wani

[Waruno Mahdi]

> Wani is used to mean "shark" in "Nihon Shoki" 712 A.D.
> Wani is used for "crocodile" in "Wa myou rui ja shou" 934 A.D.

Danny,
I'm a total ignorant on Japanese linguistics, so I'm happy to see
there are some people on AnLang with expertise there.

Some time ago, I read a 1928 publication by Nobuhiro Matsumoto
(_Le Japonais et les langues austroasiatiques_, Austro-asiatica 1,
Paris: Geuthner) which mentions a _Kunlun_ (probably a Malay-speaking
Orang-Laut) who drifted ashore in Japan in 799 A.D. (on p. 29),
citing as source a "Nihon Koki". Having not been able to locate any
mention of a source with that title anywhere else, I assumed that it
was a missprint for "Nihon Shoki".
But seeing, as you write, that this is dated 712 A.D., it couldn't
of course be the source implied, unless the 799 A.D. date given by
Matsumoto was a typo.

Could you comment on this in any way, like whether a "Nihon Koki"
exists (perhaps even a reference where I could find the text?), or
whether perhaps the Kunlun landing is indeed mentioned in the "Nihon
Shoki"? The incident itself seems interesting from a point of view
of historical depth of Malayo-Japanese contact.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Regards,   Waruno