Mottainai: Difference between revisions
Not useful, as anyone who can read kana can guess from the Hepburn how this is written in kana; the kanji would be more useful, but they are not used often. And given the controversy over whether we should be implying this article is about the Japanese word or the "concept" associated with (predominantly non-Japanese) environmentalists, including Japanese linguistic information in the lead sentence is probably a bad idea. |
→Etymology: Removed unsourced and fairly irrelevant NOTDICT stuff. Even the one "sourced" sentence was completely wrong in that very little of it was actually supported by the source. If anyone thinks any of it was salvageable, Wikitionary is that-a-way. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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=== Etymology === |
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In ancient Japanese,{{what|reason=The following paragraph explicitly states that one of the earliest recorded uses dates to the late Middle Japanese period -- what does this mean?|date=February 2018}} ''mottainai'' had various meanings, including a sense of gratitude mixed with shame for receiving greater favor from a superior than is properly merited by one's station in life.{{citation needed|reason=Previous version cited "Daijirin", but (the free online version of?) Daijirin doesn't give anything like this, and actually most Japanese pocket dictionaries rarely give any etymological info. Plus, this all (not just the first three words) looks extremely fishy.|date=March 2017}} |
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One of the earliest appearances of the word ''mottainai'' is in the book ''[[Genpei Jōsuiki]]'' (''A Record of the Genpei War'', {{circa|1247}}).<ref>This early use of the word appears in a story about [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune|Yoshitsune]] in the [[Battle of Yashima]]. On horseback, Yoshitsune dropped his bow into the sea. A [[vassal]] cried out, "Don't pick up the bow, let it be!" but he picked it up while being pursued by the enemy [[Taira clan]]. After the battle was over, the vassal used the word ''mottainashi'' in admonishing Yoshitsune that he should have considered his own life more valuable than even a worthy bow. Yoshitsune retorted that if the enemy saw that inferior bow, it would have disgraced the [[Genji clan]]. Referencing site in Japanese: '''1'''; [http://amanoakihisa.hp.infoseek.co.jp/genpei/15yuminagasi.htm "26 Historical place of Yoshitsune dropped the bow"](26弓流しの跡), '''2'''; [http://yas.web.infoseek.co.jp/genpeiyasima/genpe2/genpei2-2.html 義経の弓流しの跡]</ref> |
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''Mottainai'' is a compound word, ''mottai''+''nai''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The message of Christmas: Clergy work hard to compose words that will be heard by many this weekend. |author=Steve Scott |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-140088659/message-christmas-clergy-work.html |newspaper=[[Saint Paul Pioneer Press]] |date=December 23, 2005 |quote=The Rev. Nancy Maeker, associate to the St. Paul ELCA bishop, has preached the past couple of weeks about Christmas using the Japanese concept of "mottainai," a compound word that means the negation ("nai") of something with precious value ("mottai"). |accessdate=July 24, 2013}}</ref> {{nihongo3||勿体|Mottai}} refers to the intrinsic dignity or sacredness of a material entity, while {{nihongo3||無い|nai}} indicates an absence or lack (''Mottai'' further consists of {{nihongo3||勿|mochi}}, meaning "inevitable; unnecessary to discuss", and {{nihongo3||体|tai}}, meaning "entity; body").{{cn|date=February 2018}} |
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''Mottai'' is also used in the construction {{nihongo3||勿体振る|mottai-buru}}, meaning "pretentious" or "giving oneself airs" by assuming more dignity than one truly possesses.{{clarify|reason=What does this have to do with the rest of the article?|date=February 2018}}{{cn|date=February 2018}} |
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Buddhists traditionally used the term ''mottainai'' to indicate regret at the waste or misuse of something sacred or highly respected, such as religious objects or teaching.{{cn|date=February 2018}} Today, the word is widely used in everyday life to indicate the waste of any material object, time, or other resource.{{cn|date=February 2018}} Compare also the concept of [[tsukumogami]] "artifact spirit", which are said to live in old objects that have gained self-awareness and are angered if the object is thrown away wastefully.{{cn|date=February 2018}} |
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=== Modern Japanese environmentalism === |
=== Modern Japanese environmentalism === |
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In November 2002, the English-language, Japan-based magazine ''[[Look Japan]]'' ran a cover story entitled "Restyling Japan: Revival of the 'Mottainai' Spirit", documenting the motivation amongst volunteers in a "toy hospital" in Japan to "develop in children the habit of looking after their possessions," the re-emergence of repair shops specializing in repairing household appliances or children's clothes, the recycling of [[Polyethylene terephthalate|PET]] bottles and other materials, the collection of waste [[edible oil]], and more generally the efforts to stop the trend of throwing away everything that can no longer be used, i.e. the efforts of reviving "the spirit of ''mottainai''".<ref name="look-japan-2002">{{cite journal |last=Chiba |first=Hitoshi |date=November 2002 |title=Restyling Japan: Revival of the "Mottainai" Spirit |journal=[[Look Japan]] |url=http://www.lookjapan.com/LBcoverstory/02NovCS.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405084940/http://www.lookjapan.com/LBcoverstory/02NovCS.htm |archivedate=April 5, 2004 |accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref> In that context, Hitoshi Chiba, the author, described ''mottainai'' as follows: |
In November 2002, the English-language, Japan-based magazine ''[[Look Japan]]'' ran a cover story entitled "Restyling Japan: Revival of the 'Mottainai' Spirit", documenting the motivation amongst volunteers in a "toy hospital" in Japan to "develop in children the habit of looking after their possessions," the re-emergence of repair shops specializing in repairing household appliances or children's clothes, the recycling of [[Polyethylene terephthalate|PET]] bottles and other materials, the collection of waste [[edible oil]], and more generally the efforts to stop the trend of throwing away everything that can no longer be used, i.e. the efforts of reviving "the spirit of ''mottainai''".<ref name="look-japan-2002">{{cite journal |last=Chiba |first=Hitoshi |date=November 2002 |title=Restyling Japan: Revival of the "Mottainai" Spirit |journal=[[Look Japan]] |url=http://www.lookjapan.com/LBcoverstory/02NovCS.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405084940/http://www.lookjapan.com/LBcoverstory/02NovCS.htm |archivedate=April 5, 2004 |accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref> In that context, Hitoshi Chiba, the author, described ''mottainai'' as follows: |
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Revision as of 14:07, 20 April 2018
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Mottainai is a term of Japanese origin that has been used by environmentalists. The term in Japanese conveys a sense of regret over waste; the exclamation "Mottainai! can translate as "What a waste!" Japanese environmentalists have used the term to encourage people to "reduce, reuse and recycle", and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai used the term at the United Nations as a slogan to promote environmental protection.
