「文字に神が宿る」か
「文字」ってなんでしょう。わかるようで、わかりません。身近にいつもあるけど、特别気にしたこともない、という人も多いかもしれません。
あることも気にしない、かもしれませんが、ないととても困る（ような気が）します。
本を読まない人（読むのが嫌いな人）だって看板や標識が読めないと困ると思いませんか。
日本人の識字率は99%以上と言われていますが、決して100%ではありません。漢字もひらがなも読めない人はいます。（『クローズアップ現代』）
私だって、すべての漢字が読めるわけではありません。この本を読んでいかに自分が漢字を知らないか（そして忘れているか）を痛感しました。[1]
まあ、すんなりこの本を読める人は少ないかな。でも、むずかしい漢字を知らなくてもだいじょうぶです。私も半分以上読めなかったですが、楽しく読みました。(^_^;)
途中で「ルビ（漢字とかの横についている小さなひらがな）」がひとり歩き（？）したり、ひらがなだけの文章になったり、面白いです。
コンピューターの世界？
著者の頭の中にあるのは「コンピューターの世界」、つまり「今」です。そこから文字を捉え直す試みです。
私も、なんだかわからないファイルを開いたときに、そこに「日本語の島」を見つけることがあります。ほとんどが日本語のファイルもあれば、たまに日本語が出てくるようなファイルもあります。日本語が出てきても、全然意味が通じない場合は、コーディックを変えてみます（シフトJISとかUTF-8とかゆうやつです）。そうすると、意味のない記号らしきものの羅列であったものが、「日本語」として浮かび上がることがあります。「文字閥」ですね。[2][3]
文字はデジタルです。「阿」と「亜」はそれぞれ別の（異なる）番号がついています（もちろん"A"と"B"にも）。「阿」は「3024」で「亜」は「3021」です（シフトJIS。UTF-16では「963F」「4E9C」）。ちなみに「阿」の隣（「3023」「3025」）は「娃」「哀」ですが、「3024.5」とかいうのはありません。[4]
"a"はそれだけでは意味をなしませんが（単数の冠詞という意味はありますが）、"apple"という綴で意味が成り立ちます。日本語では「りんご」「リンゴ」とか「林檎」とか表します。そのりんごはひらがなだけのぶんしようではめだちませんがそれでもなんとかわかります(^_^;)。[5]
文字は生きていた
文字は生きていたんだと思う。言葉を写す限り。でも、それが自立したとき（客観性を獲得したとき）それは生命をほぼ失ったんじゃないかな。標本の昆虫のように。絵も同じです。それが「残る」つまり「失われない」ことを目指されたときに、それは生命を失います。だから、残すためには「書き直される」必要がありました。
いまのデジタル化も「書き直し」の一つです。それも技術の発展とともに「再度写し直される」でしょう。単に停電で「失われる」かもしれません。[6][7]
「再創造（再生産）」されることでしか、生命は維持されません。永遠の生命を持ったものは「生きている」とはいえません。[8][9]
再生産されるごとに、それは変化していきます。その時「生きている」人や自然に応じて。
でもそれは「進歩」とか「良くなっている」とは無関係です。「後退」とも「悪くなっている」ともいいうるからです。[10]
デジタルとしての文字
「りんご」は概念であり、抽象です。それには「青いリンゴ」も「赤いリンゴ」も「腐ったリンゴ」も含まれます。
文字の「りんご」がそういう性質を持っているとしたら、それを音としてこえにだした「りんご」という「声」はどうでしょう。「りんご（、買ってきたよ）」と言った時を考えてください。その時、「腐ったリンゴ」は含まれていないと思います（特別な場合は除きます。腐ったリンゴを買うことは結構難しいと思います）。また、「すっぱいリンゴ」も想定しない（したくない）でしょう。（酸っぱいリンゴを使った料理を作ろうとする場合は別です。その場合は「甘いリンゴ」は想定されません。）
声（音）が持つ具体性は、文字では消えてしまいます。そこには「話し手」に相当する「書き手」がいるようでいません。「円城塔」という書き手が、若いのか、年寄なのか、嫌なやつなのか、友だちになれそうなやつなのか、男か女かすらわかりません。円城塔に会うことはできなくても、ネットで調べることはできます。男性であること。生年月日や物理学科出身のことなど。それを踏まえてこの本を読めばまた意味が加わります。それが女性で、日本画科の出身だとしたら、また違う意味が加わるでしょう。どれが本当なのかはわかりません。実際に「円城塔」が目の前で書いていない限り。[11]
文字は「具体性」を脱ぎ捨てることで自立します。そこには「円城塔」が「いつ」「どこで」書いたか、ということは存在しません。それらを捨てることがなければ、本は成立しないのです。
抽象としての文字（漢字、あるいはアルファベット）は当然デジタル化できます。それは媒体に応じて変化します。甲骨から木簡、紙、そしてデジタルのビットとして。そのたびにその文字が持つ「具体性」は捨象されていくといってもいいでしょう。著者、場所、空間、歴史から独立していくのです。
芸術としての文字
文字と芸術は密接な関係があります。一体のものといってもいいでしょう。
それは、どちらも具体性を取り戻すための試みです。境部の様々な発明もそのひとつです。文字をどう表現するか。絵画、あるいは紙、画面全体のなかに位置づけようとする試み、「読む」ではなく、「書く」行為とむすびつけようとする試み。
文字の本来の姿を取り戻そうという境部の試みは、永遠に成功しません。「書いている瞬間」には「文字は生きて」いますが、書かれた途端に文字は死んでしまうからです。文字を生き返らせるためには書かなくてはなりません。
でも、書いている途中はまだ文字ではないのです。
俑は俑を作りますが（まぎらわしい）、いくらリアルに作っても「人物」である贏（えい、漢字は多分違うけど、見つけられない）を粘土に写し取ることはできません。贏じゃなくても、誰でもつねに変わっているからであり、その人物を描くためには、宮殿やそれを取り巻く環境までも作り続けなければならないからです。
絵画や彫刻、文学は具体に迫る究極の表現であり（抽象画でさえも）、妥協の産物でもあります。それが書かれているときは生きていますが、書かれたときには死んでいるからです。永遠に書き（描き）続けることはできません。
「書くことと読むこと」、そして「話すことと聞くこと」
この２つは全く別のことです。書かれていないものを読むことは（比喩としてでなければ）不可能です。書いたから読まれるとはかぎらないし、読まれるために書くわけじゃない、という場合もあります。どちらに重点が置かれるか、ということもあります。商品としての本は後者に重点がおかれます。
「話すことと聞くこと」は同じことに近い。というのは、話すことと聞くことは空間的、時間的に分離できないからです（その分離を前提としている文字とは違う）。基本は１対１です。「対話（Διάλογος二人の言葉）」ですね。誰かに話しかけること、その言葉を聞くことが基本です。「触れること」「殴ること」と同一です(^_^;)。１対多ということも可能です。それは大勢の前で話すこともあれば、「漏れ聞くこと、盗み聞くこと」でもあります。
