Current location:sport >>
VOX POPULI: Vertical writing an indispensable part of thinking in Japanese
sport8People have gathered around
IntroductionWhen you picture a timeline of Japanese history, which side is the Jomon Pottery Culture Period (c. ...
When you picture a timeline of Japanese history, which side is the Jomon Pottery Culture Period (c. 14500 B.C.-1000 B.C.) on?
Is it right or left?
Since ancient times, the passage of time has always flown from right to left in Japan.
This is clearly evident in “emaki” picture scrolls and “byobu-e” folding-screen paintings.
Cherry trees blossom in mountains, while leaves grow thick, wither and are covered with snow. The transition of the four seasons has always been portrayed from right to left.
Makoto Yanaike, an expert on the Japanese language, says it is probably because Japanese has traditionally been written from top to bottom and right to left.
It is a fresh reminder that our consciousness and thought are inseparably connected to the arrangements of words.
Horizontal writing was introduced during the final years of the feudal Edo Period (1603-1867).
By the Taisho Era (1912-1926), the newspaper industry was also using horizontal writing for headlines and other elements.
But reporters have always written their stories in vertical format even though their tools changed from manuscript paper to word processors and to personal computers.
But alas, the time has come.
Although the appearance of the paper remains the same, The Asahi Shimbun’s computer system has just been refurbished. Now I have to input manuscripts for this column horizontally.
It is all part of adapting to the digital age, I heard.
The fact is that the majority of online texts are written horizontally, even in Japanese today, and from left to right.
The situation is apparently the same even for newspapers in China, where the system of writing in kanji characters originated.
I can’t help but think it is a trend of the times.
Still, the difference between vertical and horizontal writing is significant because the presentation looks different.
For example, novelist and poet Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) recites in his poem “Haru to Shura” (Spring and Demon): “Oh, I roam at the bottom of the shining April/ As I clench my teeth with bitterness/ I find myself being a demon.”
I wonder if he could have etched out his deep torment using a writing mode other than a vertical one.
I confess I wrote this manuscript vertically on a different file before pasting it into the system.
In Japanese, there is a saying for a lazy person: “One who doesn't even bother to put something that is standing vertically horizontally.”
But things are not that simple.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 6
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Stellar Scope news portal”。http://colombia.majalahburung.com/content-96e199894.html
Related articles
Pentagon vows to keep weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces a renewed assault by Russia
sportWASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin committed Monday to keeping U.S. weapons moving to ...
【sport】
Read moreFormer aide and consultant close to U.S. Rep. Cuellar plead guilty and agree to aid investigation
sportAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A top former aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and a political and business consu ...
【sport】
Read moreWould YOU spend £109 on non
sportWe've all heard tales of vintage wines or 30-year-old whiskies being sold for eye-watering sums. Yet ...
【sport】
Read more
Popular articles
- Candice Swanepoel stuns in a form
- Racial bias did not shape Mississippi's water funding decisions for capital city, EPA says
- SAMANTHA BRICK: I'm a brilliant driver
- Andy Cohen says 'outrage culture' has changed Real Housewives franchise
- I was 'brokefished' by my friend for £400
- Brooks Nader's ex Billy Haire is already on dating app Bumble days after divorce news
Latest articles
Investigators return to Long Island home of Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect
LA Rams trade WR Ben Skowronek to Texans in draft pick swap
Nelly Korda shoots 69 to put herself in position for a record
Little known warning signs of bile duct cancer after death of Game of Thrones star Ian Gelder
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
Catholic church is stonewalling sex abuse investigation, Washington attorney general says
LINKS
- University of Oregon football player, 19, is arrested for fatal hit and run after 46
- Kenya’s military chief dies in a helicopter crash
- Justice Department ramps up efforts to reduce violent crime with gun intel center
- Indianapolis man charged with murder in fatal shootings of 3 at apartment complex
- Depleted New Zealand batting first against Pakistan in T20
- A homeless man is reunited with his family after 13 years thanks to a Ford Mustang and a viral clip
- Tesla shares tumble below $150 per share, giving up all gains made over the past year
- Average long
- Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are OVERPAID at $75k
- Dropping the ball: Jags hope to end decades of ineptitude when it comes to drafting receivers early