Chapter 2 of 18 · 3993 words · ~20 min read

Part 2

Other pronouns are _shi_, _onore_, _mi_, self, _onore_ and _mi_, often I _myself_, or I, _ono-ono_, every, _mina_, all. Other pronominal forms, chiefly indefinite, are explained in the glossary.

Only the principal particles need here be noticed. Others are explained in the glossary. The following are of special importance, and are found mainly in connexion with nouns as postpositions. They are _wa_ (_ha_), _ga_, _no_, _ni_, _he_ (_e_, _ye_) and _wo_.

_ha_ (_wa_, _ba_) isolates and emphasizes the noun rather as apart from the verb--_chichi haha ha, uwe-samukaramu_, father and mother, _they_ will be hungry and cold; _kono toki ha, ika ni shitsutsuka_, this time _then_ while doing what. This emphatic force explains its occurrence after verbs and sentences or clauses--_ihazu-ba_, not say indeed = should we not say …; _Yamato ni ha_, it is in Yamato that …; _yuki furu yo ha_, a night indeed on which snow falls: _a wo koso se to ha_, it is I indeed whom (you should call) husband.

_ga_ is a possessive particle, _wa-ga (warega) ohokimi_, my great lord; _Wazami ga hara_, plain of Wazami. It may be used before verbs, _tori ga naku_, the bird cries; or after, _nabiku ga gotoku_, like bending before. Sometimes it resembles _ha_ _kimi ga agari-ki-masamu_, my lord, he will embark.

_tsu_ is possessive, _amatsu kami_, gods of heaven, _kuni tsu kami_, gods of the land. It seems to follow names of things only.

_no_ (originally _nu_, be?) is used as a genitive particle, like ‘of’. It is more general than _ga_, which is special; _no_ sometimes almost equals _ha_ (_wa_). _Mi-torashi no adzusa no yumi no hazu no oto_, sound of the notch of the bow of whitewood of his royal grasp; _Uchi no ohonu_, the great moor of _Uchi_. This particle may connect other words than nouns, _ari no kotogoto_, all one has, or, there is (_ari_); _miru no goto_, like _miru_ (seaweed); _ame tsuchi no wakareshi toki_, heaven--earth’s separated time (time of separation of heaven and earth). This connexion by _no_ of parts of a sentence--often wide apart--other than nouns must be carefully kept in mind. Thus read _hito no [mono wo omofu]_, a man’s thinking of things (regretfully): not _[hito no mono] wo omofu_, to think of a man-thing (or man’s things, &c.)[5].

_ni_ (perhaps a stem of _nu_, be) = in, to, at, for, with, by, on, near; _Yamato ni_, in Yamato; _toki ni_, at time = when; _miya ni amori_, descend from heaven to the palace; _te ni tori_, take in the hand; _ashita ni_, on the morrow; _asagari ni tatasu_, start for morning-hunt; _tokoro ni yuku_, go to a place; also adverbially, _yasukaranaku ni_, in a not-restful way; _aya ni_, strangely; _kogi-yuku ni_, in or while rowing on; _tokoshihe ni_, everlastingly. _Ni_ sometimes transfers the action of a causative or transitive verb to the noun it follows.

_wo_, after a noun indicates it as object of action or, sometimes, as subject of state or condition; _unasaka wo sugite_, passing beyond bounds of ocean; _miyako wo tohomi_, _miyako_ (as to), be distant (Aston); _mikado wo sadame_, settle on a site for a palace; _kuni wo sadame_, terram debellare. In this sense _wo_ is often omitted, _oi mo sezu_, old-age even not-doing = never growing old. It may follow a verb as an emphatic particle, or even a noun as such, but in these cases there is probably an ellipsis of _suru_ (do) _omofu_, (think) or the like, or again it may follow a particle, _to bakari_, &c. (Aston). Where it appears to have an adversative force there is probably ellipsis of _omoheba_, _omohite_, &c. _Wo ba_ = _wo ha_, and singles out the noun as specially emphasized. _Wo_ sometimes almost equals _ni_.

_he_ (lit. quarter, direction, locality, tract in space or time) = towards (_ni_ = to). Rare in the texts in this volume, _yori_ (lit. approach, or be close to, or stop at), shortened often to _yo_, _yu_, means by extension ‘from’--in later language also ‘than’.

_ya_, _yo_, is a vocative or exclamative interjection.