多対１は難しいですね。大勢にいっぺんに話しかけられたら困っちゃう（笑）。でも、１対多は多対１の可能性をつねに含んでいます。
１対多というのは、印刷技術やレコード、テレビ、インターネットで拡大され続けています。そして、その１対多の技術は同時に多対１の可能性も増加させます。SNS等に書き込んだことのある人なら、その怖さは知っていると思います。
文字の渇望は収まらない
この本は恐ろしい本です。何も正解が書かれていないのに、多くのものを受け取ることができます。文字小説の究極の形かもしれません。
この本は中島敦の『文字禍』を意識していることは間違いありません。文体は中島敦のような「こなれ」がないですし、まるでラノベのようです（こんなに漢字が多い本はラノベにはならないでしょう。それに、ルビにルビを付けることができません）。描かれている状況も視覚化できる（心に思い描ける）ものを超えています。だからこそ、文学として面白いのです。
文字の不思議さに触れることができたいま、その深遠さに圧倒されそうです。ちょうど『文字禍』を読んだときのように。
でも、それでも文字への渇望は収まりません。不足は感じられても満足は感じられないのです。
文字を代謝しながら生きている
文字が私を造っています。私は文字でできているのです。それに気がつくのに半世紀かかりました。そして、私は自分の生みの親である文字を渇望してやみません。
新しい文字を取り込み、古い文字を排出しています。そしていくらかは「からだ」に残ります。いま、私は文字の「肥満」になっているかもしれません。消化できない文字がどんどん増えているような気がします。食べすぎて消化できないときは、お腹を壊すか、吐くか、肥満になるしかないですから。[12]
食べ物だったら、一人の人が食べられる量はかぎられています。それでもついつい食べすぎてしまいます。満腹でも、食べ物に手が行き、美味しそうなものを目で追い、明日食べるもの、明後日食べるものを冷蔵庫にためます。数百年前の人が見たら、「病気じゃん」って思うんじゃないでしょうか。
足るを知る（『老子』第33章）
私たちは、文字と違って「時間的に、空間的に限定された」存在です。だから、食べる量も限定されています。明日食べるもの、そして明日の自分の存在を思い描くことは可能です。でも、今日死んでしまうことだったありえます。だから、未来を考える（不足を思い起こす）ことはしかたありませんが、それにいまが絡め取られるのは本末転倒だと思います。未来にとらわれること、そして過去にとらわれることをそろそろやめようか、と思っています。昨日食べたことを思い出しても満腹にならないし、明日食べることを想像しても満腹にはなりません。幸せな気持ちにはなるかもしれませんが（それも大切です）。
客体の発見
過去の自分が現在を、現在の自分が未来の自分を、そしてその逆も。「直線的な」「時間概念の発生、発見」は時間、場所を超えた客体、客観物としての文字の存在によってもたらされます。
私たちは、鏡を見ることができるし、水面に映る自分の姿を見ることもできます。自分の手足を見ることも触ることもできます。自分の声を聞くこともできます。でもそれは自分を客観視することではありません。それらはその場、その時の自分から離れたものではありません。外部を発見することによって内部は発見されます。自然（存在）から引き離されることによって、初めて自分（内部）が発見されるのです。それはまさしく、自分を外部に置くこと（外化、措定、定立）によります。「文字」はまさしくその手段です。
仮設（仮説）としての文字
「文字」とは明日を生き、過去を生きるための手段です。それは決して「目的」ではありません。目的は別のところに設定、または仮定されます。あるいはないことも多いと思います。「目的がなくても手段が存在する。」それが文字の恐ろしいところです。「人生の目的（Raison d'être存在理由）」なんか、まさにそうですね。
手段が目的に転化する、あるいは手段と目的を発生させるものとしての「文字」というものを仮定するといろんなことが理解（説明、わかる）できます。
でも、それは「演繹」でしかありません。仮定の証明にはならないのです。でもこの「転倒」を止揚するために、文字で文字を否定するのには「書かない」か「書き続ける」しかありません。
存在（Dasein）とはまさしく文字であり、神であり、自然なのです。一度それを手放してしまった私（たち）は、それを求め続けるしかないのです。でも、それは不可能なことではありません。私そのものがAIでもロボットでも文字でもなく、毎日食べて排出する存在なのですから。[13]
文字は生きている
帋（ディスプレー）の上でも文字は生きています。文字の死骸がうごめいています。それは集団としても動いているし、個々の文字も振動しています。電気の周波数としてだけじゃなく。プログラムやアルゴリズムとしてだけじゃなく。デジタルとアナログ（主体と客体）を巡る戦いはやっと端緒についたところです。
＜ぬきがき＞
「俑にとっての文字とは、一文字一文字が神聖を帯び、奇端を記し、吉凶を知り、天を動かすためのものである。個人のために作られたものではなくて、集団に与えられた恩寵だった。ゆえにそれを土に刻んで、木簡に記し、不思議な力がえられるのである。天との交信に必要な道具であって決めごとであり、日用できるものではなかった。あくまでも晴れ着であって、清廉に保つ必要があり、為政者のよくするものである。」（『文字渦』P.15）
「境部さんは本をつくる便利のために、テキストをレイアウトするためのソフトウェアを、そう呼（FF）、ぶのが好みならば人工知能を各種とりそろえていった。誤字脱字に特化したやつや、校正、校閲用と汎用化されたやつもいる。テキストの時代ごとに細かな調整も必要らしい。古い字を現行の文字に置き換えることもあるし、時には手を加えることもある。（LF）「誰々本てのはそういうことだよ」と涼しい顔だ。「定家はかなりテキストを書き換えたじゃないか。しかもその定家本しか後代には伝わらなかったりした。方針さえきちんとしていれば改変は許される」」（『梅枝』P.97-98）＿＿伝える、後代に残すことの意味。でもねえ、本文もそうだけど、レイアウトや文字の大きさ種類等は本の本質、つまり「伝えること」に関わるからねえ。著者も、編集者も、デザイナーもそれで苦労しているんだよね。印刷技術やWebが普及したいまでも、隣の行との間隔だけじゃなく、隣り合う文字そのものまで気にする。Webではレイアウトを固定したり（それでも、ブラウザやOSが違えば違っちゃう。そこまで指定したら、読んでもらえない(^_^;)）隣り合う文字のために、文章自体を変えたりすることもあります。この本がいいたいことの一つがこれです。
