LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
OUTLINE OF TOPICS: Japanese syllabary; _i-ro-ha_ arrangement;
arrangement of fifty-sounds; modern inventions.—Chinese ideographs;
_Kata-kana_; _Hira-gana_; _Kana-majiri_ and _Kana-tsuki_; variety
in pronunciation.—Japanese elocution.—Japanese syntax; logic in
linguistics; a sample sentence; kind of language; topsy-turvy
practices.—Ancient literature; poetry; _naga-uta_ and _tanka_;
_hokku_; a poem a picture.—Characteristics of Japanese poetry.—Modern
literature: newspapers; press laws; English journals; Japanese
journals; magazines and periodicals; books; what the Japanese read;
their literary taste; foreign books; linguistic reforms, theory and
practice.—Bibliography.
The Japanese language belongs, philologically, to the Altaic family,
and is of the agglutinative type. Practically, it is musical and easy
to pronounce, but, on account of its long and involved sentences,
difficult to learn. Its alphabet is not phonetic, but syllabic, and
very simple and regular. It comprises 73 characters, of which 5 are
duplicates of the same sounds, so that there are really only 68
distinct sounds. As many of the sounds, moreover, are only slight
modifications of other sounds, they are represented by the same
characters, with certain diacritical signs attached (as in the case of
_ha_, _ba_, and _pa_). There are, consequently, in common use only 48
distinct characters, which are arranged in such an order as to form a
stanza of poetry[131] as follows:—
Iro wa nioedo
Chirinuru wo—
Waga yo tare zo
Tsune naran?
Ui no oku-yama
Kyō koete,
Asaki yume miji,
Ei mo sezu.
Which means, being interpreted by Professor B. H. Chamberlain:—
“Though gay in hue, [the blossoms] flutter down, Alas! Who then,
in this world of ours, may continue forever? Crossing to-day the
uttermost limits of phenomenal existence, I shall see no more fleeting
dreams, neither be any longer intoxicated.” In other words, “all is
transitory in this fleeting world. Let us escape from its illusions
and vanities.”
Another arrangement, based on the five vowels and their combination
with certain consonants, gives fifty sounds, of which, however, two or
three are really duplicates. This table of fifty sounds (_gojū-on_) is
as follows:—
[132]
a ka sa ta na ha ma ya ra wa
i ki shi chi ni hi mi _(y)i_ ri (w)i
u ku su tsu nu fu mu yu ru _(w)u_
e ke se te ne he me _(y)e_ re (w)e
o ko so to no ho mo yo ro wo
Those in italics are duplicates; and _(w)i_ and _(w)e_, though written
with different characters from _i_ and _e_, have practically the same
pronunciation.
It will be seen that both of these arrangements are more or less
artificial; at least, they appear to be mnemonic contrivances, and are
certainly very convenient, because they are flexible. For instance,
the demands of modern times and European languages for a v sound has
led the Japanese to represent it by the simple device of attaching the
common diacritical mark to the _w_ series. By a similar device they
might utilize the r series for _l_ and the _s_ series for _th_!
The Japanese characters, not difficult or complex in formation, are
modifications and simplifications of Chinese ideographs. There had
been in Japan no written language until after the introduction of
Chinese civilization in the sixth century A. D., when Chinese words
and characters were absorbed by the wholesale. Later, two systems
of contracting the complex and cumbersome Chinese ideographs were
invented, and are still used to some extent, indeed almost entirely by
the uneducated class.
The oldest and simplest modification is called _Kata-kana_
(side-letters), and consisted merely in taking _part_ of a Chinese
ideograph. But, as these characters were separate, and did not easily
run together, they have not been used much, “except in dictionaries,
books intended for the learned, or to spell foreign names.”
The next modification was a _contraction_ of Chinese characters
into a running, or grass, hand, and is therefore called _Hira-gana_
(plain-letters). These are all that the ignorant, especially the women,
can read.
But a Japanese who aspires to the smallest degree of education must
be familiar with many Chinese characters; and a pupil is, in fact,
instructed in that language and literature from the primary school up
through the university. Some books are written entirely in Chinese,
and, of course, can be read only by the best educated. But the
commonest method for newspapers and books which are not intended for a
limited circulation among the erudite only, is the use of a mixture of
Chinese and Japanese characters, of which the root forms are Chinese,
and the connectives, agglutinative particles, and grammatical endings
are Japanese; this is called _Kana-majiri_. For even more general
circulation the Chinese characters will be explained by Japanese
characters at the side; this is called _Kana-tsuki_.
