Shin Meikai kokugo jiten

新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん
	Shin Meikai kokugo jiten eighth edition
Editor	Tadao Yamada, Yasuo Kuramochi, Yoshimichi Ueno, Akio Yamada, Masahiro Ijima, Hiroyuki Sasahara
Language	Japanese
Genre	Dictionary
Publisher	Sanseidō
Publication date	24 January 1972 (first edition), 19 November 2020 (eighth edition)
Publication place	Japan
Pages	1792
ISBN	978-4-385-13078-1
OCLC	1229127736
Website	【特設とくせつサイト】新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん

The Shin meikai kokugo jiten (新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん, "New clear-understanding Japanese dictionary"), commonly called the Shinmeikai or affectionately the Shinkai-san (新しん解かいさん, "Mr/Ms Shinkai", with the personal suffix -san さん), is a popular Japanese dictionary published by Sanseidō. They also publish the analogous Sanseido Kokugo Jiten dictionary, a lexicographical sister that shares several of the same editors.

This Japanese language reference work has frequently undergone revisions and republications. The first two editions were called the Meikai kokugo jiten (明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん, "Clear-understanding Japanese dictionary"), and the six subsequent ones were published under the current Shin "New" name.

1943, 1st edition Meikai kokugo jiten
1952, 2nd edition Meikai kokugo jiten
1972, 1st edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten　
1974, 2nd edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
1981, 3rd edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
1989, 4th edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
1997, 5th edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
2005, 6th edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
2011, 7th edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten
2020, 8th edition Shin meikai kokugo jiten

The chief editors of the early versions were Kindaichi Kyōsuke (1882-1971), Kindaichi Haruhiko (1913-2004), Kenbō Hidetoshi (見み坊ぼう豪紀ひでとし, 1914-1992), and most notably Yamada Tadao (山田やまだ忠雄ただお, 1916-1996). The 6th edition, which contains some 76,500 entries, still lists Yamada as chief editor, but was edited by Shibata Takeshi (柴田しばた武たけし) and Sakai Kenji (酒井さかい憲二けんじ). The Shinmeikai kokugo jiten is one of the most popular dictionaries among high-school students. According to Sanseido, all the editions have collectively sold over 19,500,000 copies.

Following the death of Yamada Tadao, the Shin meikai kokugo jiten acquired a certain notoriety in Japan after the publication of the humorous bestsellers by Akasegawa Genpei (1996, "Mysteries of the Shinkai-san") and Suzuki Makiko (1998, "How to read the Shinkai-san"). They revealed the idiosyncratic nature of many dictionary definitions written by Yamada. In addition to providing a general definition of a word, this editor sometimes added personal commentaries reflecting his experience and philosophy, making the otherwise bland definitions an enjoyable and at times philosophical reading. For example, compare these definitions of ren'ai (恋愛れんあい "love") in a common dictionary and the Shinmeikai:

Love between a man and a woman, or the feeling one feels in such a situation.

To feel an affection for an individual of the opposite sex so intense that one would not regret sacrificing anything for that person; the person is constantly on one’s mind, prompting the wish to always be together and share a private world; one feels happy when that desire is satisfied and anxious or depressed should the slightest doubt about that person’s affections arise. (tr. The Japan Forum 2005)

"This is probably the best-selling and most well known of the smaller kokugo dictionaries," writes Gally (1999), "though its fame rests less on its authority than on the quirkiness of its definitions." Based upon Yamada's definitions, Gally describes him as "a misogynist cynic who enjoyed eating fish (many of the definitions of fish names identify the particular fish as tasty, an opinion that may not be shared by all)."

References

Akasegawa, Genpei (1996). 新しん解かいさんの謎なぞ [Mysteries of the Shinkai-san]. Tōkyō: Bungei Shunjū. ISBN 4163517901.
Gally, Tom (26 Mar 1999). 国語こくご辞書じしょ [Kokugo Dictionaries](review article){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Suzuki, Makiko (1998). 新しん解かいさんの読よみ方かた [How to read the Shinkai-san]. Ritoru Moa. ISBN 4947648694.
The Japan Forum, (2005), The Japanese Language Boom: Renewed appreciation for the beauty and pleasure of the language, Takarabako 4.

^ "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん". 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
^ "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん (三省堂さんせいどう): 2020". 国立こくりつ国会図書館こっかいとしょかんサーチ. 国立こくりつ国会図書館こっかいとしょかん. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
^ "【特設とくせつサイト】新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん". 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
^ "宣伝せんでん用よう内容ないよう見本みほん" (PDF). 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. September 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
^ "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん注ちゅう文書ぶんしょ" (PDF). 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. September 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

External links

(in Japanese) 新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん, Sanseido homepage for 8th ed. Shinmeikai kokugo jiten

[新明解国語辞典第八版ssd13078-1] "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん". 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. Retrieved 2021-11-05.

[国立国会図書館-2] "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん (三省堂さんせいどう): 2020". 国立こくりつ国会図書館こっかいとしょかんサーチ. 国立こくりつ国会図書館こっかいとしょかん. Retrieved 2021-12-04.

[新明解国語辞典第八版-3] "【特設とくせつサイト】新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん". 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

[宣伝用内容見本第八版-4] "宣伝せんでん用よう内容ないよう見本みほん" (PDF). 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. September 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

[新明解国語辞典第八版注文書-5] "新しん明解めいかい国語こくご辞典じてん第だい八はち版はん注ちゅう文書ぶんしょ" (PDF). 三省堂さんせいどうWORD-WISE WEB -辞書じしょウェブ編集へんしゅう部ぶによることばの壺つぼ-. 三省堂さんせいどう. September 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

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