そういう「技術」は失われていくのかなあ。そういう意味では、書籍はその全体も、個々のページも絵画的要素を含んだ一つの芸術作品です。意味が通じればいいというものではありません。絵巻物はそうですし、漫画もそうです。漫画の吹き出し（セリフ、ネーム）は基本「明朝体」で印刷されています。それが手書きのこともありますが、それは特殊な場合です。読みやすさもあるでしょうが、明朝体であることによって、絵のじゃまにならない、なんか描かれている人物が喋っているような気になるのではないでしょうか。アニメの声優、吹き替えの声優にも同じことが言えると思います。最近は声優が素顔でTVに出ることも多いですが、その個性が強すぎるとアニメや外国映画の登場人物・役者を飲んでしまいます。吹き替え声優の顔が登場人物・役者と混じってしまいます。ルパン三世やドラえもん、アル・パチーノやアラン・ドロンなど、声優が変わると違和感をおぼえるでしょ。「肉声」というのは文字が持つ意味以上のものをもっている（付け加える）のです。
「「『源氏物語』はもともとが同人誌なわけで、絵巻物はさらに二次創作なわけじゃないか。そんなところへ狂信的な機械のファンに生まれられても正直困る」」（同、P.100）＿＿あはは。同人誌ね。たしかにそうです。
「「筆を滑らかに進めるためにはやっぱりなぜか、やまと言葉でなければ難しい。あれは結局、書記の体系と強く結びついてできた言葉なんじゃないかと思うね。変体仮名なんてものが存在するのも、連綿の面から見直すべきなんじゃないかな」」（同、P.101）＿＿確かに。理解しやすいかも。
「表示される文字をいくらリアルタイムに変化させても、レイアウトを動的に生成しても、ここにある文字は死体みたいなものだ。せいぜいゾンビ文字ってところにすぎない。魂なしに動くもの。文字のふりをした文字。文字の抜け殻だ。文字の本質はきっと、どこかあっちの方からやってきて、いっとき、いまも文字とよばれているものに宿って、そうしてまたどこかへいってしまったんだろう。」「「昔、文字は本当に生きていたんじゃないのかと思わないかい」」（同、P.104）＿＿そうかも知れない。印刷技術（デジタル化）によって失われたものはたしかに多くある。それと文字の本質との関係は。
「真実が失われることと、つくりごとが残されること、どちらがより穏当なのか、境部のような男にはよくわからない。」（『新字』P.111）＿＿私にもわからない。
「多言語を操るものには、用いる言語の選択により思考の道筋が変わることがよく起こる。さらに、日本の言葉は書き留めるにもそのための文字が決まっておらず、漢字で当て字をする手間が必要だった。あとから見ると、自分でも何を書いたのかがよくわからなくなることが頻繁に起こる。それならば最初から中国語で書いてしまったほうが手っ取り早い。」（同、P.113）＿＿「言葉と思考は同一である」と誰かが言ってたけど、私はすべて同意するわけではないが、英語で思考することの困難性はわかる。もともと考えていることを言葉にすることは難しい。母国語でも。
「茶碗が卓に当たる音ひとつをとっても、日本と中国の違いがあり、そこに砂漠の響きが、波の砕ける音が交じることもあるのを知った。」（同、P115）＿＿たぶん、「おはよう」といっても「犬だ」といっても、その言葉は話者や聞き手だけじゃなく、時間、環境、風土、歴史等々を含んでいる。
「そこにみつかるものをあらかじめ知っていなければ、何かを発見することは難しく、ここに発見の神秘はある。」（『微字』P.138）＿＿そうですね。仮説と検証です。「何かを探す」というのはそういうことです。そして、別のものを見つけることも多いです。（散らかった）部屋で探しものをするときを思い出してください。
AmazonやGoogleで探しものをすると、色々提示してきます。何故かほぼ関係ないと思われるものも。それを「あっ、ほしい」と思ってしまいます(^_^;)。それは探しているものでも、「ずっと欲しがっていて忘れていた」ものではなくても。
でも、探そうと思って探さなければ、見逃してしまうことも多いです。
「かなで書かれた文章はまず一面に巧まれたならびであって絵にちかく、結局一枚絵として彫るのであれば、画とかわらないところへちかづく。創形から長い時間をかけて整理されてきたものが漢字であることを考えるならばこれは皮肉だ。」（『かな』P.292）
「文字の歴史は文字がうまれたあとにしかない。それ以前の歴史をこうして語ることができるのは、文字が時間を（FF）遡る力をそなえるからで、過去を引き寄せ、未来を呼び込み、頭の中の考えを、他人の心をつくりあげ、男女のなかをやわらげるのもまた文字の力だからである。」（同、P.292-293）
電子書籍
今日、テレビで電子書籍の話をしていました。電子書籍と紙の書籍では印象も内容すらも変わってしまうと思っています。
この本も電子書籍化されました。すごいですね。怖いもの見たさに、読んでみたい気もします。(^_^;)
⟨impressions⟩
"God dwells in letters"
What is a "letter"? I understand, I don't understand. There may be many people who are familiar with it, but have never been particularly concerned about it.
You may not care about it, but if you don't, you will be in great trouble.
Don't you think that even people who don't read books (people who don't like to read) are in trouble if they can't read signs and signs?
The literacy rate of Japanese people is said to be 99% or higher, but it is by no means 100%. Some people can't read kanji or hiragana. ("Close-up Gendai")
I can't read all the kanji. After reading this book, I realized how much I didn't know (and forgot) kanji. [1]
Well, I wonder if few people can read this book smoothly. But you don't have to know the difficult kanji. I couldn't read more than half, but I enjoyed reading it. (^ _ ^;)
On the way, it is interesting that "ruby (small hiragana next to kanji)" walks alone (?) Or becomes a sentence with only hiragana.
