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Makurakotoba

{{Short description|Epithets are used in association with certain words in Japanese waka poetry}}

{{Confusing|date=January 2024}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Nihongo3|{{lit|pillow words}}|枕詞|Makurakotoba}} are figures of speech used in Japanese {{transliteration|ja|waka}} poetry in association with certain words. The set phrase can be thought of as a "pillow" for the noun or verb it describes, although the actual etymology is not fully known. It can also describe associations and allusions to older poems (see {{transliteration|ja|honkadori}}).

Many have lost their original meaning but are still used. They are not to be confused with {{transliteration|ja|utamakura}} ("poem pillow"), which are a category of poetic words used to add greater mystery and depth to poems. {{transliteration|ja|Makurakotoba}} are present in the {{transliteration|ja|Kojiki}}, one of Japan's earliest chronicles.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PbQTeyDpbZUC&q=the+kojiki+and+english |title=The Holy Kojiki -- Including, the Yengishiki |date=2007-07-01 |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |isbn=978-1-59605-997-9 |language=en}}

History and usage

{{transliteration|ja|Makurakotoba}} are most familiar to modern readers in the {{transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}}, and when they are included in later poetry, it is to make allusions to poems in the {{transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}}. The exact origin of {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} remains contested to this day, though both the {{transliteration|ja|Kojiki}} and the {{transliteration|ja|Nihon Shoki}}, two of Japan's earliest chronicles, use it as a literary technique.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOvnhnN_VqsC&q=nihongi |title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A |date=2008-01-01 |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |isbn=978-1-60520-145-0 |language=en}}

In terms of usage, {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} are often used at the beginning of a poem. The {{transliteration|ja|jokotoba}} is a similar figure of speech used in {{transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}} poetry, used to introduce a poem. In fact, the 17th-century Buddhist priest and scholar Keichū wrote that "if one says {{transliteration|ja|jokotoba}}, one speaks of long {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}}" in his {{transliteration|ja|Man'yō-taishōki}}. Japanese scholar Shinobu Orikuchi also echoes this statement, claiming that {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} are {{transliteration|ja|jokotoba}} that have been compressed.Orikuchi Shinobu Complete Works (折口信夫全集) Volume 1.

While some {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} still have meanings that add to the meaning of the following word, many others have lost their meanings. As {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} became standardized and used as a way to follow Japanese poetic traditions, many were used only as decorative phrases in poems and not for their meanings. Many translators of {{transliteration|ja|waka}} poems face difficulty when translating {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}}, because although they make up the first line, many have no substantial meaning, and it is impossible to discard the whole first line of a {{transliteration|ja|waka}}.{{Cite book |last=McCullough |first=Helen Craig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8PjRkVxrrgC&q=kokin+wakash%C5%AB |title=Kokin WakashÅ«: The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry : with Tosa Nikki and Shinsen Waka |date=1985 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-1258-3 |language=en}} It is said{{weasel inline|date=April 2022}} that Sei Shōnagon often used this technique in The Pillow Book, and some earlier scholars{{who|date=April 2022}} thought that they were named after the book, but most agree now that the practice was fairly common at the time she wrote the Pillow Book.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Examples

There are many instances of {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} found in the {{transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}}.{{Cite book |last=Honda |first=Heihachirō |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHsLAQAAMAAJ |title=The Manyoshu: a New and Complete Translation |date=1967 |publisher=Hokuseido Press |language=en}} The very first poem demonstrates how this was used:

{{Verse translation|

{{transliteration|ja|ko mo yo mi-ko mochi

fukushi mo yo mi-bukushi mochi

kono oka ni na tsumasu ko

ie kikana na norasane

{{em|sora mitsu}} Yamato-no-kuni wa

oshinabete ware koso ore

shikinabete ware koso imase

ware koso wa norame

ie o mo na o mo}}

|

Girl with your basket, your pretty basket,

With your shovel, with your pretty shovel,

Gathering shoots on the hillside here,

I want to ask your home. Tell me your name!