This practice of mixing the characters of the two languages leads
to some variety in pronunciation. That is to say, a word written
with Chinese ideographs may be read with the Japonicized Chinese
pronunciation or with that of the pure Japanese word of which it is the
equivalent. For instance, the Chinese characters which make up the word
meaning “Japan” are usually pronounced _Nippon_, or _Nihon_, by the
Japanese, but may also be read, in pure Japanese, as _Hi-no-moto_. It
is practically the same as when we are allowed to read “etc.” either as
“_et cetera_” or as “and-so-forth” (or “_i. e._,” either as “_id est_”
or as “that is”).
In connection with this topic of reading, we may as well touch on the
elocutionary element in reading by Japanese. Their style of reading,
as amusing to us as ours is to them, may be called “sing-song”: they
rise and fall by monotones, and, going very rapidly without attention
to the beginning or the end of a sentence, catch breath now and then by
a peculiar sucking sound. They seem to make no attempt to read “with
expression,” as we call it; and, when they come to study English, are a
great trial for a while to the foreign teacher!
The peculiarities of Japanese syntax have been so attractively
discussed by Mr. Percival Lowell,[133] that any other writer on that
subject must at the outset acknowledge his indebtedness to that author.
It will be unnecessary in this chapter to go into details; it will
be sufficient to mention several of the points in which Japanese and
English syntax are different. For instance, a Japanese noun knows no
distinction (in form) of gender and number; a Japanese adjective or
adverb has no terminational comparison; a Japanese verb is proof to
the distinctions of number and person. In the Japanese language the
connectives which correspond to our prepositions are placed after
their nouns; the verbs always come last; our personal and possessive
pronouns are supplanted by honorific expressions; and the definite
article, the relative pronoun, and the pure temporal conjunction are
lacking. To illustrate the first point, it is enough to say that a
teacher once asked a young Japanese pupil, “Have you any brothers?” and
received this answer: “There are four men; but they are all women.”
In the question, the generic term _kyōdai_, which may be applied to
both sexes, although strictly it should be limited to the male sex,
was employed; in the reply, the generic term for “man” was used in the
first clause, and the proper specification was added in the second
clause. What he literally replied was this: “There are [=I have] four
[such] persons; but they are all women.” And, in Japanese, “man,”
whether singular, dual, or plural, whether single or married, may be
simply _hito_; and yet the idea of “men” may also be expressed by
doubling the word into _hito-bito_; while that of “women” is expressed
by suffixing domo or _tachi_ to _onna_ and making _onna-tachi_,
_onna-domo_.
With reference to language in general, a most patriotic Japanese once
proved, to his own satisfaction, “the wickedness of foreign nations,
not only in act but in speech,” and illustrated by the fact that the
Europeans, for instance, put the verb before the noun, and said, “see
the moon.” But the Japanese said “moon see,” because, “if the moon was
not there first, you could not see it afterwards”!
[Illustration: H. I. M. THE CROWN PRINCE]
Some of the peculiarities of Japanese sentences are illustrated
in the following: “The man whom I met yesterday went to Tōkyō by
the nine o’clock train this morning,” if translated literally from
Japanese, would read: “My yesterday-on met man-as-for, this morning’s
ninth-hour’s train-by Tōkyō-to went.”
In short, the Japanese language is an involved, complicated,
impersonal, neutral, obscure, but withal a pretty, musical, logical,
and polite tongue. Chamberlain says: “Japanese is probably—all things
considered—the most difficult language on the face of the earth.”
A Japanese book begins where an English book ends; it is read from top
to bottom in lines running from right to left; and the “foot-notes”
are at the top of the page, while the reader’s mark is inserted at
the bottom. Books are always arranged on a shelf or elsewhere, with
the first volume at the right hand, or in horizontal piles. The
Japanese call our style of writing “crab-writing,” because it “goes
backward” and across the page like a crawfish; and the individual just
quoted, claimed to be able to judge of the hearts of foreigners by
their writing, “which was crooked”! Inversion appears again in such
expressions as “east-north,” “west-south,” instead of “northeast,”
“southwest.” The address of a letter runs as follows: “America, United
States, Illinois State, Chicago City, Hyde Park District, Washington
Avenue, 0000 No., Smith, John, Mr.” In dates the order of year,
month, day, is followed. The word for roof (_yane_) means literally
“house-root,” because a Japanese house is constructed to fit the roof,
which is made first. But, as words are only the expression of thought,
this contrariety must be traced back to the thoughts and ideas of
Japanese, who, in so many other things, seem to us as “topsy-turvy” as
we seem to them.
