Earticle

In modern Japanese, existential verbs are typically split by animacy: iru for humans and aru for inanimate objects. However, native usage allows exceptions where aru occurs with human subjects (hito ga aru). This paper shows that all such cases can be unified by temporal localization (time limitation): iru is required when presence is bound to a specific time frame, whereas aru becomes acceptable when temporal limits are abstracted. This hypothesis is verified across three structures: Limited Existential Sentences: When locations express abstract domains (e.g., society or the world), temporal constraints are abstracted, permitting aru. Ownership Sentences: Interpersonal relationships show a gradient based on durability. Temporary connections (e.g., friends) retain time limits and resist aru, while permanent bonds (e.g., blood relations) transcend time limits, increasing aru’s acceptability. List Existential Sentences: Enumerating organizational members retains a relative temporal frame, so aru remains restricted. In conclusion, the acceptability of hito ga aru is directly governed by the degree to which temporal limitations are abstracted.

This study examines the similarities and differences in the forms, meanings, and functions of the Japanese term “mae” (まえ) and the Korean terms “ap” and “jeon” through a contrastive analysis based on corpus data. Although several previous studies have investigated the meanings and functions of “mae”, there has been little systematic research comparing it with the Korean expressions “ap” and “jeon”. The goal of this paper is to provide the systematic and comparative analysis of the forms, meanings, and functions of the above three expressions. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, “mae” expresses three meanings: spatial, causal, and temporal. In its spatial usage, object nouns, human nouns, and place nouns occur as preceding nouns, accompanied by various cases and corresponding predicate types. In contrast, in the causal and temporal usages, abstract nouns and time nouns or action nouns serve as preceding nouns, and their use is largely restricted to ni case. Second, “ap” primarily expresses spatial and causal meanings, while only a single example of temporal usage was found in the corpus. Its causal usage is restricted to the cases -e and –eseo. Third, “jeon” expresses only a temporal meaning and is limited to the cases -e, -buteo, and -kkaji. These findings show that the Japanese expression “mae” covers spatial, causal, and temporal meanings within a single form, whereas in Korean, the expressions “ap” and “jeon” are separately divided to have different semantic functions. This contrast clearly demonstrates both the similarities and the differences in the semantic and functional systems of the two languages.

This study examines the patterns of emoji use in viewer chats during YouTube live streaming. The findings are summarized as follows: (A) Chat composition patterns: Emojis appeared in 34.0% of all chat messages. Emoji-containing chats were classified into two types: emoji-only messages and text-plus-emoji messages, with the latter accounting for the vast majority. (B) Emoji categories and usage patterns: Facial-expression emojis were the most frequently used category. Single-emoji use was the predominant usage pattern, while repeated use tended to concentrate on facial-expression emojis and combinations frequently involved nature-related emojis together with other categories. (C) Emoji placement patterns: Post-positioning at the end of a message was the dominant placement pattern. Insertion within a message and multiple-position placement were also observed, indicating that emojis were positioned according to the semantic structure of chat messages. These findings demonstrate that emoji use in live-stream viewer chats exhibits systematic patterns in terms of composition, category, usage, and placement.

This study examined learners’ perceptions of Travel Japanese, a five-day online course for incoming university students. A questionnaire focused on Japanese language learning, cultural understanding, course management, and adjustment to university life, with open-ended responses analyzed using KH Coder. The results showed that most learners perceived improvements in speaking (89.2%), listening(84.8%), and reading (89.1%) skills, as well as information-search skills (91.3%) and the ability to use Japanese in travel situations (87.0%). Positive responses were also found for understanding Japanese culture (97.8%), motivation to continue learning Japanese (95.6%), active participation (97.8%), and adjustment to university life (91.3%). The open-ended responses indicated that learners valued experiencing university classes before enrollment, interacting with future classmates through group activities, receiving guidance from the instructor, and having opportunities to use Japanese. The instructor’s supportive attitude and clear explanations were also positively evaluated. Areas for improvement included time allocation, group composition, and technical issues related to Zoom. Overall, the findings suggest that a short-term online Japanese course before enrollment can support not only Japanese language learning but also students’ adjustment to university life.