_to_, that, is a connective particle = and, also after a phrase marks it as quotative; _toko miya to sadame_, establish as an everlasting shrine (or palace), _sugimu to omoheba_, thinking (intending) that it should outlast. _Hikohoshi ha Tanabata tsu me to_, Hikohoshi and the Weaving Woman; _se to ha norame_ (see under _ha_); _kamusabu to_, in a divinely awful manner; _hito wo yahase to … kuni wo osame to … makitamaheba_, as he was charged to subdue the people and pacify the land (people subdue that … land pacify that--as he was charged with). The different uses of _to_ can always be made out by taking it as _that_.

Other particles are:--

_ya_, slight dubitative and interrogative, also exclamative. With negative it gives an affirmative sense.

_ka_, stronger than _ya_.

_ya_ _ka_ with _ha_ (_yaha_ _kaha_) imply a certainty.

_ka mo_, final interjectional expression = is it not even so? i.e. emphatically or admiringly, it is so!

_kana_ (_gana_, _mo gana_), final interjection of emotion suited to what precedes.

_mo_, also, too, even; _mo … mo_, both … and.

_so_ (_zo_) perhaps, _sore_, this! emphasizes the preceding word.

_koso_ (_ko[re], so[re]_) this-that (Aston), more emphatic than _so_ (_zo_), commonly precedes the verb, expressed or understood. There is a quasi-conjugation with _koso_--

_koso koge_;

_koso kogere_;

_koso kogishika_,--_kogitare_,--_kogitarishika_,--_koginure_,-- _kogitsure_,--_kogame_,--_koginame_,--_kogurame,_ &c.

_a wo koso se to ha norame_--in prose, _a wo se to ha koso norame_, _do_ call me husband!

_namu_ (_nan_) is very like _koso_, but less emphatic.

_goto_ = _gotoku_, like also sometimes _kotogotoku_, generally, all; _goto ni_ (after the noun), every, each.

_dani_, even, at all events; _sura_, even (unexpected); _sahe_, even (additional).

_shi_, _nomi_, _bakari_, just, only, precisely--in ascending degree of certainty. All of these, especially _shi_, are often not more than slightly emphatic expletives.

_made_, up to; _gari_, direction of; _kara_, from; _kara_ (_gara_) = _nagara_ (_naru karada_ or _naru kara_), just as (applied to preceding noun); after verbs, whilst, although.

_kaku_, thus, _to mo kaku mo_, that way and this way, anyhow, somehow.

_kashi_, be it thus, so be it, may it be so! (Aston).

_mashi_ (_mase_, &c.), _mahoshiki_, verbal terminations expressing desire or contingency.

_meru_, verbal termination (derived from fut. in _mu_, _mu_ or _mi aru_?), indicates some degree of likelihood.

_ramu_, for _aramu_, _hana chiruramu_ = _hana chiru aramu_ = _hana chiramu_, the flowers will, wilt.

_rashi_ = _ramu_, nearly; _natsu kitarurashi_, seemeth the summer to have come (Aston). There is an adjectival ending, _rashiki_, of similar import.

Of the syntax of Old Japanese little need be said. It is simple owing to the absence of almost the whole apparatus of Western grammar. The order of words has already been mentioned, and in prose is rigid--in poetry inversions are common. In large measure it is the opposite of English order, and this fact, together with the relegation of the verb to the end of the sentence, and the absence of expressed subject, constitutes the initial and principal difficulty of Japanese, apart from that of the vocabulary, the elements of which have usually a connotation different from that of their nearest representatives in any Western language. The absence of relatives and paucity of pronouns are additional difficulties, and the reader has to grow familiar by practice with the modes in which the more definite thought of the West is represented in the vaguer and looser language of Old Japan, where the visual aids of later Sinico-Japanese are not present. Nevertheless if the real meanings of the words be attained, the logical subject kept in mind as gathered from the context, the relations of words and phrases in apposition rather than in accidental or strict syntactical connexion be observed, the influence of the particles in edifying the sentence into a construction understood, and some facility gained in keeping the mind in suspense until the principal verb--read with the relations to it of the subordinate verbs--be reached, there is no great difficulty, apart from the inevitable one of difference of circumstance and allusion, in arriving at a comprehension of the texts. And these will be found, especially the Lays, to have preserved a peculiar beauty and charm, if not of the highest order, of their own, which no version can hope to convey.

