Jindai moji
Encyclopedia
Jindai moji or Kamiyo moji (Japanese: “scripts of the age of the gods
”) are characters that was said to be scripts used in ancient Japan. Debates since Edo period
and Japanese academic society regard Jindai moji as forgeries . It is said that there is no academic value to study Jindai moji because the conclusion will point out they are forgeries if you research it with academic manner.
People who believe in the existence use the word Jindai moji in the meaning of "ancient characters". Since around mid-Edo period
some people have been saying ancient characters were found in remains
, Kofun
s and mountains such as Chikushi characters, Hokkaido characters. Hundreds kinds of Jindai moji were said to be found.
by Urabe no Kanekata (卜部兼方) in Shaku Nihongi
mentioning his father, Urabe no Kanefumi, assumed ancient people could not have performed oracle bone
style fortunetelling with turtles (亀卜, Kameura; turtle fortunetelling) as described in Nihon Shoki
without having characters. Though there was no Jindai moji characters introduced in Muromachi period
, some types of Jindai moji appeared in Edo period
and each of them named after the source article or the place the characters discovered. Debate over the existence erupted in Edo period. Japanese academic society denies the existence .
In 1930, there was the case that the religious group called Amatsukyō was charged in Lese-majesty by special higher police. Amatsukyō used documents that was partly written in Jindai moji (introduc Koshikoden into as the Scripture) and some famous scholars or educators in linguistics
had to give testimony in court to prove how the documents written in Jindai moji were forgeries.
changed his opinion from negative to positive. Some scholars denied the existence of Jindai moji such as Kaibara Ekken
, Dazai Shundai (太宰春台), Kamo no Mabuchi
, Motoori Norinaga
and Tō Teikan (藤貞幹). The most famous article that denied the existence of Jindai moji was Jindaiji ben (神代字弁) attached to Kana no motosue (仮字本末) by Ban Nobutomo (伴信友) which empirically denied the existence and concluded they were forgeries.
Summary of the general negative reasons were shown below.
Jindai moji is denied at Japanese academic societies because there are poor scientific evidence.
Recent archaeology
evolution strengthen the negative reasons as Jindai moji was not found at any place.
、Hirata Atsutane
、Takamasa Omiya(大国隆正) affirmed the existence of Jindai moji which Urabe no Kanekata (卜部兼方) mentioned in Shaku-Nihongi.
Summary of the general positive reasons were shown below.
The Age of the Gods
In Japanese mythology, the is the period preceding the accession of Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. - Origin :According to early mythology, the Japanese islands were created by Izanagi and Izanami, a god and a goddess who so admired their own creation that they descended from heaven to live on...
”) are characters that was said to be scripts used in ancient Japan. Debates since Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
and Japanese academic society regard Jindai moji as forgeries . It is said that there is no academic value to study Jindai moji because the conclusion will point out they are forgeries if you research it with academic manner.
People who believe in the existence use the word Jindai moji in the meaning of "ancient characters". Since around mid-Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
some people have been saying ancient characters were found in remains
Remains
Remains may refer to:* "Remains" , a 2009 song by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon* Remains , a 2007 compilation album by punk band Alkaline Trio...
, Kofun
Kofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
s and mountains such as Chikushi characters, Hokkaido characters. Hundreds kinds of Jindai moji were said to be found.
History
Jindai moji was firstly addressed in the end of Kamakura periodKamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
by Urabe no Kanekata (卜部兼方) in Shaku Nihongi
Shaku Nihongi
is an annotated text of the Nihon Shoki. Compiled by Urabe Kanekata between 1274 and 1301, it is 28 volumes in length.-Contents:The 28 volumes are divided into seven sections:*volume 1: a commentary introducing the material of the text...
mentioning his father, Urabe no Kanefumi, assumed ancient people could not have performed oracle bone
Oracle bone
Oracle bones are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the...
style fortunetelling with turtles (亀卜, Kameura; turtle fortunetelling) as described in Nihon Shoki
Nihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
without having characters. Though there was no Jindai moji characters introduced in Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
, some types of Jindai moji appeared in Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
and each of them named after the source article or the place the characters discovered. Debate over the existence erupted in Edo period. Japanese academic society denies the existence .
