----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Seeberger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Culture Club" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2002 4:47 PM Subject: What is Maru? Part 1
> The word "maru" originated in the seventh century and has since come to > serve as a popular name for a host of Japanese vessels. The first ship to > use the suffix is said to have been the 16th century ship called the Nipon > Maru, built by the legendary Toyotomi Hideyoschi. However, despite its > widespread use, the word has never been graced with a definitive definition. > > Our attempts to muster a universal meaning of the term maru have all ended > in frustration, with each possibility smothered in a down-pour of vaguery. > For instance, one Japanese reference worker gave as many as fourteen > meanings for maru, while another offered at least five additional meanings > without including all the other fourteen. > > These misunderstandings and discrepancies have arisen from the fact that > maru is a word laced with suggestiveness. Here is a selection of some of the > explanations we have found. > > Possible meanings > The term maru originally seemed to act as a form of compliment when attached > to certain personal names. > > For example, people seemed to be bestowing respect upon the eighth century > poet Hitomaru Kikinomoto by attaching the term to his name. It could also be > seen as a term of endearment rather like a diminutive, as in the juvenile > name Ushiwakamaru, of the twelfth-century general Yoshitsune Minamoto. > > Gradually the word was thrown to the dogs, literally, as people became > accustomed to bestowing it upon their pet animals. Other names which > received the maru blessing included a precious utensil used perhaps in some > kind of tea ceremony or even the favoured tool of a deft craftsman. Another > example of this maru phenomenon can be found in the mighty sword > Mura-same-Maru; this famous blade of the seventeenth and eighteenth > centuries was supposed to be so potent that whoever owned it, regardless of > his own intent, was destined to kill somebody sooner or later. > > The term maru also became associated with the concept of a circle. This > circular affinity suggested completeness, entirety, wholeness; notions which > the image of a circle seems to symbolise. > > > Indeed, the connotation of 'wholeness' perhaps led to the use of maru to > mean 'one entire hour' and also as a term for the fanciful frying of a > 'whole' animal, as opposed to a mere handful of giblets. > > In addition to all these other meanings, it also has an association with > 'dust', while at the same time referring to 'those naive in love', hence the > wistful phrase "dusty lover". > > Maru and ships > Having sashayed through the multifarious meanings of maru, it is now time to > cut to the chase, examining it in the context of ships. The use of maru in a > ship name would seem to express the hope that the ship will defend those > aboard against all perils of the sea, being as complete as a circle, as > trustworthy as a sword and as virile as a master craftsman's favourite tool. > In addition to this, it also carried a feeling of attachment or endearment, > such as that felt by one "dusty lover" for another. Also, unlike most other > countries, a ship in Japan is referred to as a male and in adding "maru" to > the ships name, as was done with young boys in olden times, the ship was > protected from harm. > > ************************************************************ > > In the 1905 edition of Basil Hall Chamberlain's "Things Japanese" he says of > `maru' "It is often asked: what does the word Maru mean in the names of > ships ...?" His answer is: > > a.. the real meaning is obscure > b.. it is probably merging of two words: `maru' and `maro', which was a > term of endearment. > c.. it used to be used for swords, armour, parts of castles, etc. too. > *************************************************************** > > From India, the Sanskrit "manu" also traveled east. In Japan, "manu" became > "maru," a word which is included in the name of most Japanese ships. In > ancient Chinese mythology, the god Hakudo Maru came down from heaven to > teach people how to make ships. This name could well relate to Noah, the > first shipbuilder. > > The custom of including "maru" in the names of Japanese ships seems to have > started between the 12th and 14th centuries. In the late 16th century, the > warlord Hideyoshi built Japan's first really large ship, calling it "Nippon > Maru." In Japanese "maru" also seems to mean a round enclosure, or circle of > refuge, so that the circle is considered to be a sign of good fortune. > Noah's ark, of course, had been the first great enclosure of refuge. > > ************************************************************** > > Swords > > MARU Round. Often used to describe BOSHI. > MARU-DOME Round groove termination. > MARU-MUNE Round backridge, either blade or tang. > BOSHI "Hat." Temper line in KISSAKI. Also, portion of temper > line in KISSAKI closest to the point. > KISSAKI Point section. Plane bounded by the KO-SHINOGI, YOKOTE > and FUKURA. > KO-SHINOGI The SHINOGI ridgeline attendant to the KISSAKI. > FUKURA The curve of the HA or edge in the KISSAKI. > > YOKOTE "At the Side." Line separating the JI from the KISSAKI. > JI Sword-body surface plane between the SHINOGI and the HA. > SHINOGI Ridgelines on a "fighting sword." > HA Sword edge. Cutting edge. > > > *************************************************************** > > xponent > > Ha Maru > > rob > > >
