Important! I strongly recommend that you review the following courses :
– Japanese Honorary Suffixes,
– Polite Prefix お,
– 家族の単語 - Family Members
– 他人の家族 - The Family Of Others
Quoted for the first time in a text from the 10th century, the samurai has passed through the ages until it became a lasting part of the collective unconscious. We all have an image of it embellished by many media without knowing in detail the centuries of history around this word which has literally been adopted by all the languages of the world.
This course is not a History course, even though I will have to tell you a little about History so that you understand the origin of the word « samurai », its etymology, its meaning and its evolution over the centuries.
You will also discover many vocabulary words as well as a new honorary suffix and in which context to use it.
What is a samurai?
To begin with, what is a samurai? Distorted, fantasized, idealized, the image of the samurai has crossed the collective imagination both in the West and in Japan and the rest of Asia. Largely built from strong visuals that can be found abundantly in cinema, video games, manga, anime and many other media, a large number of clichés have been grafted onto the image of this Japanese warrior who has crossed the centuries.
Many people, for example, believe that the samurai was exclusively armed with a katana. A supposedly very strong weapon when not touted as miraculously indestructible. However, nothing is more wrong. A samurai was also armed with bow and arrows among other things. Moreover, the word « samurai » that you know since the beginning of season two is relatively recent, while this Japanese warrior, that we therefore wrongly call « samurai », appeared in the 10th century, which clearly is not new. Westerners and Easterners alike use the word « samurai » without really knowing the origin and meaning of the word, or how it has evolved over the centuries. The Japanese themselves, for many, have a totally biased image of the samurai.
In fact, the idealization of the samurai is not new either. Although the process was gradual, we know today that the crystallization of the modern image of the samurai took place at a specific point in time in History. This crystallization can almost be seen as the act of one man, Nitobe Inazō, whose face was visible on the 5,000-yen banknotes until 2004.
But before talking about him, let’s take a look at the etymology of some words that were a source of confusion in the course of translations that were not always very accurate.
The origin of the word « samurai »
A common mistake outside of Japan is to confuse the words 武士 . ブシ and 侍 . さむらい. 武士 . ブシ simply means « armed man » or « warrior ». The term first appeared in the Heian era (平安時代 . ヘイアンジダイ), around AD 900. He is an armored, often bow-wielding warrior tasked with protecting his clan. 侍 . さむらい is a much newer term that did not have the meaning people give to it today. It derives from the term 侍ふ . さぶらふ which means to serve alongside one’s master. 侍ひ . さぶらひ designates this servant. Even if this servant could have martial knowledge, the 侍ひ . さぶらひ did not always involve the idea of warriors but rather the idea of serving a powerful person.
It was towards the end of the 15th century, and the beginning of the Sengoku period (戦国時代 . センゴクジダイ), that the term merges with 武士 . ブシ. This period is indeed marked, as its name suggests, by a state of constant war, forcing the 侍ひ . さぶらひ to take up arms to protect their masters. But in the year 1600, Japan is considered to have united, and this is the start of the Edo period, a period of great peace that contrasts with the relentless wars of the previous period. The Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府 . とくがわバクフ) rules the country and sets up a hereditary class hierarchy. Besides the Emperor and his court, almost disconnected from the rest of the Japanese, we can distinguish the warrior class, that of the 武士 . ブシ, to that of peasants, artisans and traders. Within the warrior class, we find the shogun (将軍 . ショウグン), the head of the armies, who dominates the country de facto, and each territory is ruled by a 大名 . ダイミョウ. Under the orders of the daimyos, we find the 侍ひ . さぶらひ, supposed to serve alongside them. However, Japan is at peace and does not really need warriors anymore. The 侍ひ . さぶらひ therefore ceased to be associated with the warrior function to become mainly civil servants. They were in charge of collecting royalties on behalf of the 大名 . ダイミョウ, took care of transport and even acted as police. These officials began to be called 侍 . さむらい. The kanji remains the same, but changes in speaking habits have changed its pronunciation.
Heir to the warrior class, the 侍 . さむらい enjoys some privileges. In particular, he is authorized to carry the sword. But it is only a symbol, which he is far from using on a daily basis. A 侍 . さむらい was therefore first and foremost an aristocratic bureaucrat, heir to a class of warriors. As early as 1603, in the first Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, 侍ひ . さぶらひ is also translated by « um nobre », a nobleman, while 武士 . ブシ is translated by « um guerreiro », a warrior. Thus, this kanji went from the meaning of servants, to that of a warrior, before finally approaching the idea of an official... at least until the end of the Edo period. We have a more precise idea of the origins of the term 侍 . さむらい therefore to be distinguished from the term 武士 . ブシ. In Japanese, when talking about a warrior, it is indeed more accurate to use the word 武士 . ブシ than 侍 . さむらい.
