as

, ,
in
omos hi mes u (obos hi mes u) hi hoshi m es u s hi roshi mes u , , .

O ther a r chaic f o rm s of si m ilar derivati o n are

kakos hi a sw o r d fr om ha hu to gird on
, , ,

tora shi a b ow ,
I
tom to p u ll take , , ,

miheshi cl o thi ng hi m to wear

, , ,

‘
The w or d tos hi w c ri gi n a lly m ea n t h arv es t
’
1
y ea r h i h o , ,
 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
In the Kam aku ra peri o d h owever s hi muru reverts to its , ,

o r i gi nal u s e as a cau sat ive In w ork s like the Hei he M on o .

ga t ar i fo r i nstance i t i s very rare to find i t wi th an hon orifi c

, ,

val u e
uto zoo n ara zoas hi mu he m ade him learn p o etry .

s hu hu u n no muru
s hi hora s hi what predest inat io n cau ses
tohoro s hi ha + ara s hi ma to ta k e place
m , c an s . o f a ru )
ji np u s otto ui ho bura s hi mu , he p o u red his blessings o n
hotohu soto ui a razoa ru (cau s . di stant lands and his v irt u e
o f ho bu ru
) wa s spread abr o ad
Ret urn ing n ow to s u —m sos u m w e find i t i n the H ei an ,
-
,

per io d firmly establ i shed as a suffix of which the sense is

prim arily cau sat ive Thu s .

me n o oun a n i o dzu hete y o shi he gave i t (the child) to his

n azoa s u (Tak e ) wife to br ing u p
hi to domo i do shi motomos a they sent pe ople ou t i n
s u redo u s eni heri (Mak ) . search bu t i t had van i shed
,

AS a r ule the conjugationi s as stated ab ove of the m o del s u ,

-
,

-
s u ru se , s u re b u t it is n o t s o c o nstant as the gra mm ari ans
-
,
-
,

pretend and there a re m any except io ns in the class ical peri o d

,
.

S u ch f orm s for i nstance are f ou nd as

, ,

‘
I mpf in s hi n ot s e ’

‘ (
n a ra zoo shi -ta ru cau se to learn ) .
,

n i ozoas hi te ( cau se to s m ell )

’
-
s hi se
‘
,
’

f u h a s a nu ( ‘
ca u se t
-
o bl o w ) s o s e ,

n arazoo s a mu ( cau se t o learn )

’
-
so se
‘
,

s es a s u mon o ( cau se t o d o )
’
Att su se ,

which bel ong to a c omplete c onj ugat ion of the mo del s u s u , ,

so s hi s o (so 4 grade )
, , ,
-
.

I t is di fficu lt to rec oncile the two but i t seem s pr obable ,

that the earliest f o rm s are th o se in s u s u so s hi s e and

1
, , , , ,

that these were gradu ally assimilated to f orm s of the L ower

B igra d e C o nj u gat i on There i s n o reason to expect rigi dity
.

i n these m atters and the change fr om qu a drigra d e t o lower

bigrad e is very c om m o n as the f o ll ow ing l i st wi ll sh ow , .

I t i s t r u e th a t i n th e K oj i hi s o n gs qu ote d
1 ab o ve w e h a v e ta ta s hi
an d hoyozo o s e b u t i n th e o th er c as e s th e f o rm s
, a re a ll r e gu l ar q u a d r i

gr a d e co n j .
 S UF F I X E S F O RMI N G C A US ATIVE VER B S 1 69

N a ra P eri od Hei a n P eri od

(q u ad ) (l ower bigr a de )
os ori (fea r ) I m perf os ore .

s u s u mu (advance ) Attr s u s umu ru .

s a mo togu (prevent ) s a mo to u m
g
ho huro —bo (hide) Base ha hu re ba -

zoos u ro ji (f o rget ) -
zoas u re ji -

There i s n o d oubt that p o etry and m etrical p r o se (which ,

o n e m u st rem e m ber we r e the chief p u rp o ses fo r which the

,

p ur e written langu age was em pl oyed for cent u ries) are

favou rable to changes o f this s ort .

A further pecu liarity i s the exi stence of an i ndependent

verb f orm s a su as i n ,

hi to ui s hi ho ru behi f uru ma i will n o t allo w pe o ple to be

zoo s ase i
j (G ) . have in that way
o ki o toho n o huruma todo I st o pped the carri age o f a
y
mete mono i i an ai s as eto ru go o d l o ok ing m an and ask ed
(M a k ) . him to tell m e (lit speaking .

cau sed him to i nf orm

As a cau sat ive f o rm o f the au xiliary verb s uru w e S h ou ld
expect se s osu ru wh i ch i s i n fact the u su al f o rm bu t in
- -
, ,

the M ony bshil we find s es u (in an hon orifi c sense) foll owed
in later writ ings as j u st m enti o ned by s os u ru l ower bigra de
, ,
-
,

( as a ca u sative ) It see m s pr o bable that s o s.u m and ses a s u -

ru devel o ped i ndependently wi th a S light difference in ,

m eaning j u st as in the case o f si m ilar pairs derived fr o m

,

ve ry c omm on verbs Thu s we have .

A rchai c L a ter
‘ ’
s u ru , do s es u
‘
mi ru mes u
’
S ee
‘
,

hi m
’
wear
, hes u
n i ru resemble ’

em
’
get
‘
,
’
n u ru , S leep n as u

The di fference i s between direct and indi r ect cau sat i on

‘
,
‘
e g ki s u m is to p ut cl o th es on a per s o n hi sasuru is to ’
. .
,

cau se a pers o n to wear cl o thes (v als o Trans and Intrans ’

. . .

V erbs) .

327°
 HI STO RICAL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
The anal ogy revealed by th i s table i s fairly c o nvi ncing ,

and i f it is c o rr ect we m ay assu m e that s as u was fi rst of a ll -

an independent verb which gradu ally by u sage becam e a

,

verbal suffix first o f the 4 th grade c o nj u gati o n and later

, ,

o f the 2 n d O nce we have two sets o f f o rm s i t i s nat u r al

.
,

to expect c o nfu si o n at a later peri o d for the si m ple reas o n ,

.

that o rdinary pe ople cann o t be expected to o bey ru les d is

c overed for them l ong after thei r death by extra o rdinary
pe ople like gramm ar i ans s o that we need n ot be pu t o u t
by s u ch irr egu larities as the exi stence S i de by S ide o f two
typ es of c onj u gati ons for on e su ffix The fact that s om e .

verbs tak e s u m o nly i nstead o f s a s uru i s n o dou bt du e t o

-
,
-
,

avoidance o f du plicat io n of the a s ou nd— th u s y uha s uru ,

rather than y u hosas u m .

We m ay c o nclu de the discu ssion of cau sat ive verbs by an

acc ou nt of their vari ou s m eanings
In the first place there are obv10 u s d i fferences l n m ean ing
, ,

dependent on c o ntext or on the sense o f the verb from which

the cau sat i ve is f o rm ed Thu s in .

u mo zoo has hi ra s u m to m ak e a h orse ru n

ho n e zoo u to s hi mu ru t o have a g ong stru c k
ho zoo n a hos u ru t o m ak e a child c ry
mi dzu zoo n omas u ru t o g ive (s om e one) water to dri nk
hoto zo o s hi ro s uru t o let (a pers o n ) k n ow s om ething

w e have vari ou s gradat io ns o f m ean i ng i e , . .

directly cau s ing an act i on

i ndirectly cau sing an act i o n
participating in an acti o n
perm i tting an act io n
I t i s im p ortant to reali z e th i s wi de range of m eanings ,

becau se a nu m ber o f i di om at i c u sages are du e to the desir e

t o express on e o f the m prec i sely
‘ .

It is here for instance that the di st inct ion if any between

, , , ,

1 I t m ay be w t
o rt h n o ti n g h ere th a , - o n r e a i n g th e o rks o f d w
J p
a a n e s e gra m m a ri a n s I ,ou n fm y se d lf
u n ab e t o o o tl
h e i r e la f ll w
c d c v
b o r a te a b s tr a t i s u s si o n s o f th e C a u s a ti e a n d a n i n tri a t e as s i c cl
l d w d
fi c a ti o n u n t i i t a n e
,
u p o n m e t h a t th e ri t e r s w
e r e t ryi n
g to w
c l d
re a h b y a n a y s i s c i s ti n ti o n s
‘ ’
w c l
hi h i n E n g i s h a r e e p i i t i n th e x lc
‘ ‘
w dor s m ake c ’
au s e ,
,
’
le t , & c I t w as a s triki n g e m o n s tr a ti o n
. d
o f th e a dv t
a n a ge s o f a n a n a yti l cl
a n gu a ge .
1 72 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
Yori tomo Yos hi ts u ne wo S hite Yo ritom o cau sed Yoshitsu n e
Yos hi n o ho zoo s emes hi mu to attac k Yo shin ak a
Chatei Yos hi sada wo mes hi te the C ou rt summo ned Y o shi
Ky 5 to ui hoerashi mu (haero sada bac k to Ky o t o
s hi mu to cau se to re tu rn )

F u rther exam ples of cau sat ive u ses a r e appended and ,

attent ion i s called to the E nglish render ings which ar e ,

designed to S h ow how m any l o cu ti ons are represented in

Japanese by th i s on e f o rm
y a m a sa to zo o hi to ko s a s e jl to in the m o u ntain village I d o

omozoo nedo tozoo ru ru hoto z o n o t W i sh t o k eep pe o ple

ntoko n o riy u hu (S hin Ko k in )

. from c om ing but visit ors
grow rare
zo o re u i eshi meshi y amo ts uto the m ou ntain ivy which you
(M ) (e s hi mum to cau se to
.
-
, gave t o m e
have = to give )
zoare u i hoe n o ki kos e s o let m e n o t hear thy vo ice
( K o kin ).

G hei u i hon e zoo toras u (Ta k e ) he gave m oney to O kei

‘
s hi dzu ho n i jigui s es a s ey o to they said All ow u s to
z o mashihem ( HK ) . c ommit su i ci de qu ietly
Ki s a ki zoo emas etatemats uro i n o r der to m ak e H er Ma
mu tote (HK ) . j esty s m ile
G enta ni i hi ts uho sete letting G enta get his breath
Yori hon e mo hi za n o fushi zoo Yorika n e to o having had
,

i sos ete hora ho hi hi ri te u se his k nee—j oint S h o t thr ough

,

n iheri disem b owelled hi m self and

peri shed
The hon orifi c u s e o f cau sat ive fo rm s is n ow p r actically
o bs o lete except o f c ou rse i n stere o typed phrases which have
,

su rvived in the m o der n langu age ; bu t in the H eian and

Kam aku ra peri o ds s u was freely u sed in an ho n orifi c sense .

Thu s
miy o dzu has o meshi te hudo s umm oned attendants and ,

m on o sahon a mesa su (Ma k ) . part o ok o f fru it and fish

ts u hoi u i r ohu toro s es as e he c o ndescended to give the
tamau m essengers a reward

( Here w e have s a se w ith an hono r ifi c val u e attached t o a tru e

cau sat ive toro se

,
 S UF F I XE S F O RMI N G C A US ATIVE VER B S 1 73
F u ku ha r a zoo to to s e to mai s hi when he depar ted from Eu
tohi (HK ) . kuhara
s hi baro hu on hohoro zoo s hi deigning to set y ou r mind at
dzum es a s e ozoas hi mo shi te -
rest for a while
( H K )
.

The tendency is always for these hon orifi c terminat io ns to

l o se all o r m o st o f thei r hon orifi c valu e and w e c onstantly ,

find them r einfor ced in s om e way I t will be n o ticed that .

in the last two exam ples— from the Heihe M on ogatari — the
cau sative is f o ll owed by a p u rely hon orifi c verb and this
is tru e o f all cases where in that wo rk a cau sat ive f o rm i s , ,

u sed as an h o n orifi c .

An o ther m eth o d o f reinf orcing the hon orifi c is by adding

the passive form thu s ,

‘
a ra s ero m m = o m + s u + ra m ru m eaning S i m ply to be
’

and a nu mber o f these du plicated fo rm s su rvive e g i rasero

‘ ‘
. .
,

m m f r om i ru E to be p r esent bsero m m to say whi ch

’ ’

, , , ,

in mo dern c oll o qu ial have bec om e i rassharu os sham The ,

.

c omm o n ve rb n o s oru of which the i m perative f orm n as ai,

(n a s are) is so fam ili ar is an o ther exam ple of su rvival O ther

, .

f o rm s su ch as a s obasoruru hudos aruru are c o nfined t o

, , ,

writing or stilted speech .

III . S UF FI XE S D ENO TI N G T E N S E ,

or si m il ar as p ec t s o f th e Ve r b

In c onsidering these s uffixes i t i s im p ortant to n o t ice that

they d o n ot serve to define su ch relatively prec i se tim e
relati ons as c an be expr essed in E nglish Thu s the suffix .
,

m u is generally described as a f u t u re s uffix bu t y u homu

‘ ‘
,

(yuhan yuhb) c an be translated

’
b o th he will go and he
‘
,

S i m ilarly
’ ’
will p robably go and even he probably go es , .

the su ffixes ts u and n u a r e u su ally described as f o rm ing

a past tense bu t i t w ou ld be m ore accu rate to say that
they are hist ori cally at any rate affirm ative suffi xes and
, ,

that they are o nly i ncidentally tense suffixes .

These dist incti o ns are best br ought o ut in treating o f the

suffi xes separ ately bu t it is i nteresting to n o te in a general
,

way the lack of precisi o n which characteri z es Japanese verbs

in this respect The fact that the so call ed tense fo rm s
.
-

o riginally expressed degrees o f certainty rather than stages

1 74 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o f t im e will I bel i eve be f ou nd by c om parative ph il o l o g i sts
, ,

to have s om e beari ng u p o n the a ffi liati o ns of Japanese .

F or c o nvenience the tense su ffixes m ay be gr ou ped as f o ll ows

A AFF I RMATI VE S UFF I X E S
. t s u and t a r i
’

nu
'
B PA S T TE N S E S UFF I XE S
. ki and k e r i
C F U TU RE T E N SE S U F F I X E s
. : m u and m e r i
b e s hi
A AFF I R MATI VE S UFF I XE S
. .

1 T S U and T A R I
. .

The paradigm of tsu is as f oll ows

C onj u n cti ve
of S i mple
F or m G anj u p lu s . E xa mples
Pre di ca ti v e tsu yu hi ts u J
A ttrib uti v e ts u ru yu hi ts u r u S u ffix e s a dd e d to
Co n j u n c ti v e te yu hi te y u ki c o n j u n c t i‘
, ve
I m p er f e c t (N eg B . as e ) te y u hi te form o f yu ku , t o
Pe r f e c t tsu r e y u hi ts u re go
’
.

I m p e r a ti v e te yu hi tey o J
The m eaning o f this suffix is n ot easy to explai n bu t i t i s ,

clear that its p rim ary S ignificance is an affirm at ive o n e I t .

signi fies that the acti on or state described by the verb i s

defin ite and c omplete and it m ay alm o st be regarded as ,

c om plem entary to the negat ive su ffix H owever fr om the .

,

a ffirm ative u s e where i t assert s the defin ite perf orm ance of
,

an acti on or the definite existence of a state o r pr operty it ,

i s bu t a S h o rt step t o asserting the defin i te c om plet io n o f an

acti on & c thence devel oping a sign ificance of past t im e
, .
, .

The f oll owing exam ples i llu strate the earl i est u ses o f ts u
hotozoori n o goto mo arozu ft i s indeed n ot i n acc o rdance
a ri ts u (R e s ) with reas on
zoaga hoi zoo n agus ome hone m y desire cann o t be a p
ts u (M ) . peased
n ao s hi n ega i ts u chi tose n o I st ill d o pray for a th ou sand
i n ochi zo o (M ) .years of life
hi mi go mifune n o tsun o s hi i f o nly I had h o ld of the r o pe
tori tebo (M ) . o f thy b o at

n o go ho heru ta chi u i n o ri te w ou ld that I c ou ld be the

mo i zooi te shi go mo (M ) swo rd that th ou weare st . .

and be girt arou nd thee

1 76 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
These are n ot f ou nd in o rdinary m o dern pr o se There are .

als o f o rm s su ch as tebo temu tenu wh i ch c o ntain the negat ive

, , ,

base to and the I m perative f orm tey o i s f ou nd as i n

, ,

n o n ora s hi te y o (M ) t ell m e y ou r nam e

-
.

where there can be n o qu est io n of tense .

Typical exam ples o f the earliest u ses o f te are

‘
n o ohi te ts uma zoo n o shi (K ) apart fr om thee (lit p u tting
. .

thee asi de ) I have n o m ate ’

K a s uga n o huni n i kuzva hea ring that in the land o f

s hi me zoo a ri to hi hi te Kasu ga there wa s a l o vely
i ta do zoo os hi hi ro hi zoore m aid I p u shed o pen her
i ri ma shi (K ) . d oor and entered
H ere we have a fo rm which serves a p u rp o se anal o go u s t o
that o f a pa rt iciple in E nglish bu t it is n o t exclu sively either
,

a past or a present participle Thu s in the sentence .

,

oy o s higo ri te y ori te mi ru u i ast o nished he went u p and

ts uts u n o n aha hi ho ri ta ri l ooked and (saw that ) the
(Ta k e ) i ns i de o f the ste m was sh i n
mg
the w ords aya s higari te and yori te m ight be translated be ing
ast o n i shed and appr o aching while the f orm hi ho ri tari
’ ’

i tself i s (v tori bel ow) an elisi o n of hi hori te ari = i s o r was

.
,
-
, ,

sh i ning The tense depends on the c o ntext

. .

The f oll owi ng passage illu strates to in three different u ses

honcho e zoata ri te s hi n obi te cr ossing o ver to th i s c ou ntry
Ky o e n obori heru ga S etts u he secretly went u p to the
n o huni I madzu u i ts u hi te Cap ital and he has arr ived
s bro (HK ) . at I m a dz u in the pr ovi nce
o f S etts u
‘
I n zoa tari te wh i ch might be rendered having cr o ssed o ver
,
’

we have a perfect tense In shi n obi te h i ding hi m self there

’
.
, ,

i s an u nd oubted present participle In ts u hi te we have a .

c onj u nct ive u se by whi ch ts uhi i s b r ought int o relati o n wi th

,

an au xili ary verb (vi z s brb) . .

A very c u ri ou s u se o f te i s fou nd in the N ara peri o d wi th ,

the c o nj u nctive f o rm of the negative suffix zu in su ch f o rm s ,

as mi zute omozoozute S o far as I kn ow the r e is n o o ther

,
.

decl inable verb suffi x wh ich thu s fo ll ows zu Th i s fact and .

,
 S U FFIXE S D E N O TI N G
TE N S E 1 77

the freedom with which te c o m b i nes wi th adj ect ives seem ,

to S h ow that to had already in the N ara peri o d an i n d ep en

dent character .

The c omb i nati on zu te d oubtless gave rise to the negat ive

-

f o rm do s om et im es u sed as an alternative to zu as i n yuhade

, ,

for y uhazu .

The vari ou s u ses of te m a y be c o nven i ently s umm ar iz ed

as fo ll ows
(1 ) S uffi x e d t overbs i t can f o rm a part iciple as i n
‘
, ,
’
o r having g o ne .

( )
2 S u f
fi x e d t o adj ect i ves in the i r adve r b i al f o r m s it e u
ables the adj ect ives to be u sed in a part icipial c onstru cti o n ,

as I n
omos hi r ohu te be ing a mu s i ng
zoaru hu temo ta ka shi th ou gh bad i t i s clear ,

(3) S uffi x e d to verbs or adj ectives it has f orm ed m any

adverb i al phr ases which are n ow stere o typed su ch as honete
, , ,

s u bete s a te ts u i te motte
, ,
In the He ian peri o d a n um ber o f
,
.

these f o rm s o ccu r wh ich have S ince bec om e o bs olete e g , . .

o dote ( = how
g ot oh u te behu te
,
and even
, n o r why
) It i,s .

p o ssible that i hode is on e o f these fo rm s a n d = i ha te -

.

(4 ) C ombined with part icl es it f o rm s the S pecial iz ed w ords

tote and n i te (q v u nder P art i cles)
. . .

(5 ) C o m b i ned w i th the a u xil i ary verb a r i it f o r m s to r i

=
( te ori ) which m ay be regarded as a c om p ou nd tense suffix
, .

TAR I The last nam ed u s e (5 ) o f the suffix te s o o n becam e

.
-

s o frequ ent as t o c o nst i t u te an independent tense s uffi x tori , .

In c o ns idering this f o rm it m u st be rem e mbered that i t i s

,

parallel with
s eri s hi + o ri s hi be i ng a cau sative s uffix

za ri zu + ari zu being a negat ive s uffix

heri hi + ori hi being a tense s u ffix

meri mu + a ri mu being a fu t ure tense su ffix
and its c o nj u gat io n l ik e theirs i s that o f the verb a ri viz
, , , .

tori as i n y u hi tari
to m y u hi toru hi to
to ri u hi tori s hi
y
ta ro u hi tora mu
y
to re y u hi tare b a

A 8 .
1 78 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The m ean ing o f tori in any gi ven c o ntext depends u p on the
m eaning o f the verb ori It c an as a ru le be taken t o m ean .

the persistence (oru) o f an act o r state which has been c om

p l e te d ( )
te and t o that extent m a y be regarded as f o r m ing
‘
,

a perfect tense In su ch a phrase as n ohori tam y u ki the

.
,

rem ai ning sn ow — i e the sn ow which is (o ru) rem aining

. .

— there is n o q u est i o n o f t i m e m
(n o h or i
‘
te
) S i ilarly i n ar etar.u

y o do a deserted h om e the difference i n translat io n

’ ’

, , ed -

for i ng ) represents a d ifference in v o ice n ot tense n ohoru

’
-
, ,

be ing transitive oreru intransitive ,

.

P erhaps the best pr oo f that tori d o es n o t o f i tself c o nst it u te

a past tense is the fact that i n early writings i ts i mpe r ative
f o rm 15 f ou nd thu s tori homete ohi ta re k eep i t S hu t u p
.
, ,

The f oll owing fu rther exam ples will serve to m ak e clear

the m eani ng o f tori .

( )
1 h i m i h o s o zoa zoo s u r e to m y ou n o d o u bt will have fo r

ra me g o tten
(2 ) Yo s umi ho etori (M ) I have got Ya sum ik o
.

( )
3 H i to m ar o n o h u n ar i ta re d o th o u gh H i to m a r o has passed

u to n o hoto todoma reru ha away the art of P o etry re

n o (K o kin P ref ) . m ains
.

(4 ) Yori tomo zoo moto zo o fu Yoritom o was f o rm erly fat ,

tori tari shi go hon o bu t thr o u gh anxi ety

hoto zoo a nzu m hodo u i ab ou t th i s m atter he has
o s eto m z o (HK gr o wn thin
y .

( )
5 t oh o n i O hy o n o e zoo i n the alc o ve there hangs a
ka kotari (Mo d ) . p i ct u r e by O kyo
(6) ra hhzoa chi u i chi ri s hihi fallen bl o ss om s are scattered
tori (Mo d ) . o ver the gr o u nd

It i s curi ou s to n o te that in the m o dern c o ll o qu i al these

f o rm s are s om et im es res olved i nt o their o riginal elem ents .

Th u s we have
C oll n ohotte
. n ohori te
n ohotta n ohori to n ohori ta ri
bu t n ohotte o ru n ohori te a ru n ohori ta ri

wh ile sentences (5 ) and (6) bec om e respect ively

toho ui Ohy o no e ga ho hete o ru

ra hhzoa go chi u i chi ri s hi i te o ru

Alth ou gh in the f oregoing acc ou nt of the s uffi x ts u and

1 80 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E G RAMMAR
rather m ore emphatic than nu O n e au th ority states that .

ts u descr ibes s u bj ectively and n u obj ectively I t m ay be s o

‘
. .

N u i s i dent i fied by J ap an es e gram m arians w i th i n u ( to

go bu t the gr ou nds fo r their c o nj ect u r e are sl ight .

There i s j u st as goo d r eas o n for su pp osing that we have in

n u and its f or m s u i n o & c vestiges o f an obs olete verb
‘
.
, , ,
’
nu to be .

The m eani ngs o f nu in c om p o s iti o n tend to bear out this

s upp o siti on I t i s perhaps even m ore certainly than ts u n o t
.
, ,

prim arily a tense s uffi x bu t m erely o n e whi ch definitely

assert s the perfo rm ance o f an act or the existence o f a state .

Th i s sense i s best perceived in s u ch exa m ples as the fol

l owing :
( ) 1 n o n oro s a n e (M ) . do tell m e y ou r na m e
m r o mu M
(2 ) a chi ho i n u ( ) . he will wait and yearn
( )
3 ts u h i zoo h en i ts u ts u (M the m oon is waning
(4 ) m i zo o h o i t o t om o u i udzu alth ou gh the b o dy is b u ri ed ,

mori nu redo (R e s ) &c .

I n ( 1 ) we have an i m perat ive in (2 ) a fu t ure in (3) and , ,

(4 ) a present tense There c an be n o qu esti o n o f any past

.

ti m e significance It i s har dl y p o ssible to give in translat io n

.

the exact valu e of n u u nder su ch c ondi t ions Its f o rce can .

s om et im es be sh own by u sing su ch phrases as to fini sh o ff ’

‘
,

t o eat u p where the w ords o ff and u p have an e m phatic

’

val u e In m o dern c oll o qu ial Japanese f orm s in n u are

‘
.
,

represented by the w ord shi ma u ( to finish ) s o that for ’

‘
,

i nstance hi en u bec om es ki ete s hi mau

’

, fade away L ike .

ts u h owever n u tends t o acqu ire an i ncidental tense s ign i

, ,

fi c an c e Thi s I think is partly acc ou nted for by the fact

.
, ,

that i t i s an easy transiti o n fr om regarding an act as p o si

tively perf o rm ed to regarding it as c om pletely perf orm ed ;
bu t the principal r eas on seem s to be th at in i ts early stages
Japanese has n o special apparatu s for expressing dist inct i ons
o f t im e and this bec om es a sec ondary fu ncti on of f orm s
,

pri mari ly u sed for o the r p u rp o ses In translati o n int o E ngli sh .

,

o f c ou rse s u ch distincti o ns cann o t be av o ided ;bu t i t m u st n ot

,

therefore be assum ed that they a re expli c i t in the o rigi nal .

The argu m ent is n ot eas ily illu strated by examples separ

ated from their c ontext but it wi ll pr obably be agreed by ,

any on e stu dying early Japanese texts —especiall y such nar

 S U FFIXE S D E N O TI N G
TE N S E 181

ra ti ve pieces as the Ta hetori M on oga tari and the Tos a N i ki

th at distincti ons o f tim e were n o t u pperm o st in the writers

’

m inds In su ch a passage for exam ple as

.
, ,

Te u i u chi i rete u chi n i mo H e t oo k her in his hands and

chi te hi n u M e n o oun o n i
. br ou ght her h om e H e gave .

a dzu hete y oshi n o zoosu her to his wife to bring u p

. .

I to os o n o herebo ho u i i rete A s she was very tiny they

yas hi n a u . K on o ho zoo p u t her in a basket to bring
mi ts u hete n ochi hogan e o ru her u p Afte r he had f ou nd .

to he zoo m i ts u huru hoto ha so the child he f ou nd bam b o o s ,

h ari nu Ka kute ohi n a 3 63 6

. c ontaining g o ld t im e after
u ta ha u i n o r iy uhu (Ta k e ) ti m e and so the o ld m a n
y ,

s oo n grew rich .

which is part of a narrat ive c omm encing o nce u p o n a tim e ’

it cann o t be sai d that as between the verbs hi nu yoshi

, ,

n a zoo s u hosa n ari n u and n ariy u hu there is any difference

, ,

in tense The u se of a term like hist orical present d o es ’

.

n o t rem o ve the diffic u lty It m erely adds to term in ol ogy

. .

The fact is that in the early langu age at least Japanese

, ,

verbs are neu t ral as to tense O n the o ther hand their .

,

variati ons in f orm d o appear to express degrees of e mphasis .

The f o rm s
u hama pr obably g o es
y
y u hu go es
y u hi nu
d o es go
y u hi tsu

appear to c orresp o nd to gradat io ns in the c o nsc iou sness o f

the speak er degrees o f certainty i n hi s m ind as to the c om
,

l t i o n o f the act described by the verb There i s a s ign i

p e .

fi c an t parallel in the frequ ent u s e o f e m phatic particles like

n o n zo and hos o which see m t o r epresent an ascending
, ,
‘
n o mu ) i s pr obably the fu t u re
’

scale of certainty N an .

pr bability f rm f the s uffix u nder discu ss io n dating

( o ) o o n u , ,

fr om a ti m e when n u wa s an independent verb It m u st be

‘ ‘
.

dist ingu ished fr om the adverb n on how or what wh i ch

’ ’

, , ,

is a c ont racti o n o f n oni .

The f oll owing examples S h ow characteri stic u ses of dif

ferent f orm s of n u

( )
1 P red i cative n u ,
-
.

i su ki hota buhi n u (M ) the m oo n has g one down

.
1 82 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
homori ha m s ari hu reba w that S pring has escaped
f y
u u n o

n a hazori s hi tori m o hi n a hi n u fro m the clu tches o f Winter ,

s a hozori s hi ha n a mo s o here the bi r ds which did n o t sing

do (M ) . have c om e and are singing ,

the fl owers which did n ot

bl oom are bl o oming bu t ,

(2 ) Attrib u t ive nuru ,

-
.

ki sa kata n o ome shi roshi nuru m y L o rd who d o th ru le i n

hi mi (M ) . Heaven
( )
3 P erfect n u
, re -
.

hon o mi n e zoo n obori n u reba i f you ascend th i s ridge the

so n zen s eha i n o ko ky o m e n o fu ll extent o f the Three
mae ni a ki raho n ari (HK ) Th o u sand Wo rlds 15 clearly
.

visible to the eye

( )
4 I m perfect n a ,
-
.

a m a k oete i m as hi n o bo (M ) S h ou ld yo u cr o ss and dwell

y .

o ver the h i lls

hohoro zoo hana ui n o so bo if you m ake the heart a

n ori na mu fl ower it will bec om e a
fl ower
( )
5 C o nj u nct i ve u i ,
-
.

ts u hi zoo hen i tsu ts u the m oon is wan ing

L ike te the c onj u nct ive f orm u i o ccu rs with o ther c o nj u ga
,

tion al s uffixes i n s u ch c o m b i nati o ns as ni shi n ihi n i kori -

,
-
,
-
.

It i s even in the earl i est wr itings f ou nd c om b ined with te

, ,

i tself i n su ch f o rm s as nari ni te (e g n o ri n i te arozu y a

, . .

and n ori ni tari .

B PA S T T E N S E S UFF I X E S
. . K1 and KE R I .

The suffix hi attached to the c onj u nctive fo rm

, of verbs ,

is u sed t o den o te a past tense Its paradigm is .

S ufi xes whi c h a re a dded

,

to the C onju n cti ve form

of the S i mple
C onj uga ti on E x a mples
ki
s hi S u ffix e s dd e d a
t o c o n j u n c ti v e
f‘orm o f y u ku’
,

t o go .

yu hi s hi ha ba
1 84 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
f o rm o ccu rs th ough rarely i n the N ara peri o d in su ch c o m ;
, , ,

bin a tio n s as mo hozu hebo hay oi hemas hi and i t is

pr o bable that the c o mmon f orm hemu is a c om b inati o n of
th i s f o rm wi th mu the fu tu re suffi x E g . . .

i ni shi e u i a ri hemu hi to pe o ple who n o d ou bt lived in

anci ent t im es
mu ha shi hos o N a ni zoa to i zva o f ol d i t was i t see m s called
, ,

reheme N an iwa

The alternat ive i s to regard heba hemashi hemu & c as , , , .

,

c o ntract io ns o f hera ba ( = hi + ara bo) heramas hi hera mu & c , , , .

( bel o w u nder KE R I ) Argu m ents for th i s by anal o gy

v
.
, .
,

with su ch pairs as y oha ra mu and y akomu are n o t c o nvi ncing , .

E ven in verse y oharo mas hi d o es n o t bec om e y ohemas hi

, .

We m ay theref o re c onj ectur e that the c omp o s ite c o nj u ga

ti o n S h own ab o ve can be res olved int o two o riginal gr ou ps ,

as f oll ows
P redicat ive KI
Attrib u t i ve KI
C onj u nctive
I m perfect o r KE
’

N egat i ve B ase
‘
The P erfect f o rm s hiha i s cu ri ou s I t Seem s to bel o ng to
’

, , .

the s hi series bu t its term inal syll able ha has n o parallel

, , ,

i n o ther perfect f o rm s as rec o rded There are h owever .

, ,

i n ex i st i ng sp ok en di alects cases o f perfect f o rm s ending

,

in ha .

E xa mples the u s e of s hi ha o ccu r in the earl iest writ ings

of

hi ta reri to i i s hiha bo (M ) when they said he had c om e

.

a m a n i u hi s hi ha ba (M ) when we went t o the h i lls

y y .

s hi ri zoheta ma e to m 6s hi s hi ha th ou gh we said Pray wi th ,

domo (R e s ) draw
ts u ho ema ts u m y o kho to omo becau se We th ou ght him
kos hi to hoso ha ba n e mo ta O u r servant We best owed
ma i te os ame tama i s hi ho ( Res a t itle u p o n him
( The last exa m ple S h ows s hi ha standi ng al one as a perfect

after hoso ) .

The r e i s n o di rect evi dence to sh ow the o rigi n of th ese

two suffi xes hi and shi bu t it i s inte r est i ng to n o te that
the verb hum m ak es predicative f orm s wi th s hi (viz hi shi .
 S U FFIXE S D
E N O TI N G TE N S E 1 85

and hos hi ) bu t n o t with hi while the ve rb s u m m akes the

, ,

predicative f o rm shi hi The m eaning o f hi see m s to indicate

.

that it m a y have a c o mm o n o rigin with the verb hum and ,

s hi and s u m pe rhaps c o nstit u te a si m ila r p ai r .

L ate r examp les o f the u s e o f hi s e and s hi ha a re g iven , ,

bel ow The f orm he is n ot f o u nd after the N ara peri o d

. .

( 1 ) The P r edicative f orm , hi .

hate ts u hi te hu s o no ne zo o our p ro visi ons exhau sted we ,

-

hu i mon o to s hi hi (Tak e ) fed o n the ro o ts o f herbs

mu ha s hi K a m D a iji n to mo s u l o ng a go ther e w a s a m an
hi to a ri hi (HK ) . called Kar u D aij i u
(2 ) The Att rib u tive f o rm , s hi .

zoo ha res hi a sa y ori (K o k in ) . since the m om when we

parted
s a hi taredo mo ei zes hi hi to mo th ou gh they (the trees) have
i ma o o n o shi
z ( HK ) . bl o ss om ed they who sang,

them a re n o m o r e
(3 ) I m perfect f o rm , so .

I ts u zoo ri n o n a hi y o n o ri seba had been a w orld wi th i f th i s

(Kokin .
) o u t falseh oo d

This f o rm m ay be regarded as obs o lete .

(4 ) The P erfect f o rm s hi ha , .

ha hu hos o omoi s hi ha (I s e ) so indeed he th ought

s hi n obi te hohoromi n to o moi th o u gh he th ou ght o f t rying
s hi hod o mo it secretly
Kiy om ori cha hu n a n n ari s hi Kiy om o r i su cceeded as he ,

ho bo (HK )
s on o o to zoo ts ugu . was a legiti m ate s on
There is n o trace o f a c o nj u nct ive f o rm u nless on e assum es ,

the c om p ou nd su ffix heri to be f orm ed fr om a c o nj u nct ive

f orm hi and the verb o ri l ike tori which is te + ari te being
, , ,

the c o nj u nctive of ts u .

KE R I has the m eaning o f its c om p onent parts hi and a ri , ,

and m ay be regarded as f orm ing a perfect tense while hi ,

al o ne f orm s a preterite B u t there is o ften ve ry l ittle dif

.

fe rence between the two and heri see m s fr equ ently to be,

u sed in an exclam at o ry sense wi th ou t any significance o f ,

ti m e
186 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
In the N ara peri o d an alm o st c omplete c onj u gat i o n i s
,

f ou nd as f o ll ows
,

P redi cat ive

Attrib u t ive
C o nj u nct ive
I m perfect (N eg Base ) hero
.

P erfect here
The f oll owing examples will i llu strate these fo rm s
mo to mo o zoa n u mon o zo o i mo the o nly on e I S hall never
u i s hi a ri heri (M ) . m eet again i s my m i stress
a hi ni heri zoagi mo (N ) . the dawn has c om e my ,

sweetheart
midzu hu mos hiheru tehona the m ai den who drew water

a re ha hi na mu to i i herebo (M he sa i d I will c om e and ,

nu n o he n o u hagi s ugi n i hero

have n ot the herbs o n the
z u o (M ) m o o r passed away
y .

The f o rm s hera mo shi herashi and keraku are als o f ou nd in

, ,

the N ara perio d but hera d o es n ot appear i n later texts

, .

I n the M on oga tari on e c a n o ften discern a past tense i n

verbs c o ntaining heri Thu s .

i ma zoo mu ha shi Ta hetori n o o nce u p o n a ti m e there wa s

Chi n a to i eru mono a ri heri a m an called Ta k e tori n o

O kin a
mu hashi otoho M u s o s hi n o o nce u p on a t im e a m a n
hu ni made madoi a ri hiheri went wandering & c , .

B ut in su ch a passage as
tohi zoo i zoay a zoo i ma
n as u th ou gh the l ong last ing h ou se
-

mo ari heredo s umi heru hi to rem ains they who dwelt

,

zo ts un e n a ha ri heru (M ) . therein ar e n o l o nger as they

vve re

it i s diffi c u lt to say what tense if any i s represented by the

, ,

three verbs w ith the sam e suffix heru , .

The explanati o ns given by Japanese gra mm ar i ans are by

n o m eans clear .Yam ada (B o mp o ron) says -

Keri is frequ ently used a s a substitu te for hi bu t there is cle arly ,

a difference bet w een them Keri n o t o nly expresses a retrosp ect

.
,

b u t als o it t a kes the pr esent state o f aff airs as a start ing p oint -
.

Expressed in terms o f etym ology a ri places the starting point in

,
-
1 88 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
define mu as a fu t u re su ffix Its pri m ary fu nct io n i s to
.

den o t e c o nj ect ure ranging fr om d ou bt t o pr obability

,
.

N at u rally the i dea o f fu t u re t im e i s o ften i m plicit

‘
.

The m o dern c o ll o qu i al fu t u re i s derived fr om this suffix

’

by elisi o n o f the m s ou nd which has in Japanese a nasal

,

character The pr ocess is

.

u h a mu (in which the u i s barely pr o n o u nced )

y
o n (nasal
y u h )
y u ha u
y u ho
This last is the mo dern c o ll o qui al f o rm which has br o adly ,

spea king the sam e range o f m eaning as the ea rliest f o rm s .

In m o dern writ ing y uhan i s p ut for the f ut u re the han a ,

bei ng u sed .

M E R I has an i nc om plete c onj ugat io n o n the mo del of ari ,

as f o ll ows
P redicative m e r i as in y u hu meri
Attrib u tive m eru y u hu m em

C onj u nct ive m eri y u hu meri shi

I m perfect
P erfect m e re y uhumere
I t i s dou btless a c om p ou nd o f mu the fu t u re suffix and ari
, , ,

anal og ou s in f orm ati o n wi th heri O r alternatively it m ay

.
, ,

c o ntain the sam e elem ent be as beshi

, , .

There i s n o evidence that i t was in u s e in the N ara peri o d ,

bu t it is very c om m o n i n the l i terat u r e o f the H eian peri o d .

Its o rigin is n ot clear and i t i s hard to discern in it any

,

speciali z ed fu ncti o n It c o nveys s om etim es the m eaning

‘
.

see m s to be but as a ru le i t has n o tran slateable valu e

’

, .

I s u spect it is a pu rely literary f o rm .

The f o ll owi ng exam ples S h ow its u s e

ho zoo u momu to s uru tohi zoo when ab ou t to give b irth to
o zoo sas agete n a n a ta bi ma its yo u ng it lifts u p its tail ,

zoari te n an u mi otos umeru t u rns r o u nd seven t imes ,

and then dr ops it o u t

Ta ts u tagazoo momiji midorete d own the R iver Tatsu ta the
n aga rumeri au t um n leaves fl o at helter
s k elter
homayo ho u i ha hi tama u meri he wri tes in fine character s
 S U FFIXE S D E N O TI N G TEN S E 1 89

O t he r F u tu r e Te n s e S u ffi xe s
R AM U and R A S HI These two suffixes i ndicate a cer tain
degree o f d ou bt as c om par ed with bes hi maji which indicate
, , ,

p ro bability or c o nj ect u re B u t their u s e is n o t regu lar and

.

c o nsistent .

They have the f o ll owing f o rm s

Predicative ra mu r a s hi S u ffi x e d t o pre
Att rib u t ive r am u r a s hi k i di c ativ e f o rm o f
Pe rfect r am e verb
The f o ll owing are exam ples of the u s e o f r a mu

zoaga seho zoo idzu chi yu hu whither I w onder go es my

, ,

ra mu (M ) . l o ver
fun an ori s urama mero (M )
oto . the m aidens who d ou btless
are b o ating
hototohoro ni K oguy ohi me to in an o ther place ther e is it ,

i ii hi to zo ozoa s u ramu (Ta k e ) seem s a pers on called the

,

N ight S hining P rincess

The r e c an be little d ou bt that ramu is c om p ou nded o f a ru

and the fu t u re s u ffi x mu .

E xa m ples o f the u se o f R A S HI are

har i zoo homuro s hi ( K .

) it l o o ks as if the geese are
c om ing
yo zoofu hen uro shi (M ) . nigh t seem s to be fall ing
The f orm ra shi ki ( Per fect ) i s f ou nd in the N ara peri o d bu t ,

n o t later In the later literat u re as well as in the m odern

.
,

c ollo qu ial rashi is u sed as if it were an adj ective Thu s

,
.

ome fum ra s hi hu omozoaru it seem s as if it w ou ld rain

kodomo go ho etto ro s hi i it l o o ks as if the children had
c om e back
hodomorashii hi to a childish pers o n
The f orm subsists in a n um ber o f adj ectives su ch as baho
‘
ro s hi i f ool i sh medzurashii strange wher e it has a valu e
,
’

, ,
’

si milar to that of the term inat i on ish in E nglish

’
.

B E S HI and M A] I These f o rm s have already been d i s

c u ssed u nder the heading o f A u xiliary Adj ectives They are .
-
1 90 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
b o th adj ectives in f orm while in fu nct io n they are verb ,

su ffixes .

M A S HI exp r esses app rox im ately the sam e m eanings as mu ,

bu t with less certainty I t m ay be regarded as o bs olete l n

.

the m o dern langu age E xam ples o f its u s e are .

Urashi ma n o ho go tama hu had U rashima n ot o pened

s hige a keza o ri s eba mo to mo the cask et we m ight have
a zoo mas hi m e t again
To hoyamo n o i zoo n e s hi mo w o u ld I m ight die cli nging ,

hi te s hi n o moshi mon o zoo to the r o cky base o f Taka

yam a
I n the last exam ple and i n m any o ther cases mashi appears
t o express a w i sh rather than an intenti o n .

