天邪鬼

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Chinese

day; sky; heaven daemonical; iniquitous; nefarious ghost; sly; crafty
trad. (天邪鬼) 天 邪 鬼
simp. #(天邪鬼) 天 邪 鬼

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼

  1. amanojaku

Japanese

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天邪鬼 (amanojaku): an Edo period image of an amanojaku demon.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
天 邪 鬼
あま
Grade: 1 		じゃ
Grade: S 		く
Grade: S
kun'yomi on'yomi irregular

Compound of 天 (ama, “heaven”) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 邪鬼 (jaki, “vengeful spirit, cursing kami”).

The jaku reading for the 邪鬼 term is unusual, and the reason for this deviation from the expected jaki reading is unclear. One theory holds that the reading is a shift from 天探女 (ama no sagume), the name of a yōkai that appears in ancient Japanese tales and that seems to have been conflated with the Buddhist jaki, a malevolent demon that leads people astray from the path to enlightenment:[1][2]

  • /ama no saɡume/ → /amanozaku/ → /amanod͡ʑaku/

There is a cluster of phonologically similar forms listed in some sources,[1][2] referring either to the Buddhist entity or the yōkai, consistent with the conflation theory:

  • /amanod͡ʑaku/, /amanod͡ʑako/, /amanozaku/, /amanozako/, /amanɕaɡume/

The amanojaku reading appears to be the most common reading for the 天邪鬼 spelling.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのじゃく) • (amanojaku) 

  1. a kind of oni that appears in various folktales as the bad guy, who deliberately goes against what people say
  2. someone with a personality or behavior reminiscent of the folktale character: a crank, a perverse person
    Synonyms: 捻くれ者 (hinekure-mono), 旋毛曲り (tsumuji-magari)
  3. (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the small devil or demon being trampled under the feet of a 仁王 (Niō, “Deva king”) or one of the 四天王 (Shitennō, “four Deva warriors”)
  4. (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the devil or demon face on the breastplate of 毘沙門天 (Bishamonten, “Vaiśravaṇa”)
  5. a grub (insect larva)
    Synonym: 地虫 (jimushi)
Related terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
天 邪 鬼
あま
Grade: 1 		じゃ
Grade: S 		く
Grade: S
kun'yomi on'yomi irregular

Sound shift from amanojaku above, contracting the の (no) to just ん (n).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼(あまんじゃく) • (amanjaku) 

  1. see amanojaku above

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
天 邪 鬼
あま
Grade: 1 		じゃ
Grade: S 		こ
Grade: S
kun'yomi on'yomi irregular

Appears to be a sound shift from amanojaku above.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのじゃこ) • (amanojako) 

  1. see amanojaku above

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
天 邪 鬼
あま
Grade: 1 		じゃ
Grade: S 		こ
Grade: S
kun'yomi on'yomi irregular

Sound shift from amanojako above, contracting the の (no) to just ん (n).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼(あまんじゃこ) • (amanjako) 

  1. see amanojaku above

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
天 邪 鬼
あま
Grade: 1 		ざ
Grade: S 		こ
Grade: S
kun'yomi irregular

Appears to be a sound shift from amanojako above. Alternatively, may be a separate shift from amanosagume:

  • /ama no saɡume/ → /amanozaku/ → /amanozako/

Listed with this reading as Amanozaco in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.[6]

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのざこ) • (amanozako) 

  1. see amanojaku above

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  5. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. ^ Ishizuka, Harumichi (1976 ) 日葡辞書: パリ本 [Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan]‎ (overall work in Japanese and Portuguese), Tōkyō: Bensei Publishing, text here at the top of the left-hand column
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