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The Power of Absence: Zero Signifiers and their Transgressions

Author(s): Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
Source: L'Homme, 34e Année, No. 130 (AVRIL-JUIN 1994), pp. 59-76
Published by: EHESS
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 Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney

The PowerofAbsence
andtheirTransgressions
Zero Signifiers

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney,The Power of Absence. Zero Signifiersand theirTrans-

gressions.- Thispaperhighlights theimportance ofthedynamicinterplay betweenthe
objectifiedand non-objectified in any semiotic/symbolic
signifiers systemthroughan
examination of thenatureand powerof thezero signifiers- signifiers
withoutmaterial-
of
ity linguistic labels or objects. Zero are
signifiers nonetheless
predicated,although
oftenin a complex mode, by objectifiedsignifiers. The power of zero signifiers
becomesevidentthrough - theirobjectif
transgression icationin wordsand objects.For
I use absentpronounsin discourse,thetemporal/spatial
illustrations, zero unitsof ma,
and themu (nothingness) in Japaneseculture.

anthropology and relatedfields,we have a long and productivehistory

of researchon the sign/signifier, the signified/meaning(s), and significa-
tioni. While Karcevski(1982 [1929] 49) : in linguisticsand Mauss
(1972 [1950] : 108-121)in anthropology represent earlierefforts alertingus to
the elusive and complexnatureof signification, the postmodernassault on
logo-centrism and structuralism has broughtto lightthecomplexity of signifi-
cationfromdifferent perspectives fromearlierattempts.
Followingthistradition, I wishto focuson fourissuesthatI thinkare crit-
ical in our understanding of our semiotic/symbolic systems. First, any
semioticsystemrelieson a criticalimportance of thezero signifiers - signifiers
withoutmateriality, that is, withoutrepresentation by linguisticlabels or
objects. Second, in addition to multivocal (Turner 1967) and polytropic
(Ohnuki-Tierney 1990) nature of a symbol, we must recognizethemeaningsof
the zero signifierswhichrangefroma mostconcreteand specificto various
typesof "nothingness".Third,an assumption, held at least by some,thatan
object or a form
linguistic is the sole and direct bearer of meaning - "thedirect
arrowmodel",as I call it- mustbe réexaminée,sincethemodeof signification
involvingzero signifiers is quitecomplex. Fourth,theobjectif icationof zero
signifiers often constitutes transgression, a serious offense,includingblas-

130,avr.-juin1994,XXXIV(2), pp. 59-76.

ig'//omme

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60 EMIKO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

phemy,thereby, in an inversemanner, pointingto thecentralityof thezero sig-

nifiersin a givensemioticsystemand thecultureat large,on theone hand,and
to the importance of transgression as symbolicpracticeon the partof social
agents,on theother.
For ethnographic I introducethreetypesof zero signifiers
illustrations, in
Japanese culture that have of
varyingtypes meaning: absent pronouns;thetem-
poral/spatial zero unitsof ma; and the conceptof mw,nothingness.These
practicesare by no meansuniqueto Japaneseculture.
Therehas been a plethoraof literature thatis relatedto theissuesdiscussed
in thisarticle. It includesworkson: silenceand pause in sociolinguistics and
discourseanalysis2; Goffmanian and
deletion,gap, etc.; pronouns indexicality
of pragmatics, discussedlater;indeterminacy, eitherin Godei's senseor thatof
deconstructionists; theréelof Lacan and de Certeau3;and overdetermination of
Freudor Althusser;phenomenological interpretationof Rorty;notto mention
"formsof life" of Wittgenstein. Indeed the list can be much longer.These
works,however,take different perspectivesfromthe presentarticleand are
thusexcludedfromthediscussion.

Zero Meanings:A Review

Zero Signifiers,

AlthoughMauss articulated theproblemthattherelationbetweenthesigni-

fierand the signifiedcan be elusive,it was Jakobson' s formulationof thezero
phonemethatprovidedthe source of inspirationfor both Lévi-Straussand
Bartheswho developedit intoa problemof signification. For Jakobsonand
Lotz (1949 : 155), the zero phonemeis simultaneously opposed to "all other
Frenchphonemes"andto "theabsenceof anyphoneme";thelatterin turntesti-
fiesto its presence.
The voiceless vowel is anothertypeof zero phoneme. In Japaneseand
manyotherlanguages,voicelessvowelsare vowels,suchas/i/and lui in Japa-
nese,thatare notpronounced in certainpositions{cf.Heffner1964: 212). Their
absenceas a vocalizedor objectifiedsounddoes notmeanthattheyare absent
in thephonologicalsystem;everyvoicelesssoundis assigneda distinctsound
typein the phonologicalsystemand thusis pronouncedwhen it appearsin
othercontexts.Jakobson,Fant,and Halle (1967: 39) brieflymentionanother
typeof zero phoneme,different fromthe one in Jakobsonand Lotz, whose
absenceis opposedto a specificphoneme,as in thecase of/#/ in theopposition
betweenIhl and /#/ in Englishin prevocalicposition.
Althoughthepostmodern attackon modernism is sharperagainststructural-
ism thanagainstany otherisms, it is Lévi-Strauss who developedMauss's
observationof mana and Jakobson' s zero phoneme. Accordingto Lévi-
Strauss,mana typifieswhathe calls signifiant flottantwhichrepresents une
valeurindéterminée de signification.It is in itselfdevoid of sens and thus
"susceptibleof receivinganymeaningat all". Havinga surplusof significa-

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 s
Tero Signifier 61

tion,manaor anyothersignifiant flottant represents "a symbolin itspurestate

[symboleà Vétatpurf with "a zero symbolic value [une valeursymbolique
zéro] (Lévi-Strauss1950: xliv, xlix-l; [1987: 55-56, 63-64]).
Lévi-Straussviews thenatureof signification of floatingsignifieras "dis-
crepancy"or "