Semiotics in Japan
Semiotics in Japan
Semiotics in Japan
Tomonori Toyama
323
The oldest literature, however, so far as I know, the reason why they were called shirushi lay in
in which the word kigö appears, is a religious their various symbolic functions. This is not far
writing, Shöbögenzö.7 It was written some time from the definition of a sign in modern semiotics.
between 1231 and 1253 by the Buddhist priest Later the word kigö ca me to be used as a syn-
Dögen (1200-53) who founded Zen in Japan. onym of shirushi. But it became more abstract,
He uses the word kigö in the form of averb, more figurative, and narrower in definition with
kigösuru, in the sense of keeping in mind and the introduction of the European sciences, as we
remembering something. 8 It is clear that he is see in the alodern usage of this term.
using the kango "kigösuru" in place of the wago
"shirusu." As an example of its usage he refers
to keeping in mi nd and remembering the place
B. Semiotics in }apanese Tradition
where a Buddhist priest hung his gown by means Semiotics as such did not develop in Japan.
of a mark consisting of a letter enclosed in a There are, however, some works in the classics
circle. 9 It can be easily supposed that the mark which are interesting and significant for semiot-
itself came to be called kigö. In fact it appears ics, in the fields of religion, poetics, aesthetics,
in the writing by Morisada Kitagawa (181O-?), and philosophy. They have yet to be reviewed
"Morisada Mankö."10 Morisada was a folklorist from the view point of semiotics, so that I shall
and described the custom of his age. From the refer only to some of these works, and provide
description of marks and symbols in "Morisada only a rough sketch of the historical context
Mankö," we can see that he explains the word below.
kigö as a synonym for shirushi, which was in cur-
rent usage at the time. 11 Also he notes the dif-
ference between a kigö and a letter or a crest,
1. Religion
and the method of designing a kigö from letters Buddhism was introduced toJapan from Korea
or crests. 12 and China beginning in the sixth century, and
At the end of the nineteenth century the words developed into aJ apanese form. Mikkyö or Shin-
for mathematical "sign" and chemical "symbol" gon Buddhism, founded by Kükai (773-835) in
were translated as "kigö" with the introduction the early eighth century, is a religious sect influ-
of European science. 13 It seems that the word enced by Tantric Buddhism, and Mikkyö is a
kigö became popular in education texts, bringing complex of sign systems. Its doctrine and its
a limited signification to such symbols as +, -, manners consist of many types of signs which
=, and so forth. The word symbol, by the way, are based on its distinctive epistemology. It is
as a term of literary criticism and aesthetics, was very remarkable, for example, that the method
translated from French with a newly coinedJap- of entering into meditation is explained by Taikö
anese word shöchö, also at the end of the nine- Yamasaki as a process composed of three stages l5
teenth century.14 which correspond exactly to Charles S. Pierce's
Thus, things which were called shirushi in the three categories.
past had particular and concrete meanings, and Although most of these semiotic characteris-
tics of Mikkyö are due to the Tantra, we should
not disregard the contributions of Kükai's own
disposition: to a remarkable degree his thought
'Dögen, "Shöbögenzö," in Taishö Shinshii Dai:dikyii, Vol. 82,
No. 2582 (Tokyo: Daizö-Shuppan, 1965). is both systematic and semiotic. For example he
8Ibid., p. 184. explains the function of sentences in the intro-
9Ibid., p. 3l. duction of Bunkyö-hiforon, which is a systematic
IOMorisada Kitagawa, "Morisada Mankö," in Kinsei Füzoku guide to composition, as follows. Senten ces must
Jiten, trans. and ed. Tsutomu Ema, Toranosuke Nishioka
have an obvious signified object and logic, so
and Giichirö Hamada (Tokyo: Jinbutsuöraisha, 1967).
"Ibid., pp. 174, 41l. that their signification and context are plain;
12Ibid., pp. 25, 48, 174, 41l. people understand the words through the written
l'Nihon Kagakushi Gakkai, ed., Nihon Kagaku Gijutsushi Taikei, characters and get the signification through this
Vo1s. 1 and 8 (Tokyo: Daiichihöki-Shuppan, 1964 and 1969),
538 and 549; 78, 86, 140, 182, 193-97, 316, 507-09 and
529-30, respectively.
14Izuru Shinmura, Gogen wo Saguru, ed. Takeshi Shinmura 15Taikö Yamasaki, Mikkyii Meisiihö (Kyoto: Nagata-Bun-
(Tokyo: Kyöiku-Shuppan, 1976), pp. 74-76. shödö, 1974), pp. 221-32.