was a Japanese

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

ist. He is best known for his many contributions to Japanese linguistics and

lexicography Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretical le ...

. In honor of him, the Shinmura Izuru Prize is annually awarded for contributions to linguistics.

Background

Shinmura was born in

Yamaguchi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

on October 4, 1876. He graduated from the

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

in 1899 where he studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

under the instruction of Ueda Kazutoshi. Between 1906 and 1909 he studied abroad in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he studied linguistics. In 1919 he received a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

Career

In 1902, Shimura taught at Tokyo Higher Normal School, and in 1904 at Tokyo Imperial University. After returning from studying abroad, he taught at

Kyoto Imperial University , or , is a national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen graduate schools, and t ...

for a number of years. Shinmura introduced western linguists to Japan and created the fundamental foundation of modern Japanese linguistics. His research included a study of the historical development of the

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

, a comparative study of Japanese with neighboring languages, and etymology. He also made important contributions to the study of 16–17th-century

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionaries in Japan.Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (2000-2002)Nihon Rekishi Daijiten (2000)Britannica (2007)My Pedia (2004) During his career, Shinmura compiled a number of

Japanese dictionaries have a history that began over 1300 years ago when Japanese Buddhist priests, who wanted to understand Chinese sutras, adapted Chinese character dictionaries. Present-day Japanese lexicographers are exploring computerized editing and electronic ...

: in 1935, in 1949, and in 1955, for which he is most known. In 1956 Shinmura was awarded the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...

for his many contributions.

Major works

* ''Nanban Sarasa'', Kaizōsha, 1924 * ''Nanban Kōki'', Iwanami Shoten, 1925 * ''Tōhō Gengoshi Sōkō'', Iwanami Shoten, 1927 * ''Tōa Gogen Shi'', Oka Shoin, 1930 * ''Genrin'', Zenkoku Shobō, 1949 * ''

Kōjien is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. It is widely regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions. As of 2007, it had sold 11 mi ...

'', Iwanami Shoten, 1955

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shinmura, Izuru Linguists from Japan Japanese essayists Japanese Esperantists Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Japanese expatriates in Germany Japanese expatriates in France Recipients of the Order of Culture Academic staff of Kyoto University University of Tokyo alumni People from Yamaguchi Prefecture 1876 births 1967 deaths