はこせこ
Japanese
![](Images/wiktionary/A_19th_century_Japanese_girl.jpg.webp)
はこせこ (hakoseko): the hakoseko can be seen sticking out of the girl's kimono just above the obi.
Etymology
Compound of 筥, 箱, 函 (hako, “box”) + せこ (seko, uncertain).[1][2][3]
Although the derivation of the seko element is left unexplained in Japanese resources referenced to date,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] this could be a compound of 狭 (se, “narrowness”) + 子 (ko, noun-forming diminutive suffix), as suggested by the alternative kanji spelling 函狭子, and presumably indicating the shape of the hakoseko itself. Alternatively, it might be from the puppet theater slang term せこ (seko, “box”),[1][2][3] itself possibly a similar compound.
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) はこせこ [hàkósékó] (Heiban – [0])[2][8][4]
- IPA(key): [ha̠ko̞se̞ko̞]
Noun
はこせこ • (hakoseko)
- 筥迫, 箱迫, 箱せこ, 函狭子, 函迫: (historical) a women's billfold or wallet, often ornately decorated and kept in the 懐 (futokoro, “the pouch-like front of a kimono, inside the flap and above the obi”); over time, this developed into something like a small boxy purse, though still kept in the futokoro
- 筥迫, 箱迫, 箱せこ, 函狭子, 函迫: (modern) a decorative such billfold or purse only used for certain special occasions requiring traditional dress, particularly the 七五三 (shichi-go-san, literally “seven-five-three”) ceremony for children aged seven, five, and three
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- “はこせこ”, in 日本大百科全書:ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
- “はこせこ”, in ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典 (Buritanika Kokusai Dai Hyakka Jiten: Shō Kōmoku Jiten, “Encyclopædia Britannica International: Micropædia”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Britannica Japan Co., Ltd., 2014
- “はこせこ”, in 世界大百科事典 第2版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN