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What do dinosaurs, outdated fashions, and SNL have in common? Theyre going to help us
with Classical Japanese. Todays course in your Kobun education is easy breezy: Jodoushi (
). Theyre helper or auxiliary verbs. I mentioned these critters a little in my last article
on Kobun but Id recommend you read Part 1 (the introduction to kobun) rst if you havent
already.
Kobun jodoushi are pretty old (we are talking about classical Japanese, after all!), but they
do still show up in modern Japanese from time to time. Well see them xed with verbs, in
set phrases, or even adverbs. Some exist as useable grammar points. Most, however, appear in
much the way that everything else in Kobun does: in the monogataris and nikkis and other
classical Japanese texts. That is, after all, why were learning so much about Kobun!
Timeless Jodoushi
http://www.extafilm.com/images/cache/screen_image_257909.jpg
Somehow, these dinosaurs made it into Modern Japanese, but they often sound formal or
eloquent. Like, Asteroid scientist, I am Danneth of Sharpteeth Abbey. You know the where-
abouts of the asteroid which vanquished my ancestors. Kindly take me to it, or kindly prepare
yourself for death, kind of eloquent. Not so old-timey sounding, but denitely eloquent.
For each jodoushi below, Ive provided a Kobun sentence taken from my favorite online
Kogo-jiten where that jodoushi makes an appearance.

was the base form of a jodoushi that has survived through two evolutionary tracks to
the Modern: (the old Rentaikei) and (the old Mizenkei and Renyoukei). is used
these days to talk about the way things ought to be done, like English should, and doesnt
sound particularly high-brow or anything like the rest of these. is less common, and is a
conjunction that indicates a direct cause or prerequisite. But in Kobun, could also mean
that someone is assuming or framing a situation a certain way.
Kobun: (From
Tsurezuregusa)
Modern:

English: It is desirable that a mans face and gure be of excelling beauty (Keene 3-4).

In both Modern Japanese and in Kobun, is a negative, like not. In Modern, can
sound pretty formal. The jodoushi is in the Rentaikei (see part 2 of this series, scroll down
to step 2), and that form appears in Modern as well, though less frequently. Theres important
nuance to the breed of negation, so ask around before using it or you might sound like a
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better-than-thou snob (or, in Mamis words, a bossy Shogun). In Kobun, however, / is a
frequent (non-snobbish) - kind of negation.
Kobun:(From Ise Monogatari)
Modern:
English: Since it was of a [bird] species unknown in the capital,
none of them could identify it (Tales of Ise 76).

Ive only run into once in Contemporary Japanese literature as ), if

that tells you anything about its frequency. is a sophisticated-sounding , in
Modern Japanese. The Kobun , however, could mean a variety of things. Like the modern
version, it could be used for comparison, but also for equivalence or as an example-provision:
Kobun:(From Houjouki)
Modern:
English: In this world, people and their dwelling places are like that, always changing
(from here).
and
Yeah, I know, theres - in almost every verb garden out there. This one is pretending to
be a Kobun weed when really its the base form of almost the same passive or potential youd
recognize today. The others - and - are causative, which also kind of overlap
with modern. Go here for a more detailed breakdown of them.
Kobun:(From Ise Monogatari)
Modern:
English: I am blind and speechless with tears (Tales of Ise 110).
Debbie Downer Jodoushi
http://l.yimg.com/os/en-US/video/video.snl.com/SNL_1432_11_A_Very_Downer_
Christmas.png
These Jodoushi are negatives. When Classical writers saw an armative verbs bridge of
dreams and wanted to crush it, they used one of these bad boys. Whats that, Taketori Mono-
gatari? Bamboo cutter ? NOPE. Author guys Pokmon Pen slams the sentence
with and there wasnt an old bamboo cutter.
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Do you remember this advertisement from the very rst part of the Kobun series?
Written there you can see majiwhich negates forgive and generally seasons the sentence
with some negative feelings:
Kobun-ized ad:
Modern: ! or !
English: Dont yield (to pollen)!

This is pretty equivalent to the modern . Its a negative + probably or negative

+ intention. See here:
Kobun:(From Ise Mono-
gatari)
Modern:

English: Perhaps because he found it awkward to stay in the capital [He] journeyed
toward the east in search of a place to live (Tales of Ise 74).
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Yesterdays News
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/20200000/Cher-Josh-in-Clueless-movie-couples-20203465-1280-720.
jpg
That outt is so past tense.
The following jodoushi relate to time. Most of them are for the past, but not all.
and
We encountered in the Kobun verbs article - its a past tense thing. is the same, but
it has a crazy line of conjugation, so be sure to check out the chart I include at the end of this
article. meanwhile, talks about something that has happened and is part conjecture (see
the - in the sentence translation).
Kobun:(From Sarashina Nikki)
Modern:
English: They said that they were the descendants of a [once-]famous singer called Kobata
(Doi and Omori 11).

Like in Disneys Mulan, when Mushu says, Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow. This
jodoushi casts Deshou on the situation, deshou on a reason for the situation, and general
vagueness all around, in my opinion, since can also equate to euphemism or simile.
Kobun:(From Sarashina Nikki)
Modern:
English: How did it come to such a rough time as this? (my translation)
/
This jodoushi can be the volitional (modern or a deshou. As in modern, a
deshou or volitional can go a long way towards soft suggestions for the way things ought to
be. Likewise, / in Konbun could represent a suggestion and even, as with , simile.
Kobun:(From Taketori Mono-
gatari)
Modern:
English: People are going to come from my original land for me (Behr 128).
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Completion
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40037997@N02/4770979112
by Shinichi Haramizu
These jodoushi are ip-a-table, pull-the-plug, 800% done. Or, the verb they attach to sounds
like a completed action, at least.

The Renyoukei (see part 1 of this series and scroll to step 2) for is . Classical Japanese
had a few other sentence parts (like particles) with at the border between words, so youll
want to list out some guesses when translating. In addition to completion, was written for
lists (like in modern) or a deshou-tinted certainly or without mistake
().
Kobun:(From Makura no Soushi)
Modern:
English: The y should have been included in my list of hateful things . . . (Morris 70).

This is a dierent than the negative /. This is completion. How do you know
which is being used in the sentence? Youll have to look at charts and forms. Remember that
the Mizenkei usually precedes negatives, while the Renyoukei is usually used as a connective
form. So verb in Mizenkei + = negative action, while Renyoukei + = completed action
(probably). Theres more to it than that, but heres an example sentence to get you started -
its a beautiful poem from the Kokin Wakashuu, as translated by Kuma Papa-san).
Kobun:
Modern:
English: If these plum blossoms must wither/scatter, at the very least leave your fragrance.
. .. (Kafka-Fuura).

This jodoushi can signify either completion or an on-going action - use your best judgement
when translating.
Kobun:
(From Taketori Monogatari)
Modern:
English: Prince Kuramochi has returned with the Udonge ower! (Behr 108-109).
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The Wishlist
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35561138@N07/3714842289
Photo by [Noel Portugal](http://www.flickr.com/photos/35561138@N07/3714842289
Ambrose Bierce, in The Devils Dictionary, denes hope as Desire and expectation rolled
into one, which is exactly what kibou) sounds like. Guess what these jodoushi express?
Hopes, wishes, and dreams, like the modern - form.
and
These are both like the modern -or , depending on the subjects and objects
in the sentence.
Kobun:(From Tsurezuregusa)
Modern:
English: When he was ready to go home, he at once got up and went o all alone (Porter
53-54).
The Circus Group
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12708857@N00/3415649550
Photo by rjb
The nal group of jodoushi are a hodgepodge mix. Some resemble verbs, while some simply
have unique meaning or classication.

