Chinese character for Wō or Wa, formed by the "person" radical 亻and a wěi or i 委 phonetic element

Japanese Wa (倭, Wa^? "Japan", from Chinese Wō 倭), is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scholars regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with this Chinese character until the 8th century, when the Japanese realized that the Chinese word Wō 倭 "Japan" was derogatory and replaced Wa 倭 with Wa 和 "harmony; peace".

The word Wa

The Japanese endonym Wa 倭 "Japan; Japanese" derives from the Chinese exonym Wo 倭 "dwarf; submissive; Japan".

倭 and 和 characters

The Chinese character 倭 combines the 人 or 亻 "human, person" radical and a wěi 委 "bend" phonetic. This wěi phonetic element depicts hé 禾 "grain" over nǚ 女 "woman", which Bernhard Karlgren (1923:368) semantically analyzes as: "bend down, bent, tortuous, crooked; fall down, throw down, throw away, send away, reject; send out, delegate – to bend like a 女 woman working with the 禾 grain." The oldest written forms of 倭 are in Seal script, and it has not been identified in Bronzeware script or Oracle bone script.

Most characters written with this wěi 委 phonetic are pronounced wei in Standard Mandarin:

• wēi 逶 ("motion" radical) "serpentine; winding, curving" [in wēiyí 逶迤 "winding (road, river)"]
• wěi 萎 ("plant" radical) "wilt; wither"
• wěi 痿 ("sickness" radical) "atrophy; paralysis; impotence"
• wěi 諉 ("speech" radical) "shirk; shift blame (onto others)"
• wèi 餧 ("food" radical) "feed (animals)"
• Wèi 魏 ("ghost" radical) "proper name; Warring States Period state of Wei; Three Kingdoms Period state of Wei"

The unusual Wō 倭 "Japan" pronunciation of this wěi 委 phonetic element corresponds with:

• wō 踒 ("foot" radical) "strain; sprain (sinew or muscle)"
• wǒ 婑 ("woman" radical) "beautiful" [in wǒtuǒ 婑媠 "beautiful; pretty"]
• ǎi 矮 ("arrow" radical) "dwarf, short; low; inferior"

Nara period Japanese scholars recognized that Chinese Wō 倭 "Japan", which they used to write "Wa" or "Yamato", was pejorative. It graphically denotes 委 "bent down" 亻 "people", is cognate with ǎi 矮 "dwarf", and is used in "Japan" names like Wōnúguó 倭奴國 (literally, "dwarf slave country"). Around 757 CE, Japan officially changed its endonym from Wa 倭 to Wa 和 "harmony; peace; sum; total". This replacement Chinese character hé 和 combines a hé 禾 "grain" phonetic (also seen in 倭) and the "mouth" radical 口. Carr explains.

Graphic replacement of the 倭 "dwarf Japanese" Chinese logograph became inevitable. Not long after the Japanese began using 倭 to write Wa ∼ Yamato 'Japan', they realized its 'dwarf; bent back' connotation. In a sense, they had been tricked by Chinese logography; the only written name for 'Japan' was deprecating. The chosen replacement wa 和 'harmony; peace' had the same Japanese wa pronunciation as 倭 'dwarf', and - most importantly - it was semantically flattering. The notion that Japanese culture is based upon wa 和 'harmony' has become an article of faith among Japanese and Japanologists. (1992:6)

In current Japanese usage, Wa 倭 "old name for Japan" is a variant Chinese character for Wa 和 "Japan", excepting a few historical terms like the Five kings of Wa, Wakō (Chinese Wōkòu 倭寇 "Japanese pirates"), and Wamyō Ruijushō dictionary. In marked contrast, Wa 和 is a common adjective in compounds like Washoku 和食 "Japanese cuisine", Wafuku 和服 "Japanese clothing", Washitsu 和室 "Japanese-style room", Waka 和歌 "Japanese-style poetry", and Washi 和紙 "traditional Japanese paper".

Pronunciations

In Chinese, the character 倭 can be pronounced wēi "winding", wǒ "an ancient hairstyle", or Wō "Japan". The first two pronunciations are restricted to Classical Chinese compounds. Wēi 倭 occurs in wēichí 倭遲 "winding; sinuous; circuitous; meandering", which has numerous variants including wēiyí 逶迤 and 委蛇. The oldest recorded usage of 倭 is a Shi Jing (162) description of a wēichí 倭遲 "winding; serpentine; tortuous" road; compare (18) using wēituó 委佗 "compliant; bending, pliable; graceful". Wǒ 倭 occurs in wǒduòjì 倭墮髻 "a woman's hairstyle with a bun, popular during the Han Dynasty" (note that wǒtuǒ 婑媠 "beautiful; pretty", with the "woman" radical, is alternately written with the "hair" radical 髟). The third pronunciation Wō 倭 "Japan; Japanese" is more productive than the first two, as evident in Chinese names for "Japanese" things (e.g., Wōkòu 倭寇 "Japanese pirates" above) or "dwarf; pygmy" animals.

