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| Kojien | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kojien |
| Native name | 広辞苑 |
| Caption | First edition cover (1955) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Subject | Dictionary |
| Publisher | Iwanami Shoten |
| First publication | 1955 |
| Latest edition | 7th edition (2018) |
| Pages | 2,116 (7th) |
Kojien is a single-volume Japanese languagedictionary published by Iwanami Shoten that has become a standard reference work in Japan since its first edition in 1955. Compiled under the editorship of Seiichi Makino and later editors, it is widely cited by scholars, journalists, and officials for its authoritative definitions of Japanese vocabulary, historical terms, and proper names. The work occupies a prominent place alongside other major reference works such as Daijisen, Shinmeikai Kokugo Jiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, and the Oxford English Dictionary in comparative lexicography.
The project was launched at Iwanami Shoten in the early 1950s under chief editor Seiichi Makino, drawing on methodologies from Western lexicography exemplified by the Oxford English Dictionary and the Webster's Third New International Dictionary. The first edition (1955) emerged during Japan’s postwar period alongside cultural shifts involving Emperor Showa, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and rapid growth in Tokyo publishing. Subsequent editions responded to linguistic change associated with events such as the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan, and technological transformations involving firms like Sony, Toyota, and Hitachi. Editors including Tadao Hori, Kiro Otsuka, and later editorial committees revised entries to reflect political developments such as the Okinawa Line Dispute, jurisprudence shaped by decisions of the Supreme Court of Japan, and cultural phenomena tied to creators like Akira Kurosawa, Haruki Murakami, and Hayao Miyazaki.
Major editions have appeared in 1955 (1st), 1969 (2nd), 1983 (3rd), 1991 (4th), 1998 (5th), 2008 (6th), and 2018 (7th). Each edition incorporated new headwords reflecting social changes linked to entities such as Nintendo, NHK, Shinzō Abe, Yukio Hatoyama, and events including the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Revision committees composed of specialists from institutions like University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Waseda University, and Keio University review corpus evidence and entries on subjects ranging from Buddhism figures like Kūkai to scientific terms associated with Riken and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Additions and deletions have sometimes provoked debate among scholars, media outlets such as Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, and civic organizations.
Editorial policy emphasizes prescriptive and descriptive balance informed by precedent in works like the Oxford English Dictionary and the Dictionary of American Regional English. Committees apply criteria derived from citation evidence from corpora, newspapers like Mainichi Shimbun, literary sources including Natsume Sōseki, Murasaki Shikibu, and technical literature from publishers such as Kodansha and Shueisha. Treatment of proper names covers politicians (e.g., Yukio Hatoyama, Junichiro Koizumi), cultural figures (e.g., Yayoi Kusama, Takeshi Kitano), and historical personages (e.g., Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu). Pronunciation, etymology, and usage notes adopt standards aligned with institutions like NHK and academic conventions at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics.
The dictionary contains headwords with definitions, etymologies, orthography guidance, and sample sentences drawn from classical texts such as Genji Monogatari and modern literature by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Entries include proper nouns spanning geography (e.g., Kyoto, Hokkaido), institutions (e.g., Bank of Japan, Imperial Household Agency), and cultural artifacts (e.g., haiku, kabuki). Supplementary materials in editions have included kanji indexes, historical timelines referencing eras like Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa, and Heisei, and appendices on romanization systems such as Hepburn romanization. Illustrations and character tables accompany technical entries about entities like Toyota Prius and scientific terms associated with Kagoshima University research.
Scholars, journalists, and public servants cite the dictionary in academic publications and media pieces alongside competing works by publishers like Sanseido and Shogakukan. Reviews in periodicals such as Bungei Shunjū and commentary by linguists at Tokyo University and Kyoto University have debated definitions of politically sensitive terms connected to events like Comfort women controversies and historical interpretation of the Nanjing Massacre. The dictionary’s authority influences school curricula overseen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan), legal drafting practices referenced in decisions of the Supreme Court of Japan, and lexicographical standards followed by commercial dictionaries from Kodansha and online platforms like Weblio.
Publishers developed electronic editions and licensed digital versions for platforms associated with companies like NTT DoCoMo, Apple Inc., and Rakuten. Mobile apps and searchable databases integrate audio pronunciation files and hyperlinks to multimedia resources such as broadcasts by NHK and archival materials from the National Diet Library. Online subscription services offer APIs and cross-references used by projects at institutions like RIKEN and Tokyo Institute of Technology, and adaptations appear in e-reader formats compatible with devices from Amazon (company) and Sony Corporation.
Category:Japanese dictionaries Category:Iwanami Shoten publications