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Daijirin
Daijirin (Japanese: 大辞林; lit. 'Great Forest of Words') is a comprehensive single-volume Japanese dictionary edited by Akira Matsumura (松村明; Matsumura Akira, 1916–2001), and first published by Sanseido Books (三省堂書店; Sanseidō Shoten) in 1988. This title is based upon two early Sanseidō dictionaries edited by Shōzaburō Kanazawa (金沢庄三郎, 1872–1967), Jirin (辞林 "Forest of words", 1907) and the revised Kōjirin (広辞林 "Wide forest of words", 1925).
Sanseido specifically created Daijirin to compete with Iwanami's profitable Kōjien dictionary, which was a longtime bestseller through three editions (1955, 1969, and 1983). Two other contemporary dictionaries directed at the Kōjien market share were Kōdansha's color-illustrated Nihongo Daijiten (日本語大辞典 "Great dictionary of Japanese", 1989) and Shōgakukan's Daijisen (大辞泉 "Great fountainhead of words", 1995, also edited by Akira Matsumura).
The first edition of Daijirin (1988) had 220,000 headword entries and included encyclopedic content in numerous charts, tables, and illustrations. While Kōjien was printed in black and white, Sanseido included 19 two-color illustrations for topics like the seasons (with kigo), linguistics (synonymy), and Japanese language (Man'yōgana). According to Matsumura's preface, the process of editing the first edition took over 28 years.
The second edition (1995) increased the number of entries to 233,000 and augmented the number of illustrations (including 31 pages of full-color maps and charts). Sanseido published the second edition in printed, CD-ROM, e-book, and Web versions. They additionally bundled the so-called "Super" version Sūpā Daijirin (スーパー大辞林) CD-ROM with other Sanseido Japanese and English dictionaries, plus pronunciation sound files. In 1997, Sanseido published a reverse dictionary of the second edition, entitled Kanji-biki, Gyaku-biki Daijirin (漢字引き・逆引き大辞林, ISBN 4-385-13901-6), with two indexes. The first lists kanji by on-yomi and stroke count, the second indexes headwords both by first and last kanji (for example, it lists jisho 辞書 "wordbook; dictionary" under both ji 辞 "word" and sho 書 "book"). According to Sanseido, total sales of the first two editions totaled over one million copies in 2003.
The third edition (2006) added new headwords, such as the English loanword intarakutibu (インタラクティブ "interactive"), for a total of 238,000 entries. Japanese dictionary publishers have an ongoing dilemma, the increasing popularity of Internet and electronic dictionaries is decreasing the sales of printed ones. Kono (2007) notes, "According to Jiten Kyokai, an association of dictionary publishers, total annual sales of printed dictionaries, including popular Japanese and English, and specialized ones, such as technical dictionaries, halved to 6.5 million copies in the past decade." To promote the third edition, Sanseido launched a novel "Dual" service, the Dyuaru Daijirin (デュアル大辞林), allowing purchasers of the printed version to register for free online dictionary access. The online version is being regularly updated (currently[when?] including over 248,000 entries) and allows keyword searching for synonyms and related expressions. In 2006, collective Daijirin sales exceeded 1.5 million copies.
Daijirin is also available on the Internet. Sanseido's Web Dictionary offers Web and mobile phone subscription access to numerous dictionaries, including E-jirin (e辞林). Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's "Goo Lab" provided a server that allowed free online searching of the second edition Sūpā Daijirin, but the service was shut down in mid 2025. Yahoo also used to provide access to the second edition of the dictionary, but the service has since been discontinued.
One of the biggest differences between Daijirin and Kōjien definitions is how they arrange meanings. A dictionary can arrange entries either historically with the oldest recorded meanings first (e.g., Kōjien and Oxford English Dictionary) or popularly with the most common meanings first (e.g., Daijirin and American Heritage Dictionary).
Daijirin entries encompass diverse vocabulary, including modern and classical Japanese words, scientific terminology, proper names, alphabetical abbreviations (like NG "no good; outtake, blooper"), and yojijukugo idioms. Some definitions include semantic notes distinguishing homonyms and synonyms. Daijirin usage examples range from classical texts like Man'yōshū to modern publications.