The world of computers?
What is in the author's mind is the "computer world," or "now." It is an attempt to recapture the characters from there.
When I open a file I don't understand, I sometimes find "Japanese Island" there. Some files are mostly in Japanese, while others are in Japanese occasionally. Even if Japanese comes out, if it doesn't make sense at all, try changing the codec (Shift JIS, UTF-8, etc.). Then, what used to be a list of meaningless symbols may emerge as "Japanese". It's a "character clan". [2] [3]
The characters are digital . "A" and "A" have different (different) numbers (of course, also in "A" and "B"). "A" is "3024" and "A" is "3021" (Shift JIS. UTF-16 is "963F" "4E9C"). By the way, next to "A" ("3023" and "3025") are "娃" and "sorrow", but there is no such thing as "3024.5". [4]
"a" does not make sense on its own (although it does mean a singular article), but it does make sense with the spelling "apple". In Japanese, it is expressed as "apple," "apple," or "apple." The apple can't be used with only hiragana, but I can still understand it (^ _ ^;). [5]
The character was alive
I think the letters were alive. As long as you copy the words. But when it became independent (when it gained objectivity), it probably lost most of its life. Like a specimen insect. The picture is the same. It loses life when it is aimed to "remain" or "not lose." So it had to be "rewritten" to keep it.
Today's digitization is also one of "rewriting". It will also be "reprinted" with the development of technology. It may simply be "lost" in a power outage. [6] [7]
Life can only be maintained by being "recreated". Those with eternal life cannot be said to be "alive." [8] [9]
Every time it is reproduced, it changes. Depending on the "living" person and nature at that time.
But it has nothing to do with "progress" or "getting better". This is because it can be called "backward" or "worse." [10]
Characters as digital
An "apple" is a concept and is abstract. It includes "blue apples", "red apples" and "rotten apples".
If the letter "apple" has such a property, what about the "voice" of "apple" that is heard as a sound? Imagine when you said "apples (I bought them)". At that time, I don't think "rotten apples" are included (except in special cases, I think it's quite difficult to buy rotten apples). Also, you wouldn't (or don't want) to assume "sour apples". (Except when trying to cook with sour apples, in which case "sweet apples" are not expected.)
The concreteness of voice (sound) disappears in letters. There does not seem to be a "writer" equivalent to a "speaker". I don't even know if the writer "Toh Enjoe" is young, old, disgusting, or likely to be a friend, a man or a woman. Even if you can't meet Toh Enjoe, you can look it up online. Being a man. Date of birth, physics department, etc. If you read this book based on that, it will add meaning again. If it were a woman and she was from the Japanese painting department, it would have a different meaning. I don't know which one is true. Unless "Toh Enjoe" is actually written in front of you. [11]
Characters become independent by stripping off "concreteness". There is no such thing as "when" or "where" the "Toh Enjoe" was written. If you don't throw them away, the book won't work.
Naturally, abstract characters (kanji or alphabet) can be digitized. It depends on the medium. From the scapula to the wooden tablets, paper, and as a bit of digital. It can be said that the "concreteness" of the character is abstracted each time. It becomes independent of the author, place, space and history.
Character as art
Letters and art are closely related. It can be said that it is one.
Both are attempts to regain concreteness. The various inventions of Sakai are one of them. How to express letters. An attempt to position it in a painting, paper, or the entire screen, or an attempt to connect with the act of "writing" rather than "reading."
Sakai's attempt to regain the original appearance of the characters will never succeed. This is because "characters are alive" at the "moment of writing", but the characters die as soon as they are written. You have to write to bring the letters back to life .
But while I'm writing, it's not a letter yet.
俑 makes 俑 (misleading), but no matter how realistic it is made, the "person" 贏 (yes, the kanji is probably different, but I can't find it) cannot be copied to clay. This is because everyone is always changing, even if it is not a redemption, and in order to draw that person, we must continue to create the palace and the environment surrounding it.
Paintings, sculptures and literature are the ultimate expressions (even abstract paintings) that approach concreteness and are the product of compromise. It's alive when it's written, but dead when it's written. You cannot continue writing (drawing) forever.
"Writing and reading" and "Speaking and listening"
The two are completely different. It is impossible (unless as a metaphor) to read what is not written. It is not always read because it was written, and sometimes it is not written because it is read. There is also the question of which one to focus on. Books as products focus on the latter.
"Speaking and listening" are close to the same thing. This is because speaking and listening cannot be separated spatially and temporally (unlike the letters that presuppose that separation). The basic is one-to-one. "Dialogue (Διάλογος two words)" isn't it? It's basic to talk to someone and listen to them. It is the same as "touching" and "beating" (^ _ ^;). It is also possible to say one-to-many. It can be spoken in front of a large number of people, or it can be "leaking, eavesdropping."
Many-to-one is difficult, isn't it? I'm in trouble if a lot of people talk to me all at once (laughs). But one-to-many always includes the possibility of many-to-one.
One-to-many continues to grow in printing technology, vinyl records, television and the Internet. And that one-to-many technology also increases the possibility of many-to-one. Anyone who has written on SNS etc. will know the fear.
Character cravings don't go away
This book is a scary book. You can receive a lot of things even though no correct answer is written. It may be the ultimate form of a character novel.
There is no doubt that this book is conscious of Atsushi Nakajima's "Character". The writing style does not have the "comfort" of Atsushi Nakajima, and it looks like a light novel (a book with so many kanji will not be a light novel, and you cannot add ruby to ruby). The situation depicted is beyond what can be visualized (imagined in the mind). That is why it is so interesting as literature.
Now that I have been able to experience the mystery of letters, I am overwhelmed by the depth. Just like when I read "Character".
But that doesn't stop my thirst for letters. You can feel the shortage but not the satisfaction.
Living while metabolizing letters
The letters are making me. I'm made of letters. It took me half a century to notice it. And I'm hungry for the character that was my creator.
It is taking in new characters and ejecting old ones. And some remain in the "body". Now I may be "obese" in the letters. I feel that the number of indigestible characters is increasing. If you eat too much and can't digest, you have no choice but to get hungry, vomit, or become obese. [12]
When it comes to food, the amount that one person can eat is limited. Even so, I just end up eating too much. Even if you are full, you can go for food, follow what looks delicious, and store what you will eat tomorrow and what you will eat the day after tomorrow in the refrigerator. When people see it hundreds of years ago, they think they're sick.