Now it will be a question of understanding how we arrived at this modern vision of the Japanese warrior.
The idealization of the samurai in the West
His idealization is based on certain writings which have sought a posteriori to describe what a true warrior is. Let’s take a look first at the Kōyō Gungan (甲陽軍鑑 . コウヨウグンガン). It is a collection compiling the military exploits of the Takeda clan (武田氏 . たけだシ) in the 16th century. This collection would have been completed towards the beginning of the 17th century, therefore in times of peace, and mentions facts dating back more than 60 years. A term never seen before is mentioned : 武士の道 . ブシのドウ / 武士の道 . ブシのみち, literally « the way of the warrior ». This term in no way purports to define a hypothetical samurai code. Rather, it is a way of describing the deeds of the warriors of the Takeda clan, not without idealization, speaking of courage and the weakness of cowards. The term will be used here and there in some writings, but will not mark the spirits.
It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that the term 武士道 . ブシドウ, as we know it today, in the 葉隠 . はがくれ, a compilation of thoughts uttered by warrior Tsunetomo Yamamoto (山本 常朝). 葉隠 . はがくれ literally means « in the shade of the leaves » or « hidden in the foliage ». This text is intended to be a spiritual and practical guide for any self-respecting warrior. The 武士道 . ブシドウ takes on a new meaning: the warrior following the 武士道 . ブシドウ must consider himself as already dead for his master.
But the 葉隠 . はがくれ mostly reveals a biased point of view. Yamamoto wrote this text at the end of his life; he was nostalgic for a war era he himself had never known. He idealized ritual suicide which he saw as the ultimate form of honor. The practice had been refused to him after the death of his master. He deplores the behavior of the warriors of his time, contrasting it with those of yesteryear, whose morals were allegedly exceptional. Far from being based on historically reliable facts, the 葉隠 . はがくれ is above all a personal reflection, not without idealization, on the path that the warrior should supposedly follow. This text was ignored for a very long time, because it was kept within the Nabeshima clan (鍋島氏 . なべしまシ). But the reason I’m telling you about it is because more than 150 years after it was written, in the middle of the Meiji period (明治時代 . メイジジダイ), the text resurfaces and attracts the attention of the general public.
Japan indeed came out of its period of peace during the Boshin War (戊辰戦争 . ボシンセンソウ) opposing the imperial forces to those of the shogun and began to modernize in an authoritarian manner. Within the collective imagination, the warriors of yesteryear are idealized: they are warriors who fought exclusively with sabers and did not resort to firearms, unlike what was seen in the Boshin War or even during the Sengoku period. The 葉隠 . はがくれ helps to reinforce this popular image of the brave and valiant warrior, ready to die for his master.
By the year 1900, this idealization would take on a whole new dimension. It was the year in which the writing was published that finally crystallized the figure of the samurai. Its author is Nitobe Inazō (新渡戸 稲造), a Japanese diplomat who will acquire a certain fame. His book is called « Bushido : The Soul of Japan ». And if I give the title of this book in English, it is precisely because it was written... in English. And that is without doubt one of the reasons for the importance of this book.
Nitobe received an education in northern Japan in Sapporo, a place rather isolated from the rest of the country at that time. He quickly converted to Christianity and pursued studies in Europe and the United States. Becoming bilingual in English, he set down in California in 1899 and began writing « Bushido : The Soul of Japan ». For Nitobe, it was a way of reconnecting with his roots while bringing his culture to the world. He will seek to make his book as accessible as possible for Westerners and will not stop comparing Japanese warrior values to Christian values and to that of European chivalry. It takes over the term 武士道 . ブシドウ and crystallizes its definition. Supposedly, this is a code of honor followed by all samurais. This is how a book that idealizes the figure of the samurai begins to spread on the international scene. The term 武士道 . ブシドウ became popular when it was used very little in Japan, apart from the texts cited above. The samurai becomes a moral figure and the seppuku (切腹 . セップク), a true rite, finds itself idealized as the ultimate form of honor. The President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt himself, will be deeply marked by this book and the « fine samurai spirit ». The word samurai definitively completes in the West the meaning of « Japanese warrior ».