The opening of the first lay sufficiently exemplifies the reversed order of the Japanese sentence:--

Ko mo yo mi ko mochi fukushi mo yo

fukushi mochi kono woka ni na tsumasu ko--

Read almost directly backwards, we get:--

_Ko_ (maid) _tsumasu_ ([who] plucks) _na_ (salads) _ni_ (on) _kono woka_ (this knoll), _mochi_ (holding) _fukushi_ (truel), _yo mo_ (oh the) _fukushi_ (truel), _mochi_ (holding) _mi ko_ (fair basket), _mo yo_ (oh the) _ko_ (basket).

Maid who pluckest salads on this knoll holding a truel--oh the truel!--holding a fair basket--oh the basket!… _a wo se to norame_, me for thy husband name!

But even rendered almost in Japanese order, the lay is quite intelligible, and perhaps better to be appreciated than in any imitative version:--

In dealing with the less easy texts of the Manyôshiu the following considerations must be kept in mind:--

The honour-forms (see below) indicate a (logical) second or third person, or something connected with such a person, directly or indirectly.

The particle _wo_ may often be rendered as if _ni_, or as an exclamation, or as if followed by some form of _omofu_. I do not regard it as in itself a quasi-conjunction. The various functions of _no_ must be kept in mind.

The frequency of inversion in order of words must not be forgotten. The _makura kotoba_ may be ruled out, as well as prefaces, exordiums, introductions, and the like--thus the kernel of meaning may be got at, and the decoration then added.

It must be recollected that of the elements of the vocabulary very few can be exactly rendered by a single English word, their connotation for the most part is more or less different from that of any possible English equivalent. In the Glossary an exhaustive definition of the meaning is not attempted, enough only is given to suggest the translation of the sentence in which the word appears. Hence since meanings came to change in the course of time, those given being only what are required for these texts sometimes differ from the meanings found in the foreign dictionaries, all of which are very imperfect--very seldom, however, from those offered by that excellent native dictionary the _Kotoba no Izumi_.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE MANYÔSHIU

I found the following remarks upon the somewhat lengthy, and--to me--not always very clear, observations of Masazumi concerning the language of the Manyôshiu contained in his _sôron_ or General Introduction.

PHONETIC CONTRACTIONS. These are not uncommon, and are principally vocalic. Such are _wagimo_ (my sister) for _waga imo_; _ariso_ (wild shore) for _ara iso_; _kafuchi_ (within the rivers) for _kaha uchi_; _amori_ (descent from heaven) for _ame ori_; _kurenawi_ (a shade of red) _kure no awi_, lit. an indigo (i.e. a dye) brought from China; _konure_ (tree-top) _ko no ure_; _ke_ (come, pass) _ki he_--_ke nagaku kohishi_, long time loved; _ke no kono goro ha_, a time lately gone by; _arumi_ (wild sea) _ara umi_; _futsuma_ (stout horse) _futo uma_. The above are substantival, others are adjectival or verbal, as:--

_naru_ (be in, at, of), _ni aru_, as in _Yamato naru_, _ihe naru_, &c.

_nari_--_ni ari_, as _oto su nari_ = _oto suru de ari_.

_naru_--_no aru_, as _hana naru toki_ = _hana no aru toki_.

_sareba_--_shi areba_, as _haru sareba_.

_chifu_--_to ifu_ (they call, ’tis called).

_ku_, _ki-yu_; _ke_, _ki-he_; _mesage_, _meshiage_; _kakage_, _kaki age_; _motage_, _mote age_, &c.

PHONETIC EXTENSIONS. Such are:--

_nagaru_--_nagarafu_, _nagarahi_, flow, flow in quantity, &c.

_yobu_--_yobafu_, _yobahi_, call, invite, pay court to (girl).

_nageku_--_nagekafu_, _nagekahi_, draw deep breath, lament, &c.

So causative forms exist used as honour-forms, _nagekasu_ for _nageku_, and a termination in _aku_ as _nagekaku_, _kakemaku_, _ihaku_, for _nageku_, _kakemu_, _ifu_ used substantively. _Ihafu_, bless, is perhaps an extension of _ifu_, speak, say.

Of _yobahi_ (_yobu_ extended) a humorous explanation is sometimes given, _yo_ (by night) _hahi_ (creep), visit stealthily by night. Etymology of this kind is extremely easy in Japanese.

AUXILIARY PARTICLES (_tasuke kotoba_):--

Such are _shi_ (emphatic), _kami-yo shi omohoyu_, _ihe shi shinubayu_.