Knowing enough ("Laozi" Chapter 33)
We are "temporally and spatially limited" beings, unlike letters. Therefore, the amount of food you eat is also limited. It is possible to imagine what you will eat tomorrow and your existence tomorrow. But it could have been dead today. Therefore, there is no choice but to think about the future (remember the shortage), but I think that it is the end of the story that is entwined with it now. I'm thinking about stopping being obsessed with the future and being obsessed with the past. Remembering what you ate yesterday doesn't make you full, and imagining eating tomorrow doesn't make you full. You may feel happy (and that's important).
Discovery of objects
The past self is the present, the present self is the future self, and vice versa. "Linear" and "generation and discovery of the concept of time" are brought about by the existence of letters as objects and objects that transcend time and place.
We can look in the mirror and we can see ourselves reflected on the surface of the water. You can see and touch your limbs. You can also hear your own voice. But that is not to look at yourself objectively. They are not on the spot, away from me at that time. The inside is discovered by discovering the outside. Only by being separated from nature (existence) can you discover yourself (inside). It really depends on putting yourself outside (externalization, deciding, standing). "Letters" are just that.
Characters as temporary (hypothesis)
"Letters" are the means to live tomorrow and live in the past. It is by no means an "purpose". The purpose is set or assumed elsewhere. Or I think there are many cases where it is not. "There is a means even if there is no purpose." That is the scary part of the character. "The purpose of life (reason for the existence of Raison d & apos; être)" is exactly that.
You can understand (explain, understand) various things by assuming "characters" as means that convert into purpose or generate means and purpose.
But it's just "deduction". It is not a proof of assumption. However, in order to stop this "fall", the only way to deny a character with a character is to "do not write" or "continue writing".
Dasein is just a letter, a god, and a natural thing. Once I let go of it, I have no choice but to continue to seek it. But that's not impossible. I myself am not an AI, a robot, or a character, but an entity that eats and discharges every day. [13]
Characters are alive
The characters are still alive on the display. The corpse of the character is moving. It is moving as a group, and individual letters are also vibrating. Not just as an electrical frequency. Not just as a program or algorithm. The battle between digital and analog (subject and object) has just begun.
”Nukigaki”
"A letter for a tool is for each letter to be sacred, to write oddities, to know the good and bad, and to move the heavens. It was not made for an individual, but was given to a group. It was a grace. Therefore, I carved it into the soil, wrote it on a wooden tablet, and gained a mysterious power. It was a necessary tool for communication with heaven, it was a rule, and it was not something that could be used daily. It is a sunny dress, it needs to be kept clean, and it is something that the politicians often do. ”(“ Character Whirlpool ”P.15)
"Mr. Sakaibe has a variety of software for laying out texts for the convenience of making books, so-called (FF), and artificial intelligence if you like proofreading. A guy who specializes in typographical errors. There are also those that have been generalized for proofreading and reviewing. It seems that fine adjustments are required for each era of text. Old characters may be replaced with current characters, and sometimes they may be modified (LF). ) "That's what everyone's book is about," he said with a cool face. "I think Teika rewrote the text quite a bit. Moreover, only that Teika book was passed on to future generations. Modifications are allowed as long as the policy is correct" (Umegae, p. 97-98). ＿＿The meaning of telling and leaving for posterity. But hey, like the text, the layout and the size of the letters are related to the essence of the book, that is, "to convey". Authors, editors, and designers are having a hard time with that. Even now that printing technology and the Web have become widespread, we care not only about the spacing between adjacent lines but also about the adjacent characters themselves. On the Web, you can fix the layout (still, it will be different if the browser and OS are different. If you specify that much, you will not be able to read it (^ _ ^;)) You can also change the text itself for adjacent characters There is. This is one of the things I want to say about this book.
I wonder if such "technology" will be lost. In that sense, a book is a work of art that contains pictorial elements, both in its entirety and in individual pages. It doesn't mean that it just makes sense. The same is true for picture scrolls, and so is comics. The speech balloons (line, name) of the manga are printed in the basic "Mincho style". Sometimes it's handwritten, but that's a special case. It may be easier to read, but the Ming dynasty makes you feel like you are talking to someone who is not in the way of the picture. I think the same can be said for anime voice actors and dubbed voice actors. Recently, voice actors often appear on TV with their own faces, but if their individuality is too strong, they will drink characters and actors from anime and foreign movies. The face of the dubbed voice actor will be mixed with the characters and actors. If the voice actors such as Lupine III, Doraemon, Al Pacino and Alain Delon change, you will feel uncomfortable. "Real voice" has (adds) more than the meaning of letters.
"'Genji Monogatari' was originally a douujinshi, and picture scrolls may be more derivative works. To be honest, it would be a problem if you were born into a fanatic machine fan." 100) __Ahaha. Doujinshi. That's true.
"For some reason, it is difficult to make the brush go smoothly unless it is a Yamato word. I think that is a word that is strongly linked to the secretary's system. There is a Hentaigana. However, I think it should be reviewed from the aspect of continuous cotton. "(Same as above, p.101) __ Certainly. It may be easy to understand.
"No matter how much you change the displayed characters in real time or dynamically generate the layout, the characters here are like corpses. At best, they are just zombie characters. Those that move without a soul. A character pretending to be a character. A shell of a character. The essence of a character must have come from somewhere, and at one point, it dwells in what is still called a character, and then to somewhere again. "I wonder if the letters really lived in the old days." (Same as above, p.104) __ Maybe so. There are certainly many things that have been lost due to printing technology (digitization). What is the relationship between that and the essence of letters?
"A man like Sakai is not sure which is more reasonable, the loss of truth or the remaining work." ("New Character" P.111) __ I don't know either.
"For those who manipulate multiple languages, it often happens that the way of thinking changes depending on the choice of language to use. Furthermore, even if you write down Japanese words, the characters for that are not decided, and it is necessary to take the trouble of guessing with kanji. However, when I look at it later, I often get confused about what I wrote. In that case, it is quicker to write it in Chinese from the beginning. "(Ibid., P.113) ＿＿Someone said that "words and thoughts are the same", but I don't agree with all of them, but I understand the difficulty of thinking in English. It is difficult to put into words what you originally thought. Even in my native language.
