Toru Ohya

A Japanese linguist born in Niigata Prefecture. He graduated from Niigata Normal School (now Niigata University Faculty of Education) in 1876 (Meiji 9). He joined the Ministry of Education in 1885, and later became a member of the National Language Research Committee, where he devoted himself to the study of kana, investigating ancient sutra scrolls in various temples and collecting materials. He inductively researched and verified the evolution of kana characters and kana usage, and demonstrated that before Engi (901-923) there was a distinction between the "e" in the "a" row and the "e" in the "ya" row, and that ancient kana coincided with the sounds of old Chinese characters before the Zhou dynasty in China. He also presented original insights into the origins and dates of creation of the "Gojuonzu" (Sounds of the Fifty Sounds) and "Iroha Uta" (Iroha Song). He also wrote about the study of ancient sounds in the Zhou dynasty and the interpretation of the "Inkyo" (Inkyo Script), and his research-based academic style has made a great contribution to the study of the history of the Japanese language, especially to the study of kunten linguistics.

[Takuya Okimori October 19, 2018]

"Japanese Language and Literature: Commemoration of Drs. Otsuki and Oya (July 1928 issue, Shibundo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国語学者。新潟県生まれ。1876年（明治9）新潟師範学校（現、新潟大学教育学部）を卒業。1885年文部省に入り、のち国語調査委員会委員となって、とくに仮名研究に専念して諸寺の古経巻を踏査、その資料を収集した。仮名字体、仮名遣いの変遷を帰納的に研究考証し、ア行のエと、ヤ行のエが延喜(えんぎ)（901～923）以前では区別のあったこと、古代の仮名が中国周代以前の古い漢字音と一致することなどを論証、また『五十音図』『いろは歌』などの起源や成立年代にも創見を示した。これに伴う周代古音の研究や『韻鏡』の解釈などに関する著述もあり、資料に基づく考証的学風で、国語史研究ことに訓点語学に寄与した功績は大きい。

［沖森卓也　2018年10月19日］

『『国語と国文学』大槻大矢両博士記念（1928年7月号・至文堂）』

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