_wo_ (emphatic), as in _yatsu yo ni wo_, _tanushiku wo arana(mu)_, but in phrases like _mitsutsu yukamu wo_, _wo_ = _mono wo_.

_ya_, _ame shiru ya_, _ama tobu ya_, _kashikoki ya_, _Afumi no ya_, _naku ya uguhisu_, &c.; but in _kimi ya komu_, _ya_ is dubitative--interrogative. In _kakusafubeshi ya_, _sugi nikerazu ya_, _ya_ = _ya ha_ = Lat. _num_.

_nane_, term of address and endearment, must not be confused with _nane_ of _imonane_, _senane_, which are terms of relationship.

_i_ suffixed as in _sekimori-i_, _Unahi-wotoki-i_ may be regarded as emphatic, or isolative (like _ha_, according to Chamberlain), or as etymologically = the Korean postposition _i_ (Aston).

_we_, a terminal interjection as _are ha sabushi we_.

_ro ka mo_, _tafutoki ro ka mo_, here _ro ka mo_ = is it not so even! _ro_, according to Mr. Chamberlain, is a post-position equivalent to _te_ or _nite_.

_mo_, _mo yo_, _mo ya_, _shi mo_, _ya shi_, _yo shi_, are all interjectional expressions, not mere fill-gaps, variously emphasizing or calling attention to the meaning of the words, &c., they are attached to.

HONOUR-WORDS. Such are _ohomi_ (exalted, grand), as _ohomi kami_, _ohomi uta_, _ohomi ma_; _mi_, as _mikokoro_, _miko_, _mi-hakashi_, _mi-keshi_, _mi-nemasu_ (His godship the God, His Majesty’s song, His Majesty’s horse, my lord’s meaning, my lord the Son (Prince), girt by my lord, my lord’s garments, my lord sleeps).

Other honour- (or praise-) words are:--

_oho_ (great), _futo_ (stout), _toyo_ (rich), _o_ (for _oho_) as in _obito_, _omi_ (court officials); _mi_, _ma_, _mo_, _sa_, _oho_ also denote excellence (εὐ), _wo_ may be antithetic to _oho_, or it may be a term of intimacy, a sort of diminutive of endearment.

The following honour-verbs should be here noted. _Tamafu_, _tamaheru_, _tamahari_, _oboshimesu_, _kikoshimesu_, _shiroshimesu_, _takashiru_, _owasu_, _owashimasu_, _masu_, _mimakareru_; verbs in causative form, _-asu_, _-saseru_, _-seshimu_; verbs in quasi-passive or potential, _-uru_, _-ruru_, _raruru_.

Other laudatory expressions are _tama_ (precious), _uma_ (delicious, fine), _midzu_ (brilliant, fine), _umashi_ (_uma_), _kuhashi_ (lovely). A curious gradation of honour-forms is seen in the following: _mi yomimaseru ohomi uta_ (where the lay is attributed to a mikado), _ohomi uta_, _mi uta_, _yomitamaheru uta_, _yomeru uta_ (when the author is _miko_, _ason_, or official of lower rank).

Among terms of affection may be noted:--

_waga_ (mine) or _wago ohokimi_, _waga kimi_, _waga kuni_, _waga se_, _wagimo_, _a oto_, _ago_, _na_, _se na_, _na se nane_, _nanimo_, _imo nane_ (my great lord, my lord, our land, my husband, my younger sister (wife or mistress), my brother, my child, thou, thou elder brother, elder brother thou, thou elder sister, thou younger sister, &c.).

Words of exclamation, hope, entreaty, wonder, &c.:--

_Ana_, _ana ni_ (_ni_ is not a particle), _ya_ (= _yo!_), _ka_ (= ?), _kana_, _gana_, _mo gana_, _kamo_, _mo ga mo_, _moga_, _ga mo na_, _ya mo_, _shika_, _sane_, _ne_, _kose_, _kosene_, _na-so na-yume_, _ari kosenu ka mo_ (_ari-koso-ne_). These are explained in the notes to the text or in the glossary--their meaning is obvious for the most part.