Usage and translation
Mottainai is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste.[1] The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "what a waste!" In addition to its primary sense of "wastefulness", the word is also used to mean "impious; irreverent" or "more than one deserves".[2]
Mottainai in Japanese refers both to physical waste and to wasteful action. MacQuillan and Preston propose a more elaborate translation that conveys a sense of value and worthiness as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that which is worthy".[3]
History
Modern Japanese environmentalism
In November 2002, the English-language, Japan-based magazine Look Japan ran a cover story entitled "Restyling Japan: Revival of the 'Mottainai' Spirit", documenting the motivation amongst volunteers in a "toy hospital" in Japan to "develop in children the habit of looking after their possessions," the re-emergence of repair shops specializing in repairing household appliances or children's clothes, the recycling of PET bottles and other materials, the collection of waste edible oil, and more generally the efforts to stop the trend of throwing away everything that can no longer be used, i.e. the efforts of reviving "the spirit of mottainai".[4] In that context, Hitoshi Chiba, the author, described mottainai as follows:
We often hear in Japan the expression 'mottainai', which loosely means 'wasteful' but in its full sense conveys a feeling of awe and appreciation for the gifts of nature or the sincere conduct of other people. There is a trait among Japanese people to try to use something for its entire effective life or continue to use it by repairing it. In this caring culture, people will endeavor to find new homes for possessions they no longer need. The 'mottainai' principle extends to the dinner table, where many consider it rude to leave even a single grain of rice in the bowl. The concern is that this traditional trait may be lost.[4]
A modern observance that practices mottainai[clarification needed] is the yearly festival of Hari-Kuyō, or the Festival of Broken Needles.[citation needed]
At the Opening Ceremony of the Science and Technology in Society Forum in 2005, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stated: "In Japan, there has long been a spirit characterized by the word mottainai, which could be translated as 'don't waste what is valuable'."[5]
Use by Wangari Maathai
At a session of the United Nations, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai introduced the word mottainai as a slogan for environmental protection.[6] According to Mizue Sasaki,[7]
Dr. Maathai, brandishing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word MOTTAINAI, explained that the meaning of the term mottainai encompasses the four Rs of reduce, reuse, recycle and repair ... [and ] made the case that we should all use limited resources effectively and share them fairly if we are to avert wars arising from disputes over natural resources.
Maathai has worked to popularize the word mottainai in places outside Japan.[8] At the 2009 United Nations Summit on Climate Change, she said "Even at personal level, we can all reduce, re-use and recycle, what is embraced as Mottainai in Japan, a concept that also calls us to express gratitude, to respect and to avoid wastage."[9]
See also
- Affluenza
- Anti-consumerism
- Bal tashchit
- Conspicuous consumption
- Freeganism
- Frugality
- Mottainai Grandma
- "Mottai Night Land", a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu song which has Mottai nai in the title
- Muda, mura and muri, three types of waste in lean manufacturing
- Planned obsolescence
- Simple living
References
- ^ Daijirin Japanese dictionary 2nd ed. (Japanese)
- ^ Masuda, K: Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, page 1139. Kenkyusha Ltd., 1974
- ^ Alan G. MacQuillan; Ashley L. Preston (1998). Globally and Locally: Seeking a Middle Path to Sustainable Development. University Press of America. p. 157. ISBN 0761811265.
- ^ a b Chiba, Hitoshi (November 2002). "Restyling Japan: Revival of the "Mottainai" Spirit". Look Japan. Archived from the original on April 5, 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ "Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi". japan.kantei.go.jp.
- ^ Murko Siniawer, Eiko (2014). "'Affluence of the Heart': Wastefulness and the Search for Meaning in Millennial Japan". The Journal of Asian Studies. 73 (1). Cambridge University Press, Association for Asian Studies: 165–186.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Sasaki, Mizue (7–9 November 2005). Perspectives of language: cultural differences and universality in Japanese (PDF). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 124–125.
{{cite conference}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|booktitle=(help) - ^ Iwatsuki, Kunio (2008). "Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, with Reference to the Japanese Spirit of Worshipping Nature (in "Conserving Nature, A Japanese Perspective")" (PDF). Biodiversity Network Japan: 4–11. ISBN 978-4-9901743-1-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Statement by Prof. W. Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate, on behalf of Civil Society" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-01. Retrieved 24 February 2018. Cited in Maruko Siniawer, 2014, p. 177.
Further reading
- Shuto, Toshimoto; Eriguna (2013). "Kindergarten Children's and Teachers' Cognitions of "Mottainai" and Their Socio-Moral Judgments about Environmental Deviancy". Journal of Saitama University. Faculty of Education. 62 (1): 25–36. Retrieved 24 July 2013.