男女関係に用いられる「たはぶれ」の一考察 -平安前期の作品における解釈の問題をめぐって-

Abstract

This paper concentrates on explanatory notes of "tawabure たはぶれ," which is usually interpreted in the three following implications within the context of classical Japanese literature; (1) having fun, (2) making jokes, (3) having sexual relationship between men and women. This paper focuses on some specific "tawabure" used in relationships between men and women, which can be understood from the meaning of (3). It's also possible to be construed as the meaning of (3), but it has inclined to be interpreted in the meaning of (1) or (2). In fact, it seems that the tendency of such interpretation is related to understanding method of contemporary Japanese dictionaries. For instance, according to the second edition of Nihonkokugo Daijiten, the first appearance of the verb form, "tawaburu たはぶる" having the meaning of (3), appears in Kagero Nikki written in the latter half of the 10th century, and the noun form, "tawaburu" appears in literary works written in the 17th century. This seems to suggest that there is a possibility that the meaning of "tawabure" during the Heian period had not been adequately understood. As a result, analysis shows how commentaries on Heian literature figure out "tawabure" in relation to love affair between men and women, and that how contemporary Japanese dictionaries deal with the word. In addition, it identifies that "tawabure" associated with love affair was already present in early Heian literature, which explains why "tawabure" happened to have the meaning of (3) with some clue, for example, Shinsen Jikyo, the oldest dictionary of Chinese characters explained in Japanese written in early Heian period, and books written in Chinese style such as Kojiki and Nihonshoki written before Heian period.