The idealization of the samurai in Japan and state propaganda
Ironically, the book was not translated into Japanese until a few years later and received critical acclaim. Among his detractors is Inoue Tetsujirō (井上 哲次郎), a nationalist philosopher who studied abroad. He claims that Christianity is totally incompatible with Japanese culture. If the 武士道 . ブシドウ according to Nitobe is rejected, the term is nevertheless far from being by Tetsujirō, other nationalist thinkers, and the Japanese more generally. To define the 武士道 . ブシドウ, it refers rather to one of the influences of Nitobe’s vision : the 葉隠 . はがくれ.
The 武士道 . ブシドウ is thus firmly anchored in Japanese thought and gradually mingled with imperialist thoughts. The 葉隠 . はがくれ itself is widely popularized. Jirō Matsunami (松波 治郎) praised it in 1938, and the philosopher Tetsurō Watsuji (和辻 哲郎) wrote an abridged version for use by Japanese soldiers. The 武士道 . ブシドウ and the 切腹 . セップク are becoming widely used by state propaganda. This is how the image of the honorable warrior, ready to die for his country, spreads much more intensely in Japan. The result will give rise to an absolute fanaticism of the soldiers towards the Emperor whom they defend. Strange as it may sound, Japanese soldiers in WWII were arguably the firsts to follow the fantasized path of the samurai.
The image of the samurai after the defeat of Japan
After the defeat of Japan, the 武士道 . ブシドウ and everything it embodies is losing popularity. But this is only temporary. Akira Kurosawa (黒澤 明), famous Japanese director, descendants of a samurai family who grew up in imperialist Japan, made a film in 1954. This epic film, lasting over three hours, chronicles the defense of a village by seven warriors. These are « the seven samurai », in Japanese 七人の侍 . シチニンのさむらい. It is a huge critical success even in the West. Akira Kurosawa probably wasn’t aware of it, but he had just presented the world with one of the most striking visuals of the samurai. The film is set during the Sengoku period. But it is not surprisingly the current pronunciation « samurai » that is used.
In Japan, Kurosawa is sometimes criticized for wanting to glorify the ancestors of his ancestors. The film never makes reference to any 武士道 . ブシドウ. But for Westerners who still consider Nitobe’s vision as the benchmark, it is difficult not to draw a parallel. Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫), fervent reader of Western literature and writer who considers himself a follower of 武士道 . ブシドウ, publish his own commentary on the 葉隠 . はがくれ in 1967.
Three years later, after a failed coup attempt to restore the Japanese army, he made an impression by committing suicide in public as a samurai would do with the so-called 武士道 . ブシドウ. These examples illustrate a new reality. Gradually, the chivalrous vision of the samurai as described by Nitobe, spreads to Japan. And in 1980, 80 years after its writing, the book peaked in popularity in Japan. In 1984, the portraits on Japanese banknotes were modified. Nitobe is chosen to appear on the 5,000 yens banknotes, proof of his newfound recognition.
The image of the samurai today
Even today, the vision of the samurai thus continues to be idealized. As said in the introduction, few Japanese really know what the image of the samurai and his famous code of honor, the 武士道 . ブシドウ is based on. But deep down, there is nothing strange about it. In virtually all human societies, past and present, the idealization and glorification of historical figures is commonplace. To draw a parallel with Western culture, the image of knights in Europe has received similar treatment. It just goes to show that the official history of a country is based both on historical veracity and a biased view of the past giving rise to fictitious traditions invented from scratch.
And we all need traditions to relate to.
Ultimately
We have therefore traced the history of the idealization of the Japanese warrior over time. A first text proposed a personal vision of the Japanese warrior. And finally, a Japanese expatriate synthesized fictitious traditions in an English book and thus completed the crystallization of the modern vision of the samurai in the West, a vision that will slowly end up influencing Japan. In all of history, the events closest to the 武士道 . ブシドウ are probably to be found on the side of the soldiers of the Second World War or in Yukio Mishima, who ironically were convinced to act like their ancestors.
Today, the West hardly distinguishes between the samurai and the bushi. Even in Japanese today, the term 侍 . さむらい got closer to 武士 . ブシ, to the point of sometimes even getting confused. That said, some Japanese creators, whether mangakas, animators, writers, screenwriters or video game developers, do try to be careful with the use of words 武士 . ブシ and 侍 . さむらい.