The land of Yamato, {{em|seen by the gods on high}}―

It is all my realm in all of it I reign supreme.

I will tell you my home and my name.{{cite book|last=Levy|first=Ian Hideo|date=2014|title=Hitomaro and the Birth of Japanese Lyricism|series=Volume 734 of Princeton Legacy Library|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=23|isbn=9781400855834}}}}

In this poem, wikt:そらみつ (literally "sky-seen" or "sky-spreading") modifies the place name Yamato.

Some historical {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} have developed into the usual words for their meaning in modern Japanese, replacing the terms they originally alluded to. For example, {{nihongo3|bird of the garden|庭つ鳥|niwa tsu tori}} was in classical Japanese a {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} for {{nihongo3|chicken|鶏|kake}}. In modern Japanese, {{transliteration|ja|niwatori}} has displaced the latter word outright and become the everyday word for "chicken" (dropping the case marker {{transliteration|ja|tsu}} along the way).

Some more {{transliteration|ja|makurakotoba}} are listed below:{{Cite web |title=Makura kotoba {{!}} Waka Poetry |date=19 January 2016 |url=https://www.wakapoetry.net/commentary/makura-kotoba/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |language=en-GB}}

class="wikitable"
{{transliteration|ja|Makurakotoba}}

! Meaning

! Modifies

{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|青丹よし}}|aoni yoshi}}

| "good blue-black clay"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|奈良}}|Nara}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|茜さす}}|akane sasu}}

| "shining madder red"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|日}}|hi|"sun"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|昼}}|hiru|"daytime"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|君}}|kimi|"lord"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|秋山の}}|akiyama no}}

| "autumn mountain"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|したふ}}|shitau|"for leaves to turn red"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|色}}{{wt|ja|懐かしい|なつかし}}|iro natsukashi|"emotionally moving colors"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|葦が散る}}|ashi ga chiru}}

| "scattered reeds"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|難波}}|Naniwa}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|麻裳よし}}|asamo yoshi}}

| "good hemp"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|紀伊|紀}}|Ki}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|足引きの}}|ashi-hiki no}}

| uncertain, possibly "foot-dragging"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|山}}|yama|"mountain"}}, words beginning with {{transliteration|ja|yama}}, etc.
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|梓弓}}|azusa yumi}}

| "birchwood bow", erroneously "catalpa bow"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|引く}}|hiku|"to pull"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|元}}|moto|"base"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|矢}}|ya|"arrow"}}, etc.
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|鯨取り}}|isana tori}}

| "whale hunting"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|海}}|umi|"sea"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|灘}}|nada|"open sea"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|浜}}|hama|"beach"}}, etc.
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|石綱の}}|iwatsuna no}}

| "ivy-colored rocks"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|復ち返る}}|ochikaeru|"to get younger"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|石走る}}|iwa-bashiru}}

| "rock-running"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|滝}}|taki|"waterfall"}}, place name {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|近江}}|Ōmi}}, etc.
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|打ち靡く}}|uchinabiku}}

| "fluttering, streaming"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|春}}|haru|"spring"}}, place name {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|草香}}|Kusaka}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|打ち寄する}}|uchiyosuru}}

| "rush toward"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|駿河}}|Suruga}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|神風の}}|kamikaze no}}

| "divine wind"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|伊勢}}|Ise}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|五十鈴}}|Isuzu}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|草枕}}|kusamakura}}

| "grass pillow"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|旅}}|tabi|"journey"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|結ぶ}}|musubu|"to tie"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|露}}|tsuyu|"dew"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|言喧く}}|koto saeku}}

| "twittered words"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|韓}}|Kara|Korea}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|百済}}|Kudara|"Baekje"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|高麗剣}}|Koma tsurugi}}

| "Korean sword"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|和射見}}|Wazami}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|隠りくの}}|komoriku no}}

| "hidden land"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|初瀬}}|Hatsuse}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|そらみつ}}|sora mitsu}}