"I learned that there is a difference between Japan and China even if the sound of a bowl hitting the table is mixed with the sound of the desert and the sound of breaking waves." (Same as above, P115) __ Maybe, "Good morning." Even if you say "it's a dog", the word includes not only the speaker and listener, but also time, environment, climate, history, and so on.
"If you don't know what you can find there, it's difficult to discover something, and here's the mystery of discovery." ("Fine" P.138) __ That's right. Hypothesis and verification. That's what it means to "find something." And I often find something else. Remember when you're looking for something in a (messy) room.
If you search for something on Amazon or Google, it will be presented in various ways. Some things seem to have little to do with it for some reason. I think "Oh, I want it" (^ _ ^;). It doesn't have to be what you're looking for, or something you've always wanted and forgotten.
However, if you don't look for it, you often miss it.
E-book
I was talking about e-books on TV today. I think that the impression and even the content of e-books and paper books will change.
This book has also been converted into an electronic book. It's amazing. I feel like reading because I saw something scary. (^ _ ^;)
"God dwells in letters"
What is a "letter"? I understand, I don't understand. There may be many people who are familiar with it, but have never been particularly concerned about it.
You may not care about it, but if you don't, you will be in great trouble.
Don't you think that even people who don't read books (people who don't like to read) are in trouble if they can't read signs and signs?
The literacy rate of Japanese people is said to be 99% or higher, but it is by no means 100%. Some people can't read kanji or hiragana. ("Close-up Gendai")
I can't read all the kanji. After reading this book, I realized how much I didn't know (and forgot) kanji. [1]
Well, I wonder if few people can read this book smoothly. But you don't have to know the difficult kanji. I couldn't read more than half, but I enjoyed reading it. (^ _ ^;)
On the way, it is interesting that "ruby (small hiragana next to kanji)" walks alone (?) Or becomes a sentence with only hiragana.
The world of computers?
What is in the author's mind is the "computer world," or "now." It is an attempt to recapture the characters from there.
When I open a file I don't understand, I sometimes find "Japanese Island" there. Some files are mostly in Japanese, while others are in Japanese occasionally. Even if Japanese comes out, if it doesn't make sense at all, try changing the codec (Shift JIS, UTF-8, etc.). Then, what used to be a list of meaningless symbols may emerge as "Japanese". It's a "character clan". [2] [3]
The characters are digital . "A" and "A" have different (different) numbers (of course, also in "A" and "B"). "A" is "3024" and "A" is "3021" (Shift JIS. UTF-16 is "963F" "4E9C"). By the way, next to "A" ("3023" and "3025") are "娃" and "sorrow", but there is no such thing as "3024.5". [4]
"a" does not make sense on its own (although it does mean a singular article), but it does make sense with the spelling "apple". In Japanese, it is expressed as "apple," "apple," or "apple." The apple can't be used with only hiragana, but I can still understand it (^ _ ^;). [5]
The character was alive
I think the letters were alive. As long as you copy the words. But when it became independent (when it gained objectivity), it probably lost most of its life. Like a specimen insect. The picture is the same. It loses life when it is aimed to "remain" or "not lose." So it had to be "rewritten" to keep it.
Today's digitization is also one of "rewriting". It will also be "reprinted" with the development of technology. It may simply be "lost" in a power outage. [6] [7]
Life can only be maintained by being "recreated". Those with eternal life cannot be said to be "alive." [8] [9]
Every time it is reproduced, it changes. Depending on the "living" person and nature at that time.
But it has nothing to do with "progress" or "getting better". This is because it can be called "backward" or "worse." [10]
Characters as digital
An "apple" is a concept and is abstract. It includes "blue apples", "red apples" and "rotten apples".
If the letter "apple" has such a property, what about the "voice" of "apple" that is heard as a sound? Imagine when you said "apples (I bought them)". At that time, I don't think "rotten apples" are included (except in special cases, I think it's quite difficult to buy rotten apples). Also, you wouldn't (or don't want) to assume "sour apples". (Except when trying to cook with sour apples, in which case "sweet apples" are not expected.)
The concreteness of voice (sound) disappears in letters. There does not seem to be a "writer" equivalent to a "speaker". I don't even know if the writer "Toh Enjoe" is young, old, disgusting, or likely to be a friend, a man or a woman. Even if you can't meet Toh Enjoe, you can look it up online. Being a man. Date of birth, physics department, etc. If you read this book based on that, it will add meaning again. If it were a woman and she was from the Japanese painting department, it would have a different meaning. I don't know which one is true. Unless "Toh Enjoe" is actually written in front of you. [11]
Characters become independent by stripping off "concreteness". There is no such thing as "when" or "where" the "Toh Enjoe" was written. If you don't throw them away, the book won't work.
Naturally, abstract characters (kanji or alphabet) can be digitized. It depends on the medium. From the scapula to the wooden tablets, paper, and as a bit of digital. It can be said that the "concreteness" of the character is abstracted each time. It becomes independent of the author, place, space and history.
Character as art
Letters and art are closely related. It can be said that it is one.
Both are attempts to regain concreteness. The various inventions of Sakai are one of them. How to express letters. An attempt to position it in a painting, paper, or the entire screen, or an attempt to connect with the act of "writing" rather than "reading."
Sakai's attempt to regain the original appearance of the characters will never succeed. This is because "characters are alive" at the "moment of writing", but the characters die as soon as they are written. You have to write to bring the letters back to life .
But while I'm writing, it's not a letter yet.
俑 makes 俑 (misleading), but no matter how realistic it is made, the "person" 贏 (yes, the kanji is probably different, but I can't find it) cannot be copied to clay. This is because everyone is always changing, even if it is not a redemption, and in order to draw that person, we must continue to create the palace and the environment surrounding it.
Paintings, sculptures and literature are the ultimate expressions (even abstract paintings) that approach concreteness and are the product of compromise. It's alive when it's written, but dead when it's written. You cannot continue writing (drawing) forever.
"Writing and reading" and "Speaking and listening"
The two are completely different. It is impossible (unless as a metaphor) to read what is not written. It is not always read because it was written, and sometimes it is not written because it is read. There is also the question of which one to focus on. Books as products focus on the latter.
"Speaking and listening" are close to the same thing. This is because speaking and listening cannot be separated spatially and temporally (unlike the letters that presuppose that separation). The basic is one-to-one. "Dialogue (Διάλογος two words)" isn't it? It's basic to talk to someone and listen to them. It is the same as "touching" and "beating" (^ _ ^;). It is also possible to say one-to-many. It can be spoken in front of a large number of people, or it can be "leaking, eavesdropping."