Japanese literature of the old _régime_ was written partly in classical
Chinese, partly in pure Japanese, and comprised mostly mythology,
history, law, poetry, romance, drama, and Buddhist and Confucian
philosophy. As we cannot go into details on this subject, so tempting,
we shall confine ourselves to a few comments on Japanese poetry, which
is more original and less Chinese than prose. The Japanese are very
much addicted to writing poetry; like Silas Wegg, they drop off into
poetry on every possible occasion. They are, in one sense, “born”
poets, and, in another sense, made poets: _poeta Japonicus et nascitur
et fit_,—“The Japanese poet is both born and made.” There are certain
rigid forms, and only a few, for verse; and all fairly educated
Japanese know those forms. In school, moreover, they are carefully
taught the theory and the practice of versification.
Occasionally a Japanese poem will be rather long, and is then called
_naga-uta_, (long poem); but usually it is only a “tiny ode” of 31
syllables, arranged in 5 lines of respectively 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7
syllables. The following is a specimen of such an _uta_, or _tanka_,
from the famous “Hundred Poems”:—
Kokoro-ate ni
Orobaya oran
Hatsu-shimo no
Oki-madowaseru
Shiragiku no hana.
“If it were my wish
White chrysanthemum to cull:—
Puzzled by the frost
Of the early autumn time,
I perchance might pluck the flower.”[134]
There is also an abbreviated form called _hokku_, which contains only
the 17 syllables of the first 3 lines of the _tanka_. The following is
an example:—
Kare-eda ni
U no tomari keri
Aki no kure.
“On an autumn evening a crow perches on a withered branch.”
The quaintness and simplicity of Japanese thought and expression appear
very clearly in their poetry. It has been truly said that a Japanese
poem is a picture or even only the outline of a picture to be filled
in by the imagination. It may be merely an exclamation, without any
logical assertion, like the following, written a thousand years ago:—
Shira-kumo ni
Hane uchi-kawashi
Tobu kari no
Kazu sae miyuru
Aki no yo no tsuki.
“The moon on an autumn night, making visible the very number of wild
geese flying past with wings intercrossed in white clouds.”[135]
Japanese poetry has no rhyme, no parallelism, no alliteration, no
accent; it is almost all lyrical, and abounds in acrostics, anagrams,
and palindromes. Its chief subjects are taken from nature, and a poem
may be evoked by the simplest thing. Although Japanese poetry is
difficult to understand, it is interesting to study.
Japanese literature of the new _régime_ is too varied to enumerate, as
it covers, in both original and translated work, about all the fields
of modern thought, as well as the fields of the old _régime_, just
mentioned.
The development of newspapers is, perhaps, one of the most interesting
phases of the progress of New Japan. The year 1902 was the thirtieth
anniversary of the establishment of Japanese journalism. Before that
time small sheets, each like a modern “extra,” were issued to give
account of a murder or an important event, and were hawked about by
street-criers. But the “Nisshin Shinjishi,” started in 1872 by an
Englishman named Black, was the first attempt at a real newspaper.[136]
Now there are probably more than 1,000 papers, magazines, etc.,
published in the empire. The newspapers are issued daily, and cost from
25 to 50 _sen_ per month. Most of the metropolitan papers indulge in
wood-cuts, even cartoons.
At first the press laws were rigorous and the official censors
zealous; so that a Japanese editor must weigh carefully his utterances,
and even then was likely, in a time of great political excitement, to
bring upon his paper the ban of either temporary or total suspension.
Some of the papers tried to circumvent the laws by having an extra
edition issued under a different name, so that when one was suspended
the other might continue; and sometimes a paper had nominal editors,
or dummies, to suffer the punishment of imprisonment, while the real
editors, or criminals, remained at their desks! It might be added, in
this connection, that a public speaker also was liable to interruption
by the police if he was considered by them to be uttering sentiments
subversive of peace and order. Perfect freedom of speech and liberty
of the press do not now, and cannot yet, exist in Japan; but the
restrictions have been gradually withdrawn, and are now comparatively
small.
Newspapers in foreign languages, most of them in English, are issued
in Yokohama, Kōbe, Nagasaki, and Tōkyō. Of all these, the “Japan
Mail,” of Yokohama, is _facile princeps_, for it does not deal in
captious criticisms of the mistakes and sins of the Japanese, but is
keenly sympathetic with their desire for improvement and progress in
all lines. The “Japan Times,” of Tōkyō, is owned, managed, and edited
by Japanese, and is a valuable paper. Deserving also of mention are
the “Japan Daily Advertiser,” of Tōkyō, and the “Herald” and the
“Chronicle” of Kōbe.