For example, in the game Ghost of Tsushima, the action takes place in the 13th century and the story tells of a samurai’s fight against Mongol forces trying to invade the country. In all versions in Western languages, the word « samurai » is conspicuously used. But in Japanese, care has been taken to use the words 武士 . ブシ, 勇士 . ユウシ or 戦士 . センシ. The word 侍 . さむらい only appears a few times. The word 強者 / 兵 . つわもの is also used.
I hope all of these explanations have cleared your image of the samurai in your eyes. Now that all of this has been demystified, we can analyze some vocabulary.
Let’s recap all the vocabulary we have seen above. You will find below all the vocabulary that we have seen above and some other additional words.
侍 . さむらい . The samurai (first appeared in the 10th century, its pronunciation has evolved to what we know today. First designating a servant ready to take up arms in defense of his master, he will appoint an official, heir to the warrior class under the Meiji era. This is the word that was popularized in the Western world.)
武士 . ブシ . The samurai, the warrior (often synonymous with « samurai »)
勇士 . ユウシ . The warrior (often synonymous with « samurai » and « bushi », the presence of the kanji 勇 adds the meaning of « bravery » / « courage ».)
戦士 . センシ . The warrior, the soldier (is not synonymous with « samurai ». It generally refers to any category of soldier.)
強者 / 兵 . つわもの . The warrior, the soldier (very old term, you are unlikely to come across it.)
大名 . ダイミョウ . The daimyo (Japanese noble title. This term refers to the main provincial governors from the military class who ruled Japan under the orders of the shogun from the time of Muromachi to that of Edo.)
将軍 . ショウグン . The shogun (a title often indicating the de facto ruler of Japan (military dictator), even though the Emperor remained the de jure ruler (somewhat the keeper of traditions). The last shogunate, that of the Tokugawa, ended with the Meiji Restoration.)
戦国時代 . センゴクジダイ . The period (or era) Sengoku (a period of social turbulence, political intrigue and near-permanent military conflict in Japan, which spanned from the mid-15th century to the end of the 16th century.)
明治時代 . メイジジダイ . The period (or era) Meiji (begun in 1868 with Emperor Mutsuhito, this era marked the end of Japan’s isolation and its gradual opening to the West under the leadership of Westerners, especially Americans. Japan then becomes an industrial power.)
徳川幕府 . とくがわバクフ . The Tokugawa Shogunate (dynasty of shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Their reign is better known as the Edo Era, named after the city they chose as their capital.)
戊辰戦争 . ボシンセンソウ . The Boshin War (Japanese Civil War which began in January 1868 during the reign of Emperor Meiji, a few months after the return of supreme power to the Emperor, and which continued until May 1869. It pitted the imperial troops, in favor of a policy of openness and continuous modernization, against the rebel samurai who refused to lose their privileges to the detriment of the rest of the population.)
武士道 . ブシドウ . The way of the warrior / samurai (first appeared at the beginning of the 18th century in the 葉隠 . はがくれ, its definition is crystallized two centuries later by Inazō Nitobe. It is often presented as the code of honor followed by all samurai.)
甲陽軍鑑 . コウヨウグンガン . The Kōyō Gungan (collection compiling the highly idealized military exploits of the Takeda clan in the 16th century. Presumably completed around the beginning of the 17th century, so in peacetime it mentions facts that are over 60 years old. The term 武士の道 . ブシのドウ / 武士の道 . ブシのみち a priori never seen before is mentioned there for the first time.)
葉隠 . はがくれ . The Hagakure (compilation of thoughts enunciated by the warrior Tsunetomo Yamamoto, it is in this book that the concept of spiritual guide for warriors will appear for the first time.)
切腹 . セップク . The seppuku (male ritual suicide by disembowelment, which appeared in Japan around the 12th century in the samurai class. Officially abandoned in 1868.)
刀 . かたな . The katana (a symbol of his social status, the samurai were the only ones allowed to wear a katana. During the Meiji era, it was forbidden for samurai to wear their famous katana. Contrary to popular belief and the romantic image conveyed by popular culture, the katana was not the only weapon the samurai wielded. They also used the bow and arrows.)
山本 常朝 . Tsunetomo Yamamoto (samurai of the Nabeshima clan, presumably born in the late 17th century or early 18th century, he wrote the 葉隠 . はがくれ.)
