Konkokenshu

The Konkôkenshû is a dictionary of old Ryukyuan court language, compiled in 1711 at the request of the court by Ryukyuan courtier & scholar of Japanese literature Shikina Seimei. It lists words and phrases used in the Ryukyuan royal court, and amongst Ryûkyû's aristocracy, explaining each in Japanese.

The dictionary contains a total of roughly one thousand entries, divided between two volumes - a main volume, labeled 乾, and a supplemental or additional volume, labeled 坤.[1] The entries include many terms from the Omoro Sôshi, as well as quotes from the Ise Monogatari, Genji Monogatari, and Tsurezuregusa.

One old manuscript copy of the Konkôkenshû, designated an Important Cultural Property, is in the collection of the Okinawa Prefectural Museum.

References

  • "Konkôkenshû." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003.
  • Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo e iku! 琉球使節、江戸へ行く! Naha: Okinawa Prefectural Museum, 2009. p43.
  1. This use of the characters kenkon 乾・坤 is one of several common ways of labeling, or "numbering," multi-volume publications. Other common systems include 上・中・下 and 天・地・人 for publications in three volumes.