To use the name of the dead

The problem of “Imina” in the thought of Motoori Norinaga

Abstract

“Imina,” the custom that prohibited people from addressing each other by their personal names, was prevalent in pre-modern East Asia, including Japan. Today, most researchers accept this opinion, which was given in a famous study by Hozumi Nobushige. However, Motoori Norinaga, one of the most prestigious scholars in Kokugaku, had a different idea. He argued that “Imina” was only a Chinese custom, and that it did not exist in ancient Japan. Previous research contradicted him, but did not discuss the reason for his insistence. Thus, there is a problem with regard to understanding the meaning of “Imina” in his thought.
　From this point of view, this study firstly focuses on how he described “Imina” in accordance with “Kojikiden” and “Tamakatsuma.” In these texts, he animadverted on it strongly as “Karagokoro”, the word that he usually use for attacking Confucians. Therefore, “Imina” has a particular meaning in his thought. Second, we examine the history of the idea of “Imina” in the Edo period. We refer to several scholars, including Suzuki Teisai, Dazai Shundai, Arai Hakuseki, Murata Harumi, and Mencius, and disclose that the belief at that time was that “Imina” was based on the emotion of sorrow for the dead. In other words, sorrow for the dead prohibits the use of a person’s name. Finally, we consider why Norinaga attacked “Imina.” In an annotation in “Kojikiden,” he stated that sorrow for the dead should give rise to the impulse to call a person by name, according to a Japanese poem by Kakinomoto Hitomaro. Moreover, he explained that we should express our feelings without protesting with one of his the most important ideas, “Magokoro.” Based on these thoughts, “Imina” was a bad custom that covered “Magokoro” and had to be criticized as “Karagokoro” by him.