松波 治郎 . Jirō Matsunami (Japanese writer born July 9, 1900, died April 15, 1958.)
和辻 哲郎 . Tetsurō Watsuji (Japanese philosopher and thinker, born March 1, 1889 and died December 16, 1960.)
新渡戸 稲造 . Nitobe Inazō (born September 1, 1862, the third son of a prominent samurai family, he entered the agricultural school in Sapporo. Quickly converted to Christianity, he pursued studies in Europe and the United States. Bilingual English, he wrote in English a book that will help popularize the image of the samurai first in the West, then in Japan.)
黒澤 明 . Akira Kurosawa (born March 23, 1910 in Tokyo and died September 6, 1998 in the same city. Famous Japanese director, descendants of a samurai family who grew up in Imperial Japan. He has made more than thirty films in a fifty-seven-year film career.)
三島 由紀夫 . Yukio Mishima (born January 14, 1925 in Shinjuku, Tokyo, real name 平岡 公威. An avid reader of Western literature and a writer who considered himself a follower of the 武士道 . ブシドウ, he published his own commentary on the 葉隠 . はがくれ en 1967. He committed suicide by seppuku on November 25, 1970.)
Contextualization first
We are now going to discover a new honorary suffix. Only one this time, and one that was used a lot in the days of feudal Japan.
You already know the suffix さん. This is the very first Japanese honorary suffix that I gave you to learn. If さん is the somewhat boilerplate suffix, used to respectfully address a family member or a person in the street or a co-worker... there has been another honorary suffix, used as said higher in the days of feudal Japan, in the upper strata of Japanese society. This is the suffix 上. うえ.
Used exclusively among samurai and other Japanese aristocratic families, the suffix 上. うえ is not well understood. You will find it mainly in Japanese works where the action takes place in the past – at the time of feudal Japan therefore – and which are intended to be very respectful of historical veracity and the way the Japanese spoke at that time. Not always easy to do, of course, since the Japanese spoken in the 13th century, for example, had absolutely nothing to do with the Japanese spoken today. And for a work written today and whose action takes place in feudal Japan to be comprehensible to us who are present today, the screenwriter(s) must therefore make concessions. I again quote the game Ghost of Tsushima where, in the Japanese version, the protagonist Jin Sakai, from a family of samurai, uses the suffix 上. うえ to address family members or to tell someone else about them. Same in some anime like 平家物語 . ヘイケものがたり. I highly recommend it.
How it works
You already know how to talk to your own family members and how to address your own family member. We saw all of this earlier in this part four.
So, if you want to tell someone about your mom, dad, or any other family member, you’re going to say :
父 . ちち . My father
母 . はは . My mother
兄 . あに . My older brother
姉 . あね . My older sister
伯父 . おじ . My elder uncle
伯母 . おば . My elder aunt
叔父 . おじ . My younger uncle
叔母 . おば . My younger aunt
And when you go respectfully address a member of your family, you are going to say :
お父さん . おとうさん . Father, dad
お母さん . おかあさん . Mother, mom
お兄さん . おにいさん . Big brother
お姉さん . おねえさん . Big sister
伯父さん . おじさん . Uncle (elder)
伯母さん . おばさん . Aunt (elder)
叔父さん . おじさん . Uncle (younger)
叔母さん . おばさん . Aunt (younger)
Okay! All of this, you know how to do it, you know how it goes. Now imagine yourself in feudal Japan in a samurai family.
If you want to tell someone about your mom, dad, or any other family member, you’re going to say :
父上 . ちちうえ . My father
母上 . ははうえ . My mother
兄上 . あにうえ . My older brother
姉上 . あねうえ . My older sister
伯父上 . おじうえ . My elder uncle
伯母上 . おばうえ . My elder aunt
叔父上 . おじうえ . My younger uncle
叔母上 . おばうえ . My younger aunt
And when you go respectfully address a member of your family, you’re going to say... the same thing.
We can already note several differences. The first is that in the aristocracy of feudal Japan, whether you talk about your mother, father, or any other member of your family to a third party or respectfully address a member of your family, IN BOTH CASES, you must show your respect by using the honorary suffix 上. うえ. Also note that the honorary お for family members was not yet present at this time. Finally, the honorary suffix 上. うえ only use for family members older than you.
According to my research, there were no honorary prefixes or suffixes for family members younger than oneself. I don’t think it’s disrespectful, far from it. Younger family members sooner or later earned the honorary suffix their correspondent as they grew older with the younger ones. And so on.