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Daijirin
Daijirin (Japanese: 大辞林; lit. 'Great Forest of Words') is a comprehensive single-volume Japanese dictionary edited by Akira Matsumura (松村明; Matsumura Akira, 1916–2001), and first published by Sanseido Books (三省堂書店; Sanseidō Shoten) in 1988. This title is based upon two early Sanseidō dictionaries edited by Shōzaburō Kanazawa (金沢庄三郎, 1872–1967), Jirin (辞林 "Forest of words", 1907) and the revised Kōjirin (広辞林 "Wide forest of words", 1925).
Sanseido specifically created Daijirin to compete with Iwanami's profitable Kōjien dictionary, which was a longtime bestseller through three editions (1955, 1969, and 1983). Two other contemporary dictionaries directed at the Kōjien market share were Kōdansha's color-illustrated Nihongo Daijiten (日本語大辞典 "Great dictionary of Japanese", 1989) and Shōgakukan's Daijisen (大辞泉 "Great fountainhead of words", 1995, also edited by Akira Matsumura).
The first edition of Daijirin (1988) had 220,000 headword entries and included encyclopedic content in numerous charts, tables, and illustrations. While Kōjien was printed in black and white, Sanseido included 19 two-color illustrations for topics like the seasons (with kigo), linguistics (synonymy), and Japanese language (Man'yōgana). According to Matsumura's preface, the process of editing the first edition took over 28 years.
The second edition (1995) increased the number of entries to 233,000 and augmented the number of illustrations (including 31 pages of full-color maps and charts). Sanseido published the second edition in printed, CD-ROM, e-book, and Web versions. They additionally bundled the so-called "Super" version Sūpā Daijirin (スーパー大辞林) CD-ROM with other Sanseido Japanese and English dictionaries, plus pronunciation sound files. In 1997, Sanseido published a reverse dictionary of the second edition, entitled Kanji-biki, Gyaku-biki Daijirin (漢字引き・逆引き大辞林, ISBN 4-385-13901-6), with two indexes. The first lists kanji by on-yomi and stroke count, the second indexes headwords both by first and last kanji (for example, it lists jisho 辞書 "wordbook; dictionary" under both ji 辞 "word" and sho 書 "book"). According to Sanseido, total sales of the first two editions totaled over one million copies in 2003.
The third edition (2006) added new headwords, such as the English loanword intarakutibu (インタラクティブ "interactive"), for a total of 238,000 entries. Japanese dictionary publishers have an ongoing dilemma, the increasing popularity of Internet and electronic dictionaries is decreasing the sales of printed ones. Kono (2007) notes, "According to Jiten Kyokai, an association of dictionary publishers, total annual sales of printed dictionaries, including popular Japanese and English, and specialized ones, such as technical dictionaries, halved to 6.5 million copies in the past decade." To promote the third edition, Sanseido launched a novel "Dual" service, the Dyuaru Daijirin (デュアル大辞林), allowing purchasers of the printed version to register for free online dictionary access. The online version is being regularly updated (currently[when?] including over 248,000 entries) and allows keyword searching for synonyms and related expressions. In 2006, collective Daijirin sales exceeded 1.5 million copies.
Daijirin is also available on the Internet. Sanseido's Web Dictionary offers Web and mobile phone subscription access to numerous dictionaries, including E-jirin (e辞林). Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's "Goo Lab" provided a server that allowed free online searching of the second edition Sūpā Daijirin, but the service was shut down in mid 2025. Yahoo also used to provide access to the second edition of the dictionary, but the service has since been discontinued.
One of the biggest differences between Daijirin and Kōjien definitions is how they arrange meanings. A dictionary can arrange entries either historically with the oldest recorded meanings first (e.g., Kōjien and Oxford English Dictionary) or popularly with the most common meanings first (e.g., Daijirin and American Heritage Dictionary).
Daijirin entries encompass diverse vocabulary, including modern and classical Japanese words, scientific terminology, proper names, alphabetical abbreviations (like NG "no good; outtake, blooper"), and yojijukugo idioms. Some definitions include semantic notes distinguishing homonyms and synonyms. Daijirin usage examples range from classical texts like Man'yōshū to modern publications.