In the N ara peri o d o nly ma shi i s f ou nd in b o th predicat ive ,

and attrib u tive f o rm s It c ombines w ith o ther suffixes to

m ak e su ch f orm s as temo shi hema shi n o ma s hi c o rresp o nding , , ,

to temu hemu and n a mu

, ,
It i s tru e that the r e is a f o rm .

mas e o ccu rring o nly i n the c o m b i nati o n ma sebo e g

, , . .

zoaga s eho to fu tari mi ma s eba ifI c ou ld watch i t t ogether

i hu ba hu ho hon o fu m y u ki with my l over how j oyfu l
n o u reshi ha ra mo shi (M ) . w ou ld this sn owfall be
Th i s m ay perhaps be regarded as a trace of an earlier fu ll
c o nj u gati on o f mashi on the lines ma s e mashi ho c o rre
, , ,

s p on din g with s e s hiha bu t this is d ou btfu l

,
The f o rm , .

ma s hi ha d o es n o t appear u nt i l after the N a r a per i o d In .

e ither case i t can har dly be d oubted that all the f o rm s maji
, ,

ma shi mas e ma hu c o ntain the elem ent mo which i s the

, ,

c onj ect u red i mperfect of mu .

I t will be n o t i ced that all the suffixes expressing pr oba

i
b ity
l have a lab i al as the i nitial s o u nd— e g mu and be . . .

] an
I is u ndecl i nable s u ffix whi ch m a y be regarded as the ,

negat ive o f mu S ee u nder N egative S uffixes

. .

IV . NEG ATI V E S UF F I X E S .

These are two Z U ,

and J I the latter being a speci al iz ed
,

negative fu t u r e suffi x .

The paradigm o f zu is as f oll ows

1 92 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
I t i s reas o nable to infer fr om the ab ove exa m ples that there
o rigi nally existed a f u ll c o nj u gati o n o f the negat ive s u ffix

c o nta i ning the elem ent n and that it preceded the fo rm s c on

,

taining the elem ent 2 I t sh ou ld be rec ollected that the

.

negat ive adj ect ive i s n o shi hi hu) -

,
-
,
-
.

There can be l ittle d oubt that the N s ou nd i s cha racteri st ic

for the exp r essi o n of the i dea n o t in Japanese at its ea rliest
stages The f o rm zu can be acc ou nted for by s u pp o s ing i t
.

to be n + s u a si m ilar f u si o n being f ou nd in the m edieval

,

langu age where we have su ch f o rm s as mo horozu a fu t ure

, , ,

whi ch can be traced fr o m ma hara mu s u throu gh the inter -

m edi ate stages ma haro n s u and ma ha ra nzu (ma ha ru a h u m ble

-

‘
,

word for to

] I i s u ndeclinable Mo rph ol ogically it i s pr obably a c o m

'
.

p ou nd o f the negat ive elem ent n with the elem ent s hi which ,

o cc u r s in the s uffixes ras hi and ma s hi and den o tes p o ss i

bility The m ean i ng o f ji w ill be Clear fr om the f o ll owi ng

.

examples :
n a ha ji to zoo n o zoo to tomo th ough you say you will n ot
(K ) . weep
i mo zoo zoas u reji (K ) . m y l o ver will n o t f o rget
zoa ho hereba mi chiy u hi s hi ro ji be ing you ng i s pr o bably ig
,

(M ) . n or a n t o f travel

The f orm s mu ji mashi and maji c onst itu te two pairs the
, , , ,

f o rm er expressing a higher degree o f pro bab il ity than the

latter .

i is w o bs o lete in the m o dern standard c o ll o q u ial

] n o ,

where it has been replaced by the f o rm mo i derived fro m

‘
,

maji Th u s c oll yu humai wi ll pr o bably n o t go c o rre ’

. .
, ,

s p o n d s t o lit y u hu maji o r y u haji

. .

The negative f or m s e mpl oyed in the m o dern c oll o qu ial

have in s om e cases diverged in a cu ri ou s way fro m th o se
f ou nd in b o th the ancient and m o dern written langu ages .

P erhaps the m ost im p ortant aspect o f this divergence is seen

i n the u s e in speech o f the negat i ve adj ective n o i which
always replaces the negative fo rm of the verb a ru to be
’

, ,

whether predicative (arozu) or attrib u tive (ara nu ) .

S im ilarly the o rdinary negative f or m o f the present tense

o f all verbs as u sed in wr i t i ng i s o ften th ou gh n o t always
, , , ,
 N EGATIVE S UF F I X E S 1 93
replaced i n S peech by a fo rm ending i n the negat ive adj ective .

Thu s we have
Written f o rm y a ho u n y u hozu

S p o ken f o rm s y uha n
’

y u han
’

u ho n ai u h n a i
y y o

The fo rm yuho n a i appears to b e c o mp o sed of the verb (yuha ,

neg base o f y u hu)

. the neg adj n o i (the c oll o qui al f o rm
. .

o f n a hi ) o r it m a y si m p ly be c o nstru cted by anal o gy with

,

n oi In any case f orm s li k e yu ha no hu wher e the negat ive

.
, ,

adj ective i s s uffi x e d to a verb ar e n ot want ing in the earliest

,

langu age e g , . .

‘
tohi n o s hi ron o hu (M ) lit the n ot k n owi ng of the t im e ’
-
. .

mata n o hu u i (M ) n o t waiting
.

o zoa n o hu mo (M ) even with ou t m eet ing

.

‘
Th ese f orm s are described fu lly u nder S u bstantival F o rm s
’
in hu p
-
, .

The ab ove and o ther c omm o n variat ions of the negative

m a y be r ep r esented sche m atically as f o ll ows

N ega ti ve for m f
o W r i ti ng S peech

AR U
Pre di c a tiv e n o i , s o m e ti m e s n o s hi
A ttr ib uti v e noi
C o n j u n c ti v e n o hu , a r a de
C o m p o u n d for m s n a hered o (m o)
n a herebo

s hi n a i , s en u

s hi n a i , s en u

s ez u, s hi n a hu (te)
O TH E R VE R B S
Pr e di c a ti v e y u ha n u yu ha n a i
,

A ttrib u ti v e y u ha n a i y u ha n u
,

C on j u n c ti v e y o ko za y u ha n a hu (te) ,
,

y o ko de y u ha n a i d e
,

C o m p o un d form s y u ha n eba yu ha n ebo y u ha n a her eba

,

y u ha n ed o y u ha n edo y u ha n o heredo (mo)

,

y u haza r i hi y u ha n o ha tta y u ha n a n d a
,

yu ha zar a mu y u ho n a i d o ro

The ab ove table d o es n o t p r etend to be c om plete bu t it ,

suffices t o S h ow the m ain p oints o f di ffer ence between wr i tten

33 7° C C
1 94 HI STO RICAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
and sp ok en f orm s F orm s l ik e a rade y uhodo & c call for
.
, , .
,

s om e c omm ent They appear from the evidence o f m edieval

.
,

t exts to be c o nt r acti ons o f the c o nj u nct ive negative f o rm s

,

(arozu y uhozu) c om b ined with the c o nj u nctive f orm te o f

, , ,

the verb su ffi x ts u E xamples o f their u s e in early and

-
.

classical texts are

hagi ri Shi razu te (M ) . n ot kn owing the l imi t
hi tohi hi toy o omozo ozute a m thin k n o t that fo r a single
ra mu mon o to omohos hi mes u day or night I shall n ot be
no M
( ) . think ing o f you
y o n o a ri sa ma zoo hi to zoo s hi pe ople n ot k n owing the state
(Tak e )
r o zu te o f affairs

The sa m e f o rm s bu t with zute c ontracted , to do, are already

fou n d i n the Heian peri o d e g
‘

. .
,

s hi ra de
ha hu i i? (Ta k e ) he says s o wi th ou t k n owing
hodo tbharo de (G enj i ) being n ot far distant
The termi nati o n n o i is preferred in speech to n u especially ,

in the T ok yo dist rict and the offi ci al sch o ol r eaders wh i ch, ,

ad opt the T okyo speech as standard u su ally have e g , , . .

y u ho n o i for y u ha nu B u t i t sh ou ld be n o ted that verbs

.

wh o se negative base ends in s e can tak e o nly the t erm inati on

nu , except that the verb s uru has b o th f o rm s s en u and ,

s hi n a i C o nsequ ently all p olite f orm s ending in mas u have

.

their negative in n u e g a ri masenu yu hi mas enu (pr on ou nced

, . .
,

a r i ma s en
y u hi ma s en) while c om p ou nds ‘
, o f s u ru have nega
,

ti ve s ending in s hi n a i e g j o s en s hi n a i d o es n o t em bark ’
. . .
, ,

Cau sative verbs and verbs c om p o sed of a Chinese w ord

,

s u ru if they are s u ffic i ently fa m il i ar i n speech have c o ll o

, ,

q u i a l negative f o rm s l ik e
y u hosa n a i d o es not cau se to go
ry o hu s a n a i d o es n ot abbrevi ate
In the sec o nd exam ple ry oku s u a Ch i nese wo rd the ,

a u xiliary is s o fam iliar as to be regarded as o n e w ord

,
.
,

ry a hu s u and is theref o re s o m et im es c o nj u gated o n the m o del

,

o f a cau sative ve rb bu t ryo ku s hi n a i is eq u ally c orrect .

The written langu age has a negat ive c o nditi onal of the
‘
type y u hazu ba if he d o es n o t go (which s om eti m es appears
,

with an i ntercalated euph oni c m as in y uhazumba ) A c on , .

1 96 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E G RAMMAR
f o rm s o f the ab o ve type and f orm s where the negat ive suffix
i s the final elem ent Thu s .

‘ ‘
m r mu st
’ ’

y u ha za b es hi will n o t go o n o t go - -

‘ ‘
m
’ ’

y u hu be h or o zu will n o t go o r -
u st n o t go -

and each t ends to be appr opri ated for a special p u rp o se s o

‘
,

that yu hozam beshi signifies rather will n ot go (fu t u re) and ’

‘
m m
’

y u hu beh a roz u u st
,
n o t g o S i ilarly .

y u haza ri ts u has n o t g o ne -

y u hi taro zu has n ot g o ne -

O f these the f o rm er has fallen ou t o f u s e and i s replaced

‘
, ,

by y uhazari hi did n ot go while y u hi tarozu retains the ’

‘
, ,

m ean i ng of has n ot g o ne S u ch distinct io ns are h owever

’
.
, ,

rather fine an d are n o t o bserved by all writer s

, The .

tendency thr ou gh ou t the written langu age is to si m plify and

redu ce in nu m ber the c o m p ou nd ver b f o rm s C o nsequ ently .

the pa r adigm g iven ab o ve d o es n ot inclu de a nu m ber o f

f o rm s li k e yu hazori ts u yu hazorama shi & c which are f ou nd
, , .
,

i n a r chaic or m edieval l i terat u re bu t have since fallen ou t

of u s e .The sp o ken langu age g o es fur ther and res o rts to ,

analyt ic m eth o ds s o that we have ,

yu ha nai do rb for y u ha zaramu

u ha na i da tta
y
u ho n a i n o da tto
y u ha za rihi
y
y u hanu des hi to
y u ho n a ho tto

i tto ( =y uhi te) zoo n ara nu y u hu beho rozu

and similar f orm s thr ou gh ou t It will be seen that the .

c o ll o qu ial verb su bstant ive de a ru in its va r i ou s f o rm s do

-
, ,

doro dotta & c is u sed instead of the aggl u tinated f o rm s o f

, , .
,

the written langu age .

UN I N F LE C T E D VE R B S UF F I XE S
The suffixes described in the f o reg o ing pages are a ll in
fl e c te d s u ffixes They a re either (like s u m s hi mu ts u
.
, , , ,

n u & c ) verbs or vestiges o f ve rbs

, . o r (li k e beshi maji and , ,

tas hi) adj ect i ves or vest iges the r e of .

There rem ains to b e described an i mp ortant gr ou p of

u n infl e c te d s uffi xes w i th the a i d o f which certa i n c om p ou nd
,
 UN I N FLE CTE D
VER B S UFFIXE S 1 97

c onj u ga ti o nal f o rm s o f the verb a r e c o nstru cted These a re .

the suffi xes B A D O and D O M O and cer tain o ther par ticles
, , ,

in speciali z ed u ses They are treated fu lly in the chapter

.

dev o ted to the parti cles bu t a brief acc ou nt o f the m is given

,

he r e in o rder t o c om plete the descripti o n o f the c om p ou nd

c o nj u gati o n o f the ve rb .

I . S ufi xes mo hi ng C o n d i t i o n a l
Fo r m s or C o n c e s s i ve
B A is the su rd f o rm tak en by the s e pa r ative par ticle ha
(pr o n o u nced zo o ) when it is s u ffi
‘
x e d t o a ve r b and c o alescence
takes place Th u s y u hu ho as for g o ing i s p r on ou nced
.
,
’

u hu zo o bu t whe r e ha is s u ffi x e d di r ectly t o a verb ste m

y , ,

as yu he ha c o alescence takes place and the f o rm bec om es

-
, ,

y u heba B o is u sed t o express a c o nditi o n as f oll ows

.
,

y u ha ba if he g o es (u nreali z ed c onditi o n)
y u heba as he g o es (reali z ed c o nditi on )
if he g o es (r eali z ed o r assu m ed c o nditi o n )
It wi ll be seen that when s uffi x e d to the negative base bo
expresses a hyp o thetical c o nditi o n when s uffi x e d to the per ,

fec t f orm a c o ndit io n that exists o r is assu m ed to exist The .

di fference is illu strated by the sentences

zoa re s hi n a bo tare ho n o hu if I sh o u ld die who w ou ld ,

behi weep
chu i seba a ama chi n a ha m ~ if you are carefu l there will
y
bes hi be n o m istakes
chi chi s hi n u r e ba ho ho zoaru when the father dies the so n
changes
ch ui s ureba ay a ma chi n o shi when you are carefu l there
are n o m i stakes
In the first pair o f sentences by the u s e o f the negative base ,

(s hi n a s e) a
, yet u nreali z ed c o ndit i o n is ass u m ed t o c o m e int o

being i n the fu tu re In the sec ond pair by the u s e of the

.
,

perfect (s hi n ur e s ure) a c onditi o n is assu m ed to exist al ready

, .

In the written langu age the c o nstru cti on i llu strated by the
sec ond pair c a n o ften exp r ess a c o nditi o n which act u ally
d oes exist s o that (depending u p o n c o ntext ) chui s ureba
,
‘
a amachi n os hi m a m ean since u caref u l the r e a re
y y y o a r e

n o m istakes
’
.

In the or dinary sp ok en langu age c onditi o nal fo rm s com

1 98 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
p o sed o f the negat ive base bo a r e n o t m u ch u sed Co n .

sequ ently the pe rfect ba has to serve all p u rp o ses e g , . .

chil i s u reba a
y a machi zoo n a i f you are carefu l ther e will
ha r o be n o m i stak es
chu i s u reba a ama chi o noi i f you are carefu l there are
y g
n o m ista k es

’
I n o rder to express the idea since you are carefu l a different
idiom i s generally u sed in speech e g chui s uru hora ,
. . .

G enerally speak ing the c oll o qu i al tends to reinfo rce the

,

c o nditi o nal f o rm of the verb in s om e way Thu s we have .

chi l i s u ru to ay ama chi go n oi when you take care there

are & c
, .

chi l i s hi tara ay a machi go n o if you have ta k en care there

har o (where s hi taro = s hi ta will be & c , .

ra ba )

chi l i s u ru n o ro
(where n oro i f you ta k e care
= n o ra ba
)
chui s ureba hos o a a ma chi it isbecau se you tak e care
y go
n or that there are & c , .

D O is the su rd f o rm tak en by the particle to when in

c o alescence with a verb It is o ften reinf orced by the
.

part icle mo It i s added to the perfect of verbs ,

t o f o r m a c o ncessive s o that ,

oredo, oredomo th ou gh there i s

y u hodo y u hedomo
, th ou gh he g o es
The c o ll o qu i al prefers the u s e of the w o rd heredomo which
‘
,

is n ow an independent w o rd m eaning but Hist orically ’

.

i t i s a gr ou p of suffi xes wh i ch have bec om e detached fr o m

the verb being c om p o sed o f here (the perfect o f the verb
,

su ffi x heri ) + do + mo E xam ples o f its u s e are

.

aru heredomo n ogas ugi ru there ar e s om e bu t they are

to o l ong
u hi ta i heredomo hi ma go n o i I want t bu t I have n o
y o go

ti m e
Here the written langu age wou ld have the synthet i c f orm s
o redomo, y u hi ta heredomo .
2 00 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
They m ay be di vi ded i nt o three classes as f oll ows ,

I Transit ive fo rm s o f Intransit ive verbs S u ch are

. .

Tra nsi ti ve I ntra ns i ti ve

‘ ’ ‘ ’
ta ts uru , to set up tats u stand to
‘ ‘
,

mu ru s u s u mu
’
s usu to enc ou rage to advance
‘
, ,
’ ’
zoa to s u to hand o ver zo o toru to cr o ss o ver
‘ ‘
, ,

n ohos u n ohoru to rem ain

’ ’
to leave
‘ ‘
, ,

m m
’ ’

y as u t o, bri ng near y o t o appr,o ach

I I I ntrans it ive f o rm s
. of Trans it ive verbs . E . g .

I ntra ns i ti ve Tra n s i ti ve
‘
hi koy um
’ ’
to be a u dible hi hu to hear
‘ ‘
, ,

to m elt to m elt
’
tohu ru
’
tohu
‘ ‘
, ,

hudo hu ru to cru m ble

’ ’
ha da ku to cru sh
‘
, ,

miyu m to be visible mi ru to see

’ ’

, ,

I I I Transitive an d Intrans it ive f o rm s b o th derived from

.
,

an o bs o lete wo rd or stem E g . . .

Tra ns i ti ve I n tra ns i ti ve
‘ ’ ‘ ’
s ugu s u to exceed s ugu ru , to be excess ive
‘
i dzu m
’ ’
i das u to p u t o u t to go o u t
‘ ‘
, ,

s o do muru s od o moru
’ ’
to fix to be settled
‘
,
‘
,
’ ’
hayuru to change ha zoo ru to change
‘
, ,

to s u hom
’ ’
to s u heru to help , to be relieved ,

There can be l ittle d oubt that the terminat io ns s u u ru and , ,

a ru o f the ab o ve verbs are the a u xilia r y verbs which have ,

been added t o the stem It is i m p ortant h owever to dis .

, ,

ti n gu i sh the f orm s th u s c o nstru cted fr om the c orresp o nding

cau sative and passive verbs Th u s while ta ts u i s to stand ’

‘ ‘
.
, ,

and to ts u m is to set u p toto s a i s to cau se to stand The ’

,
’
.

di fference in m ean ing is di splayed by the exam ples

i e zoo ta ls u ru to erect a h ou se
hi to zoo to ta s u to cau se a m an to stand u p ,

t o let a m a n stand u p
‘ ‘
S im ilarly while ha m i s to b o rr ow ha s u is to lend and ’ ’

, , ,

which w ou ld be hori s as u m Ta s u ’
n o t to ca u se t o b o rr o w , .

ham is to be relieved to have assistance wh i le tos u heroru

The d iffer ence between tas uha ru and
’
is to be helped .

tos u heroru is g oo d evi dence that the first f or m c o ntai ns o nly

 TRAN S ITIVE AN D I N TRAN S ITIVE VER B S 20 1

a ru the sec o nd a m and u ru

,
. The distincti o n between these
S pecial t r ansitive and int r ansitive ve r bs o n the o n e hand ,

and the cau sative and passive verbs o n the o ther hand is ,

further b r ou ght ou t by the fact that they are never u sed as

h o n o ri fi c s Thu s totaru and to ta s u m ay be hon o rifi c fo r ta ts u
.
,

bu t tats u ru cann o t .

Many o f the verbs in which the elem ents s u u m and aru , ,

were plain in the e arly la n gu a ge have n ow especially in

'
,

speech su ffer ed ph o netic change Thu s we have n ow

,
.

‘
s hi rozoheru fo r s hi r ozohu m to withdraw (tr )
’
.
,
’

ta teru ta ts u ru to set u p
‘
,

a meru a m u ru ( )
’
t o st o p t r
y y ‘
, .

osem os u m
’

y t o bring near
y ,
‘
n os u m
’
n os eru t o place u p o n
‘
,
’
n obi ru n obu ru (int r ansit i ve ) to exte n d
‘
,

n obu ro (transitive )
’
n oberu to extend
‘
,

mi em miy u ru to be v i sible
’

,
 THE A U X I L I A RY VE R B S A R U AN D S U R U
‘
H E S E verbs c orresp o nd with the E ngli sh verb s to be ’

‘ ’
and to d o respectively bu t their fu ncti ons are s o dis
,

t inct that they m u st be treated separately fr om all o ther

verbs .

The A ux i li a ry Ve r b AR U .

has an irregu lar S im ple c onj ugat i o n as f ollows ,

P redicative a r i as i n ta mo o a ri
g
At trib u tive aru a ru hi to

C o nj u nctive ari a ri te o ri s ki ,
”
I m perfect o r N egat ive Base a r a a rozu aro ba ,

P erfect are a reba a redo ,

The c o nj u gat ion wh ich has rem ained u nchanged from the
,

N ara peri o d i s of the o rdinary qu a dri gr a d e type except that

, ,

the predicat ive f o rm ends m i n ot i i

‘ ‘
.
,

The m eaning of am i s to be in the sense of to ex i st ’ ’

and i t is imp ortant to u nderstand that a ru by itself cann o t

act as a c opu la between the term s o f a pr op o si t ion The
‘
.

sentence tamago ori m eans there are eggs and cann o t p os ’

‘
s ibly c o nvey the m eaning The pri m ar y ’
they are eggs .

significance o f a ru then i s to predicate ex i stence o f a s ub

, ,

r ly exa m ples o f i ts u s e in this

j e c.t The f o ll o w i ng are ea
sense
s o hashi me zo o a ri to hiho shi te hearing that there was a Wise
huzo os hi me zoo a ri to hi ha w om an heari ng that there ,

s hi te (K )
. w a s a fa i r w om an
ha na zoo u ts urou tohi a ri (M ) there i s a t im e when fl owers
.

fade
zoare y o n o n a ha u i o ramu s o l o ng as I a m in th is w orld
hagi ri zoo (M ) .

i e n i a m i m o (M ) . m y s i ster who i s at h om e
In s o far as aru is u sed to predi cate exi stence o f any su bj ect
it is in fu ncti o n a principal and n ot an au xili ary verb B u t .

i t can serve as an au x il i ary when o ther states or pr opert i es

2 04 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
a n ou n do n o t exist B u t he q u o tes exa m ples all the sa m e
.
,

vi z

hoi i s hi n a do Ohari shells , s to n e s , a n d s o on a r e plent ifu l

y u hu hi to bho m bes hi there will be m any g o ing
Oha redomo ho ho zu th ough n um er ou s I d o n ot wr ite
them
The f oll owing are further exam ples o f the u s e o f aru in this
type o f c om p ou nd I t will be o bserved that in the earliest
.

r ec o rded lang u age el i si o n d o es n o t always take place the ,

f o rm being hu a ri and n o t hori

hy o n o a i da zoo to nu shihu du ring this day it will be
a ru bes hi M
( ). j o yfu l
hu ru s hi hu a reba (M ) . as it i s painfu l
ha n ashi hu a rihemu (M ) it m u st have been sad
.

o ha ho ro ba mi r u behi mon o a thing which c ou ld be seen

(G o sen ) if it wer e light
ha n o shi ho ru hi to (Uji) pe o ple who are u nhappy
zoa dzu r ezo as eta mo u tohi mo m any wer e the t im es when
Oha ri (G enj i ) he s uffered gr i ef
An i nteresting fo rm i s n o horu c om p o sed o f the negative
,

adj ective n o hu + o m It fu rnishes m aterial for specul at io n

.

as to why the Japanese langu age sh o u ld have S pecial f orm s

t o express b o th the affi rm at i ve o f a negat i ve and the negat i ve
o f an a ffi rm at i ve n o hori and a ro zu respectively
,
N a hari .

pr o bably ca m e int o u s e becau se the negative su ffi x zu c an

o nly i n ra r e i nstances be f o ll o wed by o ther verb s u ffixes .

Thu s it is n ot p o ssible to add the past tense s uffi x hi to

,

arozu , i n o rder to m ak e a past tense The f orm m u st b e

.

o rozo ri hi
,
where o ru is intercalated C o nsequ ently n o hori .
,

t o wh i ch any verb s u ffix can be added is m o re c o nven i ent ,

than a razu and at least as c o nvenient as arazori .

The ph o netic changes in these f o rm s c om p ou nded o f hu

and o ru have been c u r iou s In the ea rliest texts we find
.
,

as well as the u nc o ntracted f orm s the f o ll ow ing m ark ed ,

cases o f el is i on
1 . hu + o ra ho ra ha
2 . kn + ora hora he
3 . kn + ore ha r e here
4 . kn + ore ha re he
 THE A U XILIARIE S A R U AN D S UR U 2 05

E xa m ples are
1 hora bec o m es ho
.

‘
tbho bo (M ) fo r to ko ro ba fr om tbhu
’
far + ara ba
‘
.
, , ,

oho ba (M ) fo r y ohara bo f r o m y ohu g o o d + a ro bo ’

y .
, , ,

This is a S im ple case o f elisi o n o f a type c o mm on in Japanese ,

.

2 . hora bec om es he
‘
yo s u hemu (M ) for y o su haro mu fr om ’
.
, y as u ku ,
easy ,

+ aramu
ha n as hi hemu (R e s ) for ha n a s hi ha ra mu from hanas hi hu ,
‘
,

sad + o ro mu
’

s u ben a hen a hu
‘ ’
(M ) . for s u ben a hara n o hu , fr om s u beno hu ,

helpless + oro n o hu
‘
,

n a heba ( K ) fo r n a ka ra bo fr o m n o hu and ara bo ’

. not , , ,
.

These f o rm s a r e di ffi cu lt to explai n by crasis and yet it is

u nlikely that they are o riginal f o r m s m ade by attaching

s uffixes di r ect to the adj ective with ou t the intercalati o n o f ,

aru It seem s m or e p ro bable for instance that y as uhemu

.
, ,

is a c o nt r acti o n o f y o su ho ra mu u nder the influ ence o f verb

form s like a ri hemu whe re the hemu is c om p o sed of he the
, ,

c onj u nctive f o rm o f the past tense su ffix hi and the fu t u re ,

s uffi x mu .

3 . ha re bec o m es here
‘
zoo ho hereba ( M fr om ’

) fo r . zoo ho ha rebo , zoo ha hu , y ou ng ,

+ oreba
‘
hoi shi herebo
’
(M ) for hoi shi hareba
.
,
fr om hoi shi hu , de
siro ns , + a r ebo

This change is easy to u nderstand for the final e o f hare ,

influ ences the p r eceding vowel a by a tendency which i s

‘
,

c omm o n in Japanese The reg u lar pe rfect fo rm o f a djec .

’

tive s is always of this type e g y ohere and n o t y oha re , . .

,
.

4 . bec om es he
ha re
hoi s hi hebo (M ) a f u rther c o ntracti o n o f hoi s hihereba
.

tbheba (M ) . tbhereba
u s u hedo (N ) . u s u heredo

It will be seen that ho bo and hebo a re n o t the sam e alth ou gh ,

in the m o dern langu age they a r e fr eq u ently c o nfu sed .

Hist o rically h owever ho bo is horo bo and hebo is eithe r

, , ,
2 06 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
ha ra ba o r hereba tw o different f o rm s wh i ch stri ctly spea k ing
,

have di ffer ent m eanings .

The au xiliary verb aru c ombines freely with adverbs as

well as with adj ectives The sim plest and earliest of su ch
‘ ‘
.

c om binati ons are th o se with s hi ha s o and ha hu thu s ,

’

, ,
’

v iz s hi ho ru and ho haru as in the f o ll owing exa m ples

.
,

ho harazu mo ho hari m o hami whether i t i s n ot thu s or i s

n o ma n i m a n i (M ) .th u s i s as the g o ds will
hi to mi n a ha a n omi y o shi is every o n e or o nly m yself , ,

ha m l ik e this
These two w o rds are n ow in c om m o n u s e and m ay be
‘
regarded as equivalent (in writ ing) to the E ngl i sh su ch ’

Th u s
ho haru tohi n i at su ch a ti m e
s hi hari it is s o ( = yes)
s hi ho redom o th ou gh i t is s o nevertheless)
After su ch adverbial phrases as i ho no how the a u xilia r y ’

i s added to f o rm e g i ha u i a ru how being ( = what

’
. .
, ,

s o rt P) The c o nt r acted f o rm i ho n o m as i n i hon a ru hi to

‘
.
, ,

Wh at s o rt of m an d o es n o t appea r u ntil the cl o se o f the

’

‘
,

N ara peri o d The form s a ri fro m s o in that way d o es

.
, ,
’

n o t appear in N ara texts bu t i s c o mm o n later as i n sari

‘
, ,

tote s ari n aga ra m eaning n o twithstanding

’
.
, ,

The c om binati on of adverbial ph r ases f or m ed fr om Chinese

w ords by m eans o f the particle to with the au xiliary aru ,

( e
. g d o
. d o to o r u bec o m ing d bd bto m fr o m the S inic o Japanese ,
-

dodé i , i
”
is n ot f ou nd in the N ara perio d is ,

r a r e in the He i an pe r i o d bu t is extre m ely c o mm o n in m o dern

,

pro se (v u nder the pa rticle to an acc ou nt of f orm s lik e tori

.
,

and tom in this u sage) This is a nat u ral resu lt of the

.

i m p o rtati o n o f n u m er ou s Chinese w o rds which c ou ld be m ade

t o serve as adve r bs o nly by the aid of the pa r t i cle to and as
adj ect ives by m eans o f aru S o we have a regu la r schem e .

for the u tili z at i o n o f s u ch w ords o f which a typical exam ple is ,

The orig inal Chinese w ord {i g ( d odo)

‘
dodo to im p o singly
’
Japanese adverb ,

dado to ru hi to an i m p o s i ng pers on
’
adj ective
‘
,

dado tori is i m p o sing

’
verb ,

We no w c ome to what is perhaps the m o st i nterest ing

2 08 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
u ma no ro bo (N ) i f it is a h o rse
.

hore zoo 6 mi hami n o i ts u hu this is a thing l ovi ngly b e

s hi bi tomoeru mon o n ori (R e s ) st owed by the g o ds
The u nc ontracted f orm u i a ri o ccurs fr eely i n the N ara
peri o d as i n the first exam ple
, .

The f o rm n i te i s p o ssibly a c ontract ion o f u i a ri te bu t it ,

seem s m o re li k ely that it is f orm ed by the addit io n o f the

suffix te to the particle u i at a ti m e when u i retained i ts ,

f orce as the c onj u nctive form o f a verb (v u nder u i p .

, .

In either case i t is this f o rm n i te which has g iven rise to the

f orm de e m pl oyed in the c o ll o qu i al w ith the verb aru t o
,

c o nstru ct a c o p u lat ive l oc u ti o n c o rr esp o nding to n o ru in the

written langu age Th u s hore zoo y a ma n a ri bec om es hore zoo
.

ya ma ni te o ri which g ives rise to the c oll o qu i al f o r m hor e

,

zoo y a ma de a ru and by st ill f u rther c o ntracti o n hore zoo

, ,

y a m a do .

In a pr o p o sit i on o f two term s linked by a c op u la one m u st

be in a su bstant ival f orm In all s u ch cases n ori c a n serve .

as a c op u la E xam ples o f a n ou n as the fi r st ter m have been

.

given ab o ve We c a n als o have the s u bstant ival f orm o f

.

verbs and adj ectives as in ,

hohoro n o o sohi n ori (M ) it i s shall owness of heart .

haze n o fu hu n ari (M ) it i s the bl ow ing o f the wi nd

.

bu t i n m any cases o f thi s nat u re there i s little to di sting u i sh

su ch l o c ut i ons from the S i m ple predicat i ve statem ents o f the
‘ ‘
type hohoro a soshi hear t is S hall ow o r haze fu hu wind
,
’

, ,

bl ows ’
They seem to be du e to s om e obscur e cha r acteri stic
.

inherent in Japanese speech which im pels th o se who u s e i t

to p i le on e redu ndant verb u p o n an o ther I t is a feat u re .

which will n ot have escaped the n o tice o f th o se who listen

t o o rati o ns where sentence after sentence ends w i th s om e
phrase like de aru de o ri mas u which literally stands for ,

bei ng is—being i s is and can be adequ ately rendered by the

- - -

‘
o n e w o rd is i n E ngl i sh
’
I n s om e cases h owever a dif .
, ,

ference o f m ean ing o r e m phasis can be traced I n .

n o hu n o ru tori (M ) birds which are S i ngi ng .

ta dzu zoo i ma zo n o hu the cranes are n ow c rying

n ari (M ) .

n oru seem s t o have an e m phat i c alm o st a tense val u e as , ,

 THE A U XILIARIE S A R U AN D S UR U 2 09

insi st ing up o n the fact that the birds are u tteri ng s ounds at
the present m om ent In s u ch sentences as .

ha mome to miy u ru zoo s hi ra ho what l o ok s lik e gu lls i s the

n o y u hu n o ri (M ) . m o vi ng o f white sails
the u s e o f n ari is easily u nderst oo d S ince s hi roho n o yuhu i s ,

a s ubstantival phrase In .

'
chi h zt zoa higa s hi y ori n i s hi the gl o be rev o lves fr om E ast
y
n i mu ha i te ten hzoa n s u m n o ri to West

it is difficu lt to say that the su bstit u ti on o f ten hzoan s o for

ten hzoan s u m n ari w ou ld alter the m ean i ng I t m ar k s rather .

a di fference in e m phasis which m ight acc o rding to c ontext , ,

represent a di fference in m ean ing The m o de rn c o ll o q u i al .

has si milar variant f orm s The ab o ve sentence for instance .

, ,

bec om es in S peech
chi hy u zoo higas hi y ori n i s hi u i mu ho tte ten hzoa n s u m n o

des u
and the difference between th i s and the alternat ive ten hzoa n
s hi ma s u is hardly m o re than can be r epresented in E nglish

by a diffe rence in st r ess .

In the N a r a peri o d we find n o ru f oll ow ing n o t o nly as ,

woul d be expected the su bstant ival f orm o f verbs bu t als o

, ,

their pred icat ive f orm s Th u s .

n a hi te hoy u n a ri (M ) they c om e c rying .

and i to hu s oyogi te a ri n o ri s ay ageri n ari H ere i t

seem s li kely that the t u rn o f phrases i s em phatic bu t on e ,

cann o t bu t su spect that these and m any o the r apparently

irr egu lar fo rm s a re s om eti m es i mp o sed by the requ irem ents
o f m etre It m u st be rem em bered that the earliest texts i n
.

p u re Japanese are very largely in the f orm o f p o etry Tw o .

resul ts a r e nat u rally to be expected F i rst that we m ay .

,

attach to o m u ch i mp ortance to exam ples dr awn fr om these

s ou rces and sec o nd that f orm s m ay have a risen u nder the
, ,

influ ence o f ver se which c ou ld n o t be acc ou nted fo r u nder

o ther c o ndit i o ns It sh ou ld perhaps be m enti oned here that
.

S im ilar u ses o f the predicative f o rm c a n be f o u nd in o th e r

‘
c om binati o ns s u ch as ts u ma ta teri miy u
,
the sp ou se is
seen standing where we m ight expect totem
’

,
.

An i m p ortant fu ncti o n of the au xilia r y verb aru is to

327 E e
°
210 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
p ro v i de by f u sio n wi th an othe r verb what m a y be called a
‘
pr o gress ive p r esent tense o f the latter The type o f su ch
’
.

c om binati o ns is sh own by s a heri = s o hi ori The m eaning -

‘
.

c o nveyed by these c o ntinu ative f orm s is that the state ’

p r edicated by the verb c o ntinu es to exist at the m om ent

o f p r edicati o n They c a n o ften b e translated int o E nglish
-

‘
.

’
by t o be a present pa rticiple s o that s a heri i s rendered
‘
,

by is bl o om ing ’
They a r e f ou nd in the earl i est texts
.

i ma mo n ohoreri (B u s s ok u ) it still rem ains

ts u ma toteri ( K ) .the S p ou se is standing
n i s hi n o miy a ma ni to tera mo w ou ld I we r e stand ing o n
s hi (M ) . the Western hill
tam a n i masori te omoeri shi m y child that I u sed t o think
zoaga ho (M ) . m o re preci ou s than a j ewel
The equ ivalent f o rm s i n the M o ny bshii p o em s which r e p r e
sent the E aste rn dialect (the A dzu ma u to ) are o f the type -

f u ror u fo r
fu rer u ta ta r u fo r to tem &c, , .

These f orm s a r e u su ally c o nfined t o verbs o f the qu adri

g r ade c o nj u ncti o n bu t there a r e s om e excepti o ns su ch as
, ,

hon o a go hem i mo go koromo this r ob e o f m y l o ver s which ’

(M ) . I am wearing
and the a u xiliary verb s um o ften appears in the f orm s eru ,

s eri , &c .

In m o dern pr o se f orm s li k e s a heri are very c om m o n The .

f o ll owing a re exam ples o f thei r u s e

ts u hu e u i s o n sa tsu n o y o kon there are three b ook s placed
zo o okeri o n the table

(C o ll y o kon go oi te a ru )
.

ts u hihage midzu n i u ts u reri the m o o n is reflected in the

( C 0 11 m i dzu n i u ts u tte i r u ) water
‘
.

y a ma n i hi n enhi to teri a m o n u m ent stands (lit 1s .

( i hi p )
’
C o ll.h n e n go to te te o r u ) set u o n the hill
S t rictly speaking these f o rm s S h ou ld be de r ived o nly fr om
,

verbs o f the qu a drigra d e c o nj u gati o n which have a c on ,

j u nct ive f o rm ending in i for it is the c om binati o n i + a ,

which gives e as in y omeri from y omi —a ri bu t f o rm s su ch

,

as u heri haji meri & c a r e f ou nd in p r actice

, ,
.
, .

The f o ll owing exam ples are taken fr om the offi cial sch oo l
Reader i ssu ed by the D epart m ent o f E du cati on
’
212 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
t o res olve these f o rm s int o their o r iginal elem ents and , to
p u t f
,
or exa mple ,

y o s ko zoo ohi o ri for y o s ko zoo oheri

s ho zoo
yomi oreri s ho zoo y m erio

hoto zoo hi hi oreri hoto zo o hi hi tori

These are qu ite recent devel op m ents The f orm oreri is n ot .

f ou nd in archaic o r classical Japanese .

The a u xiliary verb o ri enter s int o c om binati on w ith m o st

verb s uffixes as f ollows ,

A ffi rm at ive suffix ts u (te) + ori tori

N egative s uffix zu + ori zari

Ca u sat ive suffix s u + ori s eri

Tense s uffi x hi + ari heri

Tense suffi x mu + ori meri
Tense su ffix behu + ori behori
Tense s uffix majihu + o ri majiha ri
These d o n ot r eq u ire spec i al t r eat m ent as their S ignificance ,

f oll ows nat u r ally f ro m thei r c o mp o siti on bu t the f oll owing ,

n o tes describe special feat u res of s om e o f them .

TA R I has j u st been described and will be f ou nd als o treated ,

u nder the s u ffix ts u p 1 7 7 , . .

SERI ccu rs in early texts e g

o , . .

zoo go ta ta s erebo (K ) since I am standing

.

ts uma motos erame ( K ) pr obably has a m ate

.

zoaga hi mi n o oboseru mi the au gu st gir dle which m y

obi (N ) . l or d is wearing
H ere totos a i s hon orifi c for tats u to stand and tatosereba ,

ta tas hi areba S i m ilarly moto s u is ho n or ifi c for mots u and

‘

‘
.
,

moto s erame mota s hi arome = will be h olding O bo s u i s

’
z

‘
.

the ho n orifi c f orm of obu to wear as a gi rdle ,

’
.

I t will be seen that su ch f o rm s are n ot essenti ally different

fr om th o se of the typ e s a heri j u st described They are
‘
.

m e r ely pr ogressive p r esent f o rm s o f ho n orifi c o r cau sat ive

’

verbs An exam ple from m o dern pr o se is

.

u n h o n o i taru tohoro the warships ca u se the na

g zo

n i hohho zo o hagoy a haseri ti on al b ri lliance to S h i ne in

every place
 THE A UXILIARIE S A R U AN D S UR U 213

When s eri stands alo ne it is S im ply a c om p o u nd o f the verb

s u m acting as a p r incipal ve r b with the au xilia ry ori
,
Thu s : , .

mi to bi s eri (R e s ) has d o ne (it ) three ti m es

f u n a de s eri M
( ) is sailing f o r th .

It will be f ou nd that s eri s om etim es has a past or pe rfect

tense significance Thu s .

u iju y o n en hi n zohu s eri

-
he has served c ontin u ou sly
fo r m o r e than twenty years
e n a n n o ma ma u i hets ugi they decided in acc o rdance
g
s eri with the o riginal draft
It will be seen that these f o rm s have a tense significance
‘
rather like that o f the F r ench perfect e g s eri = il a fait , . .
’

S i m ila rly y u heri and even m o re o ften y u hi tari a r e eq u ivalent

‘
, ,

to il est all é
’
.

Z AR I . examples are
E arly
azo aza redom o (M ) th o u gh he d o es n ot m eet .

mi ezoro n u (M ) is n o t u nseen .

Alth ough in early texts there are exam ples of the c o nj u nctive
f orm (ui ) o f the negative o f verbs f o ll owed by tense suffi xes
‘
,

( e
. g. a ha ni hem u will b e , the c o nj u nctive f o rm
zu d o es n o t f o r m s u ch c o m binati o ns C o nsequ ently when
‘
.
,
’
it is desi r ed to p u t a verb li k e y uhozu d o es n o t go int o , ,

fu t u re past or sim ilar fo rm s it m u st be d o ne by m eans o f

, ,

the au xiliary oru j u st as in the case o f adj ectives the c o m

,

p ou nd c o nj ugati o n is c o nstru cted by the sam e m eans e g , . .

zoa ru hu zooru ho ri s hi zoo ru haro mu

, Thu s we have a negative
, .

c o nj u gati o n b u ilt u p fr om yu ha zari S h o wing f o rm s like y uha ,

zar i s ki
y u hozarebo y u hozaro mu & c
, ,
It fo ll ows that zari is , .

in very c omm o n u s e In early texts there a re u nc o m p ou nded

‘ ‘
.

form s as a rozu a ri ts u (R es ) lit was n ot being for was ’

-
, , .
,

not bu t in later writings d own to the present day zo ri with , ,

its de rivat ives is always u sed D etails and exam ples have .

already been g iven u nder the heading o f N egative S uffixes .

Ther e existed in early and classical Japanese certain c om

p ou nd form s o f the au xiliary verb reserved for special u ses ,

hon orifi c or hu m ble These we r e in additi o n to the verb oru

.
,

m enti oned ab o ve ho beru i mozoha m o r i mos u ho ru They are

, , .

o bs olete except that ha ber u lingers in the ep i st o lary style .