Note : still in feudal Japan, I hope you understood correctly that outside of the Japanese aristocracy, commoners already used the suffix さん.
When people from the lower classes spoke to nobles
The nobles had of course in their service servants, maids, the lady-in-waiting... a whole staff generally from the working class. How did these people address or talk about their lords?
The answer is very simple since we have already seen honorary suffixes in the above-mentioned course at the very beginning. They obviously used the suffix 殿 . との/どの or the suffix 様 . さま after the name of their lord. If it was an aristocratic woman, they used the word 奥方 . おくがた + 様 . さま.
Note : although I indicated in the above course that honorary suffixes are ALWAYS used after the name of a person or profession, the suffix 殿 . との/どの sometimes can be used on its own. In principle, this is not correct. The only example I can give you is the first episode of the Dororo anime of 2019 where Lord Daigo’s wife addresses the latter by simply saying 殿 . との/どの.
Finally, although the suffix 殿 . との/どの is often thought of as reserved exclusively for men, it is not impossible that women were given this suffix.
Finally, when a servant had to mention to a noble one of his / her parents (a relative of the noble I mean), he / she would respectfully say :
お父上 . おちちうえ . Your father
お母上 . おははうえ . Your mother
お兄上 . おあにうえ . Your older brother
お姉上 . おあねうえ . Your older sister
伯父上 . おじうえ . Your elder uncle
伯母上 . おばうえ . Your elder aunt
叔父上 . おじうえ . Your younger uncle
叔母上 . おばうえ . Your younger aunt
You will notice that the servants added the honorary prefix お. The addition of this prefix reflected the difference in status between them and the nobles they served. Of course, it is not necessary to add this prefix for uncles and aunts since the kanji 伯 and 叔 are already pronounced お.
Small aside on the honorary suffix 氏
We have seen the honorary suffix 氏 . シ. If you have read the course correctly, you will have noticed that it is also used after clan names. Below are the examples seen in this course :
武田氏 . たけだシ . The Takeda clan
鍋島氏 . なべしまシ . The Nabeshima clan
Ultimately
Finally, the honorary suffix 上. うえ is it still used today? I do not know. If we start from the fact that the Japanese aristocracy is now abolished, then this honorary suffix has now disappeared from common language. That said, the Japanese imperial family still exists, but I have no idea whether they use the same honorary suffixes as all Japanese when it comes to talking to members of the same family.
The lexicon of servants
The word « samurai » is not the only one whose meaning has evolved over the centuries. Below, I give you some other words that you will find in the exercises. Take a good look at these words and how they are pronounced. Then we will analyze them at length :
下女 . しもおんな / ゲジョ . The servant, the maid
下女中 . しもジョチュウ . The servant, the maid (quite rare nowadays)
女中 . ジョチュウ . The servant, the maid (shortened version)
下男 . しもおとこ / ゲナン . The servant (male)
下僕 . ゲボク . The servant (male)
侍女 . ジジョ . The lady-in-waiting, the maid
下人 . ゲニン . The servant
下女下男 . ゲジョゲナン . The servants
女房 . ニョウボウ . The lady-in-waiting, the court lady
上の女房 . うえの ニョウボウ . The lady-in-waiting, the court lady (exclusively in the service of the Emperor)
Just so you know, 女房 . ニョウボウ is a term that appeared in the Heian era and refers to high-ranking court lady, from the middle and lower nobility. Chosen for their education and taste, they were called upon to serve either a noblewoman of higher rank or the Empress herself and her family. Some were even called to serve the Emperor and in this case they were called 上の女房 . うえのニョウボウ. Most of them were, moreover, writers and poets who had delivered imperishable works to humanity.
The historical context
If we pay attention to the words 下女 and 下男, they have a purely Japanese pronunciation since, once again, the Japanese did not wait to have the Sino-Japanese pronunciations of the kanji to create a word to denote the servants. In addition, you should know that the two pronunciations ended up cohabiting within the language. And this for a very simple reason.
When the kanji were imported by Buddhist monks from present-day Korea to Japan and the latter adapted Chinese pronunciations to the Japanese language, they taught the then Reformed Japanese language. Logically, the first people who had access to this education were the highest social classes. Notably the imperial family, the aristocracy and the more affluent samurai families. The higher social classes therefore began to use the Sino-Japanese pronunciations on a daily basis while the lower classes continued to use the purely Japanese pronunciations since they did not have access to this education. Higher social classes used words like 下男 . ゲナン, 下僕 . ゲボク or even 下人 . ゲニン, while the popular classes used the words 下女 . しもおんな i 下男 . しもおとこ. However, some people who managed to rise socially, especially the merchant class, consequently gained better education and better language proficiency.