• wōqī 倭漆 "Japanese lacquer"
• wōdāo 倭刀 (lit. "Japanese sword") "dagger; short sword"
• wōguā 倭瓜 (lit. "Japanese melon") "pumpkin; squash"
• wōhémǎ 倭河馬 "pygmy hippopotamus"
• wōzhū 倭豬 "pygmy hog"
• wōhúhóu 倭狐猴 "dwarf lemur"
• wōqiúyú 倭犰狳 "Pink Fairy Armadillo"

Reconstructed pronunciations of wō 倭 in Middle Chinese (ca. 6th-10th centuries CE) include ˀuâ (Bernhard Karlgren), ˀua (Zhou Fagao), and ˀwa (Edwin G. Pulleyblank). Reconstructions in Old Chinese (ca. 6th-3rd centuries BCE) include *ˀwâ (Karlgren), *ˀwər (Dong Tonghe), and *ˀwə^r (Zhou).

In Japanese, the Chinese character 倭 has Sinitic on'yomi pronunciations of wa or ka from Chinese wō "Japan" and wǒ "an ancient hairstyle", or wi or i from wēi "winding; obedient", and native kun'yomi pronunciations of yamato "Japan" or shitagau "obey, obedient". Chinese wō 倭 "an old name for Japan" is a loanword in other Sinosphere languages including Korean 왜 wae, Standard Cantonese wai1 or wo1, and Taiwanese e2.

Etymology

Although the etymological origins of Wa remain uncertain, Chinese history certainly records an ancient people residing in the Japanese archipelago (perhaps Kyūshū), named something like *ˀWâ or *ˀWər 倭. Carr (1992:9) surveys prevalent proposals for Wa's etymology ranging from feasible (transcribing Japanese first-person pronouns waga 我が "my; our" and ware 我 "I; we; oneself") to shameful (writing Japanese Wa as 倭implying "dwarf barbarians"); and summarizes interpretations for Wō < ˀUâ < *ˀWâ "Japanese" into variations on two etymologies: "behaviorally 'submissive' or physically 'short'."

The first 'submissive; obedient' explanation began with the (121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary. It defines 倭 as shùnmào 順皃 "obedient/submissive/docile appearance", graphically explains the "person; human' radical with a wěi 委 "bent" phonetic, and quotes the above Shi Jing poem. "Conceivably, when Chinese first met Japanese," Carr (1992:9) suggests "they transcribed Wa as *ˀWâ 'bent back' signifying 'compliant' bowing/obeisance. Bowing is noted in early historical references to Japan." Examples include the Hou Hanshu (tr. Tsunoda 1951:2) "Respect is shown by squatting"; and the Wei Zhi (tr. Tsunoda 1951:13) "they either squat or kneel, with both hands on the ground. This is the way they show respect." Koji Nakayama (linked below) interprets wēi 逶 "winding" as "very far away" and euphemistically translates Wō 倭 as "separated from the continent."

The second etymology of wō 倭 meaning "dwarf; short person" has possible cognates in ǎi 矮 "short person; midget, dwarf; low", wō 踒 "strain; sprain; bent legs", and wò 臥 "lie down; crouch; sit (animals and birds)". Early Chinese dynastic histories refer to a legendary Xiǎoréndǎo 小人島 "Island of Dwarfs" located south of Japan, associated with possibly Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, or Kuril Islands. Carr cites the historical precedence of construing Wa as "submissive people" and the "Island of Dwarfs" legend as evidence that the "little people" etymology was a secondary development.

Lexicography

An article by Michael Carr (1992:1) "compares how Oriental and Occidental lexicographers have treated the fact that Japan's first written name was a Chinese Wō < *ˀWâ 倭 'short/submissive people' insult." It evaluates 92 dictionary definitions of Chinese Wō 倭 to illustrate lexicographical problems with defining racially offensive words. This corpus of monolingual and bilingual Chinese dictionaries includes 29 Chinese-Chinese, 17 Chinese-English, 13 Chinese to other Western Languages, and 33 Chinese-Japanese dictionaries. To analyze how Chinese dictionaries deal with the belittling origins of Wō, Carr divides definitions into four types, abbreviated with Greek alphabet letters Alpha through Delta.