In 1930, there was the case that the religious group called Amatsukyō was charged in Lese-majesty by special higher police. Amatsukyō used documents that was partly written in Jindai moji (introduc Koshikoden into as the Scripture) and some famous scholars or educators in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
had to give testimony in court to prove how the documents written in Jindai moji were forgeries.
Criticism
In Edo period, the existence of Jindai moji was disputed. The existence was supported by scholars such as Tsurumine Shigenobu (鶴峯戊申). Hirata AtsutaneHirata Atsutane
was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the four great men of kokugaku studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was Ibukinoya.-Life and thought:...
changed his opinion from negative to positive. Some scholars denied the existence of Jindai moji such as Kaibara Ekken
Kaibara Ekken
or Ekiken, also known as Atsunobu was a Japanese Neo-Confucianist philosopher and botanist.Kaibara was born into a family of advisors to the daimyo of Fukuoka Domain in Chikuzen Province . He accompanied his father to Edo in 1648, and was sent in 1649 to Nagasaki to study Western science...
, Dazai Shundai (太宰春台), Kamo no Mabuchi
Kamo no Mabuchi
was a Japanese poet and philologist of the Edo period.Mabuchi conducted research into the spirit of ancient Japan through his studies of the Man'yōshū and other works of ancient literature...
, Motoori Norinaga
Motoori Norinaga
was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition.-Life:...
and Tō Teikan (藤貞幹). The most famous article that denied the existence of Jindai moji was Jindaiji ben (神代字弁) attached to Kana no motosue (仮字本末) by Ban Nobutomo (伴信友) which empirically denied the existence and concluded they were forgeries.
Summary of the general negative reasons were shown below.
- Ancient document
- Kogo ShūiKogo Shuiis a historical record of the Inbe clan. It was composed by Inbe no Hironari in 807.-Background:Historically, both the Inbe and Nakatomi clans had long performed religious services for the court. However, at the beginning of the Heian period, the Fujiwara clan, whom the Nakatomi clan are a branch...
written in 808 clearly denoted there had been no characters before KanjiKanjiKanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
arrived to Japan. It was about 500 years before Urabe no Kanekata mentioned Jindai moji. Also, there was no document mentioning unique characters before that.
- Kogo Shūi
- Number of syllables and writing method of KanaKanaKana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
mismatched with Old JapaneseOld Japaneseis the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language.This stage in the development of Japanese is still actively studied and debated, and key Old Japanese texts, such as the Man'yōshū, remain obscure in places.-Dating:...
- Shinkichi Hashimoto studied documents in Nara periodNara periodThe of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
written in Man'yōgana and found Jōdai Tokushu KanazukaiJodai Tokushu Kanazukaiis an archaic kanazukai used to write Japanese during the Nara period. Its primary feature is to distinguish between two groups of syllables as discussed below that later merged together.-Syllables:Following are the syllabic distinctions made in Old Japanese....
that proved there were 88 syllables. However, the syllables in most of Jindai mojis matched GojūonGojuonThe is a Japanese ordering of kana.It is named for the 5×10 grid in which the characters are displayed, but the grid is not completely filled, and, further, there is an extra character added outside the grid at the end: with 5 gaps and 1 extra character, the current number of distinct kana in a...
and IrohaIrohaThe is a Japanese poem, probably written in the Heian era . Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian Period. The first record of its existence...
which were formed in Heian periodHeian periodThe is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
. Also, Jindai moji is not following order of Old JapaneseOld Japaneseis the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language.This stage in the development of Japanese is still actively studied and debated, and key Old Japanese texts, such as the Man'yōshū, remain obscure in places.-Dating:...
writing method of KanaKanaKana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
.
- Shinkichi Hashimoto studied documents in Nara period
- No existence before Heian periodHeian periodThe is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
- There must have been no need to use Man'yōgana and to invent HiraganaHiraganais a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
and KatakanaKatakanais a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
if they had unique characters before.
Jindai moji is denied at Japanese academic societies because there are poor scientific evidence.