Even despite this, the level of illiteracy remained particularly high in feudal Japan, which may explain how both pronunciations, both purely Japanese and Sino-Japanese, have survived to the present day. It was not until the Meiji Restoration when the imperial power forced the old class of samurai to become civil servants. And to become a civil servant meant to receive an education more literary than military. Learn to read, write and count among other things. Of course, most of the samurai who agreed to bow to the reformist will of the Emperor were able to join the Imperial Army and Navy.
Of course, I said above that the samurai class had access to education in the days of feudal Japan, but there is an important distinction to be made. Education at that time focused on the art of warfare, mastery of the katana and the bow among other things. They learned to read, write and count of course, but these disciplines were not considered the most important.
Back to the Meiji era. In 1868 in the second half of the 19th century, with Emperor Mutsuhito. This era marked the end of Japan’s isolation and its gradual opening to the West under the leadership of Westerners, especially Americans. It was during this period that Japan will discover a lot of things unique to the industrial age in the West such as trains, railroads, steamboats, books and other medical treatises. Manners change, clothing habits too. Under strong criticism from Westerners, Japanese people are conspicuously prohibited from wearing tattoos. Openness to the outside means development of tourism. Ryokans and all forms of businesses revolving around benefit from this new financial windfall. The societal upheaval is unprecedented in the history of the country.
After World War II, the United States forced Emperor Hirohito, on whose behalf Japan had fought the Allies, to relinquish all ties to the solar deity Amaterasu. Hirohito also helped legitimize the new Japanese constitution of 1947, abolishing the Japanese aristocracy, turning its back on the concept of imperial expansion and making the Emperor a mere symbolic figure.
How political changes influence a language
Let us dwell on this last point: the abolition of the Japanese aristocracy. With everything I have just said, the Japanese language has undergone many changes.
Since the opening to the West during the Meiji era, foreign and mainly English words began to be integrated, this phenomenon will find itself amplified by the period of American occupation. English words intermingle in discussions between Japanese, the arrival of musical genres like rock’n roll also brings its share of English words, etcetera.
To come back to the list of words that I presented to you above – the lexicon of servants –, changes have been made. First review the words below :
下女 . しもおんな / ゲジョ . The servant, the maid
下女中 . しもジョチュウ . The servant, the maid (quite rare nowadays)
下男 . しもおとこ / ゲナン . The servant (male)
下僕 . ゲボク . The servant (male)
下人 . ゲニン . The servant
下女下男 . ゲジョゲナン . The servants
女房 . ニョウボウ . The lady-in-waiting, the court lady
上の女房 . うえの ニョウボウ . The lady-in-waiting, the court lady (exclusively in the service of the Emperor)
The words above have gradually been used less and less. A completely logical phenomenon since this lexicon was mainly used by members of the now abolished Japanese aristocracy. However, while they are less present in everyday discussions, they are still widely used in works of fiction, novels, films, series and even video games.
Other words like 女中 . ジョチュウ and 侍女 . ジジョ survived much better. The former is still used today in ryokans and traditional restaurants to refer to the woman who takes care of the rooms and greeting guests, sometimes cooking and serving the meals. The second is relatively recent and refers to the maid in the service of a wealthy family.
Finally, we have two English words, メイド (from English « maid ») i バトラー (from English « butler »), very present in manga, anime, light novels and most Japanese video games, without forgetting the famous メイドカフェ (from English « maid café ») and other… special places. The list would be far too long so I’ll leave it to you to find out if you feel like it.
The challenge of the Japanese language today
In the end, do words borrowed from English tend to replace their equivalents in Kanji? In my opinion, the answer is clearly no.
Admittedly, Japan has been facing a serious problem for several years with the younger generations of Japanese : children, adolescents and young adults. And no longer so young since the problem is felt even among adults over thirty! The latter no longer master their kanji, the fault of the untimely use of digital tools (computers, tablets, smartphones). In the most serious cases, Japanese people are not even able to write their last and first names in kanji properly, simply because they can no longer remember how to write kanji. More and more everyday things are done via digital tools and the Japanese are no longer so forced to write kanji by hand. To this is added the progressive americanization of the country which then influences the language. Borrowings from the English language are much more numerous than they were in the previous century. You have been able to see this for yourself through all the vocabulary that I have given you to learn so far. English words are everywhere and they will not be missing in the third season, you can be sure.