• Α = "dwarf; Japanese"
• Β = "compliant; Japanese"
• Γ = "derogatory Japanese"
• Δ = "Japanese"

For example, Alpha (A) type includes both overt definitions like "The land of dwarfs; Japan" (Liushi Han-Ying cidian 劉氏和英辭典 [Liu's Chinese-English Dictionary] 1978) and more covert semantic distinctions like "(1) A dwarf. (2) Formerly, used to refer to Japan" (Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage 1972). Beta (B) "compliant; Japanese" is illustrated by "demütig [humble; submissive; meek], gehorchen [obey; respond]" (Praktisches zeichenlexikon chinesisch-deutsch-japanisch [A Practical Chinese-German-Japanese Character Dictionary] 1983). Gamma (Γ) "type definitions such as "depreciatingly Japanese" (e.g., A Beginner's Chinese-English Dictionary of the National Language (Gwoyeu) 1964) include usage labels such as "derogatory," "disparaging," "offensive," or "contemptuous". Some Γ notations are restricted to subentries like "Wōnú 倭奴 (in modern usage, derogatively) the Japs" (Zuixin shiyong Han-Ying cidian 最新實用和英辭典 [A New Practical Chinese-English Dictionary] 1971). Delta (Δ) "Japanese" is the least informative type of gloss; for instance, "an old name for Japan" (Xin Han-Ying cidian 新漢英詞典 [A New Chinese-English Dictionary] 1979).

Carr evaluates these four typologies for defining the Chinese 倭 "bent people" graphic pejoration.

From a theoretical standpoint, A "dwarf" or B "submissive" type definitions are preferable for providing accurate etymological information, even though it may be deemed offensive. It is no transgression for an abridged Chinese dictionary to give a short Δ "Japan" definition, but adding "an old name for" or "archaic" takes no more space than adding a Γ "derogatory" note. A Δ definition avoids offending the Japanese, but misleads the dictionary user in the same way as the OED2 defining wetback and white trash without usage labels. (1992:12).

The table below (Carr 1992:31, Table 8. Overall Comparison of Definitions) summarizes how Chinese dictionaries define Wō 倭.

Half of the Western language dictionaries note that Chinese Wō 倭 "Japanese" means 'little person; dwarf', while most Chinese-Chinese definitions overlook the graphic slur with Δ type "ancient name for Japan" definitions. This explicitly racist A "dwarf" description is found more often in Occidental language dictionaries than in Oriental ones. The historically more accurate, and ethnically less insulting, "subservient; compliant" B type is limited to Chinese-Japanese and Chinese-German dictionaries. The Γ type "derogatory" notation occurs most often among Japanese and European language dictionaries. The least edifying Δ "(old name for) Japan" type definitions are found twice more often in Chinese-Chinese than in Chinese-Japanese dictionaries, and three times more than in Western ones.

Even the modern-day Unicode universal character standard reflects lexicographic problems with this ancient Chinese Wō 倭 "Japan" affront. The Unihan (Unified CJK characters) segment of Unicode largely draws definitions from two online dictionary projects, Chinese CEDICT and Japanese EDICT. The former lists Chinese wo1 倭 "Japanese; dwarf", wokou4 倭寇 "(in ancient usage) the dwarf-pirates; the Japs", and wonu2 倭奴 "(used in ancient times) the Japanese; (in modern usage, derogatively) the Japs". The latter lists Japanese yamato 倭 "ancient Japan", wajin 倭人 "(an old word for) a Japanese", and wakou 倭寇 "Japanese pirates".

Historical references

The earliest textual references to Japan are in Chinese classic texts, particularly in the dynastic Twenty-Four Histories.

Wei Zhi

The ca. 297 CE Wei Zhi (魏志) of the San Guo Zhi describes Wō Japan, which was then in the late Yayoi period, 300 BC-AD 250). Ambassadorial visits to Japan by the later Northern Chinese dynasties Wei and Jin Dynasty (265-420) (Encounters of the Eastern Barbarians, Wei Chronicles) recorded that the Wō people claimed to be descendants of the Tàibó of the Kingdom of Wu (吳國).

魏略：「倭人自謂太伯之後。」(Wèi lüè: "Wō people call themselves posterity of Tàibó.")

Tàibó is the uncle of King Wen of Zhou. Wu is a state that fell in the 5th century BC. Historical records also show that the ancient Wō people had lifestyles and customs similar to those of the pre-Sinicized inhabitants of the Wu Kingdom, including tattooing, ritual teeth-pulling, and baby-carrying on backs. Tattooing examples are found on Haniwa statues with red paint on faces and arms.

