姥捨て

Japanese

Kanji in this term
姥	捨
うば Jinmeiyō	す Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Etymology

From 姥捨山(うばすてやま) (Ubasute Yama), according to legend a place where old people were abandoned, from 姥(うば) (uba, “old woman”) + 捨(す)てる (suteru, “to abandon, throw away”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ba̠ sɨte̞]

Noun

姥(うば)捨(す)て • (ubasute) 

1. granny dumping, the practice of abandoning older people

   Synonym: 棄老 (kirō)

   • 2007 October 13, “Isomura Midori hisabisa no Nagoya [Midori Isomura’s long awaited return to Nagoya]”, in Chunichi Shimbun, page 11:

     今回(こんかい)は、姥捨(うばす)て伝説(でんせつ)を題材(だいざい)にした二幕芝居(ふたまくしばい)。その昔(むかし)、貧(まず)しい村(むら)では六十(ろくじゅう)になると山(やま)へ捨(す)てられた。磯村(いそむら)が演(えん)じる「とき」もその一人(ひとり)。

     Konkai wa, ubasute densetsu o daizai ni shita futa maku shibai. Sono mukashi, mazushī mura de wa rokujū ni naru to yama e suterareta. Isomura ga enjiru “Toki” mo sono hitori.

     This two-act play is based on the tradition of ubasute. In poor villages in those days, when a person reached their 60s they would be abandoned in the mountains. Isomura plays “Toki”, one such woman.

   • 2017 January 6, Nobuo Ikeda, “‘Ubasute’ to iu toshi densetsu [The ‘ubasute’ urban legend]”, in Agora‎^[1]:

     人(じん)口(こう)問(もん)題(だい)を解(かい)決(けつ)した方(ほう)法(ほう)は、姥(うば)捨(す)てとは逆(ぎゃく)の子(こ)捨(す)てである。

     Jinkō mondai o kaiketsu shita hōhō wa, ubasute to wa gyaku no kosute dearu.

     The resolution of population problems was the opposite of ubasute, kosute (child abandoning).

   • 2018 September 2, “Kazoku e yōiku hojo sōsetsu Edo jidai no fukushi [Subsidy for family care Edo-period social welfare program]”, in Tokyo Shimbun, page 24:

     綱吉(つなよし)が、犬(いぬ)に限(かぎ)らず、すべての生(い)きものの命(いのち)を大切(たいせつ)にするようにと発令(はつれい)した生類(しょうるい)あわれみの令(れい)は、捨(す)て子(こ)や姥捨(うばす)てを戒(いまし)めるために定(さだ)めた仁政(しんせい)であったともいわれる。

     Tsunayoshi ga, inu ni kagirazu, subete no iki mono no inochi o taisetsu ni suru yō ni to hatsurei shita shōrui awaremi no rei wa, sute ko ya ubasute o imashimeru tame ni sadameta shinsei de atta to mo iwareru.

     Tsunayoshi decreed mercy for the lives of not only dogs but of all living creatures, a benevolent policy designed to discourage child or elder abandoning, it is said.

References

• Martin Collick, David P. Dutcher, Souichi Tanabe, and Minori Kaneko (2004) Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary 5th edition, Tokyo: Kenkyūsha.