And yet the words in kanji remain numerous and their use as well. This paradox can be explained by the fact that on digital tools, the Japanese have software with ever more efficient automatic correctors, running on ever more efficient AIs, capable of understanding the context of the sentence being typed on the numeric keypad and can thus suggest ready-made words, phrases and expressions. And with kanji of course! Thus, many Japanese manage to ‘‘use’’ kanji, they understand the meaning even if they do not necessarily remember the pronunciation and they are quite unable to remember the layout when it comes. write them by hand.
However, kanji will not disappear. These ideograms which entered the Japanese language centuries ago and which are now part of the DNA of an entire people cannot be replaced so easily.
At least I hope it won’t be...
Two last words before leaving
お手伝い . おてつだい . The servant ; the help
お手伝いさん . おてつだいさん . The servant ; the help
These two words are quite recent compared to other words seen above. The words 下女, 下女中, 下男, 下僕, 下人 and 下女下男 are not entirely synonymous. If you are careful, all of these words contain the kanji 下 which has a pretty negative connotation. At least, depending on the context, that’s how these words might be understood. It is no coincidence that the words for « servant / maid » contain this kanji and were used by nobles to address their subordinates. It was a way of graphically representing the lower status of those concerned.
The word お手伝いさん . おてつだいさん in the same sense is more respectful with the presence of the honorary prefix お and the honorary suffix さん.
The word お手伝いさん . おてつだいさん is used to respectfully address all those engaged in a trade of providing special care or assistance. Usually a housekeeper, cook or nurse at home.
Note that the word is not feminine. As you already know, there is no gender system in Japanese. However, in Japanese culture, all people doing this kind of work are almost exclusively women, the fruit of clichés that have been perpetuated for centuries until today.
Two words to designate the same thing
By the way, we have seen the word 切腹 . セップク which designates male ritual suicide by eventration. However, there is another word that means exactly the same thing: 腹切り . はらきり. They are the same kanji, but reversed with a purely Japanese pronunciation.
In fact, I come back to what I explained to you above with the words 下女 and 下男.
Suicide by eventration first appeared in the samurai class around the 12th century. Kanji were already present in the Japanese language and yet these two words in the end coexist. In fact, the Japanese never used the term 腹切り . はらきり or only when they meant the suicide of little people, with a somewhat contemptuous connotation. On the other hand, when the suicide was a person high up in the hierarchy of Japanese society, the Japanese then spoke of 切腹 . セップク, and always when the suicide was a samurai or belonged to the aristocratic caste.
Now that the Japanese aristocracy no longer exists, it seems that the word 切腹 . セップク is the most common.
A new honorary suffix
I give you a new honorary suffix: 御前. ゴゼン. It only comes after a young noblewoman’s name, and always after the name of a female samurai or a samurai wife. Not to be confused with 奥方 . おくがた which is NOT an honorary suffix but a word for an aristocratic woman who is married.
The honorary suffix 御前 . ゴゼン will later become the personal pronoun お前 . おまえ that you already know. Be careful, however. The suffix 御前 . ゴゼン is always written with the kanji 御 while お前 . おまえ is always written with the honorary prefix お. This helps to differentiate them in writing.
In the movie « Princess Mononoke » by Hayao Miyazaki, the character of Lady Eboshi in the original version is called エボシ御前 . エボシゴゼン.
Note : did you know? The title of the American series « The Handmaid’s Tale » in Japanese is 「侍女の物語」.
So now you see how history can teach us so much about the origin of a word, its etymology, meaning and how it has evolved over the centuries. How words are created, survive, adapt as their meanings change to correspond to societal transformations. How the writings and prejudices of some people can transform real, human characters into romantic figures.
I will probably repeat myself because I have said it time and time again. A language isn’t all about words, vocabulary, grammatical rules, conjugation, adverbs, adjectives and all the rest. A language is also a history, a nation, a people. And you have to understand the history of this nation, of this people to better understand the language.
Phew, this time I’m really done. Don’t hesitate to re-read this lesson and so forth, you know the song. I now give you your exercises, theme and version. No description needed. I leave you to work.
Introduction