操{みさお} : too many translations to be true


I am a bit confused regarding the translations of the word 操 in my 漢字 book
(Kanji et Kana of Hadamitzky, Durmous and Mochizuki), as they give : chastity,
purity, innocence, constancy, fidelity and honour! So I wanted to know which
ones were closer to the actual usage of this word, as most of these
translations have already well-known equivalents.




If you need to be strict in meaning, let's use those well-known equivalents
:-)

Honestly speaking, I find it hard to explain how it is actually used, because
it's rarely used. Everyone has heard this word, typically sung in
[enka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka) and Japanese folk songs (for
example see [なみだの操](https://youtu.be/SXqiXYnuv84)). But the concept of 操 is
almost never used in today's education, discussions, essays, and so on.

If I understand correctly, 操 is basically an old-fashioned word which is close
to 貞操 (chastity). It does not necessarily mean being a 処女 (virgin), and 操 can
probably be used with a married woman. I tend to associate 操 with a stereotype
of strong-minded, determined woman who is faithful to her husband or master.

When I was writing this, Joan of Arc came up to my mind...although she's not
even a Japanese!




If you need to be strict in meaning, let's use those well-known equivalents
:-)

Honestly speaking, I find it hard to explain how it is actually used, because
it's rarely used. Everyone has heard this word, typically sung in
[enka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka) and Japanese folk songs (for
example see [なみだの操](https://youtu.be/SXqiXYnuv84)). But the concept of 操 is
almost never used in today's education, discussions, essays, and so on.

If I understand correctly, 操 is basically an old-fashioned word which is close
to 貞操 (chastity). It does not necessarily mean being a 処女 (virgin), and 操 can
probably be used with a married woman. I tend to associate 操 with a stereotype
of strong-minded, determined woman who is faithful to her husband or master.

When I was writing this, Joan of Arc came up to my mind...although she's not
even a Japanese!