A tattooed Haniwa statue, 4th-6th century, Kamiyasaku Tomb, Fukushima Prefecture.

Liang Shu

The 635 CE Chinese chronicle Book of Liang (Liangshu, Chinese: 梁書) describes the Wa as a Japanese people apparently living in Kyūshū, governed by the Kingdom of Yamatai.

As for the Wa, they call themselves posterity of the Grand Count (Tàibó). According to custom, the people are all tattooed (This could also mean "The commoners are all tattooed"). Their territory is over 12,000 li (1,500 kilometers) from our Daifang, roughly to the east of Guiji (modern Shaoxing (Zhejiang)). One must travel an incredible distance to get there. From Daifang to Wa, it is necessary to follow the coast and go beyond the Han Korean state to the south-east for about 500 kilometers, then for the first time cross a sea to a small island 75 kilometers away, then cross the sea again for 75 kilometers to the country of Miro (Chinese: 未盧國; pinyin: Wèilú-guó, usually identified with modern Tosu city in Saga Prefecture, Japan). 50 kilometers to the southeast is the country of Ito (Chinese: 伊都國; pinyin: Yīdū-guó). 10 kilometers to the southeast is the country of Nu (Chinese: 奴國; pinyin: Nú-guó). 10 kilometers to the east is the country of Bumi (Chinese: 不彌國; pinyin: Bùmí-guó). 20 days to the south by boat is the country of Touma (Chinese: 投馬國; pinyin: Tóumǎ-guó). 10 days to the south by boat or one month by land is the country of Yamatai (Chinese: 邪馬臺國; pinyin: Xiémǎtái-guó). There resides the King of the Wa people.
(Chinese: 倭者　自云太伯之後　俗皆文身　去帶方萬二千餘里　大抵在會稽之東　相去絶遠　從帶方至倭　循海水行　歴韓國　乍東乍南　七千餘里始度一海　海闊千餘里　名瀚海　至一支國　又度一海千餘里　名未盧國　又東南陸行五百里　至伊都國　又東南行百里　至奴國　又東行百里　至不彌國　又南水行二十日　至投馬國　又南水行十日　陸行一月日　至邪馬臺國 即倭王所居, Liang Shu, 7th century)

Jin Shu

The 648 CE Jin shu or "Book of Jin

晉書：「自謂太伯之後，又言上古使詣中國，皆自稱大夫。」列傳第六十七 四夷 (Jìn Shū, Lièzhuàn #67 - Barbarians of the Four Directions: "They call themselves posterity of Tàibó; it is also said that they have dispatched embassies to Zhongguo since times of old; they all proclaim themselves as big man (dàfu, with the same shape in Chinese characters as dàifu in modern Mandarin, which is an honorific title for doctors, etc, is a title for some kind of statesmen in Ancient China.).")

Zizhi Tongjian

The 1084 CE Zizhi Tongjian was a universal history of China.

資治通鑑：「今日本又云吳太伯之後，蓋吳亡，其支庶入海為倭。」 ("The Japan of the present day is also said to be posterity of the Tàibó of Wu; perhaps when Wu was destroyed, a commoner of royal descent entered the sea and became a Wō.")

The island of Wa (probably modern Kyūshū) is depicted below the island of Japan (日本國) and above the island of Greater Ryūkyū (大琉球) on the right-hand side of this 16th century Chinese world map, the Sihai Huayi Zongtu.

See also

• Fusang
• Hogong

References

• Carr, Michael. 1992. "Wa 倭 Wa 和 Lexicography," International Journal of Lexicography 5.1:1-30.
• Karlgren, Bernhard. 1923. Analytic Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese. Dover Reprint 1974.
• Nakagawa Masako. 2003. The Shan-hai ching and Wo: A Japanese Connection, Sino-Japanese Studies 15:45-55.
• Tsunoda Ryusaku, tr. 1951. Japan in the Chinese Dynastic Histories: Later Han Through Ming Dynasties. Goodrich, Carrington C., ed. South Pasadena: P. D. and Ione Perkins.

External links

• Unihan data for U+502D, Unihan Database entry for 倭
• English translation of the Wei Zhi, Koji Nakayama
• Queen Himiko as Recorded in the Wei Chronicle, Wontack Hong
• The Relatedness between the Origin of Japanese and Korean Ethnicity, Jaehoon Lee
• 「三国志・魏志」巻３０　東夷伝・倭人, Chinese text and Japanese translation of the Wei Zhi 魏志 account of Wa
• 邪馬台國研究本編, Chinese text and Japanese translations of Chinese historical accounts of Wa

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