This jodoushi only sounds like the regular verb by coincidence. tags onto a
verb to convey an assumption of some sort, hearsay, or to point out that something has been
physically heard, as in:
Kobun:
(From Kokin Wakashuu)
Modern:

English: Journeying onward over Otowa Mountain while the day is young, I hear a cuckoo
singing high in the distant treetops (Kokin Wakashu 41).
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is whats called a counter-factual supposition. Its inherently hypothetical - sometimes

just an observation, but sometimes conveying wistfulness. It often connects to the conditional
, but it doesnt have to. Would that I had eaten ice cream one last time before the zombie
apocalypse began! is an example in English.
Kobun: (From
Kokin Wakashuu; more breakdown here)
Modern:

English: After the snowfall, owers have burst into bloom on every tree. How am I to nd
the plum and break o a laden bough? (Kokin Wakashu 81).

Like a lot of things on this list, indicates a projection of circumstances, but, unlike
most of the others, has a strong tinge of uncertainty or neutrality. In English, this would be the
dierence between Someone forgot their bag and It looks as if someone forgot their bag.
Kobun: (From Genji Monogatari)
Modern:
English: A nun, raising a curtain before Buddha, oered a garland of owers on the alter
(Suematsu 92).

The Kobun acts exactly like the Modern , but I dont know that they are actually
related (changing from a jodoushi to an adjective?). But like so many others on this list,
is conjecture, a statement about the appearances of a situation or thing, including the reason
something came to be.
Kobun:(From Kokin Wakashuu)
Modern:
English: There must be a man unstringing them at the top (McCullough 482).

is classied on charts and in Kobun discourse as . Spontaneous? As in Spontaneous

Combustion Man? Yeah, I didnt get it either, at rst. But if you reframe it as an expression
of naturally occuring or unplanned actions and circumstances, then it makes more sense.
Kobun:
(From Tsurezuregusa)
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Modern:

English: It is the perfume of the plum which sends our thoughts lovingly back to the days
of old (Porter 21).
Wrap-up
http://imgur.com/DItOdah
As promised, here is a jodoushi chart, made by the education site Wiquitous. The top
row is the verb form (Renyoukei, etc.) that the jodoushi tags onto, while the right side scales
down the forms the jodoushi conjugate through. Empty circles mean that the jodoushi doesnt
appear in that form. Meireikei (command form), for example, doesnt go hand-in-hand with
many helper verbs, and that makes sense when you think about it.
Jodoushi were way easier than verbs, right? The verb patterns I talked about before permeate
everything, so knowing the forms is truly essential. Hopefully, learning about helper verbs just
made the previous lesson snap into focus. Were not completely done looking at conjugations,
though, because adjectives are still to come.
Sources:
Behr, Maiko R.. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter: A Study in Contextualization. Diss.
Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1998.
Bierce, Ambrose. The Devils Dictionary.
Doi, Kchi and Annie S. Omori. Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. Boston; New York:
Houghton Miin, 1920.
Kafka-Fuuras Classical Japanese Blog
Keene, Donald, trans., and Kenk Yoshida. Essays in Idleness; the Tsurezuregusa of
Kenk. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
Kokin Wakashu: The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry : with Tosa Nikki and
Shinsen Waka. Trans. Helen Craig McCullough. Stanford Univ. Press, 1985.
Kuman Papa-san. (.](http:
//plaza.rakuten.co.jp/meganebiz/diary/201303190006/)
McCullough, Helen Craig. Brocade by Night: Kokin Wakashu and the Court Style in
Japanese Classical Poetry. Stanford University Press, 1985.
Morris, Ivan, trans. The Pil low Book of Sei Shnagon. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1991.
Porter, William, trans., and Kenk Yoshida. The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest, Being
a Translation of Tsure-zure Gusa. London: Humphrey Milford, 1914.
Suematsu, Kencho. Genji Monogatari by Lady Murasaki Shikibu. 1982. Reprint. New
York: Colonial Press, 1900.
Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-Century Japan. Trans. Helen Craig McCullough.
Stanford University Press, 1968.