This paper is aimed to descry a general rule of translating the auxiliary ramu into spoken language and its variant applications based on Motoori Norinaga's "The Exemplifications," The Kokinshutokagarni (1797) which is the best annotation of an anthol...
This paper is aimed to descry a general rule of translating the auxiliary ramu into spoken language and its variant applications based on Motoori Norinaga's "The Exemplifications," The Kokinshutokagarni (1797) which is the best annotation of an anthology of ancient Japanese verses, The Kokinwakashu for the novitiates.
The auxiliary verb ramu is generally translated as '-deirudaro,' '-deirunodaro,' '-daro,' '-kamoshirenai,' and '-tokaiu' in modern Japanese with the conjectural meaning at present. Yet a careful survey of The Kokinshutogagami shows that Norinaga interpreted ramu into three spoken words: dearau, yara, and kashiranu. And the frequency of the auxiliary verb ramu used in The Kokinwakashu, exclusively 1,111 verses translated in The Kokinshutokagami, is 121. The following chart indicates how ramu was translated in Norinaga's book.