| uncertain, possibly "sky-seen" or "sky-spreading"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|大和}}|Yamato}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|玉藻よし}}|tamamo yoshi}}

| "good jeweled seaweed"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|讃岐}}|Sanuki}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|栲縄の}}|takunawa no}}

| "hemp rope"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|長し}}|nagashi|"long"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|千尋}}|chihiro|"extremely long"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|玉衣の}}|tamaginu no}}

| "jeweled clothes"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|騒騒}}|saisai|"rustling"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|魂極る}}|tama kiwaru}}

| "soul ending"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|命}}|inochi|"life"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|世}}|yo|"world"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|玉襷}}|tamadasuki}}

| "jeweled cord"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|畝傍}}|Unebi}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|懸く}}|kaku|"attach"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|雲}}|kumo|"clouds"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|千早振る}}|chihayaburu}}

| "powerful, mighty", erroneously "thousand-rock smashing"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|宇治}}|Uji}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|神}}|kami|"gods"}}, etc.
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|時つ風}}|toki tsu kaze}}

| "seasonal/timely wind"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|吹飯}}|Fukei}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|灯火の}}|tomoshibi no}}

| "lamplight"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|明石}}|Akashi}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|鶏が鳴く}}|tori ga naku}}

| "bird-calling"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|東}}|azuma|"eastland"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|妻籠もる}}|tsuma-gomoru}}

| "spouse-hiding"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|屋}}|ya|"home, roof"}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|矢}}|ya|"arrow"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|春霞}}|haru-gasumi}}

| "spring mist/haze"

| place name {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|春日}}|Kasuga}}, {{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|立つ}}|tatsu|"rise"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|日の本の}}|hi no moto no}}

| "source of the sun"

| place name {{nihongo krt

大和|Yamato}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|蜷の腸}}|mina no wata}}

| "marsh(-black) snail guts"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|か黒し}}|kaguroshi|"completely black"}}
{{nihongo krt{{wt|ja|百敷の}}|momoshiki no}}

| "many-stoned"

| {{nihongo krt

{{wt|ja|大宮}}|ōmiya|"great palace"}}

See also

Notes

=References=

{{reflist}}

=Additional sources=

{{refbegin|2}}

  • {{citation |chapter=Man’yōshū (Collection of Myriad Leaves, CA.785): Introduction |last=Duthie |first=Torquil |editor-last1=Shirane |editor-first1=Haruo |editor-first2=Sonja |editor-last2=Arntzen |title=Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2007 |pages=60–63}}
  • {{citation |title=Makura Kotoba |work=Waka Poetry |first=Thomas |last=McAuley |date=19 January 2016 |url=http://www.wakapoetry.net/commentary/makura-kotoba/ |access-date=26 October 2021}}
  • {{citation |title=The Man'yoshu |first=Kris |last=Larsson |url=http://mll.kenyon.edu/~japanese02/J28sp99/projects/larsson/1/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510120044/http://mll.kenyon.edu/~japanese02/J28sp99/projects/larsson/1/index.html |archive-date=10 May 2008 |access-date=5 October 2013}}
  • {{citation |last=Keene |first=Donald |title=Problems of Translating Decorative Language |journal=The Journal-Newsletter of the Association of Teachers of Japanese |volume=2 |issue=1/2 |date=May 1964 |pages=4–12 |doi=10.2307/488700 |jstor=488700}}
  • {{citation |last=Machacek |first=Gregory |title=The Occasional Contextual Appropriateness of Formulaic Diction in the Homeric Poems |journal=The American Journal of Philology |volume=115 |issue=3 |date=Autumn 1994 |pages=321–335 |doi=10.2307/295361 |jstor=295361}}{{refend}}

External links

  • [https://www.wakapoetry.net/commentary/makura-kotoba/ {{transliteration|ja|Makurakotoba}}] on wakapoetry.net

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Category:Japanese poetry

Category:Japanese literary terminology

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