This study examines the bibliographic, structural, and linguistic characteristics of Korean language textbooks published by Japanese authors during the Korean Enlightenment period, focusing on Taiyaku Nikkan Shin Kaiwa (對譯日韓新會話), published in 1905. It aims to elucidate the characteristics of Korean language education and Japanese linguistic practices reflected in the textbook. Co-authored by Kanashima Taisui and Hirono Kanzan, Taiyaku Nikkan Shin Kaiwa was published in March 1905. Its organization and content suggest that it was intended as a practical Korean language textbook for Japanese learners. The study compares its linguistic descriptions with those in Kanashima’s other Korean language textbooks published between 1904 and 1906. Regarding Korean, the analysis identifies changes in the classification of Hangul consonants and vowels, particularly in the use of the terms bu-eum (父音), mo-eum (母音), and ja-eum (子音). It also reveals the introduction of dakuon (voiced sounds), reflecting the application of Japanese phonological categories to descriptions of Korean pronunciation. Furthermore, the textbook’s treatment of voicing illustrates how Japanese authors interpreted Korean phonetic features through Japanese linguistic conventions. Regarding Japanese, the textbook exhibits grammatical features associated with modern Japanese school grammar while retaining characteristics of Meiji-period Japanese. Historical kana orthography and the absence of sokuonbin (geminate consonant formation), despite its occurrence in other contemporary materials, illustrate the transitional nature of Japanese linguistic conventions. These findings highlight the significance of Taiyaku Nikkan Shin Kaiwa as a historical source for understanding early Korean language education, Japanese descriptions of Korean, and linguistic contact between Korea and Japan in the early twentieth century.

This paper examines the expressions and functions of the future tense in Hungarian from a typological perspective, comparing the findings with Japanese and Korean. In Hungarian, the future tense is primarily expressed through the following three methods. •Non-past form : The future tense is realized by employing the non-past form (marked by a zero-morpheme, ∅) in conjunction with temporal adverbs or temporal nouns. •Syntactic construction : Future time reference is denoted through a periphrastic construction that combines the auxiliary verb fog with the infinitive form (-ni) of the verb. •Past tense form : The past tense form is utilized to convey the speaker’s psychological attitudes, such as recollection/reminiscence, desperation, intimidation, or imminent events. A comparative analysis of these strategies alongside Korean and Japanese yields the following summary points:Unlike English and Hungarian, which utilize auxiliary verbs to express the future tense, Japanese and Korean do not rely on such syntactic mechanisms. On the other hand, Korean is characterized by the presence of a dedicated morphological marker—namely, the prefinal ending　‘-겠-’ to denote futurity, a feature absent in both Hungarian and Japanese. Although Hungarian and Japanese lack a distinct future tense inflection, both languages can project future reference through temporal adverbs or contextual cues. Nonetheless, all three languages share the capacity to employ the past tense form to express future situations. This phenomenon interacts closely with modality, serving to encode the speaker’s psychological attitudes.

本稿はハンガリー語の未来テンスの表し方と機能を類型論的観点から検討し、その結果を日本語、韓国語と比較して記述している。 ハンガリー語において、＜未来＞テンスは主に以下の3つの方法で表現される。 •非過去形：未来の時間を表すために、時間副詞や時間名詞とともに非過去形(∅形式)を用いることで＜未来＞テンスを形成する。 •構文論的な手段：助動詞｢fog｣と動詞不定詞(-ni)を組み合わせることで未来テンスを表現する。 •過去形：話者の心的な態度を表すため、過去形を用いる。想起･回想、絶望的･威嚇的な態度、差し迫った事態などを表すことができる。 これらの方法を韓国語および日本語と比較すると、以下の点に要約することができる。 ハンガリー語は英語と同様に助動詞を用いて＜未来＞テンスを表現すのに対し、日本語と韓国語には構文論的な手段は依存しない。一方、韓国語には未来を示す先語末語尾(Prefinal ending)である形態論的マーカー｢-겠- [-get-]｣を有するという特徴があるが、これはハンガリー語や日本語では見つからない。ハンガリー語と日本語には未来形がないものの、時間副詞または文脈によって未来のことを表すことができる。 ところが、3つの言語(ハンガリー語、日本語、韓国語)はすべて、過去形を用いて未来の状況を伝えることができる。これはムード的な意味と絡み合って話し手の心的態度、つまり想起･回想、絶望的･威嚇的な態度、差し迫った事態などを表すことになると言えよう。