Repetitive or cumulative expressions (_kasane kotoba_) are common in the Manyôshiu and contain, mostly, a quibble in meaning or rhyme in sound. Such are _chichi no mi no chichi_ (father = _chichi_ = maiden-hair tree--the quibble is on the two _chichi_, and the double meaning of _mi_, fruit and person). _Hahasoba no haha_, mother (_haha_), as of the oak (_hahaso_ = Quercus dentata), &c. _Shiga no karasaki sakiku araba_ (here the rhyme is _Karasaki_ (Cape Kara in Shiga) and _sakiku araba_ (if flourish)). Such expressions are explained in the notes or glossary.

Other repetitive expressions are simply emphatic or poetic: _Tsudohi tsudohi imashite_, they (the gods) assembling, _kamu hafuri hafuri_, burying--burying him (a mikado or miko) as a god; _ake no sohobune sohobune_, a red red-stained red-stained-ship, &c.

WORDS RELATING TO THE SOVRAN. _Sumeramikoto_ (Supreme Majesty) is found only in the _dai_ (arguments), not in the _uta_. The commonest term in the latter is _Ohokimi_ (great Lord, grand seigneur), but this expression is not confined to the Sovran. Other terms are _sumeragi_ (_sumerogi_, _suberogi_) and _sumerami_; _-gi_ = prince, _mi_ = princess (conf. Izanagi and Izanami, Inviting Male and Inviting Female (K.)); but see Aston, _Shintô_. What _sume_ means is uncertain, it may be connected with _sube_ (_shiru_), universally know, i.e. govern the land. Other expressions are _kamuro kamu subera_ or _sumera_ or _sumero_, _kamu_ adding the notion of ‘divine’. _Ohokimi_, ‘chief’, I take to be the oldest; the other forms smack of China. As to ‘ro’, see above remarks on the particle ‘ro’. In the Kogi etymology _ro_ = the _re o_ of _are oya_ in _kamu are oya_ = god-born ancestry.

_Mikado_ means grand gate or palace, and by metonymy came to signify its lord, just as at the present day _miya_ (grand mansion) denotes an imperial prince. _Mikado_ also means ‘sovran dominion’ as in _toho-mikado_, distant palace, that is, wide dominion, sometimes applied specially to the Tsukushi government, to Korea, or even to China, as on the confines of, but still within, the authority of the _Ohokimi_ of Japan. The following phrases may be here noticed--_mikoto kashikomi_, dread majesty, _Ohokimi no make_ (or _hiki_) _no manimani_, in obeisance to the _Ohokimi’s_ will or appointment.

_Mi_ has several meanings which must be distinguished. They are (1) an honour-prefix, grand, great; (2) prefix of praise, εὐ = _ma_, true, real; (3) self; (4) body, person; (5) a stem of _miru_, see (6) root of _midzu_; (7) fruit of tree or herb; (8) the numeral three; (9) as a termination _se wo hayami_, swift the stream; _hiromi_, broad-like; _fukami_, deep.

Of the intensive prefixes _i_, _ka_, and _ta_, no explanation has yet been given. They resemble Greek ζα. Examples are _i-yuki_, _ka-guroki_, _ta-moto-horu_.

For the purposes of the present work, Dr. Aston’s grammar of the written language (third edition) is much the most useful.

THE SCRIPT OF THE MANYÔSHIU

The Lays are written wholly in Chinese characters. But these are employed in several very peculiar ways, and the texts as they stand are completely unintelligible to a Chinese, even to a Japanese, who has not specially studied them. In all the editions, however, except the Riyakuge, the columns of text are accompanied by a _kana_ transliteration--in the Riyakuge the _kana_ (_hira_) transliteration is given separately from the text.

At the date of the compilation of the Anthology--the middle of the eighth century--neither of the existing Japanese syllabaries had been invented. Their creation is ascribed to the learned priest _Kûkai_ (_Kôbô Daishi_), the Doctor Promulgator of the Law of Buddha, who died in 834, nearly a hundred years later than the date of the final _tanka_ of the Manyôshiu. The Chinese character had therefore, perforce, to be employed in writing down the lays collected in the manner set forth in the volume of translations. The ideographs were used in part phonetically, in part lexicographically, as they had already been used in writing the Kojiki and the poems cited in that history, and in the almost contemporaneous but very different Nihongi.