Many-to-one is difficult, isn't it? I'm in trouble if a lot of people talk to me all at once (laughs). But one-to-many always includes the possibility of many-to-one.
One-to-many continues to grow in printing technology, vinyl records, television and the Internet. And that one-to-many technology also increases the possibility of many-to-one. Anyone who has written on SNS etc. will know the fear.
Character cravings don't go away
This book is a scary book. You can receive a lot of things even though no correct answer is written. It may be the ultimate form of a character novel.
There is no doubt that this book is conscious of Atsushi Nakajima's "Character". The writing style does not have the "comfort" of Atsushi Nakajima, and it looks like a light novel (a book with so many kanji will not be a light novel, and you cannot add ruby to ruby). The situation depicted is beyond what can be visualized (imagined in the mind). That is why it is so interesting as literature.
Now that I have been able to experience the mystery of letters, I am overwhelmed by the depth. Just like when I read "Character".
But that doesn't stop my thirst for letters. You can feel the shortage but not the satisfaction.
Living while metabolizing letters
The letters are making me. I'm made of letters. It took me half a century to notice it. And I'm hungry for the character that was my creator.
It is taking in new characters and ejecting old ones. And some remain in the "body". Now I may be "obese" in the letters. I feel that the number of indigestible characters is increasing. If you eat too much and can't digest, you have no choice but to get hungry, vomit, or become obese. [12]
When it comes to food, the amount that one person can eat is limited. Even so, I just end up eating too much. Even if you are full, you can go for food, follow what looks delicious, and store what you will eat tomorrow and what you will eat the day after tomorrow in the refrigerator. When people see it hundreds of years ago, they think they're sick.
Knowing enough ("Laozi" Chapter 33)
We are "temporally and spatially limited" beings, unlike letters. Therefore, the amount of food you eat is also limited. It is possible to imagine what you will eat tomorrow and your existence tomorrow. But it could have been dead today. Therefore, there is no choice but to think about the future (remember the shortage), but I think that it is the end of the story that is entwined with it now. I'm thinking about stopping being obsessed with the future and being obsessed with the past. Remembering what you ate yesterday doesn't make you full, and imagining eating tomorrow doesn't make you full. You may feel happy (and that's important).
Discovery of objects
The past self is the present, the present self is the future self, and vice versa. "Linear" and "generation and discovery of the concept of time" are brought about by the existence of letters as objects and objects that transcend time and place.
We can look in the mirror and we can see ourselves reflected on the surface of the water. You can see and touch your limbs. You can also hear your own voice. But that is not to look at yourself objectively. They are not on the spot, away from me at that time. The inside is discovered by discovering the outside. Only by being separated from nature (existence) can you discover yourself (inside). It really depends on putting yourself outside (externalization, deciding, standing). "Letters" are just that.
Characters as temporary (hypothesis)
"Letters" are the means to live tomorrow and live in the past. It is by no means an "purpose". The purpose is set or assumed elsewhere. Or I think there are many cases where it is not. "There is a means even if there is no purpose." That is the scary part of the character. "The purpose of life (reason for the existence of Raison d & apos; être)" is exactly that.
You can understand (explain, understand) various things by assuming "characters" as means that convert into purpose or generate means and purpose.
But it's just "deduction". It is not a proof of assumption. However, in order to stop this "fall", the only way to deny a character with a character is to "do not write" or "continue writing".
Dasein is just a letter, a god, and a natural thing. Once I let go of it, I have no choice but to continue to seek it. But that's not impossible. I myself am not an AI, a robot, or a character, but an entity that eats and discharges every day. [13]
Characters are alive
The characters are still alive on the display. The corpse of the character is moving. It is moving as a group, and individual letters are also vibrating. Not just as an electrical frequency. Not just as a program or algorithm. The battle between digital and analog (subject and object) has just begun.
”Nukigaki”
"A letter for a tool is for each letter to be sacred, to write oddities, to know the good and bad, and to move the heavens. It was not made for an individual, but was given to a group. It was a grace. Therefore, I carved it into the soil, wrote it on a wooden tablet, and gained a mysterious power. It was a necessary tool for communication with heaven, it was a rule, and it was not something that could be used daily. It is a sunny dress, it needs to be kept clean, and it is something that the politicians often do. ”(“ Character Whirlpool ”P.15)
"Mr. Sakaibe has a variety of software for laying out texts for the convenience of making books, so-called (FF), and artificial intelligence if you like proofreading. A guy who specializes in typographical errors. There are also those that have been generalized for proofreading and reviewing. It seems that fine adjustments are required for each era of text. Old characters may be replaced with current characters, and sometimes they may be modified (LF). ) "That's what everyone's book is about," he said with a cool face. "I think Teika rewrote the text quite a bit. Moreover, only that Teika book was passed on to future generations. Modifications are allowed as long as the policy is correct" (Umegae, p. 97-98). ＿＿The meaning of telling and leaving for posterity. But hey, like the text, the layout and the size of the letters are related to the essence of the book, that is, "to convey". Authors, editors, and designers are having a hard time with that. Even now that printing technology and the Web have become widespread, we care not only about the spacing between adjacent lines but also about the adjacent characters themselves. On the Web, you can fix the layout (still, it will be different if the browser and OS are different. If you specify that much, you will not be able to read it (^ _ ^;)) You can also change the text itself for adjacent characters There is. This is one of the things I want to say about this book.
I wonder if such "technology" will be lost. In that sense, a book is a work of art that contains pictorial elements, both in its entirety and in individual pages. It doesn't mean that it just makes sense. The same is true for picture scrolls, and so is comics. The speech balloons (line, name) of the manga are printed in the basic "Mincho style". Sometimes it's handwritten, but that's a special case. It may be easier to read, but the Ming dynasty makes you feel like you are talking to someone who is not in the way of the picture. I think the same can be said for anime voice actors and dubbed voice actors. Recently, voice actors often appear on TV with their own faces, but if their individuality is too strong, they will drink characters and actors from anime and foreign movies. The face of the dubbed voice actor will be mixed with the characters and actors. If the voice actors such as Lupine III, Doraemon, Al Pacino and Alain Delon change, you will feel uncomfortable. "Real voice" has (adds) more than the meaning of letters.