It is rather a difficult task to select from the vernacular newspapers
the few most worthy of mention; but two from Ōsaka and six from Tōkyō
will suffice. The “Ōsaka Asahi Shimbun” is said to have the largest
circulation in the whole country; and the “Ōsaka Mainichi Shimbun” is
well known. In Tōkyō the most prominent journals are the “Jiji Shimpō,”
the “Nichi Nichi Shimbun,” the “Kokumin Shimbun,” the “Mainichi
Shimbun,” and the “Hōchi Shimbun.” Another Tokyo paper of very large
circulation is the “Yorozu Chōhō.” Almost all the newspapers of Japan
are morning papers; but, as they generally go to press early in the
evening of the preceding day, the “news” is not the latest. But very
important events will always be published in “extras” at any hour.[137]
There are also magazines galore of every kind. Some of them prove
rather short-lived; but most of them find a constituency, as each one
seems to have its own field. Probably the largest and most successful
magazine is named “Taiyō” (Sun), which issues monthly about 250
pages of Japanese matter, with 24 pages of English matter, and is
finely illustrated. Its leading articles by well-known writers cover
a great variety of topics. The “Kokumin-no-Tomo” (Nation’s Friend)
is another excellent magazine, famous for the admirable style of its
contributions. The “Rikugō Zasshi” (Cosmos) is philosophical and
religious. There are a great many Shintō, Buddhist, and Christian
weekly and monthly periodicals, which are published primarily for the
edification of the believers.
“Of making many books there is no end” in Japan. Composition is
apparently such an easy task, and publishing is so cheap, that every
person inspired with an idea is tempted to rush into print. And those
who are not so fortunate as to be rich in “original” ideas, have an
inexhaustible field in the translation of books from English and other
Occidental languages; indeed, a fair living may be made in that way.
Japanese taste in reading is illustrated by a table accompanying a
recent official report from the Imperial Library at Tōkyō. During a
period of 24 days covered by the report, the readers numbered 7,770,
and the books called for were classified as follows:—
Japanese and European
Chinese works. works.
Theology and religion 635 14
Philosophy and education 2,368 145
Literature and languages 8,038 998
History, biography, geography, travel 9,768 460
Law, politics, sociology, economy, statistics 6,577 304
Mathematics, natural philosophy, medicine 9,506 388
Engineering, military arts, industries 4,943 205
Miscellaneous books 4,840 530
The table will interest American readers as showing how large is the
number of European works included. It may be added that the Japanese
are decidedly a reading people. Even the “jinrikisha man,” waiting on
the street-corner for a customer, is frequently to be seen reading a
newspaper, magazine, or book.
The leading firm of booksellers in Japan recently asked a large number
of eminent Japanese men of letters, of science, of business, etc., to
name their favorite European or American books. The 73 answers received
have been published in a Japanese periodical, and are interesting
as displaying the literary tastes of Japanese readers of foreign
literature.
The most popular work is Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” which received
26 votes; next come Goethe’s “Faust,” the “Encyclopædia Britannica,”
and Hugo’s “Les Misérables,” in the order named. Among English men
of letters, Byron and Tennyson are the most popular. The names of
Stevenson, Hardy, Meredith, “Mark Twain,” and other recent writers
are rarely met with, while that of Kipling occurs not even once.
Among continental writers, Tolstoi, Schopenhauer, Heine, and Zola are
frequently mentioned; and Nietzsche’s “Zarathustra” is characterized
more than once as the greatest work in the last decade of the
nineteenth century.[138]
Some interesting information with reference to the demand for foreign
works in Japan has been made public in the “Japan Times” by a Japanese
importer of foreign books, and several items therefrom are of interest.
Works relating to architecture and building, chemistry, electricity
and magnetism, engineering and mechanics, manufactures and industrial
arts, metallurgy and mining, together with dictionaries and
encyclopædias, enjoy the largest demand. In chemistry, Remsen is one
of the popular authors; in metallurgy, Phillips’s work heads the list;
in electricity and magnetism, Thomson’s works find the largest number
of purchasers; and there is an active demand for Taggart’s “Cotton
Spinning.” The favorite dictionary is “Nuttall’s Standard Dictionary,”
of which the firm above named has already sold between 200,000 and
300,000 copies! Next comes “Webster’s Condensed Dictionary,” and even
“Webster’s Unabridged” sells at the rate of from 50 to 60 copies per
month. The “Students’ Standard Dictionary” also sells well.