Recent archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evolution strengthen the negative reasons as Jindai moji was not found at any place.
Affirmation
While scholars generally have negative opinions, Some scholars such as 忌部正通、Arai HakusekiArai Hakuseki
was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
、Hirata Atsutane
Hirata Atsutane
was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the four great men of kokugaku studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was Ibukinoya.-Life and thought:...
、Takamasa Omiya(大国隆正) affirmed the existence of Jindai moji which Urabe no Kanekata (卜部兼方) mentioned in Shaku-Nihongi.
Summary of the general positive reasons were shown below.
- Ancient document
- Shaku NihongiShaku Nihongiis an annotated text of the Nihon Shoki. Compiled by Urabe Kanekata between 1274 and 1301, it is 28 volumes in length.-Contents:The 28 volumes are divided into seven sections:*volume 1: a commentary introducing the material of the text...
says "There are six or seven documents which was written in “characters of Hi ProvinceHi Provincewas an ancient province of Japan, in the area of Hizen and Higo provinces. The ambit of this ancient entity is within Nagasaki, Saga and Kumamoto prefectures. It was sometimes called .-References:...
"(肥人の字、Ahiru characters) in Ministry of the Treasury"
- Shaku Nihongi
- Discovery in recent years
- The Jindai Moji is found also in Ryukyu, or EzoEzois a Japanese name which historically referred to the lands to the north of Japan. It was used in various senses, sometimes meaning the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and sometimes meaning lands and waters further north in the Sea of Okhotsk, like Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands...
- The Jindai Moji is found also in Ryukyu, or Ezo
The usage of Jindai Moji
Representative uses are as follows.- To use for ShintoShintoor Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
.For example,ShintaiShintaiIn Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix go- is used, are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or kami reside...
of JinjaJinjaJinja may be:* Jinja, Uganda, a city in eastern Uganda close to the source of the Nile River* Jinja District, the district in Uganda named after the above city* Jinja, a Shinto shrine* Jinja , a template engine...
,AmuletAmuletAn amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
,OfudaOfudaOfuda, is a gofu or a talisman issued by a Shinto shrine. It may also be called shinpu . It is made by inscribing the name of a kami and the name of the Shinto shrine or of a representative of the kami on a strip of paper, wood, cloth, or metal.It is to be renewed yearly, typically before the end...
,and so on. - To dedicate for Jinja.(Jingū Library of Ise Grand Shrine has a lot of document)
- Jindai Moji was used as a kind of codeCodeA code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....
of NinjaNinjaA or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
. - To prevent forgeryForgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
of the moneyScrip of Edo period JapanDuring the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called ' for use within the domain. This paper currency supplemented the coinage of the Tokugawa shogunate. Most scrip carried a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip also circulated. In addition, some scrip was marked...
Famous Jindai Moji
- Ahiru characters（阿比留文字、肥人書）
- Ahiru kusa characters（阿比留草文字、薩人書）
- Tsukushi characters（筑紫文字）
- Katakamuna characters（カタカムナ文字、八鏡化美津文字）
- Hokkaido characters（北海道異体文字、アイヌ文字）
- Ryukyu characters（琉球古字）
- Toyokuni characters（豊国文字、神宮文字）
- Tsushima characters （対馬文字）
Notable references
- 『上古文字論批判』 新村 出 (1898) Shinmura IzuruShinmura Izuruwas a Japanese linguist and essayist. His is best known for his many contributions to Japanese linguistics and lexicography. In honor of him, Shinmura Izuru Prize is annually awarded to contributions to Linguistics.- Background :...
Criticism on ancient character theories - 『國語学概論』 橋本進吉http://www.let.osaka-u.ac.jp/~okajima/hasi/hasi8.htm#kigen (1925) Shinkichi Hashimoto Introduction of national language study
- 『藝林』(藝林會発行)第4巻(1958) ("Geirin" vol.4 Geirinkan)
- 『日本古代文字考』 落合直澄(1888) Naozumi Ochiai Thought on Japanese ancient characters
External links
- Kamiyo Moji (ancient origin theory) Jindai moji fonts Gallery of jindai moji Another such gallery