214 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
I mas u ha ru with its vari ou s f o rm s i s said to be deri ved fr o m
‘
, ,

i ma s u and o ru th r ee verbs each m eaning to be

’

, , , It is an .

ho n orifi c while ha bern s u pp o sed to be ho u t o crawl + om

’

, , , , ,

i s hu m ble E xa m ples o f the u s e o f these c u ri ou s f o rm s are

.

on ore o moto u i medeta hi hoto in m y h om e ther e i s a l ovely

g
ha beri (Mak ) ha rp
.

hahu ha ha n a hute i mas u ha whereas he seem ed to be s o

mem zoo (Yam at o) u nf o rt u nate

II . T heA u x i li ar y Ve r b S U R U .

Its sim ple c o nj u gat i o n i s

P redicat ive
Attribu t ive
I m pe rfect or N egat ive Base ’

C o nj u nctive
P erfect
‘
The m ean ing o f s u ru i s appr ox im ately to do ’
I t presents .

the idea of acti on bu t s o vagu ely that a c om plete i dea can

,

hardly be exp ressed by its m eans with ou t the aid o f o ther

w or ds . It resem bles the F rench verb fai re It is thu s .

essent i ally an a u x iliary and cann o t stand al one as on e of the

,

two term s o f a si mple pr o p o sit i o n I n t hi s respect i t differs

‘
.

fro m a ru which i n the sense to exist c a n be s o em pl o yed .

F o r c o nvenience o f descript i o n on e m ay take the cases

where s um is ass o ciated respectively with (1 ) substant ives ,

(2 ) adve rbs (3 ) particles , .

( )
1 With s u bstant i ves The typ i cal case i s.r ep r esented by

su ch c om b inat i o ns as ma i s u ru to dance and hoes u ru ,

to cry It is a devel o p m ent o f this u s e which has

.

enabled the Japanese langu age to assim ilate a large nu m ber

o f Chinese w o rds and to c o nvert them int o verbs where
,

necessa ry The earliest exam ples o f this devi ce a re su ch as

.

mei zu ru to c omm and an zu m ( fl ) to c o nsider wher e , , ,

the Chinese w ords or rather app r ox im ate Japanese pro

,

n u n c i ati on s the r e o f are c om p ou nded with s u ru

,
These a re .

p o sterio r t o the N ara peri o d S u ch f o rm s w o u ld nat u rally .

n o t o ccu r in the M a ny bshu o r o ther p o etical w orks n o r are ,

they to be f ou nd in o ther texts o f the peri o d .

A cu ri o u s phen om en o n which m ay be m ent io ned here is , ,

the fo rm at io n o f c omp ou nds fr om p u re Japanese w ords wh ich

216 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
ma i wa s emu (M ) I wi ll dance .

i ku sa wo s hi te (R e s ) m aking war
ka dode mo s ureba (M ) as he sets for th .

In s u ch cases s u m appr o aches in fu nct io n to a p rinc ipal verb ,

the su bstantive and the ve rb each reta ining a separate

m ean ing and n o t c om pletely f u s ing int o o n e verb f o rm The .

di ffer ence in fo rm o f su ch l o cu ti o ns is acc om pan i ed by a slight

di fference in m eaning a n u ance which i t i s easier to perceive
,

than to define .

U nder this heading (o f ass o ciati o n w i th s u bstantives) m ay

be inclu ded s u ch f orm s as
omoku s u m t o p r iz e t o attach weight to
, ,

wher e omoku i s the c o nj u nct i ve f o rm o f an adj ective i n a ,

s ubstantival u s e This is anal o g ou s to the c o nj u nctive f o rm

.

o f a verb in s u ch c o m binat i o ns as hori s u m t o desire which ,

has g iven r ise to the m o dern verb hos s u m and s hi ui s um

‘
,
‘
,

ka resu m
’ ’
to die , to wither , & c which are o bs o lete , .
, .

It is inter esting to n o te that in ear ly Japanese su ch verbs

were f orm ed fr eely E xam ples are .

F r om adj ect ives ma tta ku s u m matté s um to c om plete , ,

ta ka ku s u m tuké s u m to heighten , ,

F r om verbs s hi u i s u m & c , .

This m eth o d c a n be regar ded as n ow obs olete A parallel

‘
.

tendency is sh own in E nglish To blac k en is a stere o typed

‘
.

f orm wher eas to blu en w ould n o t be perm issible

,
’
.

( )
2 With adverbs Cases o f di r
. ect ass o ciat i o n are ka ku

sum ka ku s hi te s hi kus u m s hi ka s hi te and the c o ll o q u ial

‘
, , , ,
' '
s l ukashz m ean i ng h o wever s us u m sa s hi te & c
’

,
These a r e
, , , .

self—explanat o ry .

(3) Wi th particles Instances have j u st been g iven where

.

the s u bstantival fo rm which is s o to spea k g overned by s um , ,

i s s i gnali z ed by o n e o f the particles mo or a m The adverb i al .

particles su ch as n omi kos o & c c an nat u rally be em pl oyed

, , .
,

in a s im ilar way as in ,

i wude kokoro u i omoi koso w ith o u t spea king in his heart ,

s u re he indeed thinks s o
S u ch l o cu ti o ns are easily u nderst oo d A mu ch m o r e di ffic u lt .

su'bj ect h owever is the c om binati o n o f the particles to and

, ,

m wi th s um If we exam ine the f o ll owi ng phrases

.
 THE A U XILIARIE S A R U AN D S UR U 217

ha ts um ii i s u beku u m i (M ) it sh ou ld be m ade int o a ga rland .

i i ts ugi u i s emu (M ) will m ake (it ) a m essenger .

the r e is n o t m u ch dou bt as to the val u e o f s um in these ,

c ontexts B u t in .

o n o hi to m s hi te (M ) being a p e rs o n o f the world

y .

6 omi to s hi te ts u ka ema ts u ri served as a m in i ster o f state

S hi ( R es )

it will be seen that s um far fro m rep r esenting the idea o f ,

an act c o nveys r ather the idea o f a state and app ro xi m ates

‘
, ,

in m eaning to a m to be ,
’
.

It is this sim ilarity between the two a u xilia ry verbs ,

a m ou nting in m any cases to inte rchangeability which p ro ,

vides a key to m any a p pa rent an o m alie s in the u s e o f s um

‘
.

It seem s that while the m axi m u m sign ificance o f a m is to

‘
exist and the m axi m u m significance of s u m is to d o
’ ’

, ,

the r e is as it were a territ o ry which the two verbs share ,

a c omm o n m eaning which in t ranslati o n c a n be represented

by a c o pu la Th u s if we take the two pr op o siti o ns
.

( )
1 K 5 wet ots u ta ri ( = t0 ari ) —
A is B I

( )
2 K 6 ze d ots u to s u
the first m ay be taken to m ean that A exists as B the sec o nd ,
'

that A behaves as B The greatest c o mm o n m easu re o f

‘
.

m eaning her e is A is as B I do n o t o f c ou r se su ggest that

the inter changeability aro se th r o u gh a l o gical p ro cess which
c ou ld be s o precisely f orm u lated Indeed it is r em a rk able .

that the devel op m ent sh ou ld have taken p lace at all since ,

i t d o es n o t appear t o have been ca u sed by any specific

r eq u i r e m ent in the lang u age .

The idi om u nder discu ssi o n o cc u rs in the ea rliest texts .

Cf the exa mples given ab o ve and

.
,

hi to to s hi te omowa zu a m we: ther e is n o b o dy who be ing

a m zu (R e s a m d es o t think
) a n o n

kokoro n omi i m o ga ri y a ri te a o nly m y hea r t g o es to m y

wa koko u i s hi te (M ) l over I m yself being he r e

.
,

A detailed acc ou nt o f the u ses o f s u ch c om binati o ns as to

sum ui s um ,to s hi te u i s hi te & c will be f o u nd u nder the
, , ,

I n Chi n e s e
'

c h a ra cte r s E? (ho) t ( ots u t]

) P
and J th e
I
ap an e s e , ,

( he i ) &c, .
, a re e m
p o ye l d fo r p u rp o se s o f e nu m e r at i o n ,
as we use A ,

B , C &c, .

3270
218 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
sect ions devo ted to to and ui I c o nfine m yself here to .

sh owing schem at ically the c o rresp ondence b o th f orm al and

fu ncti o nal between the two verbs
5 UR U AR U
= thu s s are ba
t hi s being s o
sa s u reba ( sa )
s a s hi n aga ra s a ri n agara nevertheless
s hi ka s hi te s aari te wh ilst h owever ,

s hi kas hi n aga ra s a ri n aga ra nevertheless

to s u tari is
tos hi te to a ri te be ing
u i s hi te n i ari te n i te being ,

E ach m em ber o f on e o f the ab o ve pairs m ay be regarded as

eq u ivalent in m eaning to the o the r m em ber The f o rm s .

s hi ka s hi s hika s hi te and s hi kas hi n aga ra i n the m o dern lan

, ,

gu age are c omm o ner than the c om p ou nds with a ri S hi ka .

s hi i ndeed is n ow in the sp ok en langu age the equ ivalent

,
’
o f h o wever .

The case o f to s hi te i s als o i nterest ing since it has act u ally ,

displaced its f orm al equ ivalent to ari te as m o re o ver u i s hi te , ,

has displaced ui ari te (bu t n ot ni te) If we ta k e the sentences .

Ta r o ma otoko n a ri Tar o i s a m an
Ha n a ma onn a n ari H ana is a w om an
and wish to m ak e o f them on e sentence by u sing the c o nju nc ,

tive f o rm of the first verb we find that this c o nj u nctive f orm is

,

n o t u sed u nde r su ch c i r c u m stances Instead o f Ta ro ma otoko .

u i ari te & c, o n e o f the f oll owing s u bstit u tes is e m pl oyed

.
,

Ta ro ma otoko n i te Ha n a ma onna n a ri
Ta ro ma otoko n i shi te Ha n a ma on n a n a i i
Simi larly with to s hi te th ough this f orm d o es n o t o ccu r in
the earliest texts and the c o rresp o nding f o rm ta ri te is als o
,

absent i n the N ara peri o d I n the m o dern langu age how .

,

ever to s u and to shi te are freely u sed Th u s

, .

i ma goji n n o s hugan to s u m m y m ain obj ect at present is

tokor o ma ji tsu u i bu mpo actu ally the st u dy o f gra m
ga ku n ari to su m ar
= ‘
where s huga n to s u m tokoro that whi ch i s the m ain
o bj ect and n ari to s u is a ple o nastic expressi o n m eaning
’

‘
,

sim ply is ’
In legal langu age the w o rds to s u c an u su ally
‘
.

‘ ’ ’
be translated by is or shall be Thu s .
220 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The verb owa s u fi rst appears in the H eian pe ri o d
‘
Its .

m eaning is the sam e as that o f a m o r am except that it ,

has an ho norifi c valu e and it is probably de rived fro m s om e

,

s u ch c om binati o n o f mas u as oni a s u where 0 als o is honorifi c

,
.

E xa m ples o f its u s e a r e

y on a ha m a d e n a n ow a s es hi he w a s there u ntil m idnight

(Ma k ) .

n a ta n e n o oki s a ni te owa ses hi she was o f the si z e o f a rape

(Ta k e )
'
see d
Ten u i ma s hi mas u waga chi ou r F ather which art in
chi Heaven
While owa s u is obs olete and mes u persists chiefly in s u ch c o n
‘
,

v e n ti o n a l c o m p o u nds as obos hi ni es u the f o rm

’
to thin k , ,

ma su c o ntin u es to play an i m p ortant pa r t in the sp o ken

langu age in the ordinary p olite f o rm s o f verbs su ch as ari
,

ma s u goza i mas u which are hon orifi c f o rm s o f a m and

, , ,

y u ki m a su whe ,
re attached, t o the c o nj u nctive f o rm of a

princ ipal verb m as u i s sim ply an ho n orifi c s uffix

,
.

Revi ewing the ab o ve acc ou nt o f the a u xiliary verbs we ,

see that while the early (pre N ara) langu age appears to have
-

had a c o p u la it becam e o bs o lete and was r eplaced n o t by

,

o n e bu t by m any l o c u ti o ns S ett ing these f o rth i n tab u lar

.

f o rm we have
M ode m

C olloqu i a l

de a ru , da
de ari m a s u

go z a ru
d e go z a r u
d e go z a rim as u
d e go z ai m as u
des u l

1
Th e abo ve d oes not e x h au st of h o n o rifi c c o m b i n a ti o n s
 O THER A U XILIAR Y VER B S 221

A U XI L I A R Y VE R B S
O T HE R

The and h u m ble ve r bs j u st m ent io ned m a

( )
I h o n o ri fi c
y
be r egar ded as au xil iary verbs Thu s in ka shi ta mae deign
‘
.
, ,

to lend and ta bete ku da sa i c o ndescend to eat tamae and

’

, ,
’

ku da s a i a re f u ncti o nally the eq u ivalent o f i m perative ter

m i na ti on s o f the p rincipal verb S i m il arly i n on s ass hi .

‘
mos hi ma s u I r espectfu lly sym pathi z e moshi mas u (m as u)
’

‘
,

has n o l o nger its u su al m eaning o f to spea k h um bly bu t ’

is si mply a hu m ble a u xiliary .

‘
(2 ) The ve rb u r u which as a principal verb m eans to
‘
,

get serves as an au xiliary in the sense o f to be able

’

,
’
.

The r e is little d oubt that the p o tential f o rm s o f verbs s u ch

‘
,

as y uka m m to be able to go c o ntain the verb u m and if ’

, , ,

we exa m ine s u ch pai r s as tats u to stand (intransitive ) and ’

‘
, ,

to stand (transitive ) w e see that u m is a hardly

’
tats u r u , ,

c o ncealed au xilia ry in the transitive f o rm .

In the m edieval and later langu ages we find su ch f o rm s

‘
as e n omazu i s u nable to drin k whe r e e i s the c onj u nctive ’
-
, ,

o f um In s om e dialects the o rdina ry p o tential is r eplaced

‘
.

by f orm s o f the typ e y u ki ezu cann o t go wher e again ezu ,

’

is an a u xiliary There is als o a verb ka nem or kanum

‘
.
,

m eaning to be u nable u sed as an a u xiliary in s u ch c o m

’

‘
,

p ou nds as y u ki kan em to be u nable to go It is n ot f ou nd

,
’
.

in the early langu age bu t in the N ara perio d there o ccu rs ,

a ve rb kate as in
hi to kun i n i s ugika tenu (M )
-
cann o t pass i nt o a strange .

land
n agaji ma y u ki ka ten u (M ) cann o t go a l o ng way .

The c o nclu sive f o rm is sca rce bu t appears to be kats u as in , ,

u k i ka ts u maji It is pr bable that this verb is c gnate

y ‘
o o

with kata shi hard and ka n em m ay be related to it

,
’

, .

An other a u xiliary verb u sed to f o rm a p otential is ata u ,

f ou nd as a r ule o nly in the negative as in yu ki ata wazu , ,

cann o t go
(3) S om e Japanese gramm arians di stingu ish an a u xiliary
or ver b s u ffix a n in s u ch w o rds as ha ta ra n s u ma u u ts u rou
, , , ,

‘
m e a n i n g to b e
’
Th e re a re fo r m s l ik e ma s hi ma s u owa s hi m a s u
.
, ,

i ra s s ha ru , a n d v e r b s l i k e ta m a u s a mu r a n & c
,
i n w h i c h th e h o n o ri fi c
,

v alu e ha s s u p p re s s e d a l l o th e r m e a n i n g s o t h a t t h e y a c t m e re l y a s
,

su ffix e s .
 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘ ‘
&c . Thu s kata m is to tal k wh ile ka ta ra u i s to r e m ain in
’

c o nve rse m u mi s to st op wh ile s u ma u is to dwell uts u m

’ ’

‘
,
‘
,
’ ’
to change and u ts u rou to fade
, The suffix is stated to
.

den o te the c o ntinu ance o f the acti o n described by the verb .

I t is t ru e that a large n u m ber o f pa irs o f this type c an be

f ou nd in the N ara peri o d bu t they a re already stere o typed
, ,

and it can hardly be said that a n is n ow a verb suffix or an ,

a u xiliary c ompar able with say s u I ts existence sh ou ld

, , , .
,

h owever n o t be o verl oo ked when endeav o u ring to fix the

,

ea rliest f o rm s of verbs Thu s n ego u to pray has an earlier

.
,

f o rm n egu and tama u is u nd ou btedly derived fr om ta bu

, .

( Cf. ts u tom eta bu bes hi tas u kem-

a ts
, u ri ta bu f o r m s ve r y c o mm o n ,

in the Rescr ipts ) .

224 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
particles ga u i n o to zoo he ma de and y ori and o n the
, , , , , , , ,

o the r hand all the r em aining pa r ticles The m e m be r s o f .

the fi r st g rou p a re affixed exclu sively to su bstant ives o r to

gro u ps o f w o rds acting as s u bstantives and thei r f uncti o n ,

is that which in o ther langu ages is u su ally perfo rm ed by

infl e x io n o r by prep o siti o ns and p o stp o siti o ns— the designa
ti o n of Case They m ay the r ef ore with ou t seri ou s ab u se o f
.
, ,

term s be call ed Case Pa rticles .

The re m aining gro u p is certainly n o t h om o gene ou s bu t ,

its m em ber s have o n e char acter in c om m o n Thei r presence .

is n ot essential to the f o rm ati o n o f a sentence bu t se rves to ,

m o dify its p u r p or t This in the case o f p rincipal w or ds as

.
, ,

o pp o sed t o particles is precisely the f u ncti o n o f an adverb

, ,

and in a gene ral way the m em bers o f the gro u p in qu esti o n

m ay be fairly described as A dve rbial Particles .

Fro m this gener al classificati o n o n e m ight exclu de the

Interrogative Par ticles bu t ther e d o es n o t see m t o be suffi
,

cient reas o n fo r s o d o ing since the obj ect o f classificati o n is

,

sec u red if gro u ps o f m anageable si z e a r e distinguished .

We theref or e have two categ ories of pa r ticles : ( 1 ) C a s e

P a r ti c l e s ( )
2 A d v e r b i a l P a r ti c l e s .

An an om aly d o es it is t ru e o btru de itself in the s uffi xes

, ,

ba do domo & c
, , ,
S t rictly speaking t hese a r e the pa rticles
.
,

zoa and to in special f o rm s and it is p o ssible to t r eat the m

,

as s u ch by paying elab orate attenti on to thei r sense devel op

m ent . B u t their f u ncti o ns when they appear in this f o rm
, ,

a r e s o speciali z ed that it w o u ld be pedantic as well as i n c on

v en i e n t to ref u se the m special t r eat m ent and they are there ,

f o re sepa rately classified bel ow as (3 ) C o n j u n cti ve P a r ti c l e s .

C ASE P A R TI C L E S
These the pa rticles n o t s u ga w o u i to he yo r i and
are , , , , , , , ,

m a d e Their sever al u ses a r e desc ribed bel o w bu t it m u st

.
,

be reali z ed that the n om inative and accu sative cases c a n be

sh own with ou t the u s e o f particles and when par ticles a r e ,

a ffi xed to wo r ds which are syntactically in th o se cases they ,

d o n o t f orm the case bu t m erely indicate it , Thu s the .

sentences
zoare y u kan I will go
maro kon o u ta n o ka es hi s en I will m ake a r eply to this
verse
 C A S E P AR TI CLE S 2 25

are c om plete as they stand th ou gh they c o ntain n o part i cle ,

t o ind i cate n om inative o r accu sat ive S trict ly spea king .

,

neither zoa n or ga as will be sh own later even indi cates the

, ,

n om inat i ve and it m ay be said that m o dern Japanese has

,

n o excl u sive m eans o f ind i cating this case o ther than by ,

p o siti on I t will be seen h owever that certain speci ali z ed

.
, ,

u ses o f ga and zoa c o nstit u te an attem pt by the langu age t o

single ou t if n o t the gram m atical su bj ect o f a sentence at

, ,

least the su bj ect o f a l ogical p ro p o si ti o n .

NO m ay be defined as a geni t i ve part icle but its em pl oym ent ,

c an be better u nderst o o d if it is regarded as establishing an

attrib u tive rather than a p o ssessive or partit ive r elati o n
between tw o w or ds In o n e o f i ts s implest and earliest u ses
.

i t f o rm s dem o nstrative adj ectives f ro m pr o n ou ns— kan a

‘
,

ka n o a n o s on o, and in su ch a ph rase as kon o hi to this ,

ma n the r e i s clearly n o p o ssessive bu t o nly an attrib u t ive ,

relat io n between ko and hi to In zoaga s oga & c .

, ,

o n the o ther hand there i s a defin i te p o ssessive sense for

‘ ‘
, ,

these w ords m ean my ’

thy & c To take a very ea rly
,
’

, .

exam ple the f oll owing o ccurs in the Toshigohi (P rayer for
,

Harvest ) R it u al
y a ts u ka ho n o i ka s hi ho m any b u ndled and l u x u r i ant ears -

is quite cl ear that n o do es n o t m ean o f bu t relates

’
where it ,

yats u ka ho to i ka s hi ho as the translati o n sh ows

, .

Regarded in this way the significance o f n o in s u ch l o cu

t io ns as the f oll owing bec om es m u ch clearer
y as o n o s hi ma (M ) . eighty isles
j y
u en n o k ogi tte a chequ e fo r ten yen
fu ta ts u n o m i ch i two r o ads
kami n o y ashi ro the u pper shrine
ts u ki n o y o a m oonl ight n ight
This u s e o f n o i s o f c ourse parallel with that of the prep os i
‘ ‘
, ,
’
ti o n o f in E nglish i n su ch phrases as a child of three
’

‘ ‘
, ,

a m an of sense ’
a n ight o f te rr o r
, bu t i n E nglish i t i s
’

restricted in Japanese w idely extended N or is the anal ogy

, .

suffici ent to expl ain su ch fo rm s as

omoshi ro n o mon o a tari an interesting tale
g
i igai na n o kata
-
a thing n ot w orth spea king o f
G g
2 26 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
where we have n o affixed to an adj ectival ste m H ere the .

e ffect o f n o is to give the adj ective i ts at trib u t ive valu e ,

exactly as i f it were the regu lar attrib u tive in fl e x i on in ,

omos hi roki m on oga ta ri i iga i , n a ki koto .

The attrib u tive f or ce o f n o is fu rther exem plified in

Y a ma to n o ku n i (M ) the land o f Ya m at o
.

K u sa n agi n o tachi (K ) the grass qu elling sw ord

.
-

i tazui a n o S a buro
’
the nau ghty S ab u r o
H ere i ndeed there is n o trace of a p o ssessive relati o n The .

m eanings a r e the land that is Ya m at o & c and the part icle .

,

even p oints ou t an i dentity rather than an attrib u te very

‘
, ,

m u ch as in the E nglish idi om s her f oo l o f a h u sband

’

, the ,

B u t he r e again the Japanese u s e is m u ch

’
c ou nty o f Kent .

m o re widely extended than the E nglish .

Fu rther illu strat i o ns o f this type are :

a n i n o Yos hi ta r o Yo shita ro hi s elder b r o ther ,

chi chi n o D a i n a on her father the C ou nsell o r

g ,

ha m n o kagi ri n o ky o n o hi to day the last day of S pr i ng

-
,

This u s e o f n o by wh ich on e w ord is br ou ght i nt o an a ttri

,

bu tiv e relat i o n with an o ther can serve t o c o nvert al m o st

,

any par t o f speech int o an adj ect ive Thu s .

hi da oi n o te the left hand

ma koto n o kotoba tru e w o rds
mu kas hi n o tera ancient tem ples
s a i ki n n o tokei recent stat i stics
u mi ta te n o ta mago new la i d eggs -

'
zoa azu ka n o kata a trifling th ing
hun ete n o n egai a p r evi ou s requ est
A c o nstru cti o n whi ch is s im ilar to th o se j u st described bu t ,

s om ewhat elliptical i s f ou nd in ,

ts uy u n o i n ochi (M )
'

. a life fleet ing as the dew

ha na n o kan ba se ts u ki n o a fl ower li k e face m o on li k e -
,
-

may u eye br ows -

y u k u mi do u n o h ay a ku fast as r u nning water

These m ay perhaps be c om pared with s u ch E nglish c oll o qu i al

‘ ‘
a dream o f a hat ’
expressi o ns as a devil of a b u siness ’

‘
, ,

which on e m ay supp o se to m ean a devilish b u siness a ’

drea m li k e hat ’
.
228 HI STO RI CA L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
p o etry) sentences wh i ch are i n f orm exclam at i ons rather than
asser t io ns su ch as
,

‘
s umera ni i koto n o n ori ta ma i
’ ’
l it the S overeign s sayi ng
‘
s hiku R e s )
( the S vereign said ’
o

In the m o dern c oll o quial too a frequ ent idiom is that , ,

illu strated by
' ‘
mi chi n o toi koto lit the farness o f the .

a l o ng way it i s
I n m o dern E ngl ish an anal o gy m ay be f ou nd in newspape r
‘ ’
head lines su ch as D eath of J o nes which i s an o ther way
-

‘
,
’
o f say i ng J o nes i s dead .

This tendency is n o d ou bt re i nfo rced by deficienc ies in

o ther direct i o ns— the lack for instance o f a S im ple m eth o d , ,

o f i ndicating agree m ent o f pers o n n u m ber & c I n ru di , , .

m entary pro p o siti ons the relati o n between term s i s m ade

,

clear by app o siti o n in significant o r der Thu s ame fu m

‘ ‘
.
, ,

rain falls fum a me falling rain

’

, I n E ngl ish S ign ificant

,
’
.
,

w o r d o rder t o gethe r with S im ple in fl e xio n s is adequ ate even

-

‘
, , ,

in l o nger sentences Th u s I kn ow a m a n c om es is clear

.
’

en ou gh in E nglish bu t zo are s hi m hi to ku m w oul d be barely

,

i ntelligi ble i n Japanese It i s necessary to i ndicate the rela

.

t i o n between term s It is her e that n o i n c o mm o n wi th

.
,

o ther particles perf orm s a characteri stic fu nct i on

,
The .

phrase s hi m hi to as it stands is ne u t r al in the sense that ,

s hi m i s m erely attrib u tive to hi to I t m ay signify either

‘ ‘
.

a m an who k n ows or a m an who i s k n own ’

B u t if we
’
.

say zoare n o s hi m hi to the particle n o brings zoare i nt o cl o se

,

relati o n w i th s hi m and the phrase m eans an I k n ow m a n -

’

‘
, ,

i e a m an that I kn ow Anal og ou s w i th the c om binati o n

’
. . .

zoare n o s hi m i s a shi n o n agaki in ashi n o n ago ki hi to a m an

‘
,

wi th l ong legs literally a legs l ong m an

’

, I n the written -
’
.

lan guage the S im ple f o rm ashi n aga ki hi to i s perm i ssible bu t ,

the c ollo qu ial exacts the u s e of n o

‘
.

S ince hi to n o hu m c o r r esp onds to a m an c om es as well

’

‘
as to a m an s c o m ing the sentence hi to n o kum zoo s hi m
’ ’

i s the equ i valent of I k n o w that a m a n c om es

’
It wi ll be .

seen that in these c ontexts n o serves to f o rm b o th relative

, ,

and su b o rdi nate sentences Thu s .

ku m hi to a m a n who c om es
hi to no kum toki the tim e when a m an c om es
 C A S E PARTI C LE S 2 29

hi to n o kum zo o mats u t o wait fo r a m a n to c om e

hi to n o ku m ma de mats u to wait u ntil a m an c om es
hi to n o ku m koto the fact o f a m an s c oming or ’

the fact that a m an c om es

Thi s u s e o f n o i s so im p o rtant that it is worth While even at ,

the r is k of o ve r elab or ati o n to i llu st r ate the p r o cess by wh ich

-
,

i t has devel oped by m eans o f the f oll owing qu o tati ons

,

(I ) s hi ray u ki n o ka karem eda in the branches o n which the

u i ugu i s u n o n a ku whi te sn ow lies the warbler
S ings

Here the fi r st n o is the link between su bj ect and predicate

o f a relat i ve sentence The sec o nd c o nnects ugu i s u with
.

n a ku which i s a s u bstantival f o rm o f the ve rb and lite r ally

‘
, ,

theref ore the last w ords m ight be translated the S inging of

the warbler bu t by an extensi o n o f m eaning the exclam a
’

ti o n bec om es an asserti o n and the passage c an be fairly

‘
,
’
rendered the warbler S ings
(2 ) i n a ba so
y ogi te a ki ka ze n o ru stling the y o u ng rice the
fuku au t u m n wind bl ows
(3) s higu m m s or a ni ka ri no in the r ainy S k y the geese are
na ku n a ri cryi ng
Here kari n o n a ku is treated as a s ubstantive and n ari serves ,
’
as verb + c o pu la I t is a crying o f the w ild geese In the .

m o dern c o ll o q u ial the sentence w ou ld run kari n o n aku n o

de a m .

(4 ) nan i ka zoa kare no kan a how shall the parting be sad ?

s hi ka rama s hi
-

( )
5 K a s ug a n o n o zoa ka n a tsu f olk will go herb gathering
ni i u i hi to n o u ku ra n o n the m oo r o f Kas u ga
y
(6) hi to n o kokoro no ha na to were m en s l ove to fade li k e
’

chi ri n a ba fl owe r s
In the last three examples the m o der n c o ll o qu ial equ ivalent
w ou ld req u i r e the u s e of ga— zoa kare ga ka n a shi ka ré hi to
a
g y u ko kok or o ga ha n a n o
y o u i c hi tte s hi ma eba .

I n relative sentences wher e n o is affixed to the s ubj ect it ,

is q u ite clear that the exclam at o ry sense has vanished Thu s

‘ ‘
.

while hi to n o ta bum might m ean pe o ple s eat ing ! hi to n o

’
2 30 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
ta bum ni on o m eans
’
the th ings which pe ople eat and ,

n oth i ng else I add a few examples o f this u sage

.

ha m n o ki m kas umi n o ko the r obe of m ist that S pring

rom o wears
hi to n o i i i n ora s ain u koto
-
things that pe o ple m ay dis
cl o se
i miji ki tenji n n o a ma kuda as if he had seen a S plendid
rem zo o ni i tara n y o u i angel descend fro m heaven
s hika n o ka ou hodo n o mi chi I t is n o t likely that a h o r se
y
u ma n o ka ozoan u koto a m cann o t f oll o w a path big
y
bekarazu en ou gh for a deer to f oll ow
In i ts u s e as a genitive particle n o is at ti m es f ou nd in the
written langu age and still m or e frequ ently in the S p o ken
, ,

f o ll o wing on e su bstantive with ou t linki ng it to an o ther j u st

‘
,
’ ’
as i n E nglish we can say the b oo k is J o hn s E g . . .

M any oshu u i i ra nu fum ki u ta p o em s n ot i n the Many o

'
o ld

mi dzu kara n o zoo in o (Ko ki n ) . s hu and p o em s o f m

( ) y o wn
i ma n o am ji in o mae no me the present m aster and the
( T o sa ) f o rm er o n e
kore zoa a n ata n o desu (Mo d . this i s y ou rs
C o ll )
.

An o ther ell iptical u se o f n o i s to be f ou nd in su ch phrases as

ts u ba me n o tobu ga kay a i
the flight o f the swall ow is
no
q u i ck
ki tte n o fu m i n o zo o a ts uin em to c ollect old sta m ps
a ta ra s hii n o ga n a i ther e ar e n o new o nes
hi to n o ku m n o zoo ma ts u to await a pers o n s c oming
’

The idi om he r e illu strated i s c o nfined to the S p o ken langu age ,

and is invariably u sed wher e the written langu age w ou ld

e m pl o y S i m ple su bstantival f orm s (e g hi to n o hu m zoo . .

mats u ) or m ake u s e o f the w o r ds koto (a thing abst r act ) or ,

mon o (a thing c o ncrete) as in ts u ba me n o tobu koto a tara

, , ,

s hi ki mon o The f oll owing sentences S h o w the diffe r ence

.

clearly °

kon o u ta zoa Hi tomaro ga y omi kem ]

this p o em i s one
n a ri (L it ) L by
.

kon o u ta zoa Hi tomaro ga y on da

I
no

des u (C o ll ) .
2 32 HI S TO RI C A L JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
M on oga tari o nly one example o ccu rs where ga c onnects two
s u bstantives of wh ich the first is the nam e o f a th ing I n .

all o ther cases i t is the nam e or descr ipti o n o f a pers o n .

A typ ical c o ntrast between the u ses o f the two part i cles in
th i s respect i s f ou nd in su ch a phrase as
s hi zu n o o ga on e n o oto the s ou nd o f the peasant s axe ’
-

It i s n ot o f c ourse c o ntended that n o cann o t be u sed to

S h o w a p u rely p o ssess ive relat i o n bu t that
,

( 1 ) the fu ncti o n of n o is to express a l oose relat io nsh ip ,

whether attrib u tive or par t i t ive between two su b ,

s ta n tiv e s and s o t o place the sec o nd o f these i n the

,

pri ncipal p ositi o n i n the clau se where i t o ccu rs and

(2 ) the fu ncti o n of ga is to establish a cl ose relat i o nsh ip ,

prim arily p o ssess ive o r dep en de n t betw een two s ub ,

'

s t an tive s and s o to place the fi r st o f these i n the

,

pr inc ipal p o s iti o n in the clau se where i t o ccu rs .

The c o ntrast is illu strated in the f oll ow ing exam ple s

( )
1 M a s a ni u n e n o k a ta n a a M as a m u n e sw o rd

M a s amun e ga ka ta na Ma s am u n e s sw ord ’

(2 ) chi chi n o D a i n agon her father the D ain agon

’
D a i nagon ga chi chi the D a in a gon s father
(3 ) T a m b a n o ka m i the L o rd o f Ta m ba
‘
Ta mba ga ka mi
’
whereas w ou ld be as u nu su al as N o rf ol k s
’
D uk e .

GA i nd icates the subj ect of a Clau se in the sam e way as n o

, ,

particu larly where the relati o n between su bj ect and pre dicate
i s owing to the length o r the c o nstru ct i o n o f the sentence
, ,

n o t i mm ediately apparent Thu s while in y o fukenu night

‘
.
, ,
’
kaze s uzu shi the w i nd i s c o o l there c a n be n o c on
, ,

f u s i o n in
,

s ho mi m ga om oshi ros hi i t i s pleasant to read b o ok s

chi n a ki ga o s hi th o se with ou t wi sdom are m any
the i nt ro du cti o n o f ga S h ows that in i m and n a ki are the
.

su bj ects When as i n these cases the s u bj ect is a verb o r

.
, ,

adj ective in its substant ival f o rm o r a su bstant ival gr ou p

, ,

g a is al m o st i nvariably u sed i n prefe r ence to n o beca u se i t ,

i s on the s u bj ect that e m phas i s i s lai d Thu s .

 C A S E PARTI C LE S 2 33

nu m ga u chi u i ni i m zoo n omi S hall we call a drea m o nly

y a zoa y u ni e to i zoa n that w hi ch we see du ri ng

s leep

N O is u sed on the o ther hand in excla m at o ry sentences

‘
,

li k e th ose al r eady qu o ted e g koe n o ha m kes a the far

, . .
,
’
o ffn e s s o f its v o ice where the sec o nd su bstant ive or verbal
,

f orm i s the imp ortant on e .

In su b o rdinate (relative) clau ses n o i s f ou nd m o re o ften

,

than ga beca u se fro m their natur e the e m phasis lies o n the

‘
,

verb and n o t o n the subj ect Thu s ha na n o s a ku toki the

.
, ,

tim e when fl owers bl o sso m ka shi koki hi to n o tomem zo a ma re

‘ ’
n ari,
it is rare for the wise to be r ich Where go i s u sed .

i t is becau se S pecial attenti o n i s drawn to the s u bj ect .

In the sp oken lan guage it i s u su al to i ndicate the subj ect

o f a sentence by m eans o f a par ticle and s o it c o m es ab o u t ,

that ga is u sed fo r this p u rp ose in independent sentences ,

while n o i s rese rved fo r u s e in relative clau ses Thu s we .

c a n say

ha na n o n a i toki a t ime when there are no fl o wers

hana ga na i toki a t im e when there are n o fl owers

with a S light difference of e m phasis bu t we cann o t say hana ,

’
n o n a i as well as ha n a ga na i fo r there are n o fl o wers .

G a i s u sed rather than n o i n phrases l ik e kore ga tam e ,

s ore ga uye n i am ga go to shi beca u se the w o rds tame uy e

, , , ,

and gotoshi are n o t o f their nat u re e m phatic K a ku no gotoku .

appears to be an excepti on pr obably becau se ka ku ga gotoku

,

wou ld be cac o ph o n ou s .

The f ollowing are exam ples fr om mo dern pr o se to illu strate

the respect ive u ses o f these part icles
zoaga ku ni n o r i kken s ei ta i n o the beg inn ings of c o n s titu
higon zoa , kokuni i n ga
zoaga tion al g overn m ent in th i s
s on o doku ri ts u zo o kozen c ou ntry are based u p o n a
to s es hi koku mi n n o y okky ii dem and of the pe o ple that
ni motozu ku mon o na ri they the pe ople S h ou ld
, ,

p r eserve their independence

The writer is e m phasi z ing the fact that the dem and was
a p opu lar o n e and therefo re go i s u sed rather than n o with
,

the first kokumi n .

3270
2 34 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
gi kzoa i ga ka i sa n s era r e
y osa n the D iet being d i ss o lved the ,

n o fu s ei ri ts u zoo mi m koto failu r e o f the b u dget is in

zoa y a mu zoo en u koto n a ri evitable
i kzoa i n o k a i s a n s era m m zoa i t is s o lely fo r the p u rp o se o f
g
koku ni i n n o y oron zoo ta s hi ascertaining the o pini o n o f
kamu m tame n i hoka n a ra the nat io n that the D iet i s
nu . diss olved
In the first exam ple gikzoa i ga kai sa n s era re i s n ot a relat ive
,

Clau se bu t an inc om plete p rincipal clau se and therefore ga ,

is u sed in preference to n o B ut in the sec o nd the first w ords

.
,

m ean the being diss o lved o f the D iet and n o i s u sed rather
-

than ga beca u se there i s n o e m phasis o n gi kzoa i

, .

Th ou gh n o and ga are n ow distinct it i s pr obable that ,

they have a c omm o n or igin There a r e traces in the earliest .

Japanese writ i ngs o f a particle n a which su rvives as a f o ssil

‘
,

e m bedded in the w ords ta nagokoro = te n o kokoro palm o i

‘
,

ma n a ko = me n o he men aji ri = 1n e n o
’ ’
hand eyeball ,

s hi ri the canthu s and it i s likely that n a i s an interm ediate

,

stage between the o riginal f o rm o n the o n e hand and n o and

ga o n the o ther The Lu ch u an equ ivalent i s n u and there
.
,

are in archaic Japanese a n um ber o f instances where nu

represents a later n o The c o nj ect u red devel op m ent i s
.
I

nu

ga
and th i s acc ords with the hyp othesis advanced by Ast o n
‘
( G ra mm a r 2 md e d p
,
1 2 0 ) that
. there
, was a verb
. n u t o ,

be the attrib u t ive f or m n u of wh ich i s i dentical with the

’

part i cle n o I t i s certai nly difficu lt to u nderstand the sense

.

devel op m ent o f n o if it wa s originally a genitive particle for ,

i ts uses are m ainly attribu tive and there was a S pec i ali z ed ,

genit ive par ticle ts u .

G a has a c o nj u nctive u s e in c o o rdin ating two sentences

,
-
.

This is discu ssed separately u nder C o nj u nctive P articles .

I
Thi s c o nj e c tu re is a sol put fo rw a r d b y Ya ma da , B u mpo-ron .
2 36 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
) a ku m o s u zoo mi n a hi to
(6 k he S p o k e thu s w h e r e a t every ,

i na to m o s u ni y ori te b o dy said N o and there ,

f o re
(7 ) a s u m onoi mi n am zoo t o m o rr o w i s -
a fast day .

mon zoo ts uy aku sas ey o That be ing s o cl o se the gate ,

( )
8 n a ts u n o y o z
o a m a da y oi o n s u mm er n i ghts it gr o ws
n agara a ken u m zoo ku mo light while it is still evening .

n o idzu ko u i ts u ki y a do That being s o where in the ,

m ra mu cl ou ds d o es the m o o n tak e
l o dg ing P
The ab ove examples will have sh own the devel op m ent o f
zoo fr om an excla m at o ry to an e m phat i c part i cle That it .

S h o u ld n ow be u sed to e m phasi z e i n partic ul ar an o bj ect ive

case i s the m o re readily u nderst o o d when one rem embers

that in Japanese cases are m ark ed bu t n ot f o rm ed by , ,

pa rt icles It i s prim arily w o rd o rder wh ich determ ines case

.
-

in Japanese The f o ll owi ng sentences c o ntain wo rds i n the

.

o bj ective case w i th ou t zoo

ts uri bun e n o tay u ta u mi reba as I watched the r o c k ing of

the fishi ng b o ats
hi to zo o y obi te mon o taras u he calls s om e on e and gives
him s om ething
M i ko ha n a mochi te n obori
zoa the P rince ascended carry ,

tamai keri i n g fl owers

hi n a do okoshi te s u mi mote they light fires and bring
zoata m charc o al
Wh ere an adverb ial part icle is u sed no case part icle is
requ ired Th u s : .

y a ma n o n o n omi ya kiki ts u heari ng i t seem s o nly the

, ,

ts u nam es o f mou ntains

e zoa ta ga ka ki ta m zo who drew the p ict u re P

W0 can h owever be u sed wi th adverbial particles th ough

, , ,

go and n o when i ndicating a n om i native cann o t Thu s we .

c a n have the c o mb i nati o ns zoo mo zooba zoo zoa ) as in

‘
, ,

s a ke zoo mo n omu to d rink w i ne als o s a ke zoo ba n omu

’

‘
, , ,

to dr i n k zo i n e bu t we cann o t say zo a re ga mo n omu fo r

’

‘
,
’
I als o drin k .

S u bj ect to the ab ove zoo m ay be fa i rly described as an

,
 C A S E PARTI C LE S 23 7

acc u sative part icle It c an g o vern n o t o nly S imple n ou ns

.
,

but any s u bstant ival f o rm incl u ding a c omplete clau se

,

regarded as a su bstantive
midzu zoo n omu to d ri n k water
hi to zoo u ts u t o strike a m an
hi to n o ku m zoo ma ts u t o wait t ill a m a n c om es
ari y a n a s hi y a zoo s hi raza n o t k n ow i ng whether there
a r e o r are n o t

It is a characteri st ic rather o f certain verbs than of thi s

particle that i t c a n be u sed to indicate the indirect obj ect
o f verbs which i n E nglish are i ntrans i t ive . Thu s
mi chi zoo y u ku t o go al o ng a r o ad
i e zo o s u mu to live i n a h ou se

which are m o dern u ses and ,

Os a ka n i te hi to zoo zoa kare o n part ing fr o m a pers o n at

(K o kin ) . O sa k a
tos higor o zo o s umi s hi tokoro a place where he had l ived
for years
which m ay be regarded as obs olete O f this nat u re are
‘
.

elliptical u ses l ik e umi zoo N agas a ki e = by sea to N aga

’
saki the t i tle o f an article in a newspaper
, .

