General Details

Title: 新迷解国語辞典　第八版 (New Clear Explanation Japanese Dictionary 8th Edition)
Volumes: 1
Language: Japanese
Publisher: 三省堂 (Sanseido)
Year: 2020
Pages: 1,741

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The eighth edition of the Shin Meikai (Clear Explanation) was released on November 19th of this year, 9 years after the seventh edition appeared. It comes in its normal red edition (which is the one I purchased), as well as blue- and white-cover editions, a compact edition, a leather edition, and, releasing next year, (larger-sized) desk and large-print editions. Each has the exact same page count and contents; the normal, compact, and large-size editions differ in paper and font size. I cannot imagine how small the print of the compact edition must be, as the font in the normal edition is very tiny. I wonder if I should have spent the extra amount (and the extra wait time) to get one of the larger editions.

The Shin Meikai (Wikipedia) is a very popular dictionary - the advertising strip on the slipcase claims that it is, in fact, the bestselling Japanese language dictionary. It contains approximately 79,000 entries. One reason for its fame is that a lot of the definitions read more like commentary than the standard objective definitions in other dictionaries, many written by (now-deceased) chief editor Yamada Tadao. Building on this, marketing materials around the eighth edition have emphasized that this is a "thinking dictionary." This reminds me of the little asides Samuel Johnson included in his dictionary in entries like oats, lexicographer, and patron.

If I lived in Japan, I could return the survey postcard included inside of the dictionary for a chance to win one of the above figures. Or a keychain.

The Shin Meikai tries to keep up with the times, and so this new edition includes new entries for words like "LGBT," "hate speech," "dad joke," etc. Existing entries are updated to reflect the times as well. One of Yamada-san's most quoted entries is 恋愛, or "love/romance." In the eighth edition, the previous phrase "partner of the opposite sex" has been updated to reflect the fact that love can exist outside of a heteronormative gender binary. Here is the entry from page 1668; the translation follows the short explanation of a typical entry's layout.

＊れんあい 0 【恋愛】ーする（自サ）特定の相手に対して他の全てを犠牲にしても悔い無いと思い込むような愛情をいだき、常に相手のことを思っては、二人だけでいたい、二人だけの世界を分かち合いたいと願い、それがかなえられたと言っては喜び、ちょっとでも疑念が生じれば不安になるといった状態に身を置くこと。「熱烈なーの末に結ばれた二人／ー結婚5・ー小説5・ー至上主義8」

The asterisk indicates that this is a common, "important" word. Very important words get two asterisks. The 0 enclosed in a square is a reference to the special accent guide found on the inside back cover and in an appendix, serving as a guide for when to raise or lower pitch. The 【】thick square brackets contain the proper kanji spelling of the word; in many entries these are also used to list idiomatic phrases. The ーする indicates that this noun can also be used as a verb by way of the helping verb する ("to love"). When used as a verb, （自サ）indicates that this is an intransitive verb that conjugates as する does. The definition then follows:

Putting yourself in a state where you give affection to a designated partner without regret and at the expense of everything else, always thinking about your partner, wanting to be alone together, wanting to share a world with just the two of you, feeling the joy of saying that this has been granted, and becoming anxious when even small doubts arise.

This is followed by some sample phrases (and if the pitch accent in these combinations differs from what was initially given in the headword, that change is indicated with a new set of enclosed numbers) - in this case the examples include "tying the knot at the end of a passionate love affair", "a love marriage," "romance novel," "love for love's sake."

Other features of this dictionary include basic kanji information and a guide to counting words. I can say that this is officially my first reference work to contain mention of the pandemic we are currently in; here, for example, is the entry for "coronavirus" from page 564:

コロナウイルス54〔coronavirus太陽のコロナのように見えることから〕人や動物で感染症を起こすウイルス。ヒトコロナウイルスの中には、サーズ（SARS）やマーズ（MERS）、二〇二〇年に大流行した新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）の病原体などがある。「SARSー87・MERSー87」

Coronavirus. [coronavirus from the fact that it looks like the corona of the sun] A virus that causes infection in humans and animals. Among human coronaviruses are pathogens like SARS, MERS, and the new infectious coronavirus strain (COVID-19) that is a widespread outbreak in the year 2020. "SARS coronavirus", "MERS coronavirus."

One nice feature of these "thoughtful" definitions is that the entries for animals are done in such a way as to give you a well-rounded impression of the thing. There are no pictures in this dictionary at all, so relying on the definition alone may result in some medieval-like interpretations of unfamiliar creatures, but you can get acquire a hint of feeling for the nature of the beast. Here, to illustrate, is the entry for かめ, or "turtle," from page 302. The かぞえ方 section after the definition is explaining which counter words can be used for turtles.

かめ 1 【亀】〔「〈龜」の俗体〕多く水にすむ爬虫類。堅くて丸い甲羅を持ち、敵に襲われると、頭・尾・四足をその中に隠す。背中の模様は六角形。ツルとともに長生きすると考えられる動物の代表。冬眠する。かぞえ方一匹・一頭

A type of reptile which mostly lives in water. They have a strong, round shell, into which they can hide their head, tail, and four legs when threatened by danger. The patterns on their backs are hexagonal. Along with cranes, they are one of the animals associated with longevity. They hibernate.

Sample Entries

In order to provide a common ground for comparison between the various reference works in this guide, I attempt to look up the same two terms in each: "umbrella" and "Saint Louis." "Saint Louis" is not in here, although there is an appendix with details on the countries of the world. かさ、 or "umbrella," can be found on page 266:

＊かさ 1 一【〈笠】㊀ 雨・雪・日光などを防ぐために、頭の上に載せる、△半球面状（山形）の（大きな）かぶり物。「ーをかぶる／電灯のー〔＝おおい〕／マツタケのー」㊁塀など、屋外に設けるものの一端にかぶせうもの。「灯籠のー石／戸袋のー板」【ーに着る】自分に有力な後ろ楯があるのをいいことにして、大きな態度をとる。【ーの台が飛ぶ】㊀首を斬られる。㊁免職になる。二【傘】雨・雪・日光などを防ぐために、柄を手で持って頭の上にかざすもの。開けば半球面状になり、用の無い時はたたむ。からかさ・こうもりがさ・日がさなど。「ーを差す／米国の核のー〔＝核兵器の威力による安全保障〕の下になる」〔一は「かぶりがさ4」、二は「差しがさ3」と言って区別した〕かぞえ方一は一枚・一蓋。二は一本

Umbrella 1.(笠 - "umbrella hat") a. A (large) hemispherical (mountain-shaped) object placed on top of the head in order to protect against the rain, snow, sunlight, etc. "To wear an umbrella-hat," "an umbrella light (=cover)," "Matsutake mushroom umbrella." b. A thing placed on the end of a thing set up outdoors, like a wall. "The capping stone of a garden lantern," "shutter box cap plate" [To wear an umbrella hat] To have an arrogant attitude, by claiming that you have an influential supporter. [The umbrella hat stand flies] a. To be decapitated. b. To be fired. 2. A thing held above the head by means of a grip in the hand in order to protect from the rain, snow, sunshine, etc. When opened, it is becomes hemispherical, and it folds up when not needed. Bamboo-and-paper umbrellas, western-style umbrellas, parasols, etc. "To hold an umbrella," "To be under the American nuclear umbrella (=security agreement leaning on the power of nuclear weapons)"