Works on scientific subjects, especially new publications, are in
great demand, and show the eagerness of Japanese students to become
acquainted with the results of the latest investigations. In astronomy,
Newcomb and Holden’s popular treatise comes first. In pedagogics,
Herbart is the most popular author at present. In history, Fisher’s
“Universal History” heads the list; in general, works on modern history
are in greater demand than those of earlier periods. The greater demand
for language books, among which the Otto series stands first, may
have been due to the arrival of the date [1899] of mixed residence.
Mathematical books are only in fair request.
In medicine, German books have practically driven from the field
works in other languages. In politics and diplomacy, however, French
works are preferred; Walker’s “Political Economy,” Jevons’s “Money,”
and Bastiat’s “Science of Finance” have a large sale. In law, German
works are beginning to predominate. Taine’s “English Literature” heads
the list in works of that class, and is used as a text-book or work
of reference in several higher institutions of learning. Of books
on Japan, Griffis’s “Mikado’s Empire” maintains its ground as the
favorite. Works on antiquities and ethnology, elocution and oratory,
theology and religion, are said to be practically devoid of demand; but
philosophical works find good sale, with Herbert Spencer in the van.
Fifty years ago a foreign book had to be smuggled into Japan and
studied secretly; and many an earnest scholar paid with his life the
penalty for desiring a broad education through books. Fifty years ago,
Dutch books were about the only ones, except Chinese, that got into
the empire even by smuggling. Now information is eagerly sought from
all quarters of the globe; and books in many languages are readable by
Japanese.[139]
It is generally supposed that languages, like poets, are “born, not
made,” and that the changes in a language come, not artificially, but
naturally. Interesting, therefore, is the spectacle of an attempt
to effect a tremendous reform in a language, many centuries old, by
legislative enactment. The nation which is making this apparently
foolish and useless attempt is Japan, which has already often startled
the world by its marvellous reforms. And if its wonderful success in
legislative reforms in other lines are any criterion in this case, it
will succeed in effecting much-needed reform in its language. At the
sixteenth session of the Imperial Diet, a sum of money was appropriated
for a “linguistic commission.” This was appointed in the spring of
that year, has held several meetings, and has already arrived at some
decisions. It has been decided, for instance, that “a phonographic
script” is to be employed; but the much discussed question, whether
it shall be the common Japanese _kana_ (syllabic characters) or Roman
letters, is still on the docket. It is also proposed to reduce the
number of Chinese ideographs in common use. Moreover, the differences
between the written and the spoken language are to be abolished;
and the formal epistolary style is to be reformed. It has also been
decided that the whole system of Japanese etymology must be “carefully
revised.” Even the “problem of local dialects” is to be attacked, and
“a standard dialect fixed.” It is noticeable that the commission is not
afflicted with trepidity, but is proceeding with the utmost courage to
attack the most difficult problems. It is composed of some of the most
practical as well as the most scholarly men of the empire, and its work
will be watched with the deepest interest, both at home and abroad. And
the great changes already effected in the Japanese language since the
country was opened are some warrant for believing that this commission
will achieve a measure of success.[140]
And yet we understand that legislative enactment alone cannot
make these reforms perfectly effective; but we are gratified that
intelligent public opinion will support these reforms, not only
theoretically, but also practically. For the full fruition of such
reforms must be attained through the schools and the public press;
and the latter has already begun to work along these very lines. It
is, indeed, well for Japan that her leaders realize the necessity
of breaking loose from her thraldom to Chinese letters, literature,
thought, and ideals.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Rein’s “Japan”; “Advance Japan” (Morris), chap. xi.; Knapp’s “Feudal
and Modern Japan,” vol. ii. chaps. i.-iii.; and “Japan in History,
Folk-lore and Art” (Griffis), pp. 76-91, 104-107. For special study
of the language, Imbrie’s “English-Japanese Etymology,” Chamberlain’s
“Hand-book of Colloquial Japanese” and “Moji no Shirube”[141];
Aston’s “Grammar of the Japanese Written Language”[142]; and
Brinkley’s “Unabridged Japanese-English Dictionary.”[143] On the
literature, Aston’s “History of Japanese Literature,” entire; see
also Chamberlain’s “Japanese Epigrams” in Transactions Asiatic
Society of Japan, vol. xxx. part ii.