Journal | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Journal issue | 57 | 2021
Research Article | Bodies in Japanese Language

Bodies in Japanese Language

An Introduction to the Polysemous Character of Corporeality

Katja Centonze - Universität Trier, Deutschland; Waseda University, Japan - email

Abstract

This article presents an inspection into the vast arena occupied by terms and signs in Japanese language that designate the word ‘body’. The study is centred around etymons and semantic descriptions offered in selected monolingual lexical sources, thereby revealing slight divergencies that surface when confronting these entries in order to underscore the ambiguity and hybridity that characterise corporeality itself. In addition, part of this study is dedicated to Ichikawa Hiroshi’s semantic analysis of the Japanese word mi (body), to Uno Kuniichi’s discourse on the shintai (body) and to insights on corporeality offered by Kan Takayuki. The purpose of illustrating this diversified lexical treasure that surrounds, sustains and recreates bodies is to draw attention to the central position occupied by corporeality itself in Japanese culture, where the body/bodies emerge as a catalyst of cultural production.

Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: March 17, 2021 | Accepted: May 11, 2021 | Published June 30, 2021 | Language: en

Keywords Body • Mi • Corporeality and language • Karada • Shintai • Words • Uno Kuniichi • Ichikawa Hiroshi • Kan Takayuki • Nikutai

Copyright © 2021 Katja Centonze. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2021/01/021

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DC Field	Value
dc.identifier	ECF_article_5517
dc.title	Bodies in Japanese Language. An Introduction to the Polysemous Character of Corporeality
dc.contributor.author	Centonze Katja
dc.publisher	Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing, Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari
dc.type	Research Article
dc.language.iso	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://edizionicafoscari.it/en/edizioni4/riviste/annali-di-ca-foscari-serie-orientale/2021/1/bodies-in-japanese-language/
dc.description.abstract	This article presents an inspection into the vast arena occupied by terms and signs in Japanese language that designate the word ‘body’. The study is centred around etymons and semantic descriptions offered in selected monolingual lexical sources, thereby revealing slight divergencies that surface when confronting these entries in order to underscore the ambiguity and hybridity that characterise corporeality itself. In addition, part of this study is dedicated to Ichikawa Hiroshi’s semantic analysis of the Japanese word mi (body), to Uno Kuniichi’s discourse on the shintai (body) and to insights on corporeality offered by Kan Takayuki. The purpose of illustrating this diversified lexical treasure that surrounds, sustains and recreates bodies is to draw attention to the central position occupied by corporeality itself in Japanese culture, where the body/bodies emerge as a catalyst of cultural production.
dc.relation.ispartof	Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
dc.relation.ispartof	Vol. 57 \| June 2021
dc.issued	2021-06-30
dc.dateAccepted	2021-05-11
dc.dateSubmitted	2021-03-17
dc.identifier.issn
dc.identifier.eissn	2385-3042
dc.rights	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.identifier.doi	10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2021/01/021
dc.peer-review	yes
dc.subject	Body
dc.subject	Body
dc.subject	Corporeality and language
dc.subject	Corporeality and language
dc.subject	Ichikawa Hiroshi
dc.subject	Ichikawa Hiroshi
dc.subject	Kan Takayuki
dc.subject	Kan Takayuki
dc.subject	Karada
dc.subject	Karada
dc.subject	Mi
dc.subject	Mi
dc.subject	Nikutai
dc.subject	Nikutai
dc.subject	Shintai
dc.subject	Shintai
dc.subject	Uno Kuniichi
dc.subject	Uno Kuniichi
dc.subject	Words
dc.subject	Words
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