Many experienced readers have seen an unfamiliar word, went to look it up in the dictionary or encyclopedia, and come up empty-handed. Some subset of them may have even had the same experience with an unknown kanji as well (this has happened exactly once for me with 𥥔). In these cases, kanji knowledge and intuition can often lead to a somewhat satisfactory answer. But what happens when normally credible resources are incorrect or have conflicting information? Which source can we trust and how should we interpret the discrepancy?
I first thought about making this post when I read 三島由紀夫’s short story スタア in the 短編集 殉教, but my patience was rewarded as another short story, 孔雀, in the same book gave me another wonderful example and context.
The first offending word, and surrounding context went as follows:
その顔つきは加代の十八番で、どこからついても
嫉妬 のしの字も感じられない、見事に凅化 した職業的な顔つきで、僕はそれを見るのが好きだったのだ。
My first thought when finding an unfamiliar word like 凅化 is to use the dictionary. But whether you go to Jisho or a JP-JP dictionary like コトバンク, there is no information. Even a google search of “凅化” doesn’t give many good clues. No matter though, as words with 化 attached are easy enough to understand via the preceding kanji.
Looking at the Jisho page, we get the meanings of “wither, droop, lame.” Very strange considering the context, until we see that Jisho lists it as a variant of 涸, a kanji that I’ve seen many times with the context of something withering or drying up. Jisho also lists こおる as a 訓読み for both, which is a meaning that most closely matches our context sentence.
Now let’s look at the 漢字ペディア page. The pertinent information is “こおる。水がこおる” and the 参考 “「涸(コ)」は別字。” Uh-oh! Is it not a variant but a completely different kanji entirely? Certainly given the context it seems that way.
Here comes 孔雀 swooping in to save the day:
孔雀の顔だけは、それほどのゆたかな色の
装 いに比して、鳥らしくやつれていた。 灰色の嘴 と、固い皺 にかこまれた目と、その目の下の一部分の白い羽根と、そして肢 とが、彼のすっかり涸化 した、木乃伊 のような不死の肉体を想像させた。
涸化 is also not in any dictionary, and while a google search gives some scholarly articles, by comparing with the previous example of 凅化, the difference is extremely clear. The depiction of the almost frozen rigid and professional face of 加代 versus the near-mummified and desiccated body of the bird.
In the first place, 漢字ペディア is probably the go-to place for official meanings of kanji, as that database is what is used for the 漢検. However, this does not mean that Jisho is an unreliable source; in fact, I still use it regularly as the database is vast, searching via 部首 is convenient, and they show the stroke order as well.
Another takeaway I had from this experience is just how skilled 三島由紀夫 and other great writers of the past were. Even in today’s age of information, it can still be difficult to learn about the subtle nuances of complex kanji and archaic words. It takes another level of mastery to not only use those kanji, but also in your own style. Makes me feel extremely grateful that I can learn Japanese in the convenient and carefree way that I do.