抄録
In the middle and late Meiji period (1868–1912), the Japanese created many new words through translation
from English and other Western languages. Among these translations, we focus on two words—kokumin and
minzoku—which are the translations of the word “nation.” This study explores the manner in which these
translations spread across Japan through print media. Along with translated works, the print media—including
newspapers, magazines, books, and dictionaries, which were originally written in Japanese—helped the spread
of these new words. Analyzing fifteen dictionaries and a Japanese critic Chogyu Takayama’s five magazine
articles published in the middle and late Meiji period with the sociocultural context at that time indicates that
kokumin and minzoku did not have concrete meanings when they were created. This study elucidates the
manner in which unsteadily and gradually the new translation words spread among the Japanese people more
than 100 years ago.