This paper examines the relationship between “boundaries” and “distance” in Muramatsu Takeshi’s long poem Chōsen Kaikyō (The Korea Strait). Muramatsu was born and raised in colonial Korea and repatriated to Japan after the Second World War. In the poem, geographical boundaries such as rivers, seas, shores, and bridges are connected with distances involving memory, language, time, and death. Focusing on the speaker, “boku” (“I”), this paper examines how distance remains even when boundaries are crossed. In Chapter Five, “boku” has “crossed over from the other shore,” yet the distance from the other side does not disappear. In Chapter Eight, distance emerges between “boku” and “kimi” (“you”) through language, while Chapter Eleven presents the speaker as “unable to finish crossing.” In Chapter Thirteen, he attempts to bring a dead soldier back but cannot, and ultimately “sees him off.” These representations suggest that distance in Chōsen Kaikyō is not simply an obstacle to be overcome. Rather, the poem depicts “boku” as a subject who recognizes boundaries and confronts the “other side” without eliminating the distance.

I compared shohon, shohon-utsushi-gokan, and e-iri-nehon as adjacent genres to Santei Syunba II’s “Ichiyazukeｰshiguminoｰtanehon”. As a result, I found two intentions of the publisher Tsutakichi in planning this work. The first was to draw on the style of his previous work, “O-kyogenｰgakuyanoｰhonsetsu”, which was very well received for its illustrated presentation of kabuki tricks. Second, it was to be used as a script for an amateur’s standing farce. Thus, this work combines so many different elements that it is difficult to define the genre in a single word, so I have called it an “e-iri-nehon-style playbook”. When I searched for this work, there were three works that came up. In this paper, I attempted to clarify the relationship between these three works by Syunba, whose bibliographical relationship is not clear.　As a result, I raised the possibility that A “Ichiyazuke-chabanno-hinagata” was renamed B “Ichiyazuke-shigumino- tanehon” and published. And, B is an e-iri-nehon-style playbook, while C “Ichiyazuke- shigumino-tanehon Kanadehon-chushingura” is a shohon-utsushi-gokan, which is completely different in genre and content. Despite this, the three works have been introduced in previous studies in a convoluted manner.　I pointed out that the publisher’s intention to promote the sales of “C” and to make it appear as if it were a series with “B” has been reflected, resulting in misreading due to confusion between “B” and “C”.

This study examines the Korean translation of Kikuchi Sankei’s Kibun-den, serialized in Hanseong Shinbo in four installments from August 29 to September 4, 1896. At a time when modern translated literature in Korea was still in its formative stage, Hanseong Shinbo was expanding Korean-language reading materials in response to readers’ interests. Although the specific reason for selecting Kibun-den and the identity of its translator remain unknown, the work’s varied episodes—including adventure, commercial success, extravagant spending, and decline—provided strong narrative interest. A comparison with Kikuchi’s Kibun-den in Honcho Gusho Shinshi (1883) confirms that the Hanseong Shinbo version is a complete direct translation that preserves the overall structure and sequence of the source text. At the sentence level, however, various translation methods coexist, including Sino-Korean readings of Japanese names and places, semantic translation, omission, and supplementation, as well as misreadings of vocabulary and syntax. The fourth installment is particularly distinctive in its treatment of names and expressions and in its segmentation of classical Chinese sentences. While these differences do not establish a change of translator, they raise questions about whether all four installments were produced under homogeneous translational and editorial conditions. The 1896 Kibun-den is therefore significant as an early complete direct translation of Japanese literature into Korean and as an important source for examining translation practices in early modern Korean newspapers.