When a pass ive verb is u sed it c an retain the obj ect which
it would have i f active The obj ect is then designated by zo o
.

tokei zoo n us uma m he has his watch st olen

ku bi zoo ki ra m m
’
to have o ne s head c u t o ff
mi ni fu rokku ko to zoo ma to he had a b om b thr own at
em s o shi n o ta me u i ba kuda n him by a r ou gh garbed in
zoo tozeraretari a fr ock c o at
S an ehi ra sai shi zoo torare ju when S an ehi ra hears that
taku zoo y a kihara zoa renu to his wife and children have
ki ka ba , been sei z ed and his h ou se
b u rned d own ,

In the phrase mon o zoo at the end o f a sentence zoo reta i ns ,

s om ething o f i ts exclam at ory f orce

ya ku s oku n o gotoku ma chi shi I waited as agreed ! Why ,

mono zoo ki mi n aze ki tazari despite that did you n ot

,

shi c om e
It will be seen that th i s i s equ ivalent to a c o nj u nct ive u s e .
2 38 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The f oll owing u ses o f zoo in c om binat io n are frequ ent
WO B A c ons ists o f zoo and the e m phatic parti cle zoa ( = ha
ba ) I t has the significance of its two c o m p onents i e an
.
, . .

e m phasis u p o n the o bj ect

kore zoo ba tori s ore zoo ba he ta k es th i s and rej ects that
s u ts u

This i s exactly parallel to s u ch c om binati ons as zoo mo ,

zoo

zo , zoo koso & c , .

,and calls for n o special c o mm ent .

W0 M O CHI TE W0 M O TTE a r e u sed in s om ewhat f o rm al

m o dern p ro se instead o f u i o r n i y otte to i ndicate an agent
‘ ‘
, ,
’ ’
o r a ca u se and c an u su ally be translated by or with
,

Thu s
ts uka i zoo motte okum to send by m essenger
s ore zoo m otte by that m eans
s on o
y u e zoo motte fo r that r eas o n
j u gzoa ts u n i ju roku n i chi zoo ca m e to ‘an end o n O ct ober
motte ozoa ri zoo ts ugen u 2 6 (lit With O c t &c ) . . .

W0 S HI TE i s u sed als o in f orm al p ro se where zoo al o ne

, ,

w ou ld be s ufficient to indicate the o bj ect particu la rly in

, ,

the case o f cau sat ive ve rbs where b o th di r ect and i ndirect
,

o bj ect are exp r essed Th u s .

Yori tomo Yos hi ts un e zoo shi te Yo ritom o ca u sed Yo shi ts un e

Yoshi na ka zoo s emes hi mu to attac k Yo shin ak a
chi chi ko zoo shi te i ts u i
j gy o n the father p u ts the s o n int o

ts u ka s hi mu b u siness
gj
o i n zo o s hi te ki ta n n a ku i zoa if y o u ask m e t o S pea k w i th
s hi meba o u t reserve

This f o rm S h ou ld be c ompared w ith u i s hi te u sed to indicate ,

the su bj ect .

‘
N I i n i ts S i m plest u ses can be var iou sly translated in
’
to ,

at o r by and m ay be described as a dative i nstrum ental

’

, ,

o r l o cative particle I The f o ll o w i ng a r e exa m ples o f i ts u s e

. .

i n the Character o f a dat i ve particle

S u mera mi koto ni s a dzu kete of fe ring to the S overeign
( R es ) L o rd
tare n i ka mi s emu (M ) . t o wh o m S hall I S h ow i t
240 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
A S light extens io n of thi s u s e acc ou nts for l ocu t ions lik e
M orokos hi ni monona ra zoa shi sending him to Ch i na for
'
n i ts u ka was hi st u dy
ha n a mi ni yu ku t o go to see the fl o wers
'
tomu rai ni ku he c om es to c o ndole
‘
n a ni s emu u i ka zoa ki ki o for what p u rp o se (lit . fo r
ka mu d oin gwhat S h oul d I li sten ?
kiy a s u me ni i ii he says i t to s oo the (you)
‘
where u i has the m ean ing for the p u rp o se ’

‘
.

A further extens ion g ives i t the m ean ing by way of ’

thu s
ogi zoo fu e u i fu ku he bl ows his fan by way of a
flu te
ts uy a zoo tama n i n u ku to thread dewdr o ps li k e j ewels
n a n i ou beari ng as a nam e ( i e
‘
. .

nam ed
ha n a zoo y u ki u i mi m regardi ng the fl owers as sn ow
goza zoo kasa n i ka buri te wearing a p i ece of m att ing as
a hat
S om ewhat s im ilar are expressi ons l ik e
mi aza zoo y u ni n a s u t o m a k e c o ld water i nt o ho t
hi to zoo ba ka u i s um t o m a k e a f o ol o f a m a n
kurenai ni s om etam dyed crim s o n
hakase ni n a m t o bec om e a d o ct o r

4 The last nam ed u s e m ay be term ed adverb i al and a k in

-
.
,

to i t i s the f u nct i o n o f u i to fo r m adverb i al phrases fr om

substant ival form s
ta da chi ni i mm edi ately
ogos oka u i s ole m nly
ki rei n i prettily
6gesa n i b o astfully
omozoazu ni u nthi n k ingly

ku zoa u m ni i n addi t io n m o re o ver

,

a nzu m n i o n reflect i o n

omou n i i n m y o p i ni o n
omompa ka m u i when o n e c o nsiders
u ta zoo y omu ni in read ing p o etry
I n c ommon with o ther case part icles when u sed in thi s way
,
 C A S E PARTI C LE S 241

at the end o f a sentence substantival in fo r m bu t in fact an

,

asserti o n n i serves as a c o nj u nctive

,

hi tem ni a me fu m while the s u n sh ines i t is ra in ing

This i di om i s fur ther discu ssed u nder the heading o f Con
j unct ive Particles .

‘ ‘
M —
’

5. eaning al o ngs i de o f t o gether, w i th equ ally an

extens io n of the l o cative u s e .

mats u u i ts u m pine trees and cranes

s hi shi n i ho ta n n u i ta m hi ta a r obe e mbro idered with (a
ta re design o f) li o ns and pe onies
This u sage i s fr equ ent in the c oll o qu ial where n i serves to ,

enum erate a n umber o f things in c onj u ncti o n Thu s the .

cries o f pedlars at railway stat io ns B i m n i masa mu ne (n i )

‘
matchi u i ta ba ko B eer Mas a mu n e m atches and t o bacc o
’

, , , , .

An i di om at ic u s e o f u i which sh ou ld be m ent io ned here is

ill u strated in
hi e n i hi e i ri te gett ing chilled through and
thr ou gh
na mida zoo otos hi u i otos u he wept and wept
ozoa re u i y ozoa rema i ra se ma gr o wing weaker and wea k er
y
s hi te

nani bi to mo ma chi ui ma chithis wa s the enc ou nter wi th

tam teki ka n to n o s hu kkzoa i the ene m y s S hips for which
’
-

nazi we had all waited and

wa ited
‘
6 Mean i ng being in s u ch l o c u ti ons as
’
.
,

I moo D on o n o r o do u i M u ne there is a retai ner o f I mo o

tos hi to i ii hé n o mon o a ri D o n o s a stalwart nam ed
’

Mun eto shi

It might be a rgu ed that n i here i s u sed si mply in its l ocat ive
‘
sense and c ou ld be t r anslated a mong the retainers but
’

, ,

that wou ld n ot acc ou nt fo r

s on o u chi u i I s o n o Z en s hi ga o f these a dancer na m ed S h i d
mus ume u i S hi dzu ka to i i? z u k a the da u ghter o f I so n o
,

s hi ra b os hi ba kari zo mi eza Z e n shi al o ne w a s m iss ing

y ,

With the except ion o f the last nam ed the f oregoing u ses of ,

n i a r e n o t ha r d to u nder stand pa r t i cu la r ly by th o se accu s

,

tom e d to the var i ety o f E nglish prep o sit io ns It i s i ndeed .

, ,

3 7 I i
2 °
242 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
w o rth n o t ing that n i is u sed u nifo rm ly i n a n u mber of cases
wher e the E nglish i di om exacts a different prep o s it io n each
t im e
n o ta me ni fo r the sa k e o f n o y u e ni o n acc ou nt o f

n o toki n i at the t im e o f n o ba a i n i in the case o f

&c .
, &c .

There i s h owever a u s e o f n i which th ou gh o n e o f the m o st

, , ,

i m p o rtant cann o t be explained by any anal ogy with th o se

,

described ab o ve I t i s that illu strated in su ch sentences as :

.

kore n i ara zu it is n o t this

ay a shiki mon o n i kos o a re he i s f ors oo th a strange per
s on

n a n igoto n i ka a ra n what is i t d o yo u supp o se

,

zoa don o ta chi zoa i dzu ko n o what c ou ntrym en are you ?

hi to n i ka
kon o ku ra i zoa a mets uchi n o th i s ran k i s a ran k gr anted
s a dzu keta ma u ku ra i n i a ri by Heaven and E arth
(R e s )
i zoaren u mon o n i a re y a (R e s ) is i t a th ing n o t to be S p ok en ?
G a nkai n a m mono the m an G an k ai
H ere the c o m b i nat i o n o f u i with the verb a m has S i m ply the
m eaning to be
’
In E nglish becau se there is o nly o n e verb
‘
.
,

to be we a r e apt to o ve r l oo k the d i stincti o n between its

’

‘
predicative u se (e g there are st ones whe r e it m eans that
’

‘
.
.
,

st o nes exi st ) and its u s e as a m e r e c o p u la (e g these are . .

st o nes where it c o nnects su bj ect and predicate b u t do es

’

, ,

n o t m ean anyth in g by itself ) .

The Japanese verb a m is a predicative ve rb and i shi a ri

‘ ‘
,

m eans the r e are st o nes

’ ’
S t o nes exist It cann o t p o ssibly
, .

m ean I t is a st o ne To c o nvey the latter m ean i ng we m u st

’
.

say i shi n ari n i + a ri ) where n i acts as the c o p u la between

,

i s hi and the predicat i ve ver b a ri N o o ther explanati o n will .

acc o u nt satisfact o rily for the p r esence o f n i in the exam ple

j u st qu o ted o r for its u s e in the f o rm ni te as in
, , ,

ma e zoa u mi n i te u shi ro zoa i n f ro nt it is the sea , behind

y a ma n a ri i t i s the m ou ntains
kore zoa gi n n i te s ore zoa ki n this is S ilver and that i s go ld
‘
n ari (li t this being silver that
.

i s g old
24 4 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
zoare u i ai te in m y case s o far as I , am

c o nce rned
ippa n i oi te zoa o n the o n e hand

ky ozets u s um u i oi te zoa in case he declines

‘
N I S HI TE apart f rom its l i ter al significance o f m ak ing
‘
,

i nt o (hi to zoo ba ka n i s hi te m aki ng a f o o l o f a

’

,
is
u sed i n m o dern pr o se t o ind i cate the s u bj ect o f a sentence

where ther e is s om e fear o f am bigu ity The em pl o ym ent of

. .

zoo s hi te toden o te the o bj ect is anal o g ou s .

O wing t o a s omewhat d ifficu lt id i om by which the ve rbs

a m and s u m are s om et im es inte r changeable i
(v p n . .

s hi te s o m eti m es has the m eaning o f n i a ri te as in the fol ,

l owing exam ples

ta kumi n i s hi te s umiya ka n a zi be ing s kilfu l is speedy i e is , . .

s kilfu l and speedy

'
kai men ta i za u i s hi te kaga mi the surface o f the sea being ,

n o gotos hi sm o oth is l ike a mirr o r ,

ki n zoa ké s hoku u i s hi te gi n g o ld being yell o w S ilver is

zoa s hi ros hi white i e g o ld is yell ow
, . .

and S ilver white

Tenn o zoa s hi n s ei n i s hi te oka the E m per o r is sacred and
s u beka razu invi olable
I t will be f ou nd as a general r u le that u i s hi te i s inter
changeable wi th n i te In the sentence .

kono on bi zo a n i s hi te hi with th i s lu te he deigned to

kas e tama u (HK ) . play
u i s hi te can o nly be explained as a f o r m al s u bst i t u te fo r
‘ ‘
n i te
’ ’
by or with .

N I TE c onsists o f n i and the c o nj u nctive f o r m te o f the verb , ,

suffix ts u It has generally speak ing the sam e u ses as n i

.
, , ,

except that it i s n o t u sed to m ake a dative E xa m ples are .

fun e n i te ka zoa zoo zoa ta m to c r o ss a rive r by b o at

fu de ni te ka ku t o write with a pen
y ots u ka do n i te a n t o m eet at the cr o ss r o ads
moyu m n omi ni te bakuhats u it o nly b u rns and d o es n ot
s ezu expl o de
ma hi to n i te mi as to its head it is a m a n and
‘
a ta zoa zoa n o

n a ri as to its b o dy a fish
 C A S E PARTI C LE S 24 5

N i te is the o rigin o f the c o ll o q u ial de the u ses o f which c a n ,

be S h own to c o rr esp ond with the u ses o f n i or n i te D e a m .

is the sam e as n i te a m demo as n i te mo and s o on

‘
, , .

N i te c a n have the l o cative sense o f n i m eaning at o r

’

‘ ‘
,

bu t it cann o t m ean to
’

in
’

,
in the sense o f di recti o n
,

t owards a place In .

a ni mo Ky o ni te has hi n i te a ri his br o ther too is a p riest at ,

Ky o t o
‘ ‘
we see ni te m e aning b o th at and to be
’ ’

TO appears to have been o rigi nally a de m o nst rative pr o n ou n

‘
c orr esp ondin g to the E nglish wo r d that This m eaning ’

‘ ‘
.

’
su rvives in phrases like taka ku that this wa y ’
anyh ow
,
-
, ,

and p o ssibly in certain d i alectical u sages su ch as y u ku to

‘
,

des u which seem s to c o rresp o nd to he is g o ing that he is

’

, ,

A trace o f this de m onst rative sense c an be perceived in

su ch c onstru cti o ns as
Ha to i n he says H a !
ki to n a m it bec o m es a tree
‘
which m ight be literally rendered H a ! that he says and ’

‘
,

a tree that it bec om es ’

.
,

In the Rescripts o f the S hoku N ihongi we find clau ses of

the fo ll o wing type
A ki ts u ka mi to Oy ashi ma no kun i s hi ros hi mes u s umera , &c .

‘
which can be t r anslated The S o vere ign that is a Man ifest
G o d r ul ing the L and o f Many Islands H ere to definitely ’

‘
.

has the sense o f that is S i m ilarly in ea rly texts we find

’

‘
.

s uch l ocu ti ons as Chi ehi to ma s u hi to the pe r s o n that is m y,

father where to c o rresp onds al m o st exactly with the de

’

‘
,

mons trative that in E ngl ish in its u s e as a relative

’
.
,

From su ch beg innings to has devel oped a c o rrelative u s e ,

which m ay in a c omprehensive way be defined as the expres

si on of a parity or si m ilari ty between two things Thu s .

ta ma zoo i shi to mi m to regard j ewels as st o nes

on n a zo o tsu ma to s u m to m a k e a w om an o ne s w i fe
’

ko zoo ta kara to i ii to call children treas u res

kare zo o teki to omou t o thin k hi m an ene m y

The earlier Japanese gra mm arians distingu ished the u ses

j ust illu strated as The five tos referring to the e mpl o ym ent
24 6 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o f the five ve r bs mi m kiku omou i ii and s u m
, , , , B u t the
.

e m pl oym ent o f these ve rbs is m erely incidental to the fu nc

ti o n o f to in exp r essing parity o r S im ilarity and is du e to ,

the fact that these relati ons m u st be perce ived or c r eated by

o n e o r all o f the senses which the verbs describe in o perati o n .

A st u dy o f the exam ples given bel ow will S h ow that to

expresses the r elati on itself and n o t m erely the j u dge m ent
,

o f a r elati o n inv o lved in the u s e o f w o rds li k e m i m om ou & c , ,

.

I . zoare mo ni ngen ta ri I als o a m a h u m an being

a a
'
where t ri i s to zi and a pari ty is establ ished between zoare
l
,

and n i ngen .

chi chi ta m hi to the pers on who is m y father

ki i s hi to n a ri t r ees bec om e st ones
ki mi yu ka n to areba since yo u m ean to go S ince
it i s that you are g o ing ) ’

2 . In the fo ll owing exam ples the ele m ent of j u dgem ent is

e ither expressed or u nde rst oo d
hi to zoo chi chi to agama to l oo k u p to a pers o n as a
father
n a nji zo o za i n i n to mi n a s u I regard you as a criminal
ko zoa ots u to on aji ku A in the sam e way as B
ko zoa ots u to chiga ezi A i s di ffe r ent f rom B
ko zoo ots u to ku ra bu m t o c o m pare A with B
u ta n to s hi ta ri he m ade to strike
a zoo n u ka n to s u he t r ies t o draw o u t the
y
a rr o w
Y edo zoo To ky o to arata me changing Yedo to T ok y o
zen i n a shi to i ii he says he has n o m oney
3 . I n Japanese all state m ents a r e r ep o r ted in direct ora
ti o n on the mo del o f the last exa m ple which c a n be r ende r ed
‘
, ,
“
equ ally well H e says I have n o m o ney
,
”
O ccasi onally
.

the verb which intr o du ces the q u o tati o n is placed at i ts head ,

bu t to always m ar k s the end of the nar rati o n Th u s

.

K zo a n s ai chi ho u i kos ui ariki a telegr am has arrived say

to i ii demp o té cha ku s eri i ng that the r e has been a
fl oo d in the Kwa n s ai distri ct
‘
s on o demp o i zoa ku K zo a n s a i the telegra m says There ,

chi ho u i kos ui a riki to

’
has been a fl o o d in & c , .

Thi s ta m i s a la te fo r m o i nfra TO A R I
’

I . .
,
24 8 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
6 To i s als o s u ffi x e d to c om p o u nds f o rm ed w i th the
.

Chi nese adverbial suffi xes zen as jo fin ko & c as in

‘
as‘
)
’
tats u zen to s u ddenly
-
,

ka kko to ( EE firm ly ’

‘
f j m) c‘o nfu sedly
’
u n o to 1
3 ,

tots uj o to 1m) s u ddenly

’

It m a y be o bj ected that th i s l ist c o vers the wh o le field o f

adverbs bu t it will be f ou nd by th o se who care to exa m ine
,

a large n u m be r of adverbial expressi ons that a di stinct io n

can be drawn between th o se f o rm ed with to and th o se f orm ed
with ui .

A dverbs f orm ed wi th to are in a sense p ict o ri al they are

o f t he nat u re o f si m iles and deal w ith q u al ities as they are
,

perceived O n the o ther hand th o se form ed with ni refer

.
,
'

n o t o nly to apparent bu t als o to act u al and inherent charac

te ris ti c s This di fference is c o nsi stent with the difference

.

between the two part i cles fo r to expresses S i milarity or

,

par ity wh ile n i expresses identity The c o ntrast i s perhaps

, .

best s u ggested by su ch pa irs as

ki n zoo gi n to ka em to change g o ld fo r s ilver
ki n zoo gi n u i ka em to change g o ld int o S i lver

goza zoo ka s a u i ka bu m to wear m att ing as a hat

g oza zoo kasa to ka bu m t o wear m att i ng fo r a hat

The dist incti on th ou gh sl ight is j u st percept ible In the

, , .

first case the m atting is regar ded as be ing a hat in the sec o nd ,

as similar to o r replac ing a hat E ven if th i s c ontrast is .

stated rather m o re definitely than act u al u sage warrants i t ,

wi ll be fou nd to explai n a n u mber o f u ses o f to and n i ta ri ,

and n a ri which are o therwise hard to grasp C om parin g the

, .

two f o rm at io ns it will be seen

( 1 ) (Cf .
4 ,
ab ove ) That there are no o n om at op o ei c adverbs
in ui .

( ) (
2 Cf 5 ab o ve ) ‘
That whereas an expressi o n l i k e h a m
‘
.
,

ba m to m eans di stant ly a s fr o m afar ha m ka ui

’ ’

‘
,
‘
,

m eans i n the distance

’ ’
far away , .

(3) ( Cf 6 ab o ve ).That o n e cann

,
o t say tei n ei to f o r tei n ei
n i o r ta shi ka to for tas hi ka n i becau se tei nei and ,

ta shi ka are n o t fig u rat ive w o rds bu t att rib u tes de ,

 C A S E PARTI C LE S 24 9

scribing act ual q u alities C o nve r sely o n e mu st say

‘ ‘
.
,

tots u zen to fo r with a ru sh in an ab rupt way ’ ’

‘
, ,
"
while tots uzen n i m eans S i m ply o f a s u dden in
’

a m o m ent
’
.

In all the f reg o ing ill u st r at i o ns ( 1 — 6 ) to se r ves to c orre

7 . o

late two things b u t o n e o f its m o st i m p o rtant u ses is to

c o o r dinate the m — i n S i m pler w o rds t o act li k e the c o nju n c
-

‘
,
’
ti on and Thu s .

n a to a to ( K ) . th o u and I
R ai to G a ku to (R e s ) E tiq u ette and M u s i c
Ha ngzoa n ga y a ka ta to K a n e the Ha n gwa n s m ansio n and ’

K a n e yu k i s h ou se
’

y u ki ga i e
‘ ‘
It c a n als o have the m ean ing t ogethe r w i th al ong wi th ’
’

zoare n a nji to ka re zoo tozoa n I will vis i t him with you

ki kun to tomo n i t o gether with you
chi chi to ka ta ri ko to a s obu talking with the father play ,

ing with the child

y u ka n to mo y u kaji to mo ko please y o u rself whether you
koro n i ma kas ey o will go o r n o t go
It is an extensi o n o f this c o nj u nctive u s e o f to particu larly ,

o f the f o rm ill u st r ated in the last exa m ple which has g iven ,

rise to the f o rm s to tomo —-

d0 d omo u sed as C o nj u nctive
,
-
, , ,

Particles u niting two sentences (o u nder C o nj u nct ive Par .

tic le s p , .

8 An idi om at ic u s e o f to (si m ilar in m eaning and devel o p

.

m ent to that described in the case o f n i u nder 5 ) is seen in

y o n i a ri to a m hi to everyb o dy in the world

a ri to a ra u m s huda n all p o ssible devices
y
kaze fu ki to fu ki n u the wi nd blew with all i ts
m ight
u reshi to mo n i es hi j o yf ul as c a n be
iki to s hi i kem m on o idzure is there any thing which l ives
ka uta zo o y omazari kem at all that has n o t c o m p o sed
verses
The f o ll owing are the m o re i m p ortant u ses o f to i n c o m
p ositi o n
TO AR I (TA R I ) has by u sage assu m ed the character o f an
a uxiliary verb bu t it m u st n o t be c o nfu sed with ta7 i the
,
-
,

327°
K k
25 0 HI STO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
ve rbal s u ffix wh ich i s c omp o sed o f te (c o nj u nctive f orm of
ts u) and the verb a ri -
.

Tari as an a u xiliary verb i s anal o g ou s to n a ri which in a ,

like way i s c om p o sed o f u i and ari E xam ples o f i ts u s e a r e

.

ko ta m (ko to a m ) mon o zoa pe rs o ns who are children i e , . .

th o se fall ing wi thin the cate

‘ ’
g o ry children the child ,

n a nji bu ns ho n o hi to ta m n i seeing that yo u ar e a m an o f

y otte lette r s
With this i di om sh o u ld be c o m pared the l o cu t i o n Chi chi to
mas u hi to q u o ted abo v e
, .
I

It c a n be u sed with any o f th o se u ninfl ec te d Chinese w o rds

which bec om e adverbs by the ai d o f to Thu s .

s on o a ri sa ma sa n ta n tari the sight i s pit ifu l

s a nta n ta m a ri s a ma a pit ifu l s ight
dado ta m s hi n shi a dignified gentlem an
am
g ga a t ga ns eki r ugged l o o king r oc k s -

s ho ko ha nzen ta reba the p ro of being clear

In a gene r al way the difference between tari and na ri is
,

the di fference between to and n i To ass im ilates A to B .

,

wh ile n i states an i dent i ty between A and B Th u s .

g j
u n i n ta m s hika ku the q u al ificat io n o f be ing a
s o ldier
g j i m h ik k
’
u n n n a s a u the q u alificati o n s o ldier
g ero n o m i n i te ta i s ho —ta m for a m en i al to have kill ed
mon o zoo koros hi ts u m zoa s u ch a pers on as a G eneral .

TO S U ( TO S HI TO S HI TE ) . These c o m p ou nds have the

m ean ings which f o ll o w nat u rally fr om the m ean ings o f their
c om p o nents . Thu s
tomo to s u beki m ono one who be m ade a fri end
ca n

j os en sen to s u m mon o pers o ns intending to em bark

Rather m o re di fficu lt is a grou p o f idi om s i n which s u m
ta k es the place o f a m and the c om b inati on to s hi te for
, ,

instance has the m eaning to a ri te j u st as n i s hi te can stand

, ,

fo r u i ari te o r n i te E xa m ples are

.

ts uy a ku to s hi te j agu n s eri he was attached to the arm y

as interpreter
I
I t S h o u ld b e u n d ers to o d th a t ta ri a s a c o n tr a c t i o n o f to a ri d o e s
n o t o cc u r i n N a r a o r e ar l y H e i a n t e x ts .
252 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
To zo a is u sed elliptically li k e tote s o m e ve rb like to say
’

being u nder st o o d as in ,

a s a ma s hi to zoa y o n o ts un e it m a y be wretched bu t it s ’

n a ri the way o f the w o rld lit , .

‘what (is called) wr etched is

’
the way o f the w o rld
To m o is u sed in a s im ilar way as in ,

n i ku s hi to m o y o n o ts u n e n ari
’
th ou gh it is disagreeable it s
the way o f the w o rld
If these ellipt ical u ses o f to mo to zoa and tote a r e c om pa r ed , ,

it will be seen how tomo dom o and do have acqu ired thei r , ,

fu ncti o n as c o nj u nct i ve particles with the m eaning o f

‘
,

alth ou gh ’

HE s ally p r o n ou nced e or y e den o tes m o ti o n t owards a

, u u ,

p oint as disting u ished fro m m o t io n up to a p oint expressed

‘
, ,
’
by n i Th u s we have Toky o e y u ku to go to To ky o bu t
‘
.
, ,

Toky o n i i ta m to r each T o ky o The dist incti o n is h ow ’

, .
,

ever n o t always observed in writ ing and d o es n o t exist in

, ,

c oll o qu i al
‘
.

He is a w or d m ean i ng place which is n ow o bs o lete as an

independent su bstantive bu t exists in c o m binati o ns in su ch
‘
,
‘ — ’ ’
w o r ds as y u ku e destinati o n literally go place It is n o
‘
.
, ,

d ou bt i dentical with be in u mi be ha ma be c o ast

’

, , ,

& c and s u r na m es like Wa ta n a be

.
, .

It appea r s as a s u bstantive in ea rly texts as in umi n o he

‘ ‘
, ,

the c o ast hes a ki the p ro w o f a S hip and it is the ele m ent

‘
,

den o ting di r ect io n in the c om m o n w o rds ma e fr ont ( = ma ’

‘ ‘ ‘
,

he the tr u e and u e top u he t opsi de ’

-

‘ ‘
, , ,

departed ) i e h ou se ( = i E
’
i ni s hi e the past (i n i shi ’

‘
, , ,

dwelling he place , .
1

Y O R I den o tes the p oint fro m which an a c t o r a state c om

m en c e s either in ti m e o r S pace o r in an abst r act sense Thu s :
, ,
.

i n i s hi e y ori f r om o f o l d
ori haji ma m
’
roku ji begins at S ix o cl o c k
y
I
I t m ay b e o b j e c t e d t h a t t h e s e d e r i v a t i o n s i n v o lv e t wo d i ffe re n t
s o u n d c h a n ge s i e he t o e a n d he t o be
, . . B u t th e o ri gi n a l s o u n d o f .

he w a s a l m o s t c e r t a i n l y s o m e th i n g l i k e p f o ll o w e d b y a l i gh t
a s p i r a te .
 C A S E PARTI C LE S 2 53

hi to y ori u ku m t o receive from a pe r s o n

S hi n a y ori ka eri te r et u rning fr om China

koko y ori higashi n o kata eastwards from here

In s u ch expressi ons as
kore y ori hoka other than this (lit . ou tside
of )
’

a ki ra mu ru y ori hoka zoa na s hi we c a n o nly resign ou rselves

the p oint o f depart u re is an abstracti o n The c onstru cti on .

is si milar in
ki n zoa gi n y ori omos hi g old is heavier than silver
taka ra zoa i n ochi y ori oshi s hi wealth is m ore preci ou s than
life
ki tori mi n y ori mo hi to to mi n I wo u ld r ather see it with
o the r s than al o ne

j i n ko
y ori i eba s eka i da i to n o in p o p u lati o n
(li t spea k ing .

dai go i ni oru fro m [ the standp oint o f]

p op u lati o n it is the fifth in
ran k o f the w o rld s great ’

ci ties
The wor d y ori appears i n s o m e early texts as y uri and ,

the re are syn onym o u s f o rm s y u and y o Yu ri is f ou nd in .

the M a ny é shi i and S hoku N ihongi bu t n o t in the K ojiki

'
.
,

Yo is f ou nd in the K ojiki and the M a ny é s hu bu t n o t in the ,

Yu is f o u nd in the M a ny é s hi i and the N ihongi

'
N ihongi .
,

bu t n ot in the K ojiki It is the r efo r e ha r d to say which is

.

the earliest f o rm B u t I su spect that it is y a and that this

‘
.
,

e m eaning
’

y u persists in the w o rd y u ,ca u se which is p ro ,

bably y u + he the archaic w o rd m eaning place or directi on

,

which is n ow the particle he Yu e w ou ld thu s signify

the place from which a thing arises i e i ts gr ou nd or r eas o n
‘
. .
, ,

and y u therefo r e p r esum ably had a m eaning li k e o rigin ’

.

The change of v owel from y u to y o y uri to y ori is qu ite

‘
, ,

c omm on The o bs o lete wo rd gari m eaning t owa r ds m ay

.
,
’

pr ovide an anal ogy fo r the f o rm at ion o f y ori and y uri from

y o and y a bu t this is m ere c onj ect u re
,
In any case it seem s .

alm o st certain that the ea rliest f o rm o f y ori was a n ou n y u ,

or o signifying a starting p o int The r e i s a ve r b oru

y
-
,
‘ y
.
,

m eaning to depend u p o n It m ay be that y ori in the sense

‘ ‘
,

o f owing t o deriving from is a sepa r ate fo r m at io n fr om

’

,
’

,
2 54 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
this ve rb but I a m inclined to thin k that all these fo rm s
,

arise from an original f o rm y u .

Y ori in the written langu age has li k e o ther particles , ,

devel o ped a spec i al u s e as a c o nj u nctive particle by which

‘
,

i t acq u ires the m ean ing since or beca u se as i n am e fu ri s hi

‘
i i h iki s i nce i rained I did ’

y or gzoa s u ts u s eza r t n o t go o u t , , .

KA R A in its m o dern u s e is pract ically identical w ith y ori .

In the sp ok en langu age it is u sed al m o st to the exclu s ion o f

y ori while ka ra is ra r e in the w r itten langu age
, In b o th .
,

h owever y ori m u st be u sed to indicate c o m paris o n Thu s

‘
.
,

kore y ori ta ka shi and n o t kore kara ta ka s hi fo r i t is higher

, ,
’
than thi S
The r e is n o d ou bt that kara was at on e t im e a n ou n with
‘
,

a m eaning s om ething li k e cau se o r o rigin This c a n still ’ ’

.

be perceived in c om p ou nds li k e
'

mi dzu kara ,
on odzu kara mi tsu kara
- -
, on o- ts u - ka ra ) , of
’
ne s own acc ord ’
o
‘
i egara h o u se ori gi n m e a n m g lineage o r fam ily
’
-

‘
.
, ,

ku nigara c ou ntry o r igin m ean i ng nat i o nal i ty

’
-

‘
.
, ,

hara ka ra belly origin i e parentage thence acq u iring ’

-

‘
. .
, , ,

the m eaning o f the sam e pa r entage and u sed as a ’

‘
,

n ou n to i ndicate br others and sisters b orn of the ’

sam e m o ther .

The c omm o n w ord n agara which has devel oped the m eaning
‘
,

o f while is de rived f rom n o (the genitive pa rticle n o as in

’

, ,

m a na ko & c ) and kara

,
I t is fou nd acting as a s u bstant ival
. .

f o rm in early texts as for instance in the phrase kamu ,

n aga ra u sed in descr ibing the e m per o rs w ith the sense o f

, ,

descended from the go ds ’

.

I t will be n o t iced that the last three part icles treated he , ,

y ori and kara were all o riginally independen t s u bstantives

, ,
.

We m ay therefor e reas o nably assu m e that the devel op m ent

o f s o m e at least o f the o ther particles has been anal o g o u s .

Kara li k e y ori serves as a c onj u nct i ve with the m eaning

‘ ‘
, , ,

since or becau se bu t in the S p ok en langu age o nly Ame

’ ’

‘
.
,

m
’ ’
d i
’

g f
a u kar a e n a
‘
I d o n t g o o u t beca u se it S raining
, ,
,
.

ka ette kara ai ma sen S ince I cam e bac k I haven t m e t him

’ ’

‘
, ,

kaetta kara a i masho S ince he has c om e ba c k I S hall m eet , ,

him
’
.
256 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
It will be seen that there is very little to d ist ingu ish these
particles from tru e adverbs and a rigid classificati o n wou ld ,

p r obably inclu de the m u nder the latter heading B ut as .

,

n o ticed ab ove they di ffer fro m adve rbs in that they have
,

n o i ndependent existence They are m o re over very m u ch .

, ,

a ki n t o the o the r particles in that they are o ften cl o sely

attached to n ou ns even th o u gh their f u ncti o n m ay be to
,

m o dify the p r edicate They m ay therefo re reas o nably be

.

treated as i nterm edi ate between the o ther part icles and
adverbs .

W A (which is p rope rly written ha ) when s u ffi x ed to a n o u n

i s l oo sely desc ribed as indicat ing a n o m inat i ve case ; bu t
th i s i s n o t its tr u e o r i ts only f u ncti o n It o ccu rs with n o u ns .

i n the dat i ve and o bj ective cases and th ou gh it is tr u e that ,

i t is o ften attached to s u bstant ives that f o r m the s u bj ect o f

a sentence this is m erely a c orolla ry o f its general s igni
,

fi c anc e .

S om e idea o f that S ignificance c a n be o btained fro m the

fo ll owing definiti o ns qu o ted from var io u s Japanese a u
,

thoriti e s

( )1W a S ingle s o u t and displays a g i ven th i ng ( Y o shi o k a ,

Ta i s ho G ohé ) .

( )
2 W a i s u sed t o designate a th i ng clearly and t o prevent
i ts being c o nfu sed wi th o ther things (Ya m ada B umpo ron) ,
-
.

(3) W a i s a ten i zooh a which d i sting u ishes things several l y

while o thers su ch as mo ta k e o n e th ing and r egard i t in its
relat i o n to o ther things (O ts uki) .

That zoa has n o thing to do with what we call case i s easy

to S h o w I n s a ke zoo ba n omazu (ba zo a ) the n ou n is the
.

o bj ect o f a verb In .

S enda i e zoa y u kanu I d o n ot go to S enda i

kare to zoa koton ari it is di ffe r ent from that
ka n a Shi ku zoa omoedo th ou gh I feel sad
kore ni zoa ara zu it is n ot th i s
zoa is respect ively to n ou ns in cases o ther than the
s u ffi x e d

o bj ective to an adve r b and to an o ther particle

,
Th is dis
,
.

p o ses o f any p o ssible c o ntenti o n that zoa i s a n om inat ive

.

part icle .

All au th ori ti es h owever seem agreed that zoa is in Ast o n s

’

, , ,
 A D VER B IAL PARTI C LE S 2 57
‘ ’
words a separative o r di st ingu i shing part icle bu t they d o
, ,

n o t tell u s preci sely what o r why i t d i st ingu i shes A typ i cal , , .

illu st rat i o n o f i ts fu nct i o n is

kon o ha na zoa s hi ros hi th i s fl ower is whi te
‘
wh ich is explained as m eaning th i s fl ower i rrespect i ve o f ,

S o far as i t g o es the explanat io n

’
o ther fl owe r s i s wh i te , .

is c o rrect bu t it d o es n o t seem to be s u ffi CI ent Th ose who

, .

u se it have l o aded the dice in thei r o wn fav ou r for the w o rd

‘
,

kono this already ind i cates that o n e particu lar i rr esp ec

’

, , ,

tive o f o ther fl owers is white I f we tak e a sentence wh ich , .

is n o t open to this o bj ect io n a sentence express ing what i s ,

call ed a u niversal j u dge m ent s u ch as ,

hi zoa a ts u shi fire i s ho t

we mu st f oll owi ng the u su al explanat i on o f zoa i nterpret it
, ,

as m eaning that fire i rrespective o f all o ther th ings su ch as

, ,

ic e st o ne grass wealth o r happ iness i s ho t O n e can ta k e

, , , , .

n o except i o n to th i s o n gr o u nds o f acc u racy bu t o n e m a y ,

as k why i t S h o u ld be necessary in Japanese to express o neself

with s uch ca u t ion I n E nglish at any rate a statem ent o n

‘
.
, ,

the m o del of fire i s hot is c om plete and r equ ires n o m o di ’

‘
fi ca tion O n e d o es n o t need when ho t is pred i cated of
’
.
,

fire to m a k e reservat io ns as to the q u alities of o ther t hi ngs .

If for s om e reas on n o t yet apparent su ch reservat ions are

, ,

necessary in Japanese then why d o we n ot say hi zoa a ts ushi ,

zoa ,to S h ow that fire i r r espect ive o f o ther th ings is ho t , , ,

i rrespect ive of o ther q u alities It is hard to believe that in .

Japanese al o ne s u ch a degree o f e m phasis i s requ ired in an

‘
elem entary pr op o s iti o n The word e mphasi s d o es how .
’
,

ever furni sh so m e clu e E m phat ic particles are freely u sed

, .

in Japanese for two very g o o d reas ons , In the first place .

S p o k en Japanese has an even accent u at i on and i t is there ,

f ore n ot easy to e m phasi z e words by vo cal stresses In the .

sec o nd place E nglish for i nstance has o ther ways o f S h owi ng

, ,

e mphasis which are n o t available in Japanese Thu s we c an

‘ ‘ ‘
.
,

say I d id go i nstead o f I went o r we c a n say J ohn i t

’ ’

‘
,
’
was instead o f It was J ohn bu t Japanese d o es n o t all ow
’

o f s u ch m o dificati o ns o r changes in significant w o rd o rder -

.

These c o nsiderati ons go a l o ng way t owards explai ning the

u se o f e m phat i c pa r ticles where e m phasis i s req ui red bu t ,

they do n ot sufficiently acc ou nt for all the u ses of zoa F or .

3 7 L l
2 °
258 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
o n e th ing if zo a i s e m phat i c s o are zo and kos o and there is
, , ,

n o t m u ch di fference except i n degree o f e m phasis between

, ,

hi zo a ats ushi hi zo a ts u ki and hi kos o a ts ukere S eeing that

, , .

a ll these part i cles ex i sted i n a relatively prim itive stage o f

the langu age i t i s s urely u nlikely that the langu age wo u ld

,

have devel oped su ch a refinem ent as three grades o f e mphas i s

u nless f o rced t o i t by a defic i ency in s o m e o ther directi o n .

I f we c a n lay o u r finger on th i s defic i ency i t ma y help u s to ,

ascertain the tru e nat u re o f these pa r t icles

‘
.

’
In E nglish the pr op o sit io n Fire i s ho t c o ns ists o f two
‘ ‘
,

term s a su bj ect fire and a predicate hot br ou ght i nt o ’ ’

‘
, , , , ,

The two term s in S i m ple j u xta ’

relati o n by the c op u la is .

p o siti o n th ou gh vagu ely c om prehensible d o n o t f orm a

, ,

c om plete l ogical or gramm atical pr op o siti on u nless they a r e

related in s om e way I n the sentence Fire b u rns the c opu la
‘
.

i s d i sappears bu t the two term s are related by an o ther

’

gra mm atical devi ce nam ely by their p o s it io n relat ively to

‘
, ,
’
o n e an o ther and by the p r esence o f the i n fl e x i o n S E ven .

i n E ngl i sh whi ch has l o st its character as an i nflected t ongu e

, ,

agreem ents o f pe r s o n and nu m ber are retained prec i sely to

serve th i s necessary p u rp o se— to relate su bj ect and obj ec t .

There d o es n o t seem to be any fu nda m ental difference

between the fu ncti on o f zoa in hi zoa ats us hi and the fu ncti o n
‘ ‘
Wa in fact serves to relate s u bj ect
’ ’
o f i s i n fire is ho t .
, ,

and predicate o f a l ogi cal p rop o s it io n Mo toori perceived .

thi s and called zoa zo & c ka kari o r mus u bi b o th wo rds

‘ ‘
.
, , , ,

to j oi n o r to c o nnect
’
S ign ifyi ng It is separative o r .

e m phat i c to this extent that the m ental process by which ,

any l ogi c al pr op o siti on i s f orm ed c o nsi sts o f two stages first ,

an analysis and then a synthes i s When we say fire i s hot .

we have first selected from all the c o ncepts in ou r m inds the

particu lar c o ncept fire and then we pred icate o f i t s om e ,

selected pr operty Wa in Japanese den o tes the c o ncept

.

selected I t m ay thu s be called select ive sepa rat ive or dis

.
,

tingu i shing It m ark s h owever n ot an e m phasis m o difying

.
, ,

a p ro p o s it ion bu t an e mphasi s i nhe r ent in every prop o s it io n

,
.

Pr obably on e o f the best illu strati o ns o f the tru e fu nct io n

o f zoa i s pr o vi ded by the Japanese i di o m wh i ch is c o m m o nly

u sed whe r e i n E nglish we sh o u ld e m pl o y a passive c o nstru o

‘
t i o n In E nglish a sentence li k e Th i s h ou se was b u il t by
.

m y father i s o f a n orm al type but the Japanese i di om do es

’

,
2 60 HI STO RICAL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
aband oned the u s e o f the S pecial predi cat ive term i nat ions ,

and thu s gi ven an added im p or tance to zoa .

(3) In mats u zoa ki n ari zoa again defines the s ubj ect and
, ,

S ince ki the p r ed icate i s an u n i nfl e c te d w ord the p r ed icat i ve

, , ,

verb n ari is u sed to define the predicate The term s of the .

pr op o siti on are in fact , ,

mats u p ine — the s u bj ect

‘
,

ki n ari ex i sts as a tree — the predicate

,

‘
and by m eans of zoa ex istence as a tree is predicated o f ’

‘
,

p ine . It will be seen fr om reference to the sect io n devo ted

t o a u x il i ary verbs that n ari i s n ot a c op u lative verb bu t is
‘
,

c om p o sed o f n i and the verb a ri wh ich m eans to ex i st ,

’
.

