The English translation of “yomachi” in The Tale of Genji: The Jōbō City system and weights and measures system

Abstract

This article discusses the interpretation of “yomachi” in the English translation of The Tale of Genji. “Yomachi” describes the size of the house Rokujōin, one of the houses in the story. The construction of Rokujō-in is completed in “the 21st chapter, Otome” volume. To make it easier to visualize the house’s vastness, English translations of books are heavily annotated, but the English translation and the notes show a transition and are not consistent. Heian-kyō was laid out in a grid pattern based on what was called the Jōbō City System. In the Jōbō City System, “yomachi” is a block unit. The “yomachi” that Arthur Waley used in his English-language edition was based on the Japanese Weights and Measurement Law at the time he translated it, likely because the status of Japanese units, which had changed over time, had not been communicated. This story, established in the Heian period, is written in hiragana, and the word is read as “yomachi.” It is important to clearly understand the size of the house Rokujō-in, built by the protagonist, Genji, because the story tells of the actual rituals and events that took place in the aristocratic society at that time.

Keywords

• the tale of genji
• machi
• chō
• how to read
• jōbō city system
• weights and measures system