本稿は、1896年8月29日から9月4日まで『漢城新報』に全4回にわたって連載された｢紀文傳｣を、菊池三渓『本朝虞初新誌』所収｢紀文傳｣(1883)と比較し、その翻訳の特徴と翻訳史的意味を考察したものである。当時、韓国の近代翻訳文学は形成初期にあり、『漢城新報』では韓文欄に読者の興味を考慮した読み物を拡大する方針が具体化していた。｢紀文傳｣の選定理由と翻訳者は確認できないが、冒険、致富、豪遊、没落へと展開する作品の構成は、読者の興味を引く読み物としての特徴を備えていた。 両本を比較した結果、『漢城新報』本は原文の構成と事件の配列を維持し、｢三溪氏曰｣以下まで訳した完本の直接翻訳であることが確認できた。一方、文や語彙のレベルでは、固有名詞の韓国漢字音による表記、意味訳、省略、補足など複数の方法が併存し、語彙や漢文構造の誤読による誤訳も見られる。 特に第4回では、人名･語彙の処理や漢文の分節などに前3回とは異なる特徴が集中している。これを翻訳者の交替と断定することはできないが、全4回が均質な翻訳･編集条件のもとで成立したのかという問題を提起する。以上から、1896年󰡔漢城新報󰡕｢紀文傳｣は、日本文学の初期の完本直接翻訳であると同時に、近代初期の新聞における日本文学の翻訳実態を具体的に示す重要な資料として位置づけられる。

Haruki Murakami’s The City and Its Uncertain Walls(2023) was published just as the COVID-19 pandemic was coming to an end. This novel is a full-length work written as a third rewrite, based on the novella “The City and Its Uncertain Wall” (1980). Based on the historical context of the 1980s and the 2020s contained in the motif of “wall break-through,” it is necessary to examine the contemporary context. With the rise of data capitalism and the evolution of AI, we have entered an era where real-time access to information has become possible, transcending the constraints of time and space. Through the space of the “city,” the danger of losing autonomous judgment due to the confinement imposed by algorithms can be perceived. Haruki Murakami tackles the question of what a novelist can do in an era where the “wall= system” between people and the state is becoming increasingly rigid, and he questions the issue of “commitment” in this new age. In this novel, the issue of “system and individual” emerges as the backdrop to dealing with two worlds: reality and the fictional space called “the city.” In the conclusion of this novel, the protagonist ends up choosing a reality filled with pain, desire, and contradiction. In *The City and Its Uncertain Wall, the fundamental question of “Where is the real world?” suggests that the system of the “uncertain wall,” which alienates humans, can be transformed by the protagonist’s will and can change not by external forces, but by internal ones. It raises the question of how humans can exist in the digital world.

村上春樹の『街とその不確かな壁』(2023)は、コロナパンデミックの終息を前に発表された。この小説は、中編小説｢街と、その不確かな壁｣(1980)を原型として、第三のリライト作品として書かれた長編小説である。｢壁抜け｣というモチーフに含まれる1980年代と2020年代における時代背景に基づき、同時代的な文脈を考察する必要がある。データ資本主義とAIの進化により、時空の制約を超え、リアルタイムな情報アクセスが可能となった時代を迎えた。アルゴリズムの囲い込みにより、自立的な判断が失われる危険性が、｢街｣という空間を介して捉えられる。 村上春樹は、人と国家の｢壁＝システム｣が次第に固くなる時代に小説家として何ができるかという問題に取り組み、新しい時代における｢コミットメント｣の問題について問いかけている。この小説において現実と｢街｣という架空の空間という二つの世界を扱う背景に｢システムと個人｣の問題が表出されている。 この小説の結末において主人公は苦痛と欲望、そして矛盾に満ちた現実を選ぶことになる。｢デジタル世界で人間はどのように存在するのか｣という問題意識を提起しているのである。󰡔街とその不確かな壁󰡕では｢本当の世界は｣という根源的な問いにおいて、人間を疎外してしまう｢不確かな壁｣というシステムは主人公の意志によって変容でき、外部の力ではなく内部の力によって変化し得ることを示唆している。