The f o ll owing examples will ill u strate the vari ou s u ses o f

zoa

I Wa with substant ives

. or s ubstant ival phrases ,
i rre sp e c
t ive of case .

ko zoa ots u n a ri A is B
ta keki mon on ofu n o kokoro zoo what s oo thes the heart o f
n agu s a muru zoa u ta n a ri fierce warri o rs is P o et ry
In these cases there i s n o e m phat i c valu e .

tokidoki dei ri zoa s u to kikedo th ough I hear that he d o es

fr equ ent them at tim es
kon o y ama zo a ta ka ku ka n o this m ou nta i n is high and ,

ya ma zoa hi ku shi that one i s low

Here zoa i s n ot e m phati c bu t i t d o es serve to d ist ingu i sh
,

clearly the princ ipal wo rd— in this case the su bj ect o f the
sentence .

zoare zoa hi to n o ki taru zoo I did n ot k n ow that anyb o dy

s hi raza ri shi had c om e
Here the pri ncipal clau se i s zoa re s hi raza ri shi and the ,

i nsert i on o f a su b or d i nate clau se between s u bj ect and pre

d ic ate m ak es i t des irable to define the s u bj ect by m eans o f
zoa. It m ay be tak en as a general ru le that zoa m arks the
s ubj ect o f pri ncipal clau ses and n o or ga the su bj ect of
,

su b ordinate cla u ses .

The p u rely em phat i c force o f zoa is m o st apparent when

it is affixed to wo rds which are n ot the su bj ect o f a sentence .

Th i s f oll ows nat u rally fr om the fact expla ined ab o ve that ,

 A D VERB IAL PARTI C LE S 2 61

when disting uishing the su bj ect its u s e is determ ined by the

form rather than the m eaning o f the sentence Thu s .

kan a s hi ku zoa omoedo th o u gh I thin k i t sad

y o ku zo a s hi r a n e do m o th o u gh I d o n o t k n o w well

where zoa is n ot necessary to the c onstru cti on and m u st ,

the r efo re be e m phatic .

Wh en zoa is su ffi xed to o rd inary adverbs its effect i s as,

illu strated in the two exam pl es ab o ve bu t when suffi x e d

to sentence adverbs it c om pletely m o difies their m eaning
-

mata aga in bu t ma ta zoa o r as in fu i n ma ta zoa

j
‘
, ,

kodomo ladies o r child r en

’

moshi if bu t mos hi zoa

,
p o ssibly
tadashi bu t bu t tadashi zo a
, perhaps n o t
Wa appea r s at t im es to have an i nterr ogative f orce as in ,

i dzu ra zoa a ki n o naga shi to where are they th o se l ong ,

i ny o zoa nights of A u t u m n
‘
ki ta ri ts u ran zoa to tozoas eta S i nce he i nq u ired say ing H e
,

ma eba wi ll have c om e
This u sage is fa m il iar in the c oll o qu ial in s u ch phrases as An ata
‘
,

zoa , What ab o u t you ? K ippu zoa 9 What ab ou t the tic k ets ?

When zoa is su ffi x ed to a w ord o r gr ou p of w o rds already
m ade i nterr o gative by m eans o f an other particle i t has the ,

e ffect o f t u rning it int o a rhet o rical q u esti o n Th u s the

‘
.

q u est ion D o pigs fly ? ask ed for inf orm ati o n wou ld be

’

B uta tobu ka bu t sp o k en i ro nically it w o u ld be B u ta tobu

ka zoa . F u rther exam ples o f this c o nstru cti o n are
kaku medeta kam beki hi to to who w ou ld have th ou ght he
zoa ta re ka zo a omoi s hi w ou ld be su ch a splendi d
pers o n ?
s okoi n a ki fu chi
y a zo a s az
oa gu is a b o tt o m less p o o l tu rbu

lent
i ts u ka zoa y u ki n o kiy u ru d o es the sn ow eve r m elt ?
toki a ru

In the literat u re o f the Heian peri o d bu t apparently n ot ,

before zoa is f ou nd qu alifying a wh ole sentence th u s

, ,

kon o oy a zoa ki nda chi be n ado

-
his pa r ents m u st have been
u i y a a ri ken chuj o n ado zoo
,
n oble for they had it wou ld
, ,

ko u i m otariken zoa see m a s on who was a

,

general
2 62 HI S TO RI CAL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The two sentences in the ab o ve exam ple m ay be regarded
as independent In the f oll owing zoa is s uffi xe d to a depen
.
,

dent clau se
kon o ha n a u s eni keru zoa ika as to the disappearance o f
n i ka ku zoa n u s u maseshi z o these fl owers how did you ,

let them be st olen in this

way
na kum ma
zo n o zo ku raki was i t thy carri age hasten ,

hodo ni i s ogi ts u ru zoa ing in the dark

The c o nstru cti o n is n ot imp ortant except in so far as i t ,

S h o ws how the u s e o f z o a as a c o nj u nct ive pa r t i cle m a y have

devel o ped .

N o t mu ch light is thr own u p o n the early devel o p m ent o f

zoa by a st u dy o f archa i c wr itings A s zoa is o ften in the
.

texts o f the M a ny oshu represented by g s om e etym ol o gists

‘
,

have c ontended that i t o riginally m eant mon o a thing ,

’

which i s al s o s o wr itten B u t the u s e of . i s clea r ly an

i m itati o n of Chinese practice and zoa m or e o ver is freq u ently
, , ,

represented by o ther characters s u ch as 3 O bvi ou sly zoa

,

i s o n e o f the ea r liest elem ents in the langu age and it is idle

to c onj ect u re its o r igin Al ready in the pe rio d c over ed by
.

the K oji ki i ts u ses are f ully established The f oll owing .

exa m ples are g iven to sh ow th i s rather than to i llu strate i ts

devel op m ent
ta bi zoa
y u ku tomo M
( ) . alth ou gh I go on a j ou rney
s ora zoa
y u kazu as hi y o yu ku we a r e n o t g oing through the
na ( K .
) S ky we are g o ing o n f oo t
,

zoaga s eko zoa kari o ts u kura s u since m y l o ver has n o gr ass

ku sa n a ku ba (M ) . wher ewith to b u ild a hu t
Omi koto zoa u keta ma u (R e s ) I hea rken to the A u g u st w or d
hi to y ori zoa i mo zo mo a shiki m y sister is w o rse than o thers

kaku zoa a redo m o (R e s ) th o u gh it is th u s

That the Chinese u s e o f g was fa m iliar to the Japa nese
sch o lars at an e a rly p e riod is sh own by Mr Ya m a d a who q u otes .
,

from o ld texts su ch exa m ples as

‘ a (jg H; (a { l},
m eaning The Th r ee Treasu res are the B u ddha the L aw , ,

and the P riesth o o d which i n Japanese w ou ld nat u rally be

’

rendered S amp o zoa & c , .

2 64 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E G R AMMAR
‘ ‘ ‘
tare who bu t tare mo anyb o dy
’ ’ ’
everyb o dy
‘ ‘
, , , ,

n a ni what bu t n ani mo anything ’ ’

‘
,
‘
, ,

i ts u when bu t i ts u mo always
’ ’

‘ ‘ ‘
, , ,

i dzu re whi ch bu t i dzu re mo b o th

’ ’ ’

, all , , ,

Z O is an e mphat ic part icle which cann o t be represented i n

E ngl i sh by any o n e w o r d I t appears als o in the f o rm s o and .
,

i s pr o bably n o thing bu t the dem o nstrat i ve r o o t

c o ntai ned in s ore s ono & c It is S imilar in m eaning to zoa
‘
.
, , ,

bu t carries a str o nger e m phas i s Indeed will s om et im es .

’

render it bu t m ore frequ ently it can be represented by an

,

o ral stress o r by an e m phat i c arrangem ent o f w ords in

E ngl i sh It m u st be re m e mbered that as has been already

.
,

p o inted out Japanese having n o regu lar t o nic accent (or at

,

least a very sl ight on e) there is a lac k o f cadences in l o ng

sentences which is to s om e extent re m edied by the u s e o f
,

e m phat i c part icles Mo re over Japanese pro se is almo st c on

.
,

tin u o u s hav ing n o p u nct u at i o n and r elying largely u p o n

,

gra mm at ical devices to S h o w the inter relat io n between parts -

o f a sentence The length o f the sentences in Japanese

.
,

c om bined with the fact that the o rder o f w o rds is s u sceptible

o f little o r n o change explai ns the freq u ent u s e of o ther ,

m eth o ds o f e m phasis Moreo ver th ou gh we are apt to .

,

assum e that ;in any langu age each w o rd m u st have s om e ,

S ignificance it i s n ot always tr u e O ften we find wo rds

, .

i ntr o d u ced for the sa k e o f e u ph o ny or rhythm and few o f ,

u s are as ec o n o m i cal i n u s ing the t o k ens o f speech as w e are

in spend ing the t ok ens o f wealth In the foll owing sentence .

the w o rd zo is obvi ou sly i nserted fo r p u rp o ses of rhythm :

konn i chi ki n rai Ky o zoa ra mbe -
cryi ng I a m he who is
made n o s ata s u n a m Heike k n o wn i n these days to the
n o mi ka ta u i E tchu Z ens hi very children o f the streets
g j
a i n a n S hi m os a A ku s hi as the ally o f the He ike the ,

chi hy oe K agekiy o to n a n ori te sec o nd s o n o f E tch u Z en shi

fune u i zo n ori u i keri (HK ) . Ak u shichihyo e K a ge k iyo
he got ab o ard the b o at
20has s om eti m es an explet ive f orce at the end o f a sen ,

tence as in a ru zo I yes ther e a re ! in r eply to the s u ggest i on

‘ ‘
, ,

the r e are n ot In me n o ma n ao hi za n o fum u zo m y

’
.
,

head swim s m y k nees trem ble zo is an i nterj ect i o n ’

.
, ,
 A D VER B IAL PARTI C LE S 2 65

The foll owing exa mples from ea rly literat u re S h ow i ts

e m phat i c valu e which i s rendered in E nglish by a S ignificant
,

w or d o r de r
-

zo are n omi zo ki mi ni zoa ko i t i s I al o ne who yearn for

u ru (M ) . m y L o rd
hi ma n a ku zo a me zoa fu ri Wi th o u t cease did the rain
keru (M ) . fall
s a ka n o u e u i z o a ru (M ) at the top of the hill it is
.

oy a n o kokoro y as u me s hi dou it was n o t u ntil he had

-

mete zo mata i de n i keri cal m ed his parents fea r s ’

that he went o u t again

kore zo ta dashi ki mon o n a ri i t i s this which is the c orrect
on e

To aogenerally u sed when rep orting s om e ast on ish ing

is
o r n o tew o rthy state m ent

hi to zoo ku u ji nshu mo a ri to they say there are even s om e

20 races which eat m e n
kon o fu e zooba zoare u setara n he i s even rep orted to have
‘
toki zoa ka n arazu hi ts ugi n i said When I die be su re ,

i rey o to ma de 6s erarekeri to t o p u t this fl u te in m y

20 c offi n
Z 0 appears to serve s o m et im es as an interr ogat ive part i cle ,

bu t it will be f ou nd as a r u le that an inter ro gati o n is already

explic i t o r i mplicit in the sentence and the f o rce o f zo is to
,

p ress the q u esti o n h o m e

ko zo a i ka u i n a ri n u ru y o n o what p r ay is the w orld , ,

n a ka zo c o m ing to
are zoa n a ni na r u hi to 2 0 what pe o ple are th o se tell ,

me
ano hi to zoa ta so is that m an who
kore zoa ta ga ku bi zo wh o se head is this
In the N a r a and ea rly Hei an peri o ds s o i n preference to 20 , ,

is fo u nd with the interr ogative p ro n ou n ta .

It seem s li k ely that the s o u sed to em phasi z e the negative

‘
i m perative as in n o yu ki s o do n ot go
,
is the sa m e as
,

the e mphat i c par ticle zo .

2 0 in c o m m o n with o ther adverbial pa rticles m o difies

, ,

u nder ce r tain c o ndit io ns the f o rm o f the pri ncipal ve r b in

the clau se in which it o cc u r s Thu s acc ording to the strict
.
,

327° Mm
2 66 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
ru le o f Japanese syntax we mu st n ot wri te kore zoa y oshi bu t
,

kore zo y oki the u se o f z o thr owing the final predicative w ord

,

int o an attrib u tive f orm The ru le i s n o l o nger o bser ved in

.

the c o ll o qu i a l and is s om et im es neglected in the written

,

lang u age .

N AN mu i s an em phat ic part i cle wh ich seem s to b el o ng

or n a ,

to the latter pa rt o f the N ara perio d Its m eaning is i mp o s .

sible to r ender i n translati on and i t c a n be best expla ined ,

as c o nveying an e m phasis s om ewhat wea k er than that o f 20

and kos o In ea rly texts it appears in the f o rm n a m o and
.
,

it is p o ssibly o nly a c omb i nat io n o f the part icles n a and mo

in their excla m at ory u s e The f o llowing are exam ples
.

s hi roki ko ta chi zoo n amo mi rej oiced to see a wh ite S hape

y or oko bem ( es )
R
Hi tomaro n a n uta n o kiji ri Hito m a ro was the S age of

n a rikeru (K o ki n P ref ) . . P o etry

It will be n o ticed that lik e zo n a n thr ows the final verb
, ,

i nt o the att ribu tive instead o f the c o ncl u s ive f o rm .

N a n part i cu la r ly in the N a r a pe rio d appears as a term ina

, ,

t i o n o f ve rbs in the im perfect f o rm and gives the verb a ,

ce r tain des i de r at ive sense thu s ,

kora zoa a zoa n a mo (M )

. w ou ld I c ou ld m eet m y
children !
ugu i s u n a ki zo a tara n a mu m ay the wa rbler fly acr o ss
(M ) . S i nging

It i s p o ssible that th i s is a su rvi val o f an obs olete verb nu ,

i n its f u t u r e f o rm n a mu -
.

N a n i s n ot f ou nd in m o dern pr o se .

D A N I S U R A and S AE are adverbial part i cles o f very

, ,

m u ch the sam e S igni ficance The d i ffe r ent i ati o n was a tas k
.

s u ch as the early Japanese gramm ar i ans u ndert o ok w ith

r e m arkable z est bu t thei r r u lings have never been f o ll o wed
,

by o rdinary m en and da ni and s um a r e n ow u sed indi s

,

c r i m i n a tely F o r p r act i cal p u rp o ses b o th da n i and s u ra c a n

.

be taken to c orr esp ond with at least as m u ch as even

’

acc o rding to the nat u r e o f the phrase in which they o cc u r .

E xam ples are

2 68 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
in additi o n to i s f ou nd as i n i ro s ae u i u ts u roi ni keri
’

‘
, , ,

the c o l ou r als o faded E xam ples o f s ae a r e

’
.

mi s a e ha n a s a e s on o ha sae e th ou gh the fro st falls u p on

n i s hi mo fu redo (M ) . its branches and on its fru it ,

and o n i ts fl owers and o n its

leaves
a ma s sa e a ma ri + sae m o r e than that
Th i s i s th e classical u s e o f s a e bu t in later pr o se and S peech
‘ ‘
,

i t cam e by an easy transiti o n fr om als o to m ean even

’ ’

and that is its p r esent significance I n the m o dern sp ok en .

lang u age i t is u sed instead o f da ni and s ura .

N O MI and B A KA R I a r e pract i cally i dentical in m ean ing

‘ ‘ ‘
,

having the S ignificance o f o nly j u st s o m u ch or n othing

’

,
’

bu t

y oki n omi tom takes o nly the g oo d ones

zoa re n omi y u kan I al o ne will go
ga ku mi fu kem
mon n i n o i s entirely abs o rb ed in st u dy
kemu ri to nomi zo mi e l ooking li k e n o thing so m u ch
as s m o ke
y u me no kokochi n omi zo s u I feel o nly as if I were drea m
mg
i ro ku roki ba kari zoo era bu ch o o ses only the blac k ones
‘

no
n e n o toki ba ka ri n i j u st at the H ou r o f the Rat
koe ba kari kos o mu kas hi the v o ice al one is the v o ice
n ari kere o f o ld

0ku ra Ky o ba ka ri mi mi t5 ki there is n ob o dy s o hard o f

hi to zoa n ashi hear ing as the L o rd High
Treasu rer
‘
I t will be seen that bakari has the sense of as m u ch as
’

and expresses degr ee Th i s i s c onsistent wi th its de rivati o n

.

fr om ha ka m to m easu re
,
It has been n o t iced already that
Japanese has n o special f orm for exp r essing degree or c om
pa ris o n and r elies for this p u rp o se on w o rds l i ke n omi and
,

ba kari Th u s
.

as mu ch as this kore bakari

kore hodo
less than this kore y ori s u ku n a ku
m or e than th is kore y ori Oku
 A D VER B IAL PARTI C LE S 269

O ther wo rds o f this nat u re a re S HI KA and D A KE It

‘
.

is p retty certain that da ke is related to ta ke length and ’

‘
, ,

it is u sed to sign ify m easu re as in kor e da ke this m u ch ,

’
.

Like ba ka ri it is o ften by extensi o n u sed with the m eani ng

‘ ‘
, ,

o nly as in futats u da ke o nly two i e as m any as bu t

’

, ,
’

, . .
,

n o m o r e than two .

S hi ka is a S l m ila r w o rd u sed chiefly in the c o ll o qu ial and , ,

with a negat ive as in kore shika a ri ma s en there is o nly this

, ,

mu ch It is presu m ably the sa m e as the adve rb shika s o ,

N AD O ally described as a particle exp r essing n u mber

is u su
‘
bu t its u s e i s adver bial and it has the m eaning o f S u ch as
i

‘ ‘
,

Ha na ts u ki n a do m eans fl owe rs the m o o n

’
or and s o o n
‘
.
, ,

and s u chlike things n o t fl owers and m o ons Mo re o ver

’ ’
.
, ,

in the Heian peri o d n a do is fo u nd f oll owing plur al s uffi xes

‘
,

as in Ts u bon e domo n a do which m eans C ou r t L adies and ,

It occ u rs in c ontexts whe r e it cann o t even m ean

’
o thers .

et cetera s u ch as ,

miy a ko e n ado mukaema i ras e g o ing say to the Capital t o , ,

m eet him
Its m o dern u s e is h owever c onfined to exp r essing a m ean ing
, ,

li ke that o f et cetera .

M AD E has already been m enti o ned as a case particle bu t ,

in st rict classificati o n pe rhaps it S h ou ld be regarded as

adverbial In c omm o n w ith o ther adverbial particles i t c an
.

foll o w a case part i cle ,

kodomo ni made a taeru to g ive even to the ch i ldren

or precede a case part icle ,

ku m made ni by the ti m e he c om es
or m o dify a verb ,

ha n a to mi ru made as far as seeing them as fl owers

th ou gh in the two last exa m ples kum and mi ru are s ub
s tan ti v al f o rm s .

‘ ‘
N A G A R A m eans while as in y u ki n aga ra while g oing ’ ’

‘
, , ,

and it has the sa m e adve r sative m eaning as while o r ’

‘ ‘
whilst in E nglish Th u s s hi ka s hi n agara lit while it is
’

, .

‘
.

’ ’
SO is the equ ivalent o f nevertheless
, .
2 70 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The der ivati o n o f n agara from the substant ive kara has
already been explained u nder y ori ab o ve .

KA is an i nterr ogat ive part icle In Japanese a q u est ion is .

fo rm ed n o t by a change in w ord or der bu t by placing an -

inte rr ogative part icle after the app rop riate w or d Th u s

‘ ‘
.
,

y u ku , he g o es y u ku ka d o es he go ? The par t i cle ka

’

, ,
’

appears in the earliest texts .

tare s hi n o y a kko ka (R es ) whi ch o f O ur su bj ects

i ts u ku y o ka i mo ga i ri ki te whence did m y m istress en
y u m e u i mi ets u r u M
( ) ter that
. I saw her in m y ,

d r ea m
y o n o n a ka zoa ts un e ka ku is the w o rld always only
n omi ka (M ) . thu s
The i nterrogat ive part i cle do es n o t necessarily c om e at the
end o f a sentence and its sign ificance varies with its p o siti o n
‘
.
,

Thu s tare i ru ka m eans who is the r e ? while ta re ka i ru ’

m eans s o m eb o dy is the r e
’
When ka is su ffi x e d directly to
.

a final ve rb that verb ta k es the att rib u tive and n o t the

,

c o nclu s ive fo rm as in ,

n a mi zoa y oriker u ka (M ) have the waves app ro ached

.

Where ka precedes the verb in the cla u se wh ich it e ffects it ,

als o throws that verb i nt o the att ribu t ive fo rm thu s ,

tare s hi n o y a kko ka zoaga which o f O u r s ubj ects has

mikado zoo s omu ki te s hi ka th u s r ebelled against O u r
su m (R e s ) Thro ne
whe r e we have s u m instead of s u .

Y A is an interro gative part i cle , S im i lar to ka , as wi ll be seen

from the fo ll owing exam ples
a ma n o no n omi
y y a kiki ts u is he perchance heari ng o nly
ts u the nam es o f m ou ntains
a me n o s hi ta no koto zoo y a shall I easily perf o rm the
tay a s u ku okon a zoa mu ( R ) tas k o f (g over ning the King -
e s

d om ) u nder Heaven
zoa re hi tori y a zo a u ke S hall We al o ne rece i ve

ta ma zoara mu ( R e s )
Ya , u nli k e ka if i t f oll ows the final verb of a clau se
, , s ally
u u
2 72 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAM MAR
H ere it will be seen the c o m b inat io n o f the perfect f orm
, ,

u s etare and the part i cle a acts as a c o nj u ncti o n between

y
clau ses The u sage i s exactly parallel with the c o nj u nctive
.

u s e o f o ther particles u p o n wh i ch it thr o ws an interest i ng

,

light If we su bstit u te the particle zoa (in i ts fo rm ba ) fo r

‘
.

w
’

y a e have u s eta reba beca u se i t has faded and if we

‘
, ,

s ubstit u te to (in its form do) we have u s etaredo th ou gh i t , ,

S i m ila rly we c a n find in early texts pa r allel

’
has faded .

fo r m s wi th and kos o o f the typ e u seta re zo usetare kos o , , .

The S pecial effect o f ka and y a in these c o nstru ct ions is to

i ntr o du ce a S light ele m ent o f d o u bt s o that whereas u seta re
‘
,

y a m eans perhaps becau se i t has faded u s etareba m eans ’

‘
,

S im ply Fu r ther examples o f this ’

becau se it has faded .

c onstr u cti o n (which i s n o t u sed in m o dern pr o se ) are

ka mi n a ka re y a zoaga beca u se I s u pp o se there are , ,

ts uma s a ka ru (M ) n o g o ds I a m parted f r o m
.
,

m y wife
ma i ts u ts u ka mi kere ka mo 0 the j o yfu lness o f this beer
kono mi ki n o ta n u s hi sa —becau se we danced as we
s a (K ) . b r ewed i t
In the m o de r n langu age ka i s u sed to the exclu si o n o f ya i n
everyday speech In m o dern p ro se the distincti on between
.

the c onclu s ive and attri bu t ive f orm s of verbs fo ll owed by ka

o r y a i s n o t u s u ally o bserved The i nterr ogat ive pa rticles .

are n o t necessary after i nte rro gative pr on ou ns Thu s ta re .

g a k i ta i s as c o rr ect as tare
g a ki ta ka I t S h o u ld be n o ticed .

that the interr o gative pa r ticles when di r ectly s uffi x e d to

i nterr ogat ive pr o n ou ns c ons i d erably m o di fy the i r m ean i ng ,

e .
g . :

doehi ra s om ewhere
where ? dochi ra ka
ta re who s om eb o dy da re ka
i ku ra how m u ch a certa in a m ou nt i ku ra ka
These sh ou ld be c om pared with su ch c om binat io ns as dochi ra
mo ta re mo & c
, ,
.

C O N J U N C TI V E P A R TI C L E S
This class c o nsists o f the particles w a (u su ally in the f orm
ba in c om binat i o n ) t o (u s u ally in the f o rm do in c om bina
,

t i on ) ga u i and w o Fu rther th ou gh thi s i s n o t the class i

, , , .
,
 CO N J UN CTIVE PA R TI C LE S 2 73

fi c a tio n o f s u ch Japanese gra m m ari ans as Ya mada and

O tsu ki I thin k that b o th m o and k a S h ou ld als o be incl u ded
,

u nder t hi s heading fo r r eas o ns stated bel ow

, Ka r a and yo r i .

a r e als o u sed as c onj u nctives .

It wi ll be seen that in form these particles are i dent ical

with the principal particles al r eady discu ssed They are in .
,

fact the sam e particles and their c o nj u nctive u s e is bu t

, ,

a nat u ral devel op m ent o f the pri m a ry f u nct i ons It is how .

,

ever s o speci aliz ed that on e is j u stified as regarding the m

,

for this p u rp o se as a d i stinct g ro u p the m o re s o as it is ,

a p u rp o se which they serve o nly in r egard to sentences and

n o t t o dependent w o rds Thi s c onj u nct ive u s e is i llu strated
.

by the fo ll owing exam ples

tenki y okereba y u ku bes hi as the weather is go o d I
shall go
tenki y aku ba y uka n i f the weather is g oo d I
S hall go

y u ki fu redo sa mu ka razu alth o u gh i t i s sn ow i ng i t

i s n o t c o ld

Here the part i cles ba and do (i e zoa and to) ta k e the place . .

o f th o se E nglish c o nj u ncti o ns wh i ch c o nnect sentences s u ch

‘ ‘ ‘
,
’ ’
They are indeed the o nly w o rds
’
as th ou gh if and as, , .

in Japanese wh i ch can thu s c onnect sentences for in all ,

o ther cases the nex u s between two clau ses resides i n the

f o rm of o n e o f the m Th u s .

ha na s aki tori n aki fl owers bl oom and b irds s ing

‘ ’
where the eq uivalent of the c onj u nct ive and i s in the c on
j u nctive f o rm saki a s o rt o f geru nd of the verb s aku
,
.

The term C onj unctive P a r t icle see m s therefo re to be

accu rately descr ipt ive I t c orresp onds with the na m e s ets u
.

zoku jos hi u sed by Mr Ya m ada and th u s has the sanct io n

.
,

o f a g oo d a u th o r i ty .

‘
im p u re m h
’
B A is an ( g
n i ori ) f o r o f the part i cle a o r zoa .

In the M any é shi t i t i s written indi fferently 2

'

35 g and fl , ,

and was therefore certainly i nterchangeable wi th ha o r zoa .

It c onnects sentences in o n e o f two ways acc ording to the ,

form of the i nflected word wh ich i t foll ows

1 . With the fu tu re or negat ive base form (the I mperfect
3 7 N n
2 °
2 74 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o f a verb o r adj ective i t den o tes a f u t u re o r hyp o thet i cal

c onditi o n o f the type ,

ko a ra ba ots u a ra n if the r e i s A ther e w i ll be B

It seem s li k ely that th i s idi om I s a c o nt racti o n o f aran zoa
which c o nsistently with the separative valu e o f zoa w oul d ,

m ean In the case of the r e being in the f u t u re

’

, B u t it is .

o f c o u rse n o t im p o ssible that ba was f r om the begi nning

s u ffi x e d direct t o the base o f ve r bs The following a r e

.

exa m ples o f the u s e of th i s f o rm

s hi o n o hay a hiba a s a ri s hi n i if the t i de fall s qu ickly we
i den (M ) . will go gathering S hell fish
ugu i s u n o ta n i y ori i dzu m i f there we r e n o t the war
ble r s c ry iss u ing fr o m the
’
koe n a ku ba (K ) .

valley
a chi o s hi n eba y a a ki toki O 1 if I c o u ld bu t sleep (w i th
y y
a ra n her ) eight th ou sand nights ,

S h o u ld I g r o w t i r ed

There is n o dist i nct io n i n fo rm between a f u t u re n o t yet

.
,

r eali z ed c o nditi o n and a p u rely hyp o thet i cal on e s o that

, ,

ara ba for i nstance m a y be t r anslated acc o r di ng t o c o ntext

‘ ‘
, , , ,
’ ’
by when as well as if
The elliptical u s e o f ba u su ally f o ll owed by an i nterr ogat ive
,

particle to express a wi sh has alr eady been n o ted Thu s

, , .

torika ebay a c o u ld I bu t ch ange it

s a tobi to n i zoa dzu ka ni n ooo if o nly I c ou ld let the f o l k s
~

ka sebay a (Maku ra ) at h om e have a peep

2 W i th the perfect f o r m o f ve r bs ba represents an act u al
.
, ,

and n o t an u n r eali z ed c ondit i o n of the type

,

ko a reba ots u a ri as o r when there is A there i s B

Thi s u s e cann o t o ccu r with adj ect ives becau se they have n o ,

perfect f orm but by c om bining adj ect i ves with the a u xiliary
,

ve rb a ri su ch f orm s as y okereba y oku are ba ) as i t i s ,

’
g o o d c a n be c o nstru cted
,
.

The hist o ry o f this f orm (perfect + ba ) i s i nte r est ing In .

the N ara perio d we find the perfect standing alo ne to express

an act u al reali z ed c o nditi o n
,

kogane a ri to m oshi tamaere as they said there was g old ,

kokoro a ki ra me (R e s ) we were relieved

2 76 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o ka ku to fude o oba i
y e n
y j th ou gh you paint it y ou r
.

b ru sh will n o t su cceed
I t i s m o st frequ ently f ou nd t ogether with mo in the sense
‘ ,

o f even th o u gh alth ou gh
’ ’

, .

ka es uga es u mi ru tomo mi m th ou gh you l ook and l oo k

tomo a kumaji (G ) . again and again it will n o t
pall
I t i s n o table that the very c omm o n c oll o q u ial u s e of to i s the
exact opp o site
hon zoo y omu to zuts u ga s um when I r ead a b ook I get a
headache
O n the o ther hand tomo (and to t o a less extent ) i s u sed ,

with adversative f orce i n the sp o ken langu age acc om panying

the f u t u r e o f verbs as ,

s hi n é to (m o) ka ma zo a n even if I di e I d o n t care ’

ashi kar o tomo y a m even if it S ba d I ll d o i t ’

,
’

n a n i ga kay o tomo os oren ai I m n o t a fra i d what ev er m ay

’

happen
Th i s u se wi th the fu t u re bears o u t the su pp o sit io n that a ra ba -

de rives fr om the f u t u re a ra n + zoa Als o it seem s to S h ow .

that the adversative f or ce r eally resides i n the m o o f tomo ,

and that the u s e of to al o ne is elliptical The f o rm tomo is .

m u ch the m o re c omm o n at all pe r i o ds .

Mr Ya m ada (Hei a n B umpol s hi ) s u ggests that to in m any

.

s u ch cases indicates tim e and he cites a m o ng o ther ex

, ,

a m ples the f oll owi ng fr om the N i hongi u ma i n es hi to n i

‘
,

n i zoats u tori n a ku the c o c k cr ows when the h orse has g o ne

,

t o S leep wher e to see m s t o stand for toki

’

, .

the I m pu re s ound o f to when in c om b i nat i o n F ol

’
D 0 is , .

l owi ng the perfect f o rm o f a verb it has a sign ificance dir ectly

o pp o sed t o that o f ba after the sa m e f o rm as in sentences ,

o f the type

ko aredo ots u n as hi th ough the r e is A there i s n ot B

The c om binati o n dom o is frequ ent i n the sam e sense .

N I, GA and W 0 i n thei r capac ity as c onj u nct ive part i cles

,

are generally u sed t o c o ordinate two pr op o siti o ns o f act u al

-

fact The devel o p m ent of a c onj u nct ive u s e fr om the u s e

.
 CO N J UN CTIVE
PARTI C LE S 2 77

as a case parti cle is best illu strated by u i I t is . not a l o ng

step f rom
ko u i ots u A al ong wi th B

ko a m n i ots u a ri al ong with the r e bei ng A there is B

S u ch a sentence as it stands is a m ere asserti on I t simply .

states the c o existence o f A and B bu t d o es n o t assu m e that

,

B is c o nt i ngent u p o n A o r that the i r c o existence is expected

,

o r u nexpected That is t o say u i d o es n o t in the o ry ca rry

.
,

any adve r sative f or ce B u t since as a ru le when two p ro

.
, ,

p o siti o ns a r e placed S ide by S ide they a r e nat u rally c o n

tra s te d an adversat ive f o rce has been gr ad u ally acq u ired by
‘
,

ui . A pa r allel in E ngli sh is perhaps fu rnished by I ask fo r

b r ead and you give m e a st o ne where and becau se o f its
’ ’

, ,

c o ntext has an adversative f o rce F u rther exa m ples o f this

, .

u s e o f u i are as f o ll o ws I t will be seen that the ve rb o r

.

adj ect ive t o which it i s attached is always in the su bstantival

f o rm as w o uld be expected fr o m its tr u e fu nct ion as a case
,

particle .

kore zoo mi ru n i N a ka ma ro see ing this they k new what ,

ga kokoro n o s a ma s hi the heart of N a k am a ro was

r i n u (R e s ) l ik e
koga n e zoa kon o ku n i n i n a ki whereas it was th ought that
mon o to omoer u ni O da i n this land there was n o
n oho ri (n i a ri ) ( R e s ) g o ld (it i s f o u,nd ) in O dan o

k ori
ku raki u i hay a oki idzum hi to -
alth ou gh dark there are a l ,
~

a ri ready pe ople gett ing u p and

g o ing ou t
toshi i mada rokujii ui mi ta th ou gh n o t having reached ,

za m n i s a ka ri to kos o mi e S i x ty ye ar s o f a ge h e see m ed ,

tamai s hi n i ha ru kas u mi to t o b e i n his pri m e he faded ,

ki eni keri away like the m ists o f

S pring

This last exam ple sh ows ui u sed with and wi th ou t an a d

versative f orce in the sam e sentence P erhaps a sentence .

like hi tem n i ame fu ru best illu strates the i di om u nder

‘
disc u ssi o n In E nglish this is while the s u n is shin ing the
.

rain is fall ing and the adversat ive ele m ent resides n ot so
’

,
2 78 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
m u ch i n the w or d while as in the nat u re o f the two c on
’

tr a s te d state m ents .

The c oll o qu ial m akes a S i m ilar u s e o f n i as in M a n ei ta ui

‘
,

I invited him and yet he d o esn t c om e The c om

’
kon a i
’
.
,

binati o n n o n i is m or e f r eq u ent : hay aku ku reba i i n o u i

‘
ma da kon a i he o u ght t o have c om e early and he hasn t
’

, ,

c om e yet ’

‘
.

With a c o nj u nctive adverb su ch as moshi if u i can be ,

’

u sed t o express a c o nditi o n

mos hi ts u n e u i ha i buts u n o if pe ople w o u ld always pay

riy o zoo kokor oga ken n i zoa attenti o n to the disp o sal o f
ka n a razu s on o y o to zo o ha k waste pr o du cts they c ou ld
ken s u m zoo u beshi cer tainly disc o ver a u s e for
the m
In s u ch cases the fu t u re o f the verb is generally req u ired .

GA is n ot f ou nd as a c o nj u nct ive particle i n the earliest

literat u re I t seem s t o have devel oped a c o nj u nctive u s e
‘
.
.

f r om su ch statem ents as K a zou n i oehi s hi ga oy ogi ezu he -

,

who fell int o the r iver c ou ld n o t swi m which c om e t o m ean

he fell i nt o the rive r bu t he c ou ld n o t swi m ’
The f u ncti on
.

o f ga as a c o nj u nctive is as with n i a nat u r al devel o p m ent

, ,

fr om its u s e as a case particle It c o ordinates bu t d o es n ot

.
-

necessarily c o ntrast tw o p r o p o siti o ns The f o ll owing are

.

exam ples o f the c o nj unct i ve u s e

s é eho y ori s ugu reta m mei i havi ng learned that a fa
hon ché e zoa tari te s hi n obi te m ou s physician f r om the
miy ako e n obori keru ga S u ng C o u r t who had secret
,

I madou n i ts u ki te s o r o y os hi ly c r o ssed o ver to Japan

zoo u keta ma zoare ba i s ogi m e and g o ne u p to the capital ,

s hi ts u kazoa s hi s 6 ra i n u (HK )
. had reach ed I m a dz u I has ,

tily sent fo r him

'
ky i i s hi zoa t5ji B eru ri n n o his old teacher who was at ,

a ru chuga ku n o kocho n ari that ti m e the hea dm aster o f

s hi ga kon o ho n i s ess hi te a m i dd le sch oo l in B e rlin o n ,

ta da chi n i kare zoo toi ta ri hear ing this news at once

called u p o n him
I n neither of the ab o ve exam ples has ga any adversat ive
f o rce I t m er ely helps to f o rm what in E nglish bec om es
.

a relat ive sentence .

280 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
the blac k o ily liqu i d pr o du ced by c o al was thr own away
as u seless bu t n ow we have c om e to m an u fact u re fro m this
,

che m ical dyes & c , .

’

a me fu m zoo ka s a n a s hi u i he g o es with o u t an u mbrella

i dzu alth ou gh i t is r ain ing
mon o ta ka ki zoo hi ts u mo y o the things are dea r yet they ,

ka ra za are o f bad qu ality

A devel op m ent o f th i s u s e o f zoo i s f o u nd i n the expressio n
mon o zoo u sed as f o ll ows
ma chi s hi mon o zoo na do ki ta see ing that I wa i ted why ,

za ri s hi di dn t you c om e ’

a nn a ui ta nomu m on o zoo ki o u m ight as well c o nsent

y
i te ku rete mo y okaro (C o ll ) see i ng that he begs s o hard
.

B o th K A and YA as well as the e m phat i c part icles zo

,

n a n and kos o are f o u nd acting as c o nj u nctives

, D eta ils as .

regards the ir early u ses i n th i s way will be f ou nd u nder the ir

respect ive headings The f oll owing exam ples are fr om mo dern
.

newspaper lang u age and S h o w ka acting as a c onj u nct ive

,

mos hi ka rera n o to zo o ky uj o if assistance is given to s u ch

s en ka ka ette s on o i ra i s hi n pe ople as these there i s a ,

zoo z é chos es hi mur u os or e n a danger that i t m a y s imply

ki u i araza i ncrease the i r feeling o f de
p e n d e n c e

moshi N i hon no tos hi u i d o su pp o se t here had been an

i ts a tei do n o fi s ki n a ri ta ra n earthq u a k e o f the sam e di
to s en ka s hi s ha n o s o? zoa
,
m e n s io n s i n a J a p a n e s e c i ty ,

s on o s hihy a ku bun n o i chi u i the n u m ber o f deaths w ou ld

m o tas s ezari s hi n ara n n o t have a m o u nted t o o n e

f ou r h u ndredth o f th i s
-

M O as we have seen serves as a c o nj u nct i ve al ong w ith

, ,
to,
in the f orm tomo It can als o stand al o ne wi th the sam e
.

val u e i n sentences o f the type ko a m mo ots u na s hi th ou gh

, ,

there i s (o r m a y be) A there i s n ot B

’
.

E XC L A M AT O R Y P A R TI C L E S
In the N ara perio d we find the f o ll owing u sed as i nter
je c tion s or exclam at ory part icles
ya , wo , yo , n a , s hi , i , ye , ro , ra .
 EX C LAMATO R Y PARTI C LE S 28 1

It is di fficu lt to d raw a line between these part icles and

o the r s I t will be seen that s om e o f the m W0 for instance
.
, ,

have o ther fu ncti o ns and it see m s pr o bable that s om e at

,

least o f the o ther pa r ticles a r e w o rds which u sed o riginally ,

in a vagu e exclam at o r y o r e m phatic sense have devel o ped

, ,

a S peciali z ed f u ncti o n W0 is al m o st ce rtainly an ill u st r a

.

ti o n o f this feat ur e The ea rly u ses o f the pa rt i cles in the

.

ab ove list a r e as f o ll ows

1 Y A appears as a v o cative particle as in
.
,

n a s e n o ko y a (M ) O I m y child
.

Ya chi hoko n o ka mi n o M i koto O A u g u st D eity o f the

y (
a K ) . Myriad S pea rs

‘
(This sage is still c rrent Y H i Yas )
’
u u asu
y a u

and as a m e r e inte rj ecti o n in s u ch cases as

a me na ru y a otota n a ba ta (K ) O h Weaver in the S ky .

os o y a kon o ki mi (M ) How f ool i sh th i s w ight

.

I t i s p r etty clear that the u s e o f y a as an inte rr o gat ive

particle is m erely a devel op m ent o f its excla m at ory u s e It .

is f ou nd as a r u le o nly in rhet o rical q u esti o ns o r in state ,

m ents expressing d ou bt or s u rp r i se Thu s i n .

zoa re hi tori y a zoa to toki s hi shall I al o ne rece ive the pre

ra s hi zoo u keta ma zoa mu P c io u s T o k en ?

(R e s )
the q u est io n is rhet o r ical . In
i e y a mo idzu ku M
( ) . the h ou se where,
is it
the i nte rr o gative f orce resides in i dzuku I n kore ya to omou
‘
.
,

I think it is this m aybe y a expresses d ou bt It is th i s ’

‘
.
, ,

u se which gives u s s u ch phrases as oy a y a s hi n ru i pa r ents ,

I t m u st be re m e m bered that where y a (o r ka )

’
or relati o ns .

o cc u rs in a sentence with an interr o gative and n o t a p u rely

exclam at o ry val u e i t a ffects the f o rm o f the final verb whi ch ,

assu m es the s u bstantive and n o t the attrib u tive f orm This .

m a y be ta k en as a f u rthe r indicati o n that the interr ogative

sense is n o t inhe r ent in y a bu t had to be reinf o rced by s om e
,

syntactical device .

2 . W 0 as has been already p o inted

, ou t, appears in the
327°
0 o
282 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
earl i est texts as an i nterj ect io n P erhaps the o ldest exa mple
.

i s that f ou nd i n on e of the K oji ki s o ngs

s on o y a ega ki zoo O that m anif o ld fence
I t i s n ot p ossible to trace i ts transit i o n fr om an e m phat i c to
a case part icle bu t i t i s easy to see how it m ay have o cc u rred
, .

3 . Y0 is a c ommo n i nterj ect i o n i n the m odern lang u age .

In the earliest texts it i s u su ally f o u nd ass o ci ated with mo ,

as i n
a zoa mo y o (K ) . I
ko mo y o mi ko mochi fugu s hi ,
and a bas k et ! S he has a
mo y o mi fugu s hi mochi (M )
,
fi ne bas k et And a tr owel
. .

S he has a fi ne tr o wel
wh ile s u ch gr ou p s as mo ga mo y o are f ou nd e g mi dzu ni
‘
. .
,

mo ga mo y o ! (M )
’
. O t o be the water .

After s u bstantives and after the c o nclu sive f orm o f ve rbs

, ,

y o i s p u rely i nterj ect i o nal and cann o t be di st ingu i shed fr o m

,

y a
.
(‘
It i s u sed as a v o cat i ve i n the sa m e way e g j i n ta , . .

y o ! J i nta
Its m o st inte resting f u nct i on h owever i s i n im perat ive o r
, ,

permissive l o cu ti o ns s u ch as ,

i ka n i s e y o to (M ) d o what you w ill

.

n a koi s o y o (M ) . d o n o t l o ve
ki n a ki te y o (M ) . c om e and S ing
The i mpe r at ive is n ot f o rm ed by the particle y o b u t ,

e mphasi z ed by i t The earli est i m perat i ve f o rm s are f ou nd

.

with ou t yo I n the m edieval langu age the im pe r at ive is

.

al mo st invari ably f ou nd w ith ou t y o in verbs o f the first c o n

‘ ‘
j u gat io n— th u s we have y u ke go kas e lend — bu t with
, ,

verbs of the o ther c o nj u gat i o ns the im perat i ve i s u su ally

,

f o r m ed by the additi o n o f y o to the c o nj u nct ive f orm as in

‘
,

ta be y o , eat The i rreg u lar ve rb s u m has the f o rm s ey o ,

q u oted ab o ve .

