form. The dictionary also yields information on rhyming words, individual pronunciation, meaning, usage, names of plants and animals, popular phrases, and customs of the times. Because this dictionary contains the earliest known written example of many words, Japanese language dictionaries often cite it as a primary source, such as the 14-volume Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (), known in English as "Shogakukan's Japanese Dictionary", published by Shogakukan. Examples The creators of the Nippo Jisho devised a system of transcription for the 16th century Japanese language with contemporary Portuguese Roman letters. Take the following example from Michael Cooper's review of the Jisho in the journal Monumenta Nipponica in 1976. Regional differences between Kyūshū and Kyoto speech are often noted, with preference given to the latter. "Qinchacu." (modern kinchaku ) A purse carried in the sash. In Ximo (Shimo, present-day Kyūshū) it is called "Fōzō" (modern hōzō 宝蔵). In this example the syllable modernly romanized as ki () was transcribed 'qi', ku () as 'cu', and the modern syllable group ha, hi, fu, he and ho () were transcribed 'fa', 'fi', 'fu', 'fe', and 'fo' respectively. Also the syllable o () was written 'vo', tsu () was 'tçu', shi () was 'xi', and e () was sometimes 'ye'. To what extent these particular spellings reflect how Japanese was actually pronounced in the 16th century is of great interest to scholars of Japanese historical linguistics. Other examples: The name of the country, , was written nifon, nippon, and iippon. The capital city, (present-day Kyoto), was written cami (probably pronounced "kami", lit. "upper") while Kyūshū was written as ximo (probably pronounced "shimo", lit. "lower"). The term meaning "the first call of birds in spring" was spelled fatçu coye (modern "hatsu koe" ). Spring warbler was spelled faru uguysu (modern "haru uguisu" ). The word (samurai) referred to a noble, whereas the word (bushi) referred to a warrior. The word (pronounced shintai in present-day Japanese) was listed as shindai; (batsugun) was bakkun The word rorirori meant "unsettled from fright". See also Rakuyōshū Japanese dictionaries Romanization of Japanese Late Middle Japanese References 1603 books Japanese dictionaries Jesuit publications Late Middle Japanese texts Jesuit Asia missions Translation dictionaries Portuguese dictionaries Edo-period works Japan–Portugal relations