The ideographs used phonetically were not, however, always employed in the same way. The forty-seven sounds of the syllabary--

_a_ _i_ _u_ _e (ye)_ _o_ _ka_ _ki_ _ku_ _ke_ _ko_ _sa_ _shi_ _su_ _se_ _so_ _ta_ _chi_ _tsu_ _te_ _to_ _na_ _ni_ _nu_ _ne_ _no_ _ha_ _hi_ _f(h.w.)u_ _he_ _ho_ _ma_ _mi_ _mu_ _me_ _mo_ _ya_ _yu_ _yo_ _ra_ _ri_ _ru_ _re_ _ro_ _wa_ _wi_ _we_ _wo_

--were already recognized, and were represented by a sort of alphabet composed of several hundreds of Chinese ideographs, each pronounced exactly or approximately _sinice_--that is _japonico-sinice_, or according to _on_ or Chinese sound. Thus a was represented by two ideographs, 阿 (_a_ in Chinese) and 安 (_an_ in Chinese), _shi_ by twenty-five characters, such as 志 (_chih_ in Chinese), 思 (_ssu_ in Chinese), &c. The other sounds were represented by varying numbers of characters. According to this system, _ame_ (heaven or rain) would or might be written 安米, _tsuchi_ (soil) 都知 and so forth. A complete list of these Chinese phonetic ideographs is given in the _Sôron_ (Introductory) volume of the Kogi.

A second method of using the ideographs was to employ them according to their _kun_ (reading i.e. in pure Japanese), thus _utate_ (extremely) was represented by 得田手, _chihahi_ (for _sachihafi_, bless) by 千羽日. Sometimes two characters represented one sound, thus 嗚呼 for _a_, 五十 (_isozhi_) for _i_, 牛鳴, _ushi no naku_, ‘moo’ of cow, for _mu_. Some sounds (_ku_, _ri_, _ru_, _ro_, _wa_) are not found thus symbolized, that is, _japonicé_. A curious double character is 石花 for _se_, another is 羊{蹄} (_hitsuzhi no ashi_) for _shi_. A third and very confused script is exemplified in 還金 _kaherikomu_ (return), where _kaheri_ is _kun_ and _komu_ (kon) is _on_, and 知三 _shirasamu_ (shall know), where _shira_ is _kun_ modified grammatically, and _samu_ (_san_ = three) is _on_ representing the inflexion.

Still more confusingly, an ideograph may be used with an _on_ (Chinese) sound resembling a _kun_ (native) word, and the _kun_ word may be employed, not in its natural sense, but as it were punningly, though more often no quibble is intended. Thus 兼 of which the _on_ is _ken_, may be used for the verbal termination _kemu_, as in 茢兼 (_karikemu_, will have reaped), where 茢 is employed lexicographically as _kemu_, as just explained. So 不有君 does not mean _kimi arazu_ (lord is not) but _ari nakuni_, as there is not. Similar examples are _kaherikomu_ and _shirasamu_ cited above. So 難 _nan_ (difficult) for _nani_, what?, {點} _ten_ for _-temu_; 徳 _toku_ for _toko_, and so forth.

Or the Japanese reading of a character may be taken, but in a signification different from its true meaning, thus 庭 _niha_, a court or yard, for the particles _ni ha_, 玉 _tama_, jewel or pearl, for _tamashii_, soul, or even 湯龜 _yu-game_ = water-tortoise for _yukame_ = will go, or the combination 石二 = stone-two, which puzzled Shitagau so sorely, and finally turned out to mean _made_ = until, to which may be added the commonest of all 鴨 = _kamo_, a wild duck, used for _ka mo_, an expression of mingled entreaty and doubt.

The above devices were no doubt resorted to partly to supply the place of a syllabary, partly for purposes of abbreviation, the full writing of long Japanese words with a Chinese character for each syllable being found too laborious.

But characters are often also used in a punning or humorous way. Thus 二二 = 2 × 2 are employed to represent the syllable _shi_ (which means 4 in Japano-Chinese), but here is used phonetically to represent the emphatic particle _shi_ or the syllable _shi_ merely. So 山上復有山 = mountain 山 upon mountain to represent 出 _idzuru_, go forth, out, &c., 三伏一向衣 = three-prostrations-one-regard-night, i.e. a moonlight night (when one salutes the moon), 八十一 (81) as equivalent to _ku ku_, nine times nine, part of the word _kukumeru_ (= _fukumeru_, hold in mouth, imply), and so forth. Characters used otherwise than to express their true meaning are called _kariji_, borrow-characters, i.e. characters borrowed to signify some other meaning than their own. Characters used in the orthodox manner are called _manaji_--true characters.

There are also _guji_, 具字 double characters used, where one would suffice, thus 何物 for 何 _nani_. This is probably a mere embellishment.