4 . NA at the end o f a sentence after n o u ns or verbs i n the

c o ncl u s ive f o rm is p u rely exclam at o ry Th u s ha na zoa chi .

r a mu n a the fl owers w ill fade I n c omb i nat i o n with

o ther particles it helps to express special m ean i ngs u s u ally

desiderat i ve or m ildly im perative e g moga n a s higa n a , . .

, .

N a i s a c omm o n i nterj ect io n i n the m o dern langu age .

2 84 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAM MAR
and Mr Ya m ada states that in the script u r es o f the earl iest
.

B u ddhist sects i n Japan (i e the H oss o ) a S pecial dia . .

critic m arking for i i s f o u nd u sed to den o te the su bj ect o f

,

a sentence when the Chinese t ext i s read acc o r ding to

Japanese syntax H e gives exam ples o f early system s of
.

diacritic m ark ings (ten— z) u nde r 0 koto ten p 8 ) which .

, .

pr o vide fo r th i s part i cle .

7 . nc o mm
YE i so nu and m a y be o nly a va ri at i o n
, of y a .

E xam ples o f its u se are

zoa re zoa s a bu s hi
y e (M ). I am l o nely
ka m s hi ye (N
) . it is painfu l
It i s f o u nd i n the c om binat io n y e y a s hi , whe r e it appea r s
t o be a m eaningless excla m ati o n .

8 . is f ou nd i n the ea rl i est texts u su ally in ass o ciat i o n

R0 ,

with o ther exclam at o ry par ticles e g Oki mi ro ka mo ,

. .

tomos hi ki ro ka m o I t d o es n o t appea r t o have any

speciali z ed fu ncti o n I t is inte r esting to n o te h o wever that
.
, ,

it o ccu r s ve ry f r eely in the s o ngs in the M a ny bshi z (v o l

'
.

which are u su ally k n o wn as A dzuma u ta and in o ther verses ,

which m ay be tak en t o represent the E astern d ialect o f the

N a r a pe r i o d I t m a y c o nseq u ently be a dialectical vari a
.
, ,

ti o n o f y o o r s om e o ther particle I m pe r ative f o rm s s u ch .

1

as s ero fo r s ey o ts ukero for ts u ke y o are fo u nd in these s o ngs

,
.

A few exa m ples o f the u s e o f ro a re appended .

5 nu ro n i ta n a bi ku ku mo (M ). the cl ou ds lying ab ove the

g r eat plain
omoos u n a mo ro (M ) . d o n ot think
kos uge ro no u rafu ku kaze the wind bl owing thr ough
the treet ops

9 . nc o mm
R A is oun and i t is p o ssible that i ts e m phatic
o r excla m at or y u s e i s an extensi o n o f its u s e as a s u ffi x

(v p
. . In
ko zoo r a ts uma zoo ra oki te I have c om e leaving beh i nd ,

ra mo ki nu (M ) . m y children and m y sp ou se

1
S u ch i m p e r a ti v e s a re c o mm o n in m odern c o ll o q u i al , e .
g ta bero
.

e at ts u ker o p u t
 EX C LAMATO R Y PARTI C LE S 28 5 2

it is wo r th n o ting that the text u ses the char acter 5 the ,

S ign o f the pl u ral In .

a ma i zoo ra ku zoaete (M ) adding sickness theret o

y .

‘
r a m a y be e m phatic o r it m a y give the sense o f , si ck ness
and the l ik e
In s u ch ph r ases as a kara ta chi ba n a mon oga n a s hi ra u i
omou s a ka s hi ra zoo s u it is ha r d to say what is
the fu ncti o n o f ra I t is n o d o u bt the sa m e as the ra which
.

appea r s i n the Rit u als and Rescr ipts in the m u ch debated -

phr ase s umera ga o mi koto ra ma to acc or ding to the D ivine ,

w or d O n the wh o le o n e m a y reas onably infer that ra is

’
.

’
a w o rd o r part o f a w or d o riginally den o ting s or t or k ind
‘
, ,

This w ou ld acc o u nt for m on o ga n as hi ra n i in a sad way

’

‘ ‘
, ,

s a dd i shly and for the pl ural u s e ko ra ch ildren and

’

, ,
’
s o on .

A S p eci al u se o f p articles w hich characteri z es the earliest kno w n

langu age deserves s om e n otice The p articles ga n a u i an d n o .
, , ,

are u sed in an excl a m at o ry w ay t o e x pr ess a w ish or a ho p e as

‘
,

in ka ku mo ga w ou ld it w ere thu s t0ri n i mo ga mo ’

I w ou ld I w ere a bird The u sage is b est expl ained by cl a ssi fi ed

’
.

ex amp les
( )
1 G A It . s ally occurs in combination with other particles
u u ,

chiefly mo
ka n a s uki mo i n ochi mo ga mo (K ) .

zoaga omou ki mi zoa chi tos e u i mo ga mo M

( ) .

n a r a bete mo ga mo (N ) .

zoaga i n achi mo n aga ku mo ga mo (N ) .

a s hi bi ki n o y a ma zo a n a ku mo ga (M ) .

N o tice that when such p articles or groups follow predicative

,

w ords the latter take the c on j unctive form w ith a curiou s

, ,

excep tion viz the tense s uffi x ki e g

, .
-
, . .

i ma mo eteshiga (M ) O h that I m ight n ow obtain

.

mi shi ga to omou (M ) I think I w ish I c o ul d see

.
,

hi ba ri ni n ari teshiga (M ) O that I m ight b ecom e a lark.

bu t s hi he re is p erhap s o nly an e mphatic p article and n o t the ,

a tt ri bu tive f orm o f ki .

( )
2 NA is suffi x e d to the imp erfect form of verbs f orm ing a ,

desider ative o r a m ild imp erative .

i za mu su bi te na (M ) .
28 6 HI STO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
a s obi ku ra s a n a (M ) .

ni oi te yu ka n a (M ) .

ka ts u ki s en a zoa (K ) .

(3 ) NE appe ars be interchangeable with N A

to .

n a n ora s a n e (n ora s u and n e) (M ) .

tsu ki n i hi u i s hika s hi a soban e (M

haya kaeri kon e (M ) .

s aza ki tora s a n e (K ) .

It m ight be conj ectured that this n e I s a form o f the verb su ffi x

nu b u t there is n o evidence for this and the fact that w e fi n d ,

it fo ll owin g a nega tive im p erative is against it

s hi ohi n a ari s o n e M ) let t e e e n o f all in g o f the tide
( h r b .

y u k i n a fu m i s o n e (M ) p r ay d o n o t t read the sn ow
.

An app arent al ternative f orm n i is f ou nd as in moshi ma sa u i

‘ ‘
, ,

pray sp eak n a ka ri s o n i O d o n o t r eap ,

It is very diffi cult to accou nt for these form s N A is u sed as

‘
.

an exclam at ory p article as in han a zoa chi ra mu n a Ah ! the , ,

fl o w er s will fade bu t her e it foll o w s the c onclusive f orm Whe re .

u sed to ex pr ess a wish n a n e and u i as S ho w n ab ove f o ll o w

, , , , ,

the i mp er fect As it is the i m p erfect which provides a b ase for

.

fut u re form s it m ay b e t hat w e have here an elided futur e that

, , ,

fo r instance y u ka n a is yu ka mu or yu kan p lu s n a
, There is an .

an al ogy in the term in ation n an which is found in such phrases

‘
as oi kaze fukanan m ay a fair wind bl ow , (N an here m u st be
’
.

distingu ished fro m the n a n follow ing adverbial form s o f verbs ,

which is S imply the fu t ure o f n um (e g fu ki nan— fu ki and n a . .

p lu s It seem s likely that he re w e have a contra ction o f

fukan n an n an itself being the futu re o f the (con j ectu ral) o bso lete
,

verb n u to be w hich later assum ed an indep endent valu e as the

,
’

p article n a n o r n a mo itself n o doub t the ancest or o f the m odern

, ,

c oll oqui al n a or n e .

S u mm ari z ing the foregoing discu ssi on it c an be stated that the

e arly language c ontained a large nu mber o f p articles o f an
excl am at ory or emphatic nature n o t fu lly differentiated from ,

o n e a n o ther in f orm m eanin g o r f uncti on

, , , .

C ertain c ombinations o f p articles gradu ally com e to assume

S p eci al m eanings and to p er f orm syntactic al f uncti o ns
, (A S m o .

g a n a, m o g a m o s hi ga s hi g a ,n a ex p ressin g a
,
w ish ) Th ese ,
.

a r e in ti m e r ep laced by m or e pr ecise l o c u tions as the vari ou s ,

c om p ou nd c on j ugational f orm s o f verb s c om e to acqu ir e specifi c

m eanin gs O f the individu al p ar ticles s om e such as ro i s hi & c
.
, , , , ,
.
,

f all o u t o f u s e O thers develop sp ecial iz ed functions a s is well

.
,

illust rated by zoo This particle fi rst serves as an interj ection

.
,
 VIII
THE A D VE R B
H E R E is c o nside r able disagr eem ent am o ng Japanese
gra mm a rians as t o the definit io n and classificati o n o f
adverbs S om e have a rg u ed that there i s n o tru e adverb in
.

Japanese bu t o nly an adverbial u s e o f o ther pa rts of S peech

, .

This V iew is d ifli c u lt to u ph old in the face o f s u ch w o r ds as

‘ ‘ ‘
mata again kedas hi pr o bably s a thu s & c
’ ’ ’

, , , , , , .

O f adverbs in u s e in the N a r a pe r i o d the si m plest are ka ,

that wa y ka ku (a derivat i ve o f ka ) th u s and s hi ka s o

’

, , ,

The f o rm s a is o f later devel o p m ent E xa m pl es are .

ka y u ki ka ku y u ki (M ) . g o ing th i s way and that way

s hi ka s hi a s obi (M ) . playing thu s
E ven these elem entary f o rm s are f ou nd i n c o m binati o n w ith
the pa r ticle n i as in ka n i ka ku u i
,
s hi ka n i zo a

a raji and it appears that there was origi nally an a d

‘
how ) which c o m bined with n i has given the
’
verb n a
‘ ‘
, ,
’
w o r d n a ni what and appear s i n n a do why
’

, na
Thu s
na u i ka omozoa mu (M ) . h ow hall I th in k
S

n a do ka ki n a ka n u (M ) . why d o es it n o t c om e and s ing ?

n a do n a kem ta me ( K ) . why weeping
The f o rm i ka devel o ps presum ably fr om ka w ith the m ean ing
‘ ‘
,

ho w and n a n i assu m es the m eaning o f what

’ ’

, I ka is .

f o u nd always in c o nj u nct i o n with n i o r to or in the H eian ,

peri o d i n the f o rm i kade Th u s .

i ka n i ka oy obu koto emu (R es ) how S hall I atta i n

i ka to i ka to a ru zoaga y a do (M ) . how how
,
is m y h om e
There was apparently an adve r b ma which n ow su rv ives in ,

the c o m p ou nds ma ma and ma n i m a n i It o ccu rs frequ ently .

in the early Resc ripts and the Rit u als especially in the
‘
,

phrase o mi koto ra ma acc or ding to the D ivine Word ,

’

where it is evidently already an archaism .

The early langu age c ontai ns a n um ber o f o n om at op o e ic

 THE A D VER B 289

and ki ndred f o rm s . They are a s a ru le reduplicat ions .

E xam ples are

s a zoas a zoa s ay a s ay a a ru stling s ou nd of

hodorohodoro o f sn ow fall ing

ham ba m o f distance

may ura o f rain fall i ng

korokoro o f ra k ing o ver salt

Mo st o f these adve rbs a re acc om panied by a part icle n i or to , .

F or c o nvenience o f treat m ent adverbs c a n be classi fied ,

r oughly as foll ows

1
. Adverbs m odifying predicat ive w ords These are su ch .

as express i deas o f t im e place m anner degree & c E arly

‘ ‘ ‘
.
, , , ,

f o rm s are : i ma n ow ; i mada yet ; tachi machi s u d ’ ’

‘ ‘
, , ,

d e n ly ; s hi bas hi ba
’ ’
frequ ently ; s ude already ; s una ’

‘ ‘ ‘
, ,

zo ochi the r eu p o n ko (c o nj ect u ral ) here koko here

’ ’ ’

‘
, ,

there and i dzu ko where s u kobum

’ ’ ’
s oko exceedingly
‘ ‘ ‘
, , , ,

very ; y ay a li ttle ; mottomo m ost ; and ’ ’

ha na ha da
’

, , ,

n u m er ou s on om atop o eic s l ik e s ay as aya ab ove .

2 Adverbs m o di fyin g a pr op o si ti o n E arly i nstances are

‘ ‘
. .

keda s hi u me o r y om o
’ ’
pr obably y hardly ka naradzu
‘
, , ,
’
certai nly & c , .

3 Adverbs lin ki ng pr op o s it i ons o r C o nj u nct i ve Adverbs

‘ ‘ ‘
. .
,

hata m o re over
’ ’
S u ch are ta das hi bu t ka ts u f u rther
‘
, , ,

ma ta again These f o rm a l ogi cal bu t n ot a gramm atical

’
.
,

lin k between sentences The gramm atical lin k i s in the .

special iz ed c o nj u nct i ve f orm s o f verbs and adj ect ives .

F r om the exam ples g iven ab ove i t wi ll be seen that the

n u mber o f s ingle w o rds which f u nct ion s olely as adverbs i s
very s m all indeed There are o nly a few su ch as i ka hata .
, , ,

and keda shi which can stand al one as adverbs and cann o t
,

perfo rm the fu nct i on o f o ther parts o f speech K eda s hi i tself .

is pr obably an abb r eviated f o rm o f keda shi ku f ou nd i n N ara ,

pe ri o d texts wh i ch i s presu m ably the o rdinary adverb i al

,

f orm o f an adj ect ive .

A gr eat nu mber o f adve rbs in Japanese requ ire the ass i s

tance of a particle befo re they can take the ir place in a
sentence E ven s om e o f the S i m plest early f o rm s l ik e ka ku
.
, ,

i ka & c are as has been p ointed ou t f o u nd with the part i cle

, .
, , ,

ni and m o st ech o w o rds requ ire a part icle The adverbs - .

P P
2 90 HI STO RICAL JAPA N E S E G R AMMAR
den o t ing place i nvari ably tak e the l o cat i ve part icle ui (koko
n i s oko u i ) th o se den o t i ng t im e freq u ently d o s o s ude u i
, , ( ) .

There i s fu rthe r a c onsi derable class o f adverbs o f wh ich ,

a ki ra ka n i c a n be ta k en as an exa m ple wh i ch cann o t with o u t ,

a part icle c onvey any prec i se m eaning These have already .

been referred to u nder the heading o f U ninfl e c te d A dj ectives ,

where i t wa s p ointed ou t that these f orm s ending in ke ge , ,

o r ka c a n serve as adj ect ives o nly i n c o m binat i o n with

s uffixes li k e ta m and n a m We thu s have in each case .

a gr ou p o f f o rm s for attrib ut ive predicat ive and adverb i al , ,

u ses o f the m o del

,

a ki ra ka n a ru , attrib u t ive as i n ,
a ki ra ka n a m koto , a clear
’
thing
a ki ra ka n ari , predi cat ive as , i n kore zoa a ki ra ka n a ri , this
i s clear
’

‘
a ki ra ka u i , adverb i al as ,
in a ki ra ka u i miyu , it i s seen
’
clearly
The c o nstant elem en t a ki raka cann o t stand al one .

It w ill be seen that m o st adverbs in Japanese are either

adverb ial phrases o r o ther parts o f speech f u nct i on i ng as
‘
adverbs S u ch a w o rd as i ma n ow i s a n ou n by o rigi n ’
.
, ,

( m a space ) and S h o ws i ts s u bstant i val character in a

phrase l ik e i ma n o y o the present day ’
E ven the adverbs
, .

express ing the S i m plest— the least analysed— i deas su ch as

‘
,

ka ku thu s have the character o f n ou ns i n s o far as they

’

, ,

can be u sed w i th part icles that g o vern n ou ns E g ka ku

‘ ‘
. . .

n o gotoki li k e th i s oku n o hi to m any pe o ple

’
a a te n o
‘
, y g ’
,

zo a ka re parting at length
, .

S i ngle w o rds o f which the f u nct i o n i s s o lely adverb i al are

very rare i n Japanese The s o called adve rbial f o rm s o f .
-
.

adj ect ives i n Japanese are n o t exclu sively adverb i al The .

f orm ka ta ku for instance can act as an adver b as i n kata ku

, , ,

kata ku + arazu )
’
u ts u , to stri ke hard bu t in kata ka razu
i t i s p u rely a c o nj u nct ive f o rm and has n o adverb i al f o rce ,
.

Apart fr om the devel op m ent o f adverbs and adverb i al

phrases by the pr ocesses ou tl ined ab o ve the rap i d additi on of ,

w o rds of Chinese o ri gi n t o the native v o cab ul ary gave rise

t o f u rther f o rm at i ons The m anner o f bri ngi ng these w ords
.

i nt o u s e as adverbs vari ed acc o rdi ng t o ci rcu m stances The .

S im plest m eth o d was to empl oy on e o f the part i cles to o r ni as ,

 IX
THE F O R MATI O N OF WO R D S
H I S s ubj ect c a n nat urally be treated o nly in o u tline
T here S ince i ts f ull discu ssi o n i nv olves all qu esti o ns o f
,

etymol ogy as di st i nct fr om accidence .

AS has been p oi nted o u t i n several places i n the f oreg o ing

t ext the Japanese lan guage i n the earliest state k n own t o
,

u s see m s t o reveal an i m perfect d i fferent i ati o n o f f u nct i o n .

Many w ords appear to retain in a variety o f u ses what , ,

I m a y call a s ubstant i val fl avo ur— they are i m perfectly

different i ated as verbs adj ectives & c This idea i s difficu lt
, , .

t o express clearly and is theref ore p o ssibly o pen to su spic i o n

, ,

bu t i t m a y perhaps be expla i ned by exa m ples In .

tori ga n a ku the b ird s ings

n a ku tori a singing bird
karigan e )
n o n a ku n a ri ( K . i t is the wild geese cryi ng

the w ord n a ku i n each case represents a su bstantive rather

‘
than a verb c o ncept The literal translat io ns are b i rd s ’

‘ ‘
.

c ry
’

, cry b ird and it is c ry o f geese

’

,
There i s n o dif ’
.

fere nti ati on in f o rm between the w ord for c ry i n each case ,

alth ou gh syntact i cally it stands in ( 1 ) for a verb i n (2 ) for ,

an adj ect i ve and i n (3 ) for a n ou n A la rge part o f the

,
.

devel o p m ent o f the Japanese lan gu age as indeed o f m o st ,

langu ages i n its earl i er stages c onsists o f the gr owth o f f orm s

,
.

by which fu nct io ns are di fferent i ated This pr o cess as wi ll .

,

have been seen i n Japanese has c o nsisted largely o f a gglu

,

ti n ation— the add iti o n t o u ndifferent i ated o r i m perfectly

different i ated w ords o f suffixes by m eans o f which the ir
fu ncti o n i s deli mited Th u s s om e verbs devel o ped special
.

attri b u t i ve f o rm s as tats uru the attrib u t ive f orm o f tats u

‘ ‘
, , ,

t o stand
’
so that hi to tats u i s a m a n stands bu t ta ts uru ’

‘
, ,

hi to a standi ng m a n Adj ect ives too have attrib u t i ve

’
.
,

c o nj u nctive and predicative f o rm s and there is an i mp o rtant

, ,

class o f w o rds which are of a s ubstantival nat u re bu t cann ot

stand al o ne and m u st be b r ought int o u s e as adj ect ives or
‘
,

adverbs by m eans o f suffi xes as a ki ra ka n am clear and ’

, ,
’
a ki ra ka n i clearly
, .
 F O RMATI O N O F W O R D S 2 93

B u t as the langu age c o ntin u ed its devel o p m ent it disca r ded

i n s o m e instances these S peciali z ed f o r m s Thu s in the .

standa r d m odern c o ll o qu ial the S peciali z ed predicative f orm s

o f adj ectives a r e o bs o lete and the distincti o n between p r e
,

d ic a tiv e and att ribu tive f o r m s o f ver bs is n o t o bserved We .

c a n n o w say ta ts u hi to as well as hi to ga ta ts u y oi hi to fo r ,

oki hi to and hi to ga y oi i nstead o f hi to y os hi The first of

y , .

these exa mples p rovides an i nstance whe r e Japanese has

p ro ceeded fa r ther than E nglish in the di r ecti o n o f S im plifi c a
ti on an d the reliance u p o n S ignificant w or d o rder since it is ,

o bvi ou sly si m pler t o say ta ts u hi to stand m a n than a m a n ,

’
who stands .

Apart fr om th o se agglu tinat ive pr o cesses which have in

the case o f verbs and adj ectives given r i se t o s om ething like
a regu lar fl e xion al sche m e there are certain o ther pr o cesses
,

o f a m o re li m ited applicati o n by which w o rds c a n be dif

fere n tiate d as to f u nct i o n w i th or w i th ou t a change o f

,

m eaning . It is di fficu lt t o draw a line between what a r e

generally ca lled c om p ou nd w o rds and w o rds s o f o rm ed bu t
for practical p u rp o ses the f o ll ow ing descripti o n is li m ited to
cases where the change is pr o du ced by the additi o n o f an
ele m ent which cann o t stand al o ne— that is by s uffixes o the r ,

than th ose already desc ribed .

( )
1 S u ffixes enabling w o rds t o f u ncti o n as s u bstantives .

These are s u ch as the s u ffi xes s a and mi attached as a r u le

‘
,

t o w o r ds o ther than n ou ns as in fu ka s a depth o kami ’

‘
, , , ,

reddishness ka erus a the way back and s o o n The case

,
’

, .

o f a w o rd li k e a ka mi raises interesting q u esti o ns as t o the

early divisi on o f f u nct i o n am ong Japanese w ords Aka is .

u s u ally call ed an adj ective ste m but it existed and st i ll , ,

exi sts as an independent w o rd and the r e is n o m eans o f

, ,

pr oving that it represented an adj e c tiva l rather than a s ub

s ta n tiv a l c o ncept It i s safer to say that it is at least
.
,

appro xim ately the f orm pri o r t o differentiati o n W or ds like

,
.

this are inc o nvenient for gramm ar ians becau se they r efu se ,

to fit i nt o the categ o r ies which th o se sch olars p r etend t o

distingu ish The fact is o f c ou rse that it is abs ur d to expect
.
, ,

wor ds to behave m ore l ogically than the pe ople who u s e

the m .

S A is f ou nd in the N a r a pe r i o d in s u ch f o r m s as s a bu s hi sa
‘ ‘
helplessness kaeru s a n i
’ ’
l o neliness s u ben a s a , ,
2 94 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
i mo n i mi s en o n m y ret u rn I will S h o w her
’
I n the .

later lang u age i t is s om eti m es s u ffi x e d to S ini c o Japanese -

w o rds .

MI j u dge fr om su ch w ords i n the m o dern langu age as

to
‘
,

a ka mi r edness
, is a s uffix f orm ing abstract n ou ns from
’

adj ect i val stem s Hist orically h owever i t appea r s to be

.
, ,

the c o nj u nctive f o rm o f a term inati o n mu o f ce r tain de ri ved

, ,

ve rbs Th u s :
.

n es hi ku zoo u r u zoa s hi mi adm iring his sleep

a mets u chi kokoro zoo i to

no whe r eas We d o serve and
s hi mi i kas hi mi ka ta i ken a mi p ri z e and thank and d r ead
j
kas hikomi i ma s u n i (R e s ) the Will o f H eaven and
E arth
To toki mi koto zoo i ta da ki hearkening to the prec i o u s
y oro k obi t5 tom i oj i ka s hi ko W o rd rej o ic i ng and,
reve r

mari te (R e s ) ing dreading and ,

kokoro i tami aga m ou i mo m y sweetheart o f wh om I

’

th i nk wi th gri eving heart

In these exa m ples wh i ch are of a type ve ry c omm o n in
,

the N ara pe ri o d the f o rm s ending in mi a re clear ly ve rbs

, ,

and they g o vern an o bj ect i ve case s o m etim es m a rk ed by ,

the particle zoo O ther u ses are f ou nd as i n

.
,

s on o hi to dom o n o n igi mi y a that th o se pe o ple m ay be

s u mi s u beku R e s )
( gentle and peaceable
where n igi mi and ya s umi a r e c o nj u nctive f o rm s acting as
‘
s u bstantives S im ilarly zoa bi s hi mi s u m to grieve u ru
’

‘
.
, ,

zoa s hi mi s u m t o adm ire

’
.
,

In the p o etry o f the classical peri o d a cu ri ou s half way -

c o nstru cti o n c a n be f ou nd where these w or ds ending in mi

,

are treated gram m at i cally as verbs and yet have the m eani ng
o f n o u ns Thu s
.

miy a ko zoo to mi distance fr om the Cap ital

y a ma zoo Omi m u ltit u de o f hills

The de r ived ve rbs ending in mu a r e n u m er ou s and they ,

have fo r the m o st part persisted in the m o dern langu age .

AS exam ples o n e m ay take

a a shi mu t o s u spect ay a s hi s u spic i o u s
y , ,
2 96 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
vagu e rather than preci se as in i dzu ra whereab ou ts as
‘
, ,

o pp o sed to i dzu ku whe r e S om eti m es we find i t f o rm ing

,

a n ou n by addi t io n to an adj ect i ve stem as i n s a kas hi ra

‘ ‘
,

fo r c u nn i ng I n a ka ra o bun e a red b o at it m ay be
’ ’

‘
.
, ,

m erely e u ph o n i c o r it m ay c o nvey the i dea o f reddish

’
.

Th i s s u ffi x i s d ou btless c o gnate with the re which appea r s

i n zoa re kore i dzu re & c
, , , .

I n addi ti on to the agglu t inat ive p ro cesses j u st described ,

there are certa i n o ther m eth o ds by which parts o f speech

c a n be diverted fr o m o n e f u ncti o n t o an o ther V ery Charac .

teris ti c o f the Japanese lang u age i n this respect is the pr o cess

o f red u pl i cati o n which c a n be i ll u strated as f o ll ows
,

(a ) N o u ns red u pl i cated to f o rm pl u rals s u ch as

y a ma
y a ma , ,

m o u ntai ns zoarezoa re we hi tobi to pe o ple s ama

‘
, ,

za ma vari ou s k inds & c ’

‘
, , .

( )
b N o u ns red u pl i cated t o f o rm adve r bs as t okid ok i at
‘
, ,

t im es n a ka na ka Certai nly & c

’

, ,
’

, .

I t will be seen that these two classes m erge i nt o on e an other .

Fu nct i o n i s determ i ned by c ontext s om et im es E g s a ma . . .

za ma n o monda i qu est io ns o f vario u s s orts and s amazama ’

‘
, ,

u i omou
’
th i nk variou sly
,
.

()
c Adj ect i ve ste m s red u pl i cated generally t o f o rm a d
‘ ‘
,
’ ’
verbs as hay a bay a qu ickly u s u u s u faintly
‘ ‘
, , , , ,

for a l o ng t im e chi kajika sh o rtly & c

’
naga n aga ,
-
, ,
.

These f o rm s c a n be u sed adverb i all y w ith o r with ou t ,

the a i d o f a particle as i n chi kajika (n i ) deka keru

‘
, ,

sets ou t sh ortly n aga n aga go y a kka i u i n ari ’

‘
, ,

having been a n u isance t o you fo r a l o ng t im e

’
.

By m eans o f n o they can b e u sed as adj ectives as

‘
,
’
in n aga naga n o go y a kkai a p r o tracted n u i sance , ,

and s om etim es they can b e rec o nverted int o inflected

adj ectives by m eans of a s uffi x as n aga n agashiki in
‘
,

n aga nagas hi ki na ts u n o hi the l o ng l o ng s u mm er day ,

(d) V erbs i n the predicative d u pl icated to f o rm adverb ial

phrases as ,

y u kuy u ku ku u he eats as he g o es al o ng

n a ku n a ku koto n o y os hi S he t old her st ory as she wept

zoo ka taru
‘ ‘ '
mas umas u , i ncreas ingly
’
kaes ugaesu , t im e after t im e
 F O RMATI O N O F W O R D S 2 97

It is this u sage which has given r i se to the c omm o n i diom

‘
illu strated in s u ch a phrase as hon zoo y omi tsu ts u reading a ,

b oo k m eanwhile whe r e ts uts u indicates the c o ntin u ati o n o f

’

the acti o n described by the ve rb It is a du plicated f o rm o f .

the ve rb su fli x ts u (ts uru te) and o cc u rs in ea rly t exts thu s

, ,

kuga ne s u ku n a kemu to omo whe r eas we have been u sed

os hi u rei ts u ts u a ru n i (R e s ) t o grieve thinking that g o ld ,

was scarce
koi ts u ts u zo oru (M ) . I a m yearning
ts u ki zoa hen i ts u ts u (M ) the m o o n is wan ing
.

( )
e V erbs i n the c o nj u nctive f o rm d u plicated t o give a k i nd
o f pr ogressive as i n ,

y u kiy u ki te S u ruga no ku n i ni go ing o n and o n he reaches

i taru the pro vince o f S uru ga
nagarenaga rete koko ni ki taru wande ring and wander ing I
have c o m e hither
(f) M any i f n o t
,
m o st o n o m at op o eic w o rds are f o r m ed by
,

redu plicat io n as ka ra ka ra (o f a rattling s ou nd) s u ra

, ,

s u ra (o f a r u stling s o u nd ) .

We n ow c o m e to the f o rm at io n o f C o m p o u nd W o rds by ,

which i s to be u nderst o o d here the synthesis o f two o r m o re

w ords each capable o f independent u se to f orm a new w or d
, ,

either express ing the s u m o f the two i deas o r a m plifying o r

li miting the m ean ing o f the separate c om p o nents Types o f .

s uch w o rds are respectively

y a m a kazo a hills and strea m s
y a mami chi m ou ntain r o ad
migu m s hi u gly
a ki koros u t o b u rn t o death
y
S t rictly speaking it i s n o t p o ss ible to dr aw a line between
,

c om p ou nd w o rds as thu s defined and su ch w or ds as say , ,

y u ki s hi went s a mu s a
, c o ld m u ch less,f o r m s li k e toki doki

and mas uma s u The two last are c om p o sed o f i ndependent

.

w or ds while y u ki s hi and s a mu s a c o nta i n the elem ents s hi

,

and s a which m a y at o n e ti m e have been i ndependent The

, .

classificati o n is arbitrary .

In w ords of the type o f y a ma ka zoa the r e is n o c o alescence ,

bu t o nly j u xtap o s i ti o n and the m eaning c onveyed i s o nly

,

3 7
Q q
2 0
2 98 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
the s um o f the two parts h i lls and strea m s —an i nterest ing ,

c o ro llary o f the fact that p u re Japanese has n o satisfact o ry

equ ivalent o f the c onj u nct i o n and Wh ere sem ant i c c o a le s
cence takes place i t i s u su ally acc om panied by ph o netic
‘
change Thu s y amaga zoa w ou ld m ean m ou ntain stream
’
-

‘ ‘
.
,

and kami s as hi hair pier ce bec om es ka n zashi a ha irpin

-
,
’

, ,
’
.

A s a general r ule and c onsistently with the u su al o r der o f

,

w o rds i n Japanese the fi r st elem ent i n a c om p ou nd i s the ,

s u b ordinate o r attrib u tive elem ent Th u s s a kura ba n a m eans .

the cherry bl o ssom while ha naza ku ra i s the bl o ss om ing ,

cherry .

F or c o nven i ence o f descr ipt i o n c omp ou nd w o rds can be ,

classified by f u nct i o n and s u bdivi ded as f o ll ows bu t m any

o f the m c a n o f c ou rse i n the appr opri ate f o rm s perf or m
, ,

several fu nct io ns .

N ou ns .

‘ ’
a ba n a i
( )
a N o u n n o u n E g ku s grass and .fl o wers n . .
, ,

the sense o f vegetat io n funa uta a b o at s ong ta kara bun e ,

-
’

, ,

a treasu re ship -

‘
m
’

( )
b Adj ective n o u n E g c h i ka i e h i a sh o rt c u t
‘ ‘
. . .
, ,

ka m zoa za t u m bling zoa ruji e low c u nn i ng

’ ’

‘
.
, , ,

ori mon o
’

‘ ( c) V erb n o u n
’
E g ts u ri b u n e fish i ng b.o at . .
, , ,

text iles
‘
.

(d) N ou n adj ective E g tos hi zoa ka y ou th meku ra . . .

,
’

, ,
’
a bl ind pers o n
‘
.

(e) Adj ective adj ect ive E g u s ua ka light red

‘
. . .
,
’
.

erb adj ective E g k egida ka earnings

(f) V a s
‘
. . .
,

f m
’

(g) N o u n verb E g un a n or i sa i l o r . ku r u a hi k i . .
, , ,

ri ksha —p u ller
‘
m
’

( )
h V erb verb E g n o i k u i eat i ng and dr i n k i ng
‘
. . .
, ,
’
u ketori a receipt
, .

I t will b e n oticed that as a ru le adj ect ives are i n the ir

u n i n fl ec te d f o rm C om p ou nds o f three w o r ds .

appear th ou gh natu r ally wi th less frequ ency S u ch are

‘ ‘
.
,

mi komi chiga i m i scalc ulati o n m on oshi riga o

’
a k n owing
‘
, , ,

l o ok n a ki n ei ri cryi ng o neself to S leep

’ ’

, ,

A d je c ti ve s .

‘
(a ) ‘ fam ou s ’
N ou n adj ect ive . E . g . n a da ka ki , , kidzu
m
’

y oki str
, o ng i nded -
.
3 00 HI S TO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
The early lan gu age c o ntained a large n u mbe r o f these c om
p ou nds sh owing var i o u s degrees o f c o alescence A typ ical
, .

case i s baya ha y a ) which has the val u e o f a deside rative

,

su ffi x after ve rbs Thu s tori ka ebay a I wish I c ou ld change

.
,

O ther f r eq u ent c o m binati o ns are ba s hi ka mo y a zoa dam o , , , ,

mozo,da ni ka n a m oga n a & c

, , They are s o n u m er ou s that
, .

they cann o t be treated sepa r ately he r e In p o et i cal langu age .

i n pa r tic u la r— the lang u age o f sighs and gr o ans and j o y ou s

exclam at i ons— they are fr eely u sed o ften in a qu asi inte r ,
-

je c tion a l way as a su bstit u te fo r c o m p ou nd verb f o rm s

‘
.
,

Th u s a ras hi m ozo fuku Methinks the st orm is raging fo r

,
’

a r a s hi
fu ku ra mu wher e mozo cann ot be said to have the
,

m eaning o f its c om p onent parts S i m ilarly with m oga n a in

‘
.
,

0i zu s hi na zu n o ku s uri moga n a O fo r an elixir o f y ou th

,

and life S u ch f o rm s m ay be dee m ed o bs olete i n all bu t

pse u d o a rchaic styles
-
.

I M PO R TE D WO R D S

Th ou gh the o rigins o f the Japanese langu age are still

o bsc u re it is easy t o trace f o reign ele m ent s i m p o r ted in the
,

N ara pe r i o d The o cc u rrence in certain p o em s o f the M an

.

‘
o s hi i o f Chinese w o r ds is a m ple evidence that they we r e
y
already nat u rali z ed when the verses were c o m p o sed and n o ,

l o nger had an ex o tic cha r acter They are few in n u mber

.
,

c o nsisting o f s u ch wo r ds as s ugoroku Q 7 (a gam e like :

backgam m o n ) h5 shi it}; Bfli a p riest ga ki a g a de m on

, _ ,
.

I n the Rescripts o f the N ara pe ri o d c om p o sed at a tim e ,

when the c o u rt and the adm inistrati on were u nder st rong

Chinese infl u ence re i nf or ced by the g rowing p ower o f
,

B u ddhism which o perated chiefly th r ou gh the m ediu m o f

Chinese S peaking teache r s and Chinese b oo k s a n u m
,

-
ber o f ,

wo rds r elating t o g ove rn m ent and religi o n are to be f o und ,

alth ou gh these d o c u m ents p u rp o r t t o be w ritten in p u re

Japanese Th u s w e have
.

ha ka se {a j ; a c o u rt ran k
r i ki den j ] [I ] a gr ant o f land
ra i ce r e m o ny
jig
a
g ' k u m u sic
ky ogi fi fil i al d u ty
n i n ky o 1: £2 benev o lence and piety
 IMP O RTE D W O RD S 39 1
o f wh ich the last f o u r are te rm s fr o m the e thi c o p o litical -

syste m b o rr owed in the Ta i kw a pe ri o d (A D 6 4 0 ) f rom China . . .

S o m e t r aces o f S anskrit a r e visible i m p o r ted fro m China

,

o r Ko r ea which a r e wri tten ph o netically by m eans o f ide o

,

graphs The f oll owing a r e early exam ples

.

S an s kri t .

B rah m ana
R o cana
B o dhisattva
K ash aya
Sarira
D an a p a ti
The ab o ve exa m ples a r e ta k en fr om Japanese texts bu t it ,

m u st be re m e m be r ed that f r o m the Ta i kwa r ef o rm o nwards

the langu age u sed in state d o c u m ents o fficial r ec or ds and , ,

treatises o n s u bj ects b o th p r o fane and sac r ed was Chinese .

C o nseq u ently th ough the w o r ds j u st q u oted we r e n o d ou bt

,

c u rr ent in c o nve r sati on (as m a y be inferred from thei r u s e

with Japanese p r efixes as fo r exa m ple mi kesa ) the r e was
, , , ,

p ro bably a m u ch large r gr ou p o f w o r ds o f Chinese o rigin ,

n o t pe rhaps s o f r eely u sed bu t at va ri o u s stages o f assi m ila

,

ti o n The hist o ry o f the Japanese langu age fr om t his date

.

o nwards is largely a r ec o rd o f the ad opti o n o f Chinese w o rds

and th o u gh to a m u ch sm a ller extent o f Chinese l o c u ti o ns

, , .

The tendency has genera lly been to ta k e o ver Ch inese c om

p o u nds with ou t change th ou gh as m ight be s u pp o sed
, , ,

di fference o f enviro n m ent and s om etim es m ere ign o rance

o ften p r o d u ced di fferences o f se m antic devel o p m ent Many .

Chinese w o rds are n ow u sed in Japan in a sense which w ou ld

be u nintelligible t o a m o de rn Chinese Fr equ ently the dat e .

at which a Chinese w ord ente r ed Japanese c a n be a pp r o xi

m ately j u dged f r om it s pr o n u nciati o n in Japanese and there ,

are s om e cases where a w o r d t o day has two or m o re pro

-

n u n c i a ti o n s and even m eanings c o rresp o nd ing t o the s o u nd

, ,

o r m eaning given to it in China at the ti m e when o r in the ,

place from which it wa s i m p orted or r ei mp o rted

,
.

AS the v o cab u lary o f S inic o Japanese w or ds inc r eased the

-
,

lang u age nat u rally devel oped a fac u lty for f orm in g new c om
bin a tio n s the r e o f t o m eet new requ i r e m ents F or a l o ng .

t im e i t i s tr u e the im p orted w o r ds bear the sta m p o f the

, ,
3 02 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
Ch i nese m int They are Chinese c u rrency circu lating
.
,

i n Japan w i th perhaps a S light d ifference i n face val u e

, .

as the infl u ence o f Chinese c ivili z at io n u p on Japan ,

para m ou nt began to wane Japan began to strike her

, ,

c o ins o f Chinese m etal To day Japanese fr eely creates .

-

c o m p ou nd wo rds o f Chinese elem ents bu t wi th ou t refe

‘
,

Th u s we have bijuts u i ffifi fine art ’

to Ch i nese u sage .
, ,

whi ch is n o t u sed in China ; and ji dos ha a £1 I E for a ,

‘
m o t o r car while the Chinese say 3 215: ti en ch e Indeed ’
-
, .
,

in the m o st m o de r n scient ific term in ol ogy it i s the S i nic o ,

Japanese w o rds c o ined in Japan that are n ow ad o pted by

the Chinese .

We have already traced i n the i ntr o du ct o ry chapte r the , ,

pr o cess by which b o rr owed Chinese w o rds were assi m ilated

and m ade to perform the vari o u s fu nct i ons o f verb adj ect ive , ,

&c . There were o nly a very few w or ds li k e s ozohn which , ,

ass um ed a p u re Japanese f o rm O n e o f the m is ri ki m u .

,

where the s ufli x mu has been added to the Chinese ri ki j ] ,

‘
strength to f o rm a verb m ean i ng to st r ain
’

, P e rhaps the
m o st c u ri ou s m em ber o f th i s very s m all class is the w o rd
goza ru o n e o f the c omm
,
‘
o nest in the langu age s i nce it is the ,

p o lite wa y o f saying i s I t de r ives fr om a Chinese c om ’

p ou nd m ‘
.

l éfi go za a u g u st seat to which is added the ve rb

-

‘
,
’
a ru g i ving goz aru
, to be a u gu stly seated and thence by
, , ,

the u su al degradat i o ns o f hon orifi c f orm s c om ing t o m ean

‘ ‘ ‘
,

m erely to be p r esent
’ ’
to ex i st
’
and then to be , ,

A few w ords o f P o rt u gu ese and D u tch origi n c an be traced

‘
S u ch are bi i doro glass ( = vi tro)
’
t o the T o ku gawa pe rio d
‘ ‘
.
,

gy a ma n glass
’ ’

pan b r ead
, ,

In m o dern Japanese a n u m ber o f E nglish w o rds are in

daily u s e bu t they have for the m o st part reta i ned an ex otic
,

flav ou r largely becau se the syllabic system m a k es it di fficu lt

,

t o rec o rd the i r pr o n u nciati o n and the u s u al atte m pt at a ,

ph o net i c transcript i s o ften q uite u nrec ogn iz able as either

a Japanese or a f o re ign w ord W ords li k e kura bu (clu b ) .
,

k5 hi (c o ffee ) ba ta (b u tter ) kotem (h o tel ) ga ra s u (glass ) bii ru

, , , ,

(beer) & c are f u lly nat ur ali z ed There are in m any cases
, .
, .

S in i c o Japanese c om p ou nds c orresp o nding t o these w o rds

-

‘
,

as for instance ba ku shu g Y

, E( barley , fo r beer b u t
, ,

they are rarely u sed i n the sp ok en langu age .

P h i l ol ogi st s m ight well deri ve i nstru ct i o n and a warn ing

 G RA MMATI CA L F UN CTI O N S
HE previ ou s chapters have fo r the m o st part be
dev o ted to an analysis o f w or d f orm s and an ac -

o f their respect i ve u ses The .

recap i t u lat ory its o bj ect bei ng

,

m aterial in its reverse aspect by taking separately e ,

i m p o rtant gra mm atical f uncti o n and gr ou p i ng t o gether the

vari ou s m eth o ds by which it can be pe r fo rm ed .