"'Genji Monogatari' was originally a douujinshi, and picture scrolls may be more derivative works. To be honest, it would be a problem if you were born into a fanatic machine fan." 100) __Ahaha. Doujinshi. That's true.
"For some reason, it is difficult to make the brush go smoothly unless it is a Yamato word. I think that is a word that is strongly linked to the secretary's system. There is a Hentaigana. However, I think it should be reviewed from the aspect of continuous cotton. "(Same as above, p.101) __ Certainly. It may be easy to understand.
"No matter how much you change the displayed characters in real time or dynamically generate the layout, the characters here are like corpses. At best, they are just zombie characters. Those that move without a soul. A character pretending to be a character. A shell of a character. The essence of a character must have come from somewhere, and at one point, it dwells in what is still called a character, and then to somewhere again. "I wonder if the letters really lived in the old days." (Same as above, p.104) __ Maybe so. There are certainly many things that have been lost due to printing technology (digitization). What is the relationship between that and the essence of letters?
"A man like Sakai is not sure which is more reasonable, the loss of truth or the remaining work." ("New Character" P.111) __ I don't know either.
"For those who manipulate multiple languages, it often happens that the way of thinking changes depending on the choice of language to use. Furthermore, even if you write down Japanese words, the characters for that are not decided, and it is necessary to take the trouble of guessing with kanji. However, when I look at it later, I often get confused about what I wrote. In that case, it is quicker to write it in Chinese from the beginning. "(Ibid., P.113) ＿＿Someone said that "words and thoughts are the same", but I don't agree with all of them, but I understand the difficulty of thinking in English. It is difficult to put into words what you originally thought. Even in my native language.
"I learned that there is a difference between Japan and China even if the sound of a bowl hitting the table is mixed with the sound of the desert and the sound of breaking waves." (Same as above, P115) __ Maybe, "Good morning." Even if you say "it's a dog", the word includes not only the speaker and listener, but also time, environment, climate, history, and so on.
"If you don't know what you can find there, it's difficult to discover something, and here's the mystery of discovery." ("Fine" P.138) __ That's right. Hypothesis and verification. That's what it means to "find something." And I often find something else. Remember when you're looking for something in a (messy) room.
If you search for something on Amazon or Google, it will be presented in various ways. Some things seem to have little to do with it for some reason. I think "Oh, I want it" (^ _ ^;). It doesn't have to be what you're looking for, or something you've always wanted and forgotten.
However, if you don't look for it, you often miss it.
E-book
I was talking about e-books on TV today. I think that the impression and even the content of e-books and paper books will change.
This book has also been converted into an electronic book. It's amazing. I feel like reading because I saw something scary. (^ _ ^;)
[著者等(プロフィール)]
円城塔
1972年北海道生まれ。東京大学大学院総合文化研究科博士課程修了。2007年「オブ・ザ・ベースボール」で文學界新人賞受賞。2010年『烏有此譚』で野間文芸新人賞、2011年早稲田大学坪内逍遙大賞奨励賞、2012年『道化師の蝶』で芥川賞、『屍者の帝国』(伊藤計劃との共著)で日本SF大賞特別賞、2017年本作の表題作となる「文字渦」で川端康成文学賞を、2019年『文字渦』で日本SF大賞を受賞した。他の作品に『Self-Reference ENGINE』『これはペンです』『プロローグ』『エピローグ』などがある。
秦の始皇帝の陵墓から発掘された三万の漢字。希少言語学者が遭遇した未知なる言語遊戯「闘字」。膨大なプログラミング言語の海に光る文字列の島。フレキシブル・ディスプレイの絵巻に人工知能が源氏物語を自動筆記し続け、統合漢字の分離独立運動の果て、ルビが自由に語りだす。文字の起源から未来までを幻視する全12篇。第39回 日本SF大賞、第43回川端康成文学賞受賞作。
[1] すべての漢字が読める人がいるかも知れませんが、それは特殊な人ですね。すべての人は0と100の間にいます。欧米はいいですよね。アルファベットを憶えればだいたい識字になります、というのは違いますね。アルファベットを知っていても、本は読めません。"take"という英語は「タケ」ではなく「テイク」と読みます。"psycho"なんて今でも迷います（笑）。アルファベットだけじゃなくて「規則」を憶えなければならないです。日本はとても特殊な国で、漢字、ひらがな、カタカナがあります。その上、漢字には2つ以上の読みがあります。
[2] アルファベットは比較的見つかりやすいです。それで、「これは、Javascriptだな」とわかったりします。
[3] 一文字で、一巻おお経を表している字もあります。(^_^;)
[4] シフトJISは基本的に「あいうえお」順になっています。
[5] カタカナダケノブンショウデハリンゴハモットワカリマセン。
[6] 写真や映像が「死んでいる」のは、現物を見たときとの相違で明らかです。ライブがDVDやTV放送と違うのは誰もが認めるでしょう。
[7] 「アウラ」（ベンヤミン『複製技術時代の芸術』）とは、書かれたもの、作られたものが持つ生命です。写し直そうと思ったときに、「現物」はもう以前の「現物」ではありません。
[8] 今日の私は昨日の私ではありません。昨日は無事一日を終えたけど、今日も無事一日を終えられるかどうかはわかりません。昨日食べたもの、飲んだもので今日の私は再度作られています。
[9] それにしても、昨日の出来事で落ち込んだ自分を今日も引きずっています。困った。
[10] （私も含めた）年寄は「今の時代（人）はいいねえ」と言います。また、「昔は良かった」とも言います。同じ人が両方言うこともあります。素直な気持ちだと思います。そこに若い人は自己の生き方に対する「弁護」を見るかもしれません。でも、若い人だって自分を「弁護」せずに生きているでしょうか。誰だって（程度の差はあれ）「反省」「後悔」「自己弁護」・・・をしながら生きているのです。「自分」というものがある限り。
[11] 嫌な奴、嫌いなやつが書いた本は、なかなか読みたいとは思えません。でも、プラトンの書いた本は読みたいと思います。プラトンがお友達になれるような人物ではないとしても。著書と書いた人の人格はつながっているとともに、無関係です。
[12] 「快は不快がなければない」わけですから、「快」を求め続けるためには「不快」を人工的にでも作らなければなりません。ヨーロッパの王侯貴族たちが、食べつつけるために宴会で「吐きながら食べた」という話は有名です。
[13] AIもロボットも自動車も、電気やガソリンを食べて熱や排気ガスを排出します。擬似的生物です。
