International Research Center for Japanese Studies
1 . Tabi and Ryoko
Whereas the English words 'travel' and 'tourism' conjure up similar images for speakers of the language, when they are translated into Japanese as 'ryoko' and 'kanko' respectively, they give a different impression to us Japanese. Comparing the two in Japanese, the word ryoko (travel) seems to have a slightly better image than kanko (tourism), so, I doubt that many colleagues at my research center would have encouraged me saying "You are doing worthy work. Good luck!" on hearing of my participation in this symposium on tourism, had it been described as kanko. And yet the word ryoko can be thought of as something with limited value.
Recently I wrote a book entitled "Ryoko-no-Susume" (Travel Suggestions), but the publishing company tried to talk me round to using tabi, another word meaning travel, instead of ryoko. Their reason was that people buy a book when they have problems within themselves and by reading the book they want to hear and chew the words of others. Therefore it is better to use the word tabi which gives the impression of travel with more insight. However, the problem I wanted to pose in my book was the unworthy image haunting ryoko and kanko. Are we not wholly concerned with the importance of official status to the extent that we are missing something truly important? Are we not underestimating travel despite its potential value in our lives? It is because of these concerns that I dared to choose ryoko instead of tabi, and named the book "Ryoko-no-Susume"
The title was inspired by a famous book "Gakumon-no-Susume" (Learning Suggestions) written by Yukichi Fukuzawa during 1872 to 1876. I wished to reflect in the title the suggestion that while in those days what was recommended to Japanese people was learning, today it may be traveling. Of course it is well known that the word 'learning' used in the title of his book meant not sitting poring over books all day, but had much broader connotations. I thought it apt to follow his thinking more than a hundred years on, as I believe that in today's world the key to learning is ryoko.
Why then does ryoko have a worse, or less valuable image than tabi in Japan? Let us think about the origin of tabi. In my opinion these words have different implications. Although there are various opinions on the origin of tabi, according to ethnologist Kunio Yanagida, it is derived from tabe which means begging. Then why did the word begging come into existence? From the very beginning of their agricultural society, Japanese people have thought that human kind should settle in one place, and they distrusted those who roamed about because their lives differed from that which was considered the norm, and the only way to live. People used 'tabetabe' to refer to the behavior of 'moving around while begging' , which later became tabi.
In fact, the word tabi has portrayed a negative image from the beginning. Kunio Yanagida confirmed this by saying that actually tabi describes unpleasant, laborious work. As those who are familiar with travel and tourism might already know, the word travel is derived from 'trouble' and the French 'travail', both of which mean labor and hardship. From this, it is assumed that initially travel was laborious, which is why tabi was then seen as a significant element of life, for it is through such hardships that we, as Japanese can learn many precious things.
There is an old saying in Japan which goes "If you love your children, let them travel." But if the word tabi in the Japanese version is replaced by ryoko, the proverb will sound quite different, as we have formed an image of something pleasant by using this word. This would imply that letting children have ryoko would spoil the them.
In short, whereas tabi sounds an unpleasant and laborious task, ryoko is considered to be something less serious and even enjoyable. Kunio
