A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE FORMATION OF THOUGHT OF SWORDS BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA
1989 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 12-22
Details
1989 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 12-22
The sword is originally used as one of weapons. It also has been a symbol of God since ancient times. In this study the above concept is defined as the thought of swords.
According to the fact that swords came from China, the thought of swords is considered to have stem from China also. The purpose of this study is to clarify the attitude towards swords on the thought of swords in Japan and its structure, comparing to the thought of swords in China which is supposed to be the origin.
The results can be summarized as follows.
1. The concrete meanings of swords in Japan are to cut off vice and have a power which dominates death, life, happiness and unhappiness; the same to China.
2. The thought has double structure; holy approaches to profan and profan approaches to holy.
3. In China the way of the transcendency on swords connected with God is indirect, whereas in Japan it is direct. While the relation between swords and God is metaphor in China, it is metonymy in Japan.
It is concluded that the thought of swords in Japan has been formed with these distinctions in its structure.