S u b s t a n t i ve s. The f u ncti o n o f a su bstant i ve is o f c o u rse , ,

n orm ally perf o rm ed by a n o u n In addit i o n h owever it .

, ,

can be perform ed by predicative w o rds i e verbs and , . .

adj ect ives i n the i r appr opri ate f o rm s Th u s

, .

i i i o rm
( )
1 V erbs n the pred cat ve f These a c t o nly rarely
.

‘
as n ou ns i n su ch cases as th o se o f s hi zu ku a d ro p ’

‘
, ,

hotaru , firefly and a few nam es li k e S u s umu

’

, ,

Hagemu & c , .

i i rm E
( 2 ) V erbs in the attr b u t ve f o .g . .

o rokobu zoa y oku i ka ru ru it i s g oo d t o rej o i ce and bad

y
zo a a shi to be angry
i ka ru ru zoa kiden n ari the angry on e i s you
(3 ) A dj ect ives in the predi cat i ve f o rm These are u sed as .

n ou ns o nly i n s u ch rare cases as th o se o f ka ra shi

‘
,

m u stard & c
’
.
,

( )
4 A dj ect i ves in the attr i b u t i ve f o r m E g . .

n aga ki zoa s a o to n a s hi m a k ing the l o ng o nes int o

p oles
ka mi n o n aga ki zoa biji n length o f ha i r i s a m ark o f
n o s o n a ri bea u ty
i rm
( )
5 V erbs n the c o nj u nctive f o E g . . .

oro k obi n o a ma ri excess o f rej o icing

y
i i i o rm
( )
6 A dj ect ves n the c o nj u nct ve f E g . . .

kon o u chi n o chika ku in the neighb ourh o o d o f th is

h ou se
It will be n o t i ced that there are d i fferences in m ean ing
 GRAMMATI C AL F UN CTI O N S 39 5
acc ordi ng to the f o rm u sed Th u s y orokobi represents the .

abstract idea o f rej o icing and y orokobu (attrib u tive ) repre ,

sents r ej o icing as a c o nditi o n or state attrib u ted to a s ubj ect ,

expressed o r i m plied .

P r o n o u ns The tendency in Japanese is to d ispense with

.

pr o n ou ns particu larly with pers o nal pr on ou ns Their f u nc

, .

ti on is perfo rm ed by descriptive n o u ns or by hon orifi c or

hu mble verb f o rm s E xam ples o f these have alr eady been .

g iven bu t fo r c o nvenience o n e or two m ay be repeated here

‘
, .

AS a s u bstit u te fo r I we find w o rds ranging f r om C hi n

’

‘
,

u sed by the E m per o r to dep r ecat o ry term s li k e tema e , the ,

pers o n bef ore you and boku the slave S i m ilar m eth o ds
’ ’
.
, ,

are e m pl oyed to r epresent the sec o nd and to a less extent

‘ ‘
the third pe r s on Th u s we have ki mi k ing a n a ta that ’

‘
.
, , ,

side oma e (ho n o rifi c prefix o

’
ki s a ma n oble S ir
’

‘ ‘
, , ,
’
all u sed as s ubst it u tes for yo u And a n o hi to that per
‘
.

‘
,
’
that S ide s en s ei elder as eq u ivalent s o f
’ ’
s on a n o ka ta
‘
, , , , ,

A s is c omm on with ho n orifi c f orm s they tend to

’
he .
,

extravagance and s u bseq u ent degradat io n We find in the .

m o der n c o ll o qu i al that ki s a ma is u sed in ab u sive as well as

very fam il i ar langu age ki mi a m o ng i nti m ates oma e to ser , ,

vants ch i ldr en w ives and o thers by wh om n o deference is

, , ,

expected In p olite c o nversati o n a na ta is u sed

. .

Th o u gh liberal i n i ts u s e o f hon orifi c s Japanese i s s u r ,

p ri sin gly p o o r i n t e rm s o f a ffect i o n The r e i s n oth ing to .

c o rresp o nd t o th o se endeari ng di m in u tives which are s o

‘
c omm o n in E u r o pean langu ages l ik e darling L i ebchen ’

‘
, , ,

r t o a m i able m o des o f address like

’
eri n o & c dear
p
‘
oo , o .

‘
,

bel oved to say n othing of s u ch v o cat ive f o rm s as o ld

’

m an and its vari ou s m o de r n s u bstit u tes The nearest thing .

is perhaps the u s e o f baby talk Taro Cha n fo r Taro s a n is -

.
- -

r oughly the equ ivalent o f T o mm y for Th om as I n the .

earliest p o e m s th o se o f the K oji ki and the M a ny bfshii it

, ,

d o es seem p o ss ible to discern an affect io nate S ign ificance in

‘ ‘
w o rds l ik e n as e th ou br o ther zoagi mo my sister n a ki ’ ’

, , , , ,

th ou dear & c S o m any o f these s o ngs are l ove p o em s

’

, .
-

that on e cann ot s u pp o se their v ocab ular y to have been f r ee

fro m ter m s o f endearm ent .

I t mu st be r em e m bered that the u s e o f ho n o ri fi c and

humble w ords very o ften m akes the u s e o f pr on ou ns u nn ec es
sary Thu s i ras sha ru be ing an hon orifi c f orm
.
,

3 7 R r
2 0
306 HI STO RI C A L JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
cann o t r efer t o the first pers o n mai ru being ,

hu mble cann o t refer to the sec ond pers o n and c o nsequ ently
, ,

i t i s nearly always p o ssible w i th ou t am bigu ity t o dispense

with pers onal pr o n ou ns The hon o rifi c prefixes on 0 mi go
.
, , ,

fr eq u ently se rve the p u rp o se o f p o ssessive pr o n ou ns Thu s

‘ ‘
.

0 ta ku m eans y ou r h ou se and cann o t p o ssibly m ean m y ’

‘
,

Similarly with h u m ble prefixes G u s oku

’
h ou se st u pid
‘
. .
,

m u st m ean m y s on and n o t y ou rs or an o ther s

’ ’
o ffsp r i ng
’
.
,

I nstances o f degradat i on similar t o that wh i ch ta k es place

,

wi th hon orifi c verbs c a n be seen i n the u s e o f these prefixes

, .

Thu s t ea is u su ally 0 cha r i ce i s u su ally go han whether y ou r

, ,

tea or r i ce or mine o r s om e o n e else s 0 i s o ften partic u larly

’
.
,

by w om en prefixed to the nam es o f parts o f the b o dy which

, ,

th ou gh imp ortant are n ot u su ally regarded as h o n ou rable

, .

In this c o nnexi o n it m ay be appr opriate to m enti o n the

ex i stence i n Japan o f what i s called the wom en s langu age ’

W om en except perhaps the m o st advanced still u s e a lan

, ,

g u age wh ich di ffers in v o cab u lary in s om e respects fr om that

o f m en It c o ntai ns fewer Chinese w o rds and m o re native
.
,

o nes . This is a natu ral resu lt o f the di fference in edu cat ion ,

w om en u nder the o ld r é gim e n ot having been given a gr ou nd

i n g i n the Chinese classics bu t m erely i nstru cted in the ,

d o ctri nes o f th o se w ork s wh ich la i d d o wn the i r du ties as

da u ghters wives and m o thers Fu rther certain w ords
, , .
, ,

particu larly h u mble and ho n orifi c t e rm s were u sed exclu

s i v e ly by w om en S o we find a w om an 5 w or d for water
.
,

i nstead o f mi dou which is the m an s

’
ohiy a (hon ori fi c ,

w o rd G enerally speak ing the langu age o f w om en owing

.
,

t o the i r s u b o rdi nat i o n in the Japanese s o c i al syste m has ,

hithert o been m ore plentifu lly sp ri n k led with hon ori fi c and
hu m ble t erm s than that of m en B ut in m o dern t im es these .

c u st om s se em to be dying o u t .

Ve r b s and A djec ti ve s It is characteri stic of the Japanese

.

langu age that b o th verbs and adj ectives c a n f u lfil pre di cative ,

attrib u tive s u bstantival and adver b i al f u ncti o ns Thi s

, , .

qu esti o n has been f ully dealt w ith in Chapter I I I and d o es ,

n o t need f u rther d i sc u ss i o n here F or c o nvenience o f refer .

ence exa m ples are given bel ow which S h ow the interchange

ab ility o f verb and adj ecti ve
P redicat ive Adj ect ive kazoa zoa fu kas hi stream s are deep ,
3 08 HI STO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
which i s gramm atically a passive cau sat ive verb bu t
’

go , ,

f u nct io nally an honorifi c The m edieval c oll o qu ial c ontained

.

a n u m ber o f f o rm s o n th i s m o del a few of which have s ur ,

v iv e d and are in u s e in everyday S peech S u ch are i ra s s haru

‘
.
,

fr om i ru to be present + s u + ra m the o riginal fo rm ’

‘
, , ,

havi ng been i ra seraru ; and ossharu to say wh i ch i s a ,

’

c ontract io n o f Os eraru .

These in their t u rn tend to l o se their f o rce and s o to create

a need for alternative m eth o ds o f exp r essing h u mi lity or
respect wh ile the o lder f orm s are appr o priated m o re and
,

m o re fo r di st incti o ns o f pe r s o n In the place o f ho n orifi c .

s uffixes we find independent verbs c o nveyi ng an hon orifi c

m eaning either i nherent in them o r added to them by suffixes
‘
.

S u ch are tatemats u m t o m ake o ffe r ings

’
and a sobas u o r
‘ ‘
, ,

a sobas a r u m
’ ’
t o play t o be pleased I n the epist o lary
‘
.
, ,

langu age z onji tatemats u ru w o r shipfully o p ine i s m erely ’

‘
, ,
’
the p olite way o f wri t ing I thin k and o ha i ri as obase in
‘
, ,
’
o rdinary speech i s the eq u ivalent o f P lease step in !
,

G radu ally these to o l o se enti r ely o r in part their o riginal

significance and bec om e au xiliary verbs The m o st m arked .

case o f degradati o n i s the verb ma s u o f wh i ch the ea rly

‘
,

m eaning is s om ething li k e to dwell and which was an

’

‘ ‘
,

Th u s Ame n i ma s u kami ’
ho n orifi c for to be o r to exist
’
.
,

The G o ds who dwell in H eaven I n the N ara perio d it had

already begun to assu m e the character o f an a u xil ia ry Thu s in .

zoaga s eko ga the tim e when m y l over shall

ka eri ki ma
s a mu toki (M ) . c om e bac k
zoo u i i mas eba ( K ) since th ou art a m a n
.

i t has o nly an hon orifi c val u e and the m ean i ng c oul d be ,

rendered by ka eri komu toki o r zoo n i a reba S u bsequ ently .

by c o nstant u se i t devel oped int o a p u rely f o rm al s uffi x and

is n ow u sed as a term inati o n t o all verbs i n o r di nary p olite
c o nversati on s o that a ri mas u y u ki ma sa are the sa m e as
, ,

am u k u It i s n o l o nger i n the strict sense an h o n o rifi c

,y .
,

bu t m erely p o lite S i nce it i s u sed i r respective o f the per

‘
,

f o rm er o f the act described Th u s i ra s s hai mas u you go .

,
’
,

bu t eq u ally ma i ri mas u I go
’
.
,

O ther verbs o f th i s k ind with thei r o ri g i nal m ean i ngs are

t o d o (n as u + passive term inati o n ru )
’
n a s a ru

mas u to spea k hu mbly

’

,
 GRAMMATI C AL F UN CTI O N S 3 09
‘
mats u ra t o w o r shi p
’

‘
,

ta tema ts u r u to m ake o fferings

’

‘
,

ts u kamats u r u ts u ka ema ts u r u
’
t o serve
‘
, ,

s afu r a u n ow
’
to be in attendance
, This w or d is .
p ro

n ou n c e d $ 5 2 5
‘ ‘
.

ta ma u de rived fr om an ea rlie r ta bu to pa rta k e ’

, to , ,
’
deign
‘
ku da s aru to c o ndescend
’

, to hand d own to best ow ,

A s will be seen from the f o ll owing exa m ples they c a n be ,

u sed i n a p u rely f o rm al way as ho n o r ifi c a u x iliaries S om e .

o f the m have l o st enti r ely thei r capacity t o c o nvey an i nde

pendent m ean ing o the r s have pa r tially retained it The , .

ve rb s o r o (s afu r a n) i s an ext r e m e case It m ay be said to .

have l o st all significance and it is n ow u sed chiefly in the , ,

epist o lary style as a p olite s uffix equ ivalent to mas u i n the

,

c oll o qu ial Th u s .

y or oko bas hi ki koto to zon i

j I th i n k it is a m atte r fo r

s or o rej o icing
‘
where zonji s é ré i s a f or m al eq u ivalent o f zonzu I th in k ,
’

which wo u ld in c o ll o qu ial be zonji mas u and really m ean s

‘
,

n othing m or e than it i s ’
.

Ts u ka mats u ru i s a hu mble eq u ivalent o f s u m as in ,

ki koku ts u kamats u ri s o r o I a m ret u rning to m y pr ovince

and its o riginal m eaning has disappeared .

M Os u a s oba s u kuda s aru and ta ma u are in c o nstant u s e

, , ,

in the m o der n c oll o qu ial They can be u sed with their .

o rig i nal m eanings b u t as a r u le they have o nly the val u e

,

o f a u xiliari es Th u s .

s u u n i ma i r a to m6 3 hi he says he will c o m e at o nce

g
ma s u
' ‘
where m o s u is an i ndependent h u mble ve rb m eaning ,
to
’
say and ,

on s a s s hi I respectfu lly sym pathi z e

m6 3 hi ma s u
where mé s hi mas u is si mply a h u mble au xiliar y to s a s s hi and ,

‘
d o es n ot m ean t o say S i m ila r ly kuda s aru can be u sed to
’

‘
.

m ean best o w as in mikan zoo ku das a i Please give m e an

’

, ,

o r ange bu t li k e n as aru and a s oba s u it is u sed in o rdina r y

’

, , ,

speech as an hon ori fi c au xiliary S o in ascending degrees .

,
31 0 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
o f p o liteness we have as s u bstit u tes fo r a ve r b I ts nat u r al
‘
,

f o rm say ha i m to enter
, ,
’

0 ha i ri n as ar e (n a s a i )
o ha i ri n a s a i ma se
o ha i ri ku da s are (kuda sa i )
o hai ri ku dasa i ma se
o hai ri a s oba s e
all m ean i ng P lease c om e in ’
.

The w o rd ta ma u in
a m
'

e n o s hi ta m6 3 hi ta ma zoa n e (M D eign t o r u le o n
is a str ong ho n orifi c verb B u t in m o dern c o ll o qu i .

a wea k hon orifi c au xiliar y u sed m o stly in the ,

fa m iliar c o nversati o n as G o y en ka shi tama e , ,

’
d o lla r s .

A f u rther m eth o d o f m ak ing g o o d de fi c i e n c

the deg r adati o n o f ho n orifi c o r h u m ble f o rm s is as m ight be ,

anticipated t o u s e sever al o f them in c om binati o n Th u s

, .

we have a s oba s eraruru (hon orifi c ve rb + hon orifi c su ffix ) ,

n a s hi ku das a r u r u (tw o ho n o r i fi c ve r bs
) and m as hi agem (two ,

h u m ble verbs) O n these l i nes it is p o ssible to b u ild up

.

f o r m s of s u rprising c om plexity and m any su ch were in u se ,

i n cer em o ni ou s speech and writing u ntil c om pa r at i vely recent

dates S o m e indeed have been
.
, ,

f o rm i n the m o dern ep i st olary style They are h owe

, .
,

bu t pale S had ows o f the phrase o l o gy b o th h u m ble ,

ho n orific which i s em pl o yed in the m edieval r om ances

,

the w ork s o f the Kam aku r a peri o d .

AS we have seen i n the case o f ku da s a ru s om e h o n o ,

verbs can b e u sed independently G ener ally they have

‘
.

c o rresp o nding h u m ble f o rm li k e s a shi ageru t o lift u p , ,

m eaning to give t o a s u per i o r S u ch pairs are n asaru an

‘
.

‘
ki kos hi mes u and u keta mazoa ru
’
i ta s a to do to hear
‘
, , ,

mes hi aga m and i tada ku to partake (o f f o o d drink

’

, , ,

There are als o n u m er ou s pairs o f S inic o Japanese c om p ou nds -

as is sh own by
mi ru N eu t r al
m
’
or a n s u a u g u st l o ok
g
ha i ken s u m
’
adoring l o ok
‘
all m ean ing ’
to see .
31 2 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
n i she d by spec i al c o nj u nctive f o rm s o f verb and adj ect ive .

These have been f u lly described u nder their appr o priate

‘
headings Ther e are a few w o r ds li k e keredomo bu t s hi ’

‘
.
, ,

ka s hi ,h owever which fu ncti o n in the sam e wa y as c on

’

j u ncti o ns bu t st ri ctly S peaking they are S peciali z ed f orm s

,

o f verbs K eredomo for i nstance is a ve rb s u ffi x or rather

‘
.
, , ,

a g rou p o f ve rb s u ffi xes m eaning th o u gh i t i s which has ,

’

achieved an i ndependent ex i stence W ords li k e keredomo .

,

s hika s hi da tte mos hi & c a r e n ow freq u ently u sed i n the

, , , .
,

c oll o q u i al in preference t o c o nj u nct ive f orm s o f verbs

an o the r i nstance o f the t endency t o wards analyt i c m eth o ds
in S peech The c o ntrast i s sh own i n pairs o f sentences l ike
.

the f o ll ow ing
L iterary :
ka ze fu keba fu ne i da s azu
beca u se it is w indy we d o
C oll o qu ial
n o t p u t ou t the b o at
k a zeg a fu ku ka ra fu n e zoo

da s a n a i
L iterar y
ka ze fu kedo fu ne idas u bes hi
th ou gh it i s w indy we will
C oll o qu ial ,

kaze ga fu ku keredomo fu n e p u t o u t the b o at

zoo da s hi ma s ho
The lin k between s u bstantives i s s o m etim es fu rn ished by
o n e o f the part i cles to n i o r mo as i n s a ke to s a ka n a o r s a ke
‘ ‘
, , ,

wine and f o o d , or s a ke mo s a ka n a mo b oth ’

n i s a ka n a
‘
, ,
’ ’
wi ne and f oo d where the part icles have the valu e o f and
, .

B u t very o ften n o c o nj u ncti o n is u sed and w or ds are m erely

‘
j u xtap o sed as on n a kodomo w o m en and children
, S om e ,
’
.

t im es these gr ou ps by freq u ent u sage bec om e establi shed

‘
, ,

as c o m p ou nd w o rds l ik e ka sa bo u a grasses and fl owe r s ’

.
, ,

Indeed the need for c o nj u ncti o ns i s lessened in Japanese

by i ts facili ty for f orm ing c om p o u nds whethe r o f n ou ns , ,

adj ect ives o r verbs , .

P r e p o s i ti o n s These do n o t ex i st i n Japanese Their place

. .

i s tak en by p o stp o si ti o ns o r particles which serve to den ote ,

case & c Again c om p ou nd w o r ds o ften ser ve as the equ i

, .
,

valent o f phrases which i n E ngl ish are f o rm ed by the aid o f

‘ ‘
prep o s it io ns as for i nstance mochi agem h old raise i e to ’

‘
.

‘
.
, , ,

l ift u p ; tobi ori ru j u m p descend i e to j um p d own

’ ’ ’
. . .
, ,
 S Y N TA X

L THO U G H gra mm atical and l ogical categ o ries d o n o t

necessarily c o incide it is c o nvenient t o classify syn
,

tactical f o rm s acc o rding to thei r fu ncti o ns in stating o r

m o di fyin g a l ogical p r o p o siti o n o r in b r inging tw o s u ch p ro
,

p o siti ons int o r elati o n The app ro p riate divisi o ns then are
.
, ,

S u bj ect and m o dificati o ns the r e o f

P r edicate and m o dificati o ns there o f
C o p u la and m o dificati ons there o f
L inks between p r op o siti o ns
There are h oweve r gramm atical pr op o sit io ns which d o n o t
, ,

fall within any o f these catego ries S u ch a re statem ents in .

the f orm o f an interj ecti o n o r excla m at io n O f these in .

Japanese the si m plest type is represented by a g rou p o f

w or ds s u ch as
‘
A i ta O pain (m eaning O ! it h u rts )
’

whe r e i ta is an adj ective stern in f o rm rather than an i nde ,

pendent part o f S peech E arly writings— p o etical o nes in

.

partic u la r— c o ntain m any statem ents o f th i s nat u r e Th u s .

s en s u be n o n asa (M ) . the n o t ness o f anything to do

‘
-

i e there is n o thing to be d o ne
. .

miji ka ku a ku m h o rt n ight s ending gri ev ou sness

’

y o n o S
‘
,

zoa bi shi s a i e how sad that the nights a r e

. .

S h o rt and daybreak when we

,

mu st sepa r ate c om es s o qu ickly

,

Here n a sa and zoa bi s hi sa are n o u ns u sed in an exclam at o ry

way These are ru di m enta ry pr o p o siti ons f o rm ed with ou t
.

the aid o f a ve rb and it is w o rth n o ting that a typical

,

sentence i n Japanese like tori ga n a ku is hist orically o f the

, ,
’

sa m e type S ince it is c o m p o sed o f two n o u ns bi r d s sing

‘
,
’
i ng instead o f the bi r d sings
’
.

M o st statem ents h oweve r c a n be b rou ght within o n e o f

, ,

the catego ries which f oll ow

3270
31 4 HI S TO RI C AL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
I S u bje ct I n the S implest cases we have a n ou n
. . or a
pr o n ou n as ,

y u ki fu ru sn o w falls

kare zoa ka eri i ta ri he has ret u rned

We can als o have verbs and adj ect ives i n speci al s ubstant ival
form s
i karu ru zo a a s hi t o get angry is bad
kata ki m o y oroshi the hard o nes als o are g oo d
It i s i m p or tant ton o t ice that by u s i ng the su bstant i val f orm
o f verbs and adj ectives a c om plete sentence c a n be m ade t o

stand as the s u bj ect (and o f c ou rse as the o bj ect ) of a verb .

Th u s
eda zoo ori ta m zoa zoa re u i i t wa s n o t I who br ok e the
a raza branch
a ma ori ta ka ki zo a fu bo n o what is h i gher than the
y y
on n a ri m o u nta i ns i s parental l o ve
kaze y ori hay a ki zoa den shi n q u ic k er than the wi nd i s a
n a ri telegram
I t i s a characteri st i c feat ure o f Japanese that the s ubj ect
o f a verb i s n o t necessarily expressed Th u s .

‘
kon o ha n a zoo ki ku to i ii ( ) i
’
they call th s fl o wer kiku
‘
where the verb i d to say has n o s u bj ect I t resu lts fr om
’
.
, ,

this i di om that there i s rarely any need for res orting t o a

pass ive c o nstru cti o n It wi ll be seen that the ab o ve sentence
‘
.

can be translated i nt o E ngli sh this fl owe r i s called k i ku ,

’

and as a gene r al r u le where we sh o u ld u s e a passive c o n

,

stru ct i on Japanese m a k es u s e o f a verb wi th ou t a s u bj ect

,

o r nam es the s u bj ect bu t u ses an act i ve verb e g , . .

kon o u chi zoa B . ku n ga tateta th i s h o u se wa s b u ilt by Mr .

B
kon o u chi oa
z ma da s oji s hi n a i this h ou se has n o t yet been
Cleaned
I I P r e d i c a te Where the pr op o sit io n states an ident ity
. .

the predi cat e is s u bstant ival i n f o rm and the c op u la i s

expressed separat ely as ,

Yos hi ts une zoa n i ngen nari Yo shitsune i s a m an

31 6 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
A f urther stage o f differentiati on is that where the s u bj ect
i s defined by reference t o its p o siti o n as r egards the speaker .

I n Japanese there are eq u ivalents o f o u r dem o nst rative p ro

‘
n o u ns a n o kon o s on o & c as in a n o hi to that pers o n ’

‘
, , , , .
, , ,

s on o toki , that tim e It will be seen that the ele m ents s o

’
.
,

a, ko & c
, are brought int o relati o n wi th n ou ns by the
.
,

part icle n o I t i s a general ru le in Japanese that a particle

.

(u su ally n o o r ga ) i s requ i r ed to bring o n e s u bstant ive i n

r elati o n t o an o ther .

The S i m plest case is that o f the p o ssessive pr o n ou ns e g

‘ ‘
. .
,

zoaga chi chi m y fathe r a n ata n o bashi y ou r hat

,
’

,
The ,
’
.

sa m e m eth o d is u sed in li m iting the su bj ect by reference to

its p o siti o n in t im e or space o r o ther circu m stance Th u s .

ki n o n o s hi mbu n
’
yesterday s paper
i ma m a de n o ts u mori m y i ntenti o n u ntil n ow
n i s hi n o kaze west wind
Oku n o hi to m any pe o ple
S hi n a y ori n o ka eri the ret u r n fr om China
A f u ll acc o u nt o f the attrib u tive u ses o f n o is given u nder
P articles
B o th verb and adj ective have S pecial attrib u t ive f or m s ,

as in
n ago ki ka zoa l o ng stream s
n aga ru ru kazoa fl owing strea m s
These attr ib u tive f orm s c an be am plified as in ,

n agare n o hay a ki ka zoa strea m s with a rapid fl ow

hay a ku n aga rum ka zoa rap i dly fl ow ing st r eam s
I t i s an extensi o n o f th i s latter u sage which pr o vi des Japanese
with an eq u ivalent for the E ngli sh relat ive sentence as ,

hay a ku n agar u ru ka zoa a strea m which fl ows rap i dly

Ten u i mashi mas u zoaga O u r F ather which art in
C hi chi H eaven
i mbto n o by 6 ki s hi ta m the t im e when my sister was
toki ill
bu t it m u st be n o ted that i t is p o ssible t o relat e on e c om plete
sent ence to an o ther by u sing the particle n o We c a n say .

i s s e zoo odoroka s u n o jigyo zoo he aim ed at carrying o u t

n a s hi togemu to kokoroga ke so m e e n ter p ri s e whi ch woul d
tari ast o n i sh the world
 S Y N TAX 31 7
wher e with perhaps a slight n u ance i ss ei zo o odorokas u jigyo
, ,

m ight be s u bstit u ted .

Attrib u tive f o rm s o f the p r edicative l o cu ti o ns n ari ta ri , ,

and to s u are als o fr eely u sed Th u s .

s hi dzu ka n am tokoro a qu iet place

u ka mu to s u m hi to a pe r s o n ab ou t to
y go
s a nta n ta m a ri sa ma a dreadfu l sight
I n s om e cases S im ple j u xtap o siti o n c an m ak e on e w or d the
attrib u te o f an o ther The att rib u tive elem ent i s always
.

fi r st The c om m o nest case is that o f c oll o cat io ns o f S inic o

.

Japanese w o r ds su ch as ,

Ten n o Hei ka His I m peri al Maj esty

mi ns ei s hagi p op u lar g o ve rn m ent principle ,

i e de m o c racy
. .

ki ken s hi s o dange rou s th ou ght

r ikugu n da iji u war m inister
j i zen jigy b cha ritable u nde r takings
In ea rly texts cases of app o siti o n like the f oll owing are n ot

infrequ ent
i ma s hi ga chi chi F uji ha ra Thy father ,
the Minister
n o A s omi (R e s ) F u j ihar a
Waga miko i ma shi (R e s ) You O u r
, so n

Where seve r al attri b u tes o f on e su bj ect ar e m enti o ned ea rly ,

t exts pr o vide instances in which each attrib u t i ve w or d is in

the n o rm al attrib u tive f orm as ,

to toki ta ka ki hi roki a ts u ki n obl e l ofty

, , br o ad , wa rm
0 mi koto (R e s
) w o rds
B u t the u su al m eth o d o f plac ing all bu t the last ter m of

a series in the c o nj u nctive f o rm i s als o f o ll owed

ta das hi ku a ki ra ka u i kiy oki an h onest b right and p u r e
, ,

)
kokoro (R e s hear t
The m o de rn practice i s to u se c onj u nctive phrases s u ch as,

s hi te , u i s hi te , n i te, &c .

'
i r o kuroku s hi te kzo otaku a blac k l u str ou s m etal
,
'

a ru ki n zoku
318 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
Where the s ubj ect c o nsists o f m ore than o n e i tem , Si

j u x ta p osI ti o n 1 5 s o m et i m es s u ffic i ent as in ,

ume s a ku ra i chiji n i s a ku plum and cherry bl o ss

t ogether
bu t the u s e of a c o nj u nct i ve particle i s m o re frequ ent
s ha ji n mo ky a ku mo tomo h o st and g u est lau gh t
u i zoa ra u gether
s a ke to ta ba ko to zoa ka rada wine and t obacc o harm the
ni ga i s hi ma s u b o dy
I n m o dern pr o se the l o c u t io ns n ara bi n i and o
y obi are pre
ferred to the particle to Th u s .

S hi n a n ara bi u i Cho s en China and Ko rea

B i koka oy obi s on o s hoku E ngland and her c ol o n i es
mi n chi
Where item s f o rming the su bj ect are alternative a dis ,

j u nct ive particle o r l o c u t i o n i s u sed The early langu age .

m a k es u s e o f the i nterr o gative particle ka or y a as i n y u ki

‘
,

ka a me ka The mo dern langu age prefers

’
sn ow or rain
, .

s u ch l o cu t i o ns as
s honi n ma ta zoa gunji n m erchants or s oldi e r s
s hé ni n moshi ku zoa gu nj i n
s hbni n a r u i zo a gu n ji n

w ith slight variat io ns of m ean i ng acc o rd ing to c o ntext .

V M o d i fi c ati o n o f the P r e d i c a te Where the p r edicate

. .

i s c om p o sed o f a s u bstant i val f o rm c o p u la as in Y os hi ,

ts u n e zoa n i ngen n ari the p o ss ible m o dificati o ns o f the s ub

,

s ta n tiv a l ele m ent a r e o f c o u rse i dentical with th o se j u st

described The f o ll o wi ng acc ou nt is therefo re lim ited to
.

m o dificati o ns o f the verb ele m ent in a predi cat e These m ay .

be Co nveniently di vi ded as f ollows

1 . Ti me
It has been p o inted ou t that the Japanese verb
.

i n it s si m ple f o rm s is ne u t r al as t o t im e In the ea r lier stages .

o f the lang u age t im e relati o ns d o n o t appear to have been

-

expressed wi th precisi o n bu t a n um ber o f suffixes which

,

o rigi nally den o ted o ther aspects s u ch as certa i nty pr o ba , ,

bility & c m a y now be l oo k ed u p o n as havi ng devel oped

, .
,
 320 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
2 P la ce Li m itati o n as to place i s expressed by particles
. .
,

adverbs o r adverbial phrases The S implest case is that o f

, .

the particle u i which i s a l o cative particle i n,

n i zoa n i a m ku to wal k i n the garden

All adve rb i al l o cu ti o ns c o ncerning place m u st be br ou ght
int o relati o n with the ve rb by this or a s imilar part icle as i n ,

Ky o to y e ka era to ret u rn to K yOto

y eda y ori achi ra t o fall fr om a branch
u mi kara deru t o c o m e o u t o f the sea

3 M a nn er
. This categ o ry incl u des all m o dificati o ns by
.

m eans o f adverbial f o rm s which have been described u nder ,

Adverbs F or c o nvenience a few typ i cal f o rm s are S h own

.

h ere
ka ku mbs u he S pea k s th u s
y o k u n eru S leeps well

hages hi ku fu ku bl ows hard

n a ku n a ku ka eru ret u rns weeping
ma koto n i y oros hi i s indeed g o o d
ka n arazu y u ku bes hi m u st certainly go
Japanese m a k es freq u ent u s e o f c o m p ou nd verbs in which
o n e elem ent m o difies the o ther E xam ples are tobi ori ru
‘ ‘ ‘
.
,

j u m p descend j um p d o wn mochi agem h o ld raise

’ ’ ’

‘
, ,

to lift u p and s o o n M any s u ch c om p ou nds a re fo rm ed

’

,
.

with verbs which by c o nstant u sage have bec om e c o nve m

‘ ‘
, ,

to m eet komu
’ ’
ti on a l s u ffixes S u ch are a n to press
‘ ‘
.
, , , ,

s ) y om )
’

( (
’

y o seru ,t o appr o ach tran t o appr o ach int r an s , , ,

ts u kem to pu t o r fix
, Instances o f thei r u s e i n c om p o siti on
a r e verbs li k e
‘
i rekomu to c r a m fumi komu to r u sh in sas hi komu to
’ ’

‘ ‘
, , , , ,

thru st i n n ori komu to get ab o ard mi komu to esti

’ ’

‘
, , , ,

m ate n ori a u to ride t o gether (n ori a i is an

’ ’

‘ ‘ ‘
, ,
’
ts u ri a u to balance ka kea u t o c o ns u lt u kea u to
‘ ‘
, , , , ,

gu arantee u kets u keru to accept ka ki ts u kem

’
to
’

‘
, , , ,
’ ’
writ e d own u chi ts u keru to fasten d own & c , , , .

By m eans s u ch as these Japanese can express a n u m ber of

i deas for wh i ch i n E nglish we have to res o rt t o syntactical
devices .

4. O bj ec t In an ele.m entary pr o p o s i ti o n in Japanese ,

w ord order i s o ften su ffic i ent to i ndicate the obj ect o f a verb
 S Y N TAX 32 1
bu t where necessa ry fo r precisi o n e mphasis o r eu ph o ny the , ,

direct o bj ect is u su ally m arked by the pa rticle zoo Thu s .

ka ri u do ga i n u zoo u ts u the h u nter beats the d og

kaze ki zoo ta os u the wind bl ows d own the t r ee
Where the o bj ect is r epresented by a su bstantival gr ou p zoo ,

is invariably u sed as in ,

yo n o fu ku m zo o ma ts u
wait u ntil night falls to
ka ku teki n o chika ku s emeki they did n o t kn ow that the
ta ri s hi zoo s hi ra zu ene m y s attack had c om e s o ’

near
i n ochi n o miji ka ki zo o zoas ure he has f org o tten that life i s
ta ri S h o rt
‘ ‘ ‘
Where the verb is o n e o f the grou p to say to thin k to
’

,
’

u nder P articles to)

’
feel & c , . the pa r ticle to is u sed in
, ,

rep o rting what is th ou ght said & c E g , , . . .

n a i to m os hi ma s u he says there are n one

u k n t omoi ki he th u ght he w u ld
y a o o o go

The indirect obj ect is m ar k ed by the particle n i as in ,

s ens ei zoa s ei to n i m oji zoo the m aste r teaches the p u pils

oshi er u their lette r s
S hi n i mi chi zoo tou he asks the Master the Way
Yori tomo zoa Yos hi ts u n e n i Yo ritom o ca u ses Yo shitsu n e
Yoshi n a ka zoo s emeshi mu to attac k Yo shi n a k a

Ca u sative ve rbs have strictly spea k ing two obj ects b o th ,

di r ect— the o bj ect o f the ca u sati o n and the o bj ect of the act
ca u sed ; bu t zoo cann o t be u sed fo r b o th o bj ects wi th o u t
a m bigu ity and the f oll owing i diom i s o ften res orted to
,

Yori tomo Yoshi ts u n e zo o s hi te Yos hi n a ka zoo s emes hi mu

zoa

which has the sa m e m eaning as the ab o ve sentence .

5 A.
gen t or I n s tr u men t If the agent o r
. instr u m ent o f an
act is na m ed i t c a n in S imple cases be designated by ui
,

Yoshi n a ka zoa Yoshi ts u ne ni Yo shi n ak a i s attac k ed by

s emer aru Yo shi ts u n e
’

hi tote u i s hi n u ru to die by an o ther s hand

a me n i koromo
’

zoo n u ras u to get o ne s dress wetted by

the rain
bu t , o wing to the variety of fu nctio ns which ni perform s ,

3270 T t
32 2 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
there is o ften s om e danger o f a m bigu ity and alternat ive ,

l o cu ti o ns are gene r ally preferred Thu s .

fune n i te ka zoa zo o zoata ru cr o sses a stream by b o at

whe r e fun e n i w ou ld m ean I n a b o at The m o dern c oll o
’
.

qu i a l eq u ivalent o f n i te i s de s o that we have kata n a de ki ru

, ,

t o c u t with a k nife O ther eq u ivalents o f the instru m ental

‘
particle n i are s hi te as in fu mi s hi te i i i to say by letter
’

, , ,

an archaic idi om and phrasal c omb in ati o ns like motte o r zoo

mochi te by m eans o f u i y ori te depending on n o tame n i
’

‘
, , , ,

o n acc ou nt o f — a ll o f which can as a r u le be rende r ed in

’

‘
E nglish by the S i ngle w o r d by
’
.

W here several m o dificat io ns o f the p r edicat e are stated ,

they a r e stated in se ries and S ince they m u st be in adverb i al

,

f o rm s o r adverbial phrases the q u esti o n o f c onj u ncti on do es

,

n o t arise . Th u s
ka ta bu ku koto n a ku ugoku ko we will reign w ith ou t bend
to n a ku zoa tari n a mu (R e s ) ing and with ou t m oving(the
L aw )
ngoku koto n a ku s hidzu ka u i with ou t m ov ing and q u ietly
( a r as hi mu ru ) (R e s )
Where in an E nglish sentence two or mor e acts or states are
p r edicated o f the sam e su bj ect the Japanese idi om p r efers
,

the u s e of the adverbial f o rm s for all but the last o f the

‘ ’
seq u ence Th u s instead of this st o ne is blac k and ha r d
.
, ,

W e have kon o i shi zoa ku roku kata s hi S i m ilarly .

meko mi reba ka n as hi ku megu when I l ook o n her I am sad

s hi (M ). and tender
megu mi ta ma i osa metamai zoa we w ill l o ve and reward and
s ure ta ma zoaji (R es ) n o t f or get the m

Ther e are h o wever in the earl i er langu age cases o f sim ple
, , ,

j u xtap o siti on as in
,

n ochi n o hotoke ui y uzu ri we will reverently beq u eath

mats ur amu s a sagemosamu and h umbly o ffer t o later
( B u s so k u ) B u ddhas
‘ ’
The absence o f a c o nj u nct i o n c orresp o nding to and i n
‘
s u ch a sentence as he walks and tal k s acc ou nts for a num
ber o f idi om atic u sages in Japanese I n the written langu age .

we might have aruki mo s ureba hana shi mo s hi mas u ; or

3 24 HI S TO RI C A L JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
y u ku koto go d eki r u lit go th i ng c o m es can go -

‘
.

y u ki em
’
-
lit o btain g o ing i e can go .
, . .

and in the negat i ve phrases like y u ki a ta zoazu y u ki ka n eru

, , , ,

and y u ku zoo ezu .

Mu st This idea can be c o nveyed by the au x il i ary a dje c

‘
t ive beshi as in y u ku beshi m u st go B u t a d ou ble negat ive
‘
, ,

is often u sed as in y u kana kereba n a ri mas enu lit if n o t go

, , .
,

d o es n o t bec om e ’
.

L et The Japanese cau sat ive is als o a permissive s o that ,

y u kas er u m a y m ean either t o ca u se t o go o r to all o w t o go

The passive vo i ce as has been p oi nted ou t is less u sed i n

, ,

Japanese than in E ngl i sh .

V I I L i n k s b e twe e n P r o p o s i ti o n s I t i s a c hara c te ris tic

. .

feat u re o f Japanese syntax that the wh o le o f a statem ent ,

h owever n um er ou s its parts m u st be m ade in o n e sentence ,

wh o se m ember s are all gram m at i call y i nterdependent Thi s .

feat u re which i s c omm on to langu ages of the gr ou p i nclu ding

,

Manch u and K or ean is largely resp o nsible as sh own in the

, ,

i ntr o du ct o ry chapter for the great diver gence between writ

,

i n g and S peech i n Japanese fo r the written langu age i s u nder ,

the influ ence o f Chinese and the syntax o f that langu age ,

exacts S h o rt and i ndependent sentences .

When i n Japanese two or m ore p rop o s it io ns are stated i n

, ,

su ccessi o n i t is u su al to c o nnect them by s om e gra mm atical

l ink even th ou gh they are l og ically i ndependent F or ex
,
.

a m ple the two pr op o sit i o ns hana s aku (fl owers bl o om ) and

,
‘
tori n a ku (b i rds sing) can be placed t o gether with o u t c on
j u nct i o n bu t i t i s characterist i c o f Japanese to em plo y s om e
,

gra m m at i cal devi ce to c o nnect the m I n o ther wo rds a c om .

,

b i nati o n li k e
han a s a ki tori n aku fl owers bl ooming b irds s ing
is preferred to

han a sa ku tori na ku fl owers bl oom . B irds s ing

Mo dern wri ters u nder the i nflu ence o f E u ro pean langu ages
, ,

n o w u s e m u ch S h o rter sentences bu t the f u nda m ental s tru c ,

t u re o f Japanese is su ch that even with the best intent io ns , ,

l o ng sentences cann o t always be avo i ded The f oll owing .

passage tak en haphaz ard fr om a m o dern b ook written i n

,
 S Y N TAX 3 25
the mixed c oll o qui al and l iterary style will serve to ill u st rate ,

the characte ristics o f the stru ct u re o f Japanese pr o se

I pp a u u i s hiy o s um N i hon The Japanese pa ints i n gen
“

cu ogu zo a M eij i j i da i u i i ri e ral u s e have S ince the Meij i

zenzen s oa ku n i n ari ku zoa u ru era began bec om e th o r ou ghly
u i héji n ga bu s s hi ts u teki bu m bad M o r e o ver ou r c ou nt ry
.
,

mei zo o hencho s hi ta m ta me m e n becau se o f their bias in

,

s hiki s a i u i ts u i te n o chi ka ku
'
favou r o f a m aterialistic Civi
otori te koy i i n o ry é ko n aru -
liz ati o n have l o st their sense,

N i hon cu ogu zoo s u tete ky é re o f c o l ou r and aband o ning ,

ts u n aru doku doku s hi ki i r o n o

-
the g oo d Japanese paints o f
s ei b en ogu zoo n omi s hiy o f o r m e r ti m es have taken to
y ,

s u m u i i ta ri shi zo o m otte N i u sing o nly c ru de f oreign

hon e nogu zoa ma s u mas u u re paints o f a p ois o n o u s tint
, .

y u ki y o kara n u t a me n i z enzen C o nseq u ently the sale o f J a

s oa ku to n a ri ma ta zoa fuju n p a n e s e paints has increasing
bu ts u zo o konji to ji ss hi ts u zoo ly fallen o ff s o that they ,

otas hi mei s hé kos o on a i de r g radu ally bec om e

j have eithe
a ru ga hi n s hi ts u zoa hi o u i
j w o rse o r have l o st their c ha

ototte i ru . r a c te r th r ou gh being m ixed

with i m pu rities and th ou gh

the nam e it is tru e rem ains
the sa m e the q u ality has ,
-

ext r a ordinarily deteri orated .

I t will be n o ticed that in Japanese this passage is syn

, ,

tactically o n e sentence Its seve ral m em ber s are c o nnected

.

by m eans o f the c o nj u nctive fo rm s o f verbs o r by m eans o f

c o nj u nctive l o cu ti o ns su ch as the f o rm s n ari otori te s u tete
, , , ,

and the l o cu ti o ns i tari s hi zoo motte s hi ta m ta me y okara nu

, ,

ta me u i & c
, I t is o nly the final verb ototte i ru which i s i n
.

the c o nclu sive fo rm .

The S i mplest f o rm o f c o mp ou nd sentence is that i n which

the c om p o nent par ts are l ogically i ndependent as in the ,

sentence ha na s a ki tori n a ku An o the r exam ple o f this type is

.

s u n a s hi roku ma ts u a os hi the sand is wh ite and the pines

are gr een
whe r e we have the adj ective shi roku th ou gh its fu ncti o n is ,

predicative taking the c onj u nctive fo rm The valu e of s hi

,
.

roku is expressed i n translat i o n by u sing the c onj u ncti o n

326 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
‘
The sam e f o rm is u sed i rrespect ive o f the n umber
’
and .
,

o f c o m p o nents o f the sentence The last predicat ive w o r d

.

takes its n orm al predicat ive f o rm the o thers the c onj u nct i ve
,

f o rm Th u s
.

ame fu ri kaze fu ki ka mi n ari the ra i n falls the wi nd bl ows

, ,

ha ta meku and the th u nde r r o a r s

kore zo a ka nzu beku ma n a ba thi s mu st b e m arked and
beshi learned
n 6 zoa kos hu s hi k6 zoa s ei z6 the farm er pl ou ghs and s ows ,

s hi s h6 zoa k6 eki s u the artisan m anu fact u res ,

and the m e rchant trades

The appr op ri ate c onj u nct ive f o rm varies o f c ou rse with the
nat u re o f the w o rd u sed I n the case o f i ndeclinable w o rds
.

f o rm s li k e n i te ni shi te & c mu st be u sed as in K 6 zoa otoko

, , ,

n i s hi te ots u zoa onn a n a ri A i s a m an and B i s a w om an

,
’
.

Certain difficu lt i es ari se where the last verb or adj ect ive o f
a ser i es is i n the c o mp ou nd c o nj ugat i on I n the sentence .

(1 ) s a ku ra no ha na zoa s a ki the cherry fl owers have

u me n o ha n a zoa chi reri bl o om ed the pl um fl owers
,

have fallen
it will be seen that s a ki i s a c onj u nct ive f o rm c orresp onding
to chi ru and n ot to chi reri S i m ilarly i n .

( )
2 ka re zoa y u ki zoare zoa he will go and I shall ret u rn
ha era n

y u ki c orresp o nds to koeru and n o t t o ka era n The reas o n .

for these apparent an o m al i es is that in these cases the c o n

j u nct ive f orm s c orresp onding t o the p r edicative fo rm s of the
final verb either d o n ot ex i st or a re liable to ca u se a m bigui ty .

Thu s if in ( 1 ) i nstead o f s a ki we had s a keri I t w ou ld n ot be

,

appa r ent that a c onj u nct ive f o rm wa s intended while the ,

c onj u nct ive f orm o f y u ka n (to c o rresp ond with ka era n) do es

n o t ex i st C o nsequ ently c omp ou nd c onj u gati o nal f o rm s ter
.

m in atin g with the au xiliary ver b a ri and th o se in which the ,

c onj u nctive f orm is absent appear in these c o nj u nct ive l o cu

,

ti o ns in their sim ple f o rm To m ak e this p oint clear f u rther

.

exam ples are appended

a me furi kaze fu ki nu
. ra i n fell and wind blew
328 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
n i ga om okute mi chi
ga t6 i the bu rden i s heavy and the
way i s l o ng
This us e o f te l i n k s the two sentences cl o sely t o gether u su ally ,

with ou t any additi o n to thei r separate m eaning S om etim es .

it is t ru e the u s e o f te int ro du ces a certain tense ele m ent -

,

den o ting a sequ ence in ti m e as between the verbs Th u s

‘
.

a me
furi te kaze fuku bes hi m ay be translated rain having
fallen wind will bl ow and ham s ugi te n a ts u ki tarura shi
’

‘
, ,

S p r ing havi ng passed s u mm e r i s o n the way

’
B u t on the
.

wh o le the u se o f te i n su ch cases is f o rm al I t S h ows that.

the two sentences a re in cl o se gramm at ical relat io n and ,

leaves thei r l ogical c o nnexi o n to be inferred Where i t is .

desired t o express precisely s om e l ogi cal c onnexi o n su ch as ,

a sequ ence i n ti m e a c onj u nct ive adverb is o ften u sed as in

, ,

a a ma chi te n ochi a ra ta me after m a k ing a m ista k e i t i

y s

g a t as hi ha r d to p u t i t right
The c o ll o qu ial u ses o f te are su ffi cient evi dence that i t has
‘
n o t invariably a t ense S igni fi c a n c e
-
Th u s motte kum to
.
,

bring (to c o m e h o lding) and s u ch phrases as da i ui tatte oru

‘
, ,

he is standing o n a platf o rm I n the written langu age

’
.

a sentence li k e
bara n o ha n a zo a i ro uts u ku -
the r o se has a beau tifu l
s hi te kaori ta ka s hi c o l o u r and a str o ng perfum e
evi dently expresses n o c onnexi o n o ther than a syntactical
o n e between u ts u ku shi ku and ta ka s hi .

An alternative m eth o d o f c o o r dinat i ng sentences is by

-

m eans o f particles and adverbs as in ,

s a ke a ri m a ta sa ka na ari there is dri nk and (again)

there is f o o d
s ho zoo
y om i sa te ji zo o n ara u reads b oo ks and (f u rther )
learns characters
kokor ozas hi kata ka kats u n o hi s w i ll i s str o ng and his ou t
z omi t6s hi l o ok is wide
S u ch c o nstru cti o ns a r e n ot free fr om Chi nese i nflu ence .

Wh en in a c o mp ou nd sentence o n e c o m p o nent is c o ordi -

mated with an o ther the c o nnexi o n can be expressed by m eans

,

o f c o nj u nctive part i cles o r c o nj u nct i ve adverbs The fu ncti o ns

.

o f the c o nj u nct i ve particles have already been described in

detail and they need be o nly briefly recapit u lated her e

,
.
 S Y N TAX 329
BA s u ffi x e d the pe rfect f o rm o f verbs expresses a reali z ed
to
c o n diti o n ; su ffi x e d to the i mperfect f o rm i t expresses an
u nreali z ed i e a hyp o thetical or f u t u re c o ndit i o n
, . . Thu s , .

a me fu reba i dezu as it is raini ng I d o n ot go out ,

if it is raining I d o n o t go o ut ,

me fa ra ba i dezu
0

a if it rains I shall n ot go ou t
,

In the first case (P erfect ba) the c o nditi o n is already

existent or a ssu m ed to be exi stent at the tim e when the
, ,

state m ent is m ade It foll ows that when two statem ents
.
,

are lin k ed in this way there is s om e a mbi guity a dou bt as

, ,

t o whether the sec o nd is c o ntingent u p o n o r m erely c o n

c u rrent with the fi r st In the sec o nd case (I m perfect
. ba)
the c o ndit ion is hyp o thet i cal It i s either a c o ndi ti o n whi ch
.

has n ot yet c om e i nt o exi stence or on e o f whi ch the existence

is assu m ed Thu s .

kaze j a ka ba n ami tata n i f the wi nd bl ows the waves w ill

u se

The r e i s s om e difference of op ini on am ong gra mm ari ans u p o n

the c o rrect u ses o f this f o rm That i t exi sts i s en ou gh to
.

S h ow that these u sages a r e a m b i guou s and i n b o th sp o k en

and wri tten langu ages there i s a tendency to su pplem ent
them for the sa k e o f clearness In the sp oken lan guage the .

f o rm c om p o sed o f the perfect ba tends to ou st the i m per

fec t ba as in,

kaze ga fu keba nami ga ta t6 i f the wind bl ows the waves

will r i se
and at the sam e t im e it ceases t o express an act u al as ,

o pp o sed t o an ass u m ed ex i sting c o ndit i o n Thu s

,
.

u n d6 s ureba s hokuy oku ga i f yo u take exercise y o u r

s u s umu appetite i mpr oves
alth o ugh in the written langu age the sam e sentence m ight
‘
m ean s i nce yo u t ak e exercise The latter i dea in ’
&c ,
.
,

speech is c o nveyed by the aid o f o ther w or ds as in

, ,

u n d6 s ureba kos o
u nd6 s u m n o de
u n d6 s u m kar a
’
all m ean ing beca u se you take exercise .

3 7
2 °
Uu
339 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
O ther m eth o ds u sed i n the c oll o q u ial are illu strated by
kaze ga fui ta ra ka n a ga if the wind blew the fl owers
chi r6 w ou ld fall
where fui ta ra i s a vestigial form o f fuki tara ba .

kaze ga fu ku to ha n a go if the wind bl ows the fl owe r s

chi ru fa ll
kaze ga fu ku n a ra ba han a i f the w i nd bl ows the fl o we r s
ga chi r6 will fall
It i s pretty clear that alth ou gh f orm s li k e fu keba and j a ka ba
,

were originally distinct in fu ncti o n they are inadequ ate and , ,

tend to be replaced by o ther l o cu ti o ns Thu s th ou gh it is

‘
.
,

p o ssible to say ame mo fu reba kaze mo fu ku for i t is b oth

raining and bl owi ng the c oll o qui al prefers s u ch a l oc uti o n
’

as a me mo furu s hi kaze mo fuku— a n analytic rather than

a synthet ic c o nstru cti on .

D O D O M 0 ( TO TO M 0)
, , c o nnect two pr o p o s iti o ns adversa
t ive ly as i n
,

ha na s a kedo th ou gh the fl owers are bl oom

tori n a ka zu
ing the birds are n o t S ingi ng
,

The u ses o f these c o nj u nct i ve part i cles are S I m il ar to th o se

o f ba Thu s
.

d d omo s u ffi x e d t o the perfect f o r m o f verbs or

( )
1 o o r

adj ectives exp r ess an existent c o nditi o n real or assum ed ,

ka ze fu kedomo fu ne i das u alth o u gh the wi nd is bl owi ng

bes hi the b o at m u st be pu t ou t
even i f the wind is bl owing ,

&c .

( )
2 to or tomo s u ffi x e d
the pred i cat
to i ve f o rm o f verbs and

the i mperfect f o rm o f adj ect ives express a hyp o thet i cal c on

d iti o n Th u s
.

6 zoa ta y odomu tomo (M ) th ough the great deeps m ay

'
.

r o ar
y orodzuy o n o toshi zoa ki u th o u gh th e years o f ten
tomo (M ) . th ou sand ages pass away
which are early exam ples and ,

kaze fu ku tomo y u kan I will go even i f the wi nd ,

bl ows
332 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
Where i t i s necessary to e mphas iz e the c ontrast between two
pro p o sit i o ns rec ou rse i s had to adverbs o r adverb ial phrases ,

l ik e tada shi s hi karedomo & c as i n

, , .
,

b6 ch6s ha zo a ha ka ma zoo cha m em bers o f the a u di ence

kuy 6 s u bes hi ta da s hi fuji n m u st wear tr ou sers ; bu t
zoa kon o kagi ri n i a ra r u this d o es n ot apply to wo
m en

S UB O R D IN ATE SE N TE N C E S
By su b o r d inate sentences I m ean here si m ply on e o f the
ele m ents wh ich i n the f orm o f sentences c om prise a c om
, ,

l t stat e m ent being either attr ib u t i ve o r adverb i al to s om e

p e e ,

m e m ber there o f They m a y be classified as (1 ) s u bstant ival

.

sentences form ing the su bj ect or obj ect o f a princ ipal sen
tence (2 ) attrib u t ive sentences and (3 ) adverb i al sentences
, ,
.

S u bsta nti va l s enten ces The s implest f o r m i s a qu otati o n

‘
. ,
’
as in y u ka n to i ii he says he will go , S tr i ctly speak ing .
,

s u ch sentences in Japanese are always i n orati o recta and ,

the ab o ve exa m ple is a c o rrect translat i o n o f he says I will ,

H
i i
)

g o All s u ch sentences are ntr o d u ced by the part cle to

ki tai u i ya zoa ta ts u to mo se saying that th ou gh arr ows

,

n i zoa
y a zoa tateji to i i te m ight pierce his f o rehead ,

( es )
R arro ws sh ou ld n o t p i erce his
back
mi na hi to zoo ne
yo to n o ka ne the bell that tells every o ne
t o sleep
kore zoa on na no ka i ta mono he sa i d that th i s was written
da to i tta by a w om an
O f the sam e type are sentences f ollowing verbs mean ing to
‘ ’ ‘ ’
th in k to k n ow , to feel &0 ,
’

d6 nas tta ka to s hi mpai s hi ta I was anx iou s (wo ndering)

’

what had happened to you

n aga s ugi ra to mi eru
-
i t seem s t o be to o l ong

Any sentence can be m ade to act as a substant ive by

gi vi ng i ts p r edicative w ord the su bstant ival fo rm and u sing ,

the appr opri at e case part icle

s ono hi n o ku ru zoo machi they were wait ing u nt i l that
i ta ri day sh ou ld c om e
 S U B O R D I N ATE S E N TE N CB S 33 3
where s ono hi no ku m i s a s ubstant ival f orm . F u rther
exam ples a r e
6 ku n o hi to zo a on or e n o kokoro m ost pe ople d o n o t k n ow that
n o oroka n a m zoo s hi ra za their own hea rts a re f oo lish
s ono kou n a n zoa m6j i n n o ts u e his di st r ess was as if a blind
zo o u s hi n a eru u i on aji m a n had l o st his staff (lit
‘
.

lik e a bl ind m an s having ’

’
l ost & c ) , .

kore zoa hi to n o omoeru y ori this i s fa r m ore diffi cu lt than

ka ru ka n i mu dzu ka s hi pe o ple think
I t will be seen that th i s capacity o f the Japanese langu age
for t u rning c om plete sentences int o s u bstantival f o rm s i s a
ve ry c o nven i ent o n e It pr o vides a m eth o d o f f o rming
.

a variety o f su b or dinate sentences which in E nglish are ,

i ntr o d u ced by a c o nj u ncti o n Thu s .

y a ma ta ka ki ga uy e u i becau se the hill i s h igh

ki n zoa i ro n o ki n a m ga ta me i s g o ld prec iou s beca u se the
n i ta ttoki ka c o l ou r is yell ow
O ften the s u bstant ival nat u re o f these sentences i s e m pha
‘
si z ed by the u s e o f the w ord koto den ot ing thing in the
’

, ,

abstract sense E g . .

‘
ts u ka ema ts u ru koto n i y ori te beca u se you se rve (lit o n .

acc ou nt o f the fact o f y o u r

( R e s )
serving )
’

where ts uka emats uru n i y ori te w ou ld c o nvey the sam e m ean

ing This tendency is accent u ated in the c oll o qu ial n o d ou bt
. ,

becau se o f the lack o f a speci ali z ed s ubstantival f o rm o f ve rbs

and adj ectives
fune n o deta koto zo o s hi ra nai d o es n ot kn ow that the b o at
has left
fune n o deta to i n koto zoo s hi d o es n o t k n ow that the b o at
r a na i has left
hi to ni zoa ka reru koto zoa ts u i t is painf u l to part fr om
ra i pe ople
H ere the written langu age w ou ld have fune n o ides hi zoo and
zo a ka ru m zoa .

An alternat i ve m eth o d in the c oll o qu ial is to u se the

particle n o as i n
,
3 34 HI S TO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
fu n e n o deru n o zoo ma tazu w ith o u t wait ing for the b o at
t o leave
kodomo zoo koros hi ta n o zo a it w a s n ot I who k illed the
zoa ta ku s hi de zoa goza i ma s en child
A ttri buti ve s enten ces These c orresp o nd t o relat ive sen
.

t e n c e s i n E nglish A c omplete sentence is br ou ght int o an

.

attrib u t ive relati o n w ith a su bstantive by giving its predicate

an attrib u tive f o rm . The si m plest type is ill u strated by a
sen tence l ik e
s a kuj i ts u ki taru hi to the m a n who ca m e yesterday
mi dzu s u kuna ki tokoro a place where water is scarce
AS a ru le especially in the c oll o qu ial it is preferred to m ak e
, ,

the relati o n between term s clearer by u sing the particle n o ,

saying for i nstance mi dou n o s u ka na i tokoro F u rther

, ,
.

exa m ples o f relative sentences a re

bas ha n o y u ki chiga u mi chi a r o ad in which carriages pass
ta ki n o oto ki koy u ru y a do a l o dging whence the s o u nd o f
the fall can b e heard
fu ne ga deru toki the ti m e when the b o at leaves
I t is by m eans o f l o cu t i o ns o f this type that m any sentences
which in E nglish wo u ld be i ntr o du ced by a c o nj u nct io n o r
a c o nj u nct ive adverb are lin k ed to p rincipal sentences Thu s .

fu n e ga deru toki ni ki teki ga when the b o at sai ls a steam

n am whistle s o u nds
fun e ga deru mae n i bef ore the b o at sa i ls
fun e ga deru ta me n i becau se the b o at sails
fun e ga deru ta mbi u i eve ry ti m e the b o at sails
chi chi ga meiji ta ma i s hi t6 ri as m y father c omm anded
zoaga u a ha ran n ochi after I a m g o ne
O f this nat u re are certai n l ocu t i ons famil iar i n the ep i st olary
style
my 6ch6 s an j 6 i ta s u beku s 6 r6 Since I p ro p o se to call up on
a i da
you to m o rr ow m o rning
-

sa ku ji ts u j
s an 6 i ta s hi s 6 r6 to I called u p o n you yesterday ,

koro go fuzai n i te ka i bi zo o bu t yo u wer e ou t and I

,

ezu c ou ld n ot have the h o n ou r

o f see i ng yo u
336 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
2 . Adverb p r ecedes ve rb o r adj ective as i n ka zoa haya ku
n aga m stream s fl ow q ui ckly haya ku n agar a m ,

ka zoa q u ickly fl owing stream s ha n ahada hay a ki ’

‘
, ,
’
n aga r e ve ry r apid fl ow
‘
,

3 S u bj ect precedes verb as I n i s hi otsu st o nes fall

’

‘
.
, ,

4 O bj ect precedes verb as i n ha n a (zoo) mi ru

.
, to see ,
’
fl owe r s .

It i s c onvenient to di stingu ish between nat u ral wo rd or der

and fixed wo rd o rder D eviati o ns f rom the f o rm er are p er .

m issible and c a n serve to c o nvey e m phasis D eviati o n f rom

, .

fixed w o r d o rder where p o ssible is acc om pan i ed by a c om

, ,

p l e t e change o f m eaning ; b u t s u ch cases a r e rare in the

Japanese langu age becau se it do es n o t rely u p o n fixed w ord

,

o r der al o ne for S ignificance .

The nat u ral o rder o f w ords in a Japanese sentence i s

cats m ice catch
s u bj ect o bj ect verb as i n n eko ga n eza mi zoo toru bu t within
- -
,

certain li m its the ele m ents in a sentence c an be va r i ou sly

arranged The li m its are set by the fo ll ow ing c o nditi ons as
.

t o fixed w o rd o rder
(1 ) I n any gramm at i cal pr op o s it i o n the ve rb or adj ective
f or m ing the predicate is always the final elem ent as i n n eko
‘
,

zoa n ezumi zo o tom n o ga u ma i cats are go o d at catching

,

m ice An except io n mu st be m ade i n the case o f e m phatic

’
.

o r inter r o gative part i cles which f o ll o w i mm ediately after the

,

pred icat ive w ord as in ,

n eko ga i ru ka is the cat here

n eko ga i ru 2 0 the c at i s he r e
and it S h ou ld be n o ticed that there is n o change of w o rd
o rder i n an interr o gat i ve sentence .

Where in a pr o p o sit i o n the predicate is related t o the

(2
subj ect by a c op u lat ive l o cu ti o n (su ch as the verbs n ari tari , ,

tos u or the i r c o ll o qu ial equ ivalents da de a ru & c o r the

, , , .
,

a u xil iary adj ect ive gotoshi ) the predicate mu st i mm edi ately ,

precede the c opu la with ou t the interventi o n o f any o the r

w ord Thu s .

kore zoa ha n a n ari this is a fl o wer

kore zoa ta bu n saku ra dar6 th i s is pr obably a cherry
tos hi ts u ki zoa ma koto u i n a the m o nths and years seem to
gam ra (ga ) gotoshi fl ow past indeed
 W O RD O RD ER 33 7
It is n ot p o ssible to m ake changes in w ord order c o rre
‘ ‘
s p on d i n g t o this p ro bably is a cherry p robably this is ’

‘ ‘
,
’ ’
a cherry this is a cherry pr obably
, a che rry th i s p ro ,
’
bably is .

( )
3 Adverbs m u st precede the w o rd which they m o d ify ,

with ou t the inte rventi on o f any o ther verb adverb o r , ,

adj ective Thu s : .

ha na hada u ts u ku s hi ki onna he l o ves a very beau tifu l

zo o koi shi ku omou w om an
Her e hana hada can refer o nly to uts u kushi ki and n o t to
‘
koi s hi ku . The sentence cann o t m ean he very m u ch l oves
a beau tifu l wom an
’
This w ou ld be uts ukushi ki onna zoo
.

ha n a ha da koi s hiku omou .

It i s o bvi ou s that adverbs o f degree li k e ha n ahada m u st

i mm ediately precede the w ord they m o dify O ther adverbs .

m ay be separated therefr om so l o ng as there i s n o am b igu ity .

Th u s i n,

i tazu ra ni hi zoo s ugosa he S pends hi s days in vain

i tazu ra ni m ay be regarded as m o dify ing the wh ole sentence
hi zoo s ugos u and the o r der i s nat u r al and i ntelligible
,
In .

hi zo o i tazu ra u i s ugosa becau se o f the p o sit io n of hi at the

,

beginni ng there i s a S light di fference of emphasis and we

, ,

are left to w o nde r how the su bj ect spends his nights The .

nat u ral o rder places the obj ect imm ediately before the
g overning verb B u t in .

i tazura n i n agaru ru ts u ki bi he spends months and days

zo o s ugos u that fl ow vainly by
i tazura n i c an refer only t o the verb which i t i mm ediately
precedes i e naga ruru A S im ilar exam ple i s hayaku n aga
‘
. . .
,

he cr o sses a qu ickly fl owing stream

’
ru ru ka zoo zoo z o a taru ,
-

( n o t q u i c k ly he cr o sses a fl o w i ng
(4 ) All particles f o ll o w i m m ediately the w ord t o which

they bel ong When m ore than on e part i cle foll ows the order
.
,

as between them is fixe d Thu s a case part icle mu st always.

precede an adverb i al particle (kore zoo mo n ot kore mo zoo) ,

.

S u bj ect to the ab o ve c o nditi o ns the p o siti ons o f the ele

m ents i n a sentence c a n be varied for p u rp o ses of emphasis
bu t s ince the f u ncti ons o f w o rds are u su ally indicated by
fl ex io na l f o rm s o r by part i cles the langu age cann o t m ake
,

3270 X X
3 38 HI STO RI CAL JAPAN E S E GRAMMAR
su ch free u s e o f si gn i ficant w ord o rder as i s p ossible i n
’
E ngl i sh I n J ohn stri k es H enry and Henry stri k es J ohn ’
.

a di fference o f o rder gives a difference of m eaning In ] i r6 .

a Ta r6 zoo u ts u and Tar6 ga ] i r6 zoo u ts u the di fference o f

g
m eaning depends u p o n the par ticles and n ot u p o n the p o s i
ti o n o f the w ord s I n the earliest lan guage where case ,

particles were u sed less freely it wa s of c ou rse necessary to

,

adhere to the o rder subj ect obj ect verb - -

.

The nat u ral p o siti o n of the subj ect in Japanese i s at the

begi nni ng o f the sentence E lem ents c om plem entary to the
.

verb su ch as direct or in di rect obj ects are therefo re placed

, ,

between su bj ect and verb the m or e i m p ortant u su all y c om

,

i n g first c o nsistently w i th the r u le that the part i cu lar pre

cedes the general Thu s .

zoare n anji u i fude zoo a tau beshi I will give y ou a bru sh

zoare fu de zo o n a nji u i a ta u bes hi I w ill g ive you a brush
B ut i t m u st be re m e mbered that i n Japanese it is c u st om ary
to S ingle ou t an e m phasi z ed ele m ent i n s u ch cases by m eans
o f the i s olat i ng particle zoa in which case s u ch elem ent i s
,

placed as a ru le at the begi nni ng o f the sentence as in ,

fude zoa n anji n i a ta u beshi a bru sh I will give yo u

n a nji u i zoa fu de zoo a ta u beshi t o you I wi ll give a br u sh
When th i s character i st i c i di om i s e m pl oyed the first elem ent
i n the sentence i s i t w i ll be o bserved the s u bj ect o f a l ogi cal
, ,

pr op ositi o n th ou gh i t is o ften the obj ect of a verb as in the

, ,

first o f the two exam ples j u st given O ccasi onally for the .

sak e o f prec i si o n the c onstru cti o n illu strated bel o w i s u sed

gi ch6 zoa gii n kore zoo the pres i dent i s elected by the
‘
s enk 6 s u
y m e m bers (li t the president .

the m em bers him elect ) ’

S imilar c onstr u ct i o ns are to be f ou nd in early texts .

In except io nal cases the nat ur al o rder of wo rds and clau ses
within a sentence i s varied as S h own i n the f oll owi ng
,

exam ples
S bj ect b r ou ght t o end o f a sentence
( )
1 u .

a n a ta n as hi kon ni chi n o hi 0 How j o yful i s th i s day

zoa

N us hi ma ga s a ki n i i ori su I dwell at N u sh im a ga saki

zoare zoa (M ).
34 9 HI STO RI C AL JAPA N E S E GRAMMAR
f o rm s o f verb and adj ect ive has disappeared C o nsequ ently
.

in su ch subst i t u t io ns as
a ka i ha n a fo r a ka ki ha n a
han a ga a ka i ha n a a kas hi
ta ts u hi to ta ts u ru hi to
hi to ta tsu hi to tats u
the d ifferentiated f o rm s can be di spensed with becau se the
o rder o f w o rds i s fixed and S i gni ficant i n so far as attri b u te
,

precedes n oun and subj ect precedes predicate

, .
 AP P E N D I X

C ompari s on o f S poken a nd Wri tten F orms

(v a ls o pp xi 5 1 5 6
. .
, , ,
1 96 , 2 75 , 31 1 , 31 9)

THE foll owing is a tabulated sta tem ent o f the chie f p oints o f
d i ffe rence in f orm b et w een S po ken and written Japan ese The .

lan guage o f the Heian p eri o d is taken as a s tarting poin t because -

,

it is in this pe ri od that the d ivergence fi rst becomes appar ent .

As a general rule it m ay be stated that the modern written

langu age differs bu t little in essentia ls from the language recorded
in Heian texts The form s that have been retained are pra ctically
.

unchan ged and (thou gh t his is an i mpo rt ant exce p ti on) apart ,

from a number o f com pound c onj ugational form s current in the

Heian peri od bu t now o bsolete mu ch of the gramm atical a pp ara ,

tus o f the Heian p e ri o d p e rsists in m o dern written Ja p anese AS .

to vo cabu lary there ha s o f co u rse been a large and continu o u s

,

increase o f S inico J ap anese w ords in the wr itten langu age and

-
,

a c onsequent tendency to di splace pu re Japanese w ords The .

s po ken lan gu age o n the o ther han d S ho w s a great dim in u tio n

, ,

in the num ber o f gr ammatical fo rm s and a tendency to sub stitute ,

analytic for synthetic m ethods It also adopts S inico Japanese .

-

words bu t less freely than the w ritten langu age

,
.

PR O N O UN
L a n gua ge o f H e i a n Mo d e rn W ri tte n Mo d e rn S po ke n
P e ri o d . L a n gu a ge . La n gu a ge .

PE R S O NA L .

a a r e zo a z
o a re zoa r e ore , zo a ta ka s hi

om a e, a n a ta
n a n a re n a n j i ki nj i n an ji
N S i n i c o - J a p a n e s e e q u i v a l e n ts s u c h
u m e ro u s
’
a s s os s ha fo r I k i de n k i ka for yo u ,

m o r e c o mm o n i n wr i ti n g tha n i n f a m i l ia r
S p e e ch .

D E MO N S TRAT I V E .

ko kon o (a ttri b o n l y) . kon o (attri b o n l y) .

kore ko k o
,
kor e koko
,
kor e koko ,

kochi kochi kochi ra

,
kotchi kochzr a ,

kon a ta kon a ta kon a ta

so s on o (a ttrib o n l y) . s on o ( a t tri b . on ly)
s or e , s oko s or e s oko s ore s oko
34 2 APPE N D IX
La n gu a ge o f H e i a n Mo d e r n W ri tte n Mo d e r n S p o k en
Pe r i o d . La n gu a ge . La ngu age .

D E MO N S T R AT I V E — con ti n u ed .

(s ochi ) s oc hi
s on a ta s on a ta
s hi , s a

ka ka n o (a ttrib o n ly)
.

ka r e ka re ano hi to
ka s hiko, ka n a ta ka s hiko ka n a ta
,

a , a r e, ano a re
a s hi ko a s oko
a n a ta a n a ta

I N T E R R O GAT I V E .

ta ta re
nani
i dz u r e
i dzu ko i dzu ku
,

i dz u ka ta , i dz u ra

on o, on ore

AD J E CTI VE

The i m p o r ta n t d iff e re n c e i s th a t th e s p o k e n l a n gu a ge r e ta i n s o n l y
th e c o n j u n c ti v e a n d a t trib u ti v e f o r m s a n d d i s c a r d s th e s p e c i a li z e d
,

p r e d i c a ti v e T a k i n g th e a dj e c ti v e y os hi a s a n e x a m p l e w e h a v e
.

y os hi y os hi
y oku o r y ou y o ku
yok i o r y oi y oki

VER B
I n th e l c o n j u ga ti o n a l fo rm s th e chi e f d iff ere n c e i s th a t the
S i mp e
c o llo qu i a l a b a n d on s th e di s ti n c ti o n b e tw e e n a ttri bu ti v e a n d p r e d i c a
t i v e f o r m s re ta i n in g a s a r u l e o n l y th e a t tr i b u t i v e Ph o n e ti c c h a n ge s
, .

h a v e a l so t a k e n p l a c e A t yp i c a l c a s e i s tha t o f th e v er b o ts u
.

I n th e c o m p o u n d c o n j u ga ti o n p h on e ti c c h a n ge h a s b e e n fr e q u e n t ,

a n d i t s b e gin n i n gs a r e a lr e a d y v i s ib l e i n th e H e i a n p e ri o d , w h e r e

c o n tr a cte d a n d u n c o ntr a c te d fo rm s e x is t s i d e b y s i d e The stri c t

.

wri tte n l a n gu a ge h a s r e ta in e d b u t fe w o f th e c o n tra c te d form s ,

344 APPEN D IX
L a n gu a ge o f He i a n Mo d e rn W ri tte n Mo d e rn S p ok e n
Pe ri o d . L a n gu a ge . L a ngu a ge .

TE N S E S U F FI X E S — conti nued .

n a hi u n n a ki n u
n a ki ts u n a ki ts u
n a ki ker i
n a ki kem u
n a ku bes hi n a ku bes hi
n a ku m er i
n a ku r a s hi
n a ku m a ji n a ku ma ji
n a hi te, n a ki ta r i n a hi te , n a ki ta r i

Ma n y c o m b i n a ti o n s o f s uffix e s fre q u e n t in the H ei a n p e ri o d h a v e n o t

p ers i s te d i n m o d ern p r o se a n d th o s e whi ch h a v e p e r s i s te d ar e
,

u s u a ll y i n t h e S p o k e n l a n gu a ge r e p l a c e d b y a n a lyt i c a n d n o t a ggl u

t i n a tiv e l o c u ti o n s Th e fo ll o wi n g a r e a fe w e x a m p l e s
.

n a ki n i ker i
n a ka ren i s hi
n a ka s e te m a s hi
n a ka ren u beka ri
n a ki ta r i ki
n a ka s e ta r i n a ka s eta r i
n a kaza m bes hi n a ka z a ru bes hi
 IIDJI ) IZ) (
( O n ly le ad ing ref e re n c e s a re
gi ven ) .

a, p ro n o u n 7 1 , . v
d e , n e ga t i e t e rm i n a tio n , 1 77 1 94
cc , .

a e n t u a t io n 2 64 , . d es u o o u ia c ll q l v
, er b , 2 2 0
v
.

a d er b 2 8 9 31 1 , , .
c c
d i a ri ti m ar k s , 8 .

v
ad e r b i a o rm of l f
a d je t i e a nd c v do ,
j c
o n u n ti e c v
p a rt i e , cl 12 ,
7 2 73
v
,

e rb 9 4 1 37 , , . 2 76 .

v
a d e r b i a p a r ti e s 2 5 5 l cl , . d omo, v . do .

A dz u ma u ta 2 1 0 -
, .

A lc
n a e ts Co n u i a n 4 , f c , .
e p re fi x to ve rb s fo r mi ng po te n ti a l
l c
a n a yt i t e nd e n i es i n J a pa n e s e c , 611
, ,

196 2 75 31 1 319 e m h as i s
p 264 , 3 39
.
, , ,

a r u a u i i a ry
, xl
er b 2 0 2 v , .
E ngi s hi ki ,
,

24
.

A v
.

s to n i ii e p i s to a r l s ty e , l 61
y 310
.
,

au ,v
e rb s u fi 22 1 f x , .
E u rop e an l a n gu a e s , i n fl u e n
g
, .

ce o f,
xl
a u i i a ry n u m e r a s 8 4 l , .

v
e rb s 2 0 2 3 0 7 , ,

fo re i gn word s i n J a p an e s e , 300 .

ba , c
o nju n t i e
p a rt i e , 2 73 c v cl , 32 9 .
-
fu , v b s u ffi x
er , an, 2 2 1 .

ba ka r i 2 6 8 , .

beki , beku bes hi 1 1 0 c cl conju n ctive

ga ase p a r ti e 232
, .
,

B u dd hi s t t e r m i n o o gy , 1 0 l .
,

use, 2 7 8 , 33 1
,

e xcl a m a t or y use,
285 .

c as e , p a rti cle s , 2 24 . ga r i 2 5 3 , .

ca u s a ti v v e e rb s , 1 64 . ge n d e r 6 9 8 9 , , .

C e r t a i n P r e se n t , 1 3 1
’
.
G engi M on oga ta r i 5 5 , .

C h a m b e r a i n , ii i l v .
go fl ] ho n orifi c p r e fi , 7 8 x .

C h i n es e e e m e n ts in l
J a p ane se , gotoki gotoku , gotos hi 1 1 0
c , , .

h a p i , pa s s i m , 6 9 1 2 1 , 3 0 1
goza r u 3 0 2
. , .

cl xl l , .

a ss i fi ers
(a u i i ary n u m era s ) ,
83 .
ha ad ve
l p art i cle s e e
r bi a zo a
c ll q l v c f w , .
,

o o u ia d i er ge n e r o m , r i tten
he c as e p art icle 2 5 2
l ,
, .

a n gu a ge , xi, 5 1 , 5 6 , 3 1 9 , ap He i ke M on g t i viii 6 0 o a ar .
, ,

p end ix .
hi a d jec t iva l p e fi x
r 1 19
c w c , .
,
o m p o u nd ord s , 1 2 2 , h ap ix , .
hi r aga n a 4 2 , .

pa s s i m , 3 2 0 .
H iy ed a n o A re 1 4
c c v f v
.
,

o n es s i e o r ms o f e rb , 1 9 7 , 3 2 8 .
h o n o r i fi c orm s 7 6 —8 1 , f 1 63, 1 6 4 —7 3 ,
c cl v f
on u s i e orm 92 . —1 1
,

c lf
o n d i t io n a o rm s o f erb , 1 9 7 , 3 2 8 v .

co nju ga t io n s , J a p a n es e , s ys t e m o f, i , co n je t u re d ase p ar t ic e, c cl 2 8 3.
1 2 8 ; h i s tory o f, 1 5 1 .
i d e o gr ap h i s r i p t 2 , 4 5 c c .

co n ju n t i o n s , c
e ui a e nt o f, in q v l i dzu ku i dz u re & c , 7 5 , ,
,

. .

J ap an e se , 1 3 8 , 2 9 8 , 3 1 1 , 3 1 8 , 3 2 2 , i m p er a t i e 1 4 5 v , .

32 8 .
i m per e t orm o f fc erb s , f v nome n
c l
op u a , 2 0 3 , 2 0 7 , 2 5 8 .
c l a tu r e 9 7 , 1 4 1 , .

i n tra n s i ti e e rb s , 1 9 9 v v .

do , o o c ll qu i a l verb ,
1 9 6, 208 . i r a ss ha r u 1 6 3 1 7 3 , , .

d a ke 2 6 9 , . irr e gu a r e rb s 9 1 l v , .

da ni , 2 6 6 . I s e M on oga ta ri 5 4 , .

de, o o c ll q u i al p ar ticle , v n i te. . i tsa , 7 5 .

34 6 I N D EX
ji , n e ga t i ve s u ffi x 1 9 2 , . n a do , 2 6 9 .

j fin
o a d ve b i a l t e m i n a t i o n 2 9 1
r r , .
n aga r a , 2 5 4 , 2 6 9 .

s a d je c t iva l s u ffi x 1 2 3
nai , c ollo q u i al n egat ive 1 9 4 .

j6 J : a
,

h tta co llo q i a l n ega t ive 1 9 5

.
,
na a , u , .

na mo n mu v n n a a
ha a d je t i a p r e fi 1 19 c v l x , , . .

p a t icl e 2 6 6 ; ru l e o f s yn ta x
, .
,
na n r
ka i n t e rr o ga t i e p arti e , 2 7 0
,
v cl .

r
,

e g rd i n g 2 6 5
a e t ym o lo gy 1 8 1 ,
,

, .

ka p r o no u n 7 4
-ka
,

t er mi n a t io n of u n i nfl ec ted
, .

na nd co llo q u i l n g tive 1 9 5
a, a e a , .

ni i n t e o ga t i v e 7 4
,
na rr
a d je t i es 1 20 c v , , .

ji
.
,
na n 73
ka n a 2 3 ka n a maj i r i 2 5
.
,
.
, ,

K a n -on 3 0 n
n a re , p ro n o un , 71 .

n a ri , n a r u , 2 0 7
.
,

ka ta ka n a 4 2
.

63
.
,
n a s a ru , 1
ha m 2 5 4
.

67
.
,
na su , 1
K a tar i be 1 4
.

kc , a d e ti a p re fi j c v l
1 19
, .

x n o, i m p e ra t i e o f t e n s e s u ffi nu, v x
he t e r m i n a t io n o f u n i n fl e c t e d a d
, .

1 80 e a m a to ry p ar t i xcl
e, 2 8 6 cl .

,
v f
n ega t i e or m s i n s p e e h a n d wr i t i n g, c
je c t i v e s 1 2 0 , .

1 93
-ke mu
,
c
o m p o u n d u t u re s u fi 184 f f x , .

ui ,
.

c s e p a ticle 2 3 8 —4 5 c on ju n c
a r
-kera m a s hi 186
,
- era ku
k
t iv e 2 7 6
.
, ,

kere p er e t orm o f a d je t i e s , fc f c v , .

W
-

ad ve b i a l t e rm i n a t io n 2 9 1
,
r
1 08
.
,
.

-k eri
,
c
o m p o u n d t e n s e s u ffi 1 85 x , .
n i gori , 48 .

hi t e n s e s u ffi 1 82 a d je ti a x c v l N i hongi i x 1 3 2 3 , , , .

j c v l
,

x
,

p re fi 1 18 x .
n i i a d e ti a p refi
, 1 19 , .

c f x
,

v ? l -n i ki o mp ou n d t en s e s u fi 83
ha a d e rb i a t e r m i n a t io n
,
fl ,

u i a i te u i okem 2 4 3
,
1 .

ko p ro n ou n 7 3 .
, , .

c f x
, ,
-
n i s hi o m p o u n d t e ns e s u fi 1 83
kor e p ro n o u n 7 3
, , . , ,
.

K oj i ki i x I 5 u i s hi te 2 4 4 , .

cl
.
, ,

K o ki n s hu ; P re a e t o 5 5 x f c , .
n i te , p ar t i e te 2 0 8 2 4 4 , , .

c cl
,

v l cl as e p ar ti e , 2 2 5 —35
kos o a d e rbi a p ar ti e 2 5 5
, , .
no , .

ku d a s a r u 1 6 3 .
n om i 2 6 8 , .

R l
,

Kyuj i ki 1 4 .
N ori to , s ee i tu a s .
,

nu , c
o n je t u r ed o pu a , 2 0 7, c c l 2 34 ,
lo go gr aphic s cri p t 2 , , 45 . 2 4 3 ; p ar t i e 2 34 cl , .

Lu ch u a n v i i 1 1 4 3 , , , , 152 . n u , t e n s e s u ffi 1 74 x , .

n u , n e ga t i e s u ffi , 1 9 1 v x .

m p efi x 1 1 8
a, r , .
n u m ber 8 5 , .

m a de , 255 69 , 2 .
n u m e ra s 8 2— l , 5 .

-m a i m aj i ki ,
j ,
- 1 10 .
n u ru , 1 74 .

M a ku r a n o S os hi x
‘
.
,

M a ny6ga n a 2 3 , . 0 ( li t tl e ad ec t iv l p r fi x
j a e , 1 1 7 .

M a ny6 s hi2 2 3 a n d pa s s i m , . 6 a d j e c t iva l p e fi x r , 1 1 8 .

-
ma s hi t e n s e s u ffi x 1 9 0 , , . okototen , v . zookototen .

p erfe c t f o r m o f f u t u r e ffi x x
-m e su h o n o ri fi c p r e fi 1 1 8
, , 0 , on , , .

44 1 . o n o m a tO p o e i c s , 2 8 8 .

m er i t e n s e s u fi , 1 8 8
,
f x . o ra t i o r e t a , 3 3 2 c .

m es u 1 6 6 , . o rd e r o f o rd s , 3 3 5 w .

mi h on o r ifi c 1 1 8
, , . or u er b , 156 v , .

-
mi , s u ffi 294 x , . os s ha r u , 1 7 3 .

x
Mi e d P h o n e t i S r i p t , 2 5
’
c c .

,
v
mo a d e rb i a p ar ti e , 2 6 3 ; l cl 00 11 p a ss i e v v o i c e 1 3 2 1 60 2 5 9 3 1 4 , , , , .

c v
ju n t i e u s e 1 9 9 2 73 , 2 8 0 , , .
p h on e ti c ch n g s 1 0 9 u les 4 9 a e , r ,
.

M otoori , 1 7 .
u s e o f C h i n ese c h ar ac t ers c h a p i ,
.
,

pa s s i m .

na, e xcla m ato ry

p a rt i cle , 282. p o t e n tia l ve rbs , 1 61 .

na , p ro n o u n , 7 1 .
p ro n o un s ch a p
, . i i an d p 3 0 5 . .
P RI N TED IN E N G LAN D AT T H E

UN I VE R S TY I P R E S S, O XF O R D

BY JO H N JOH N SO N
P RI NT ER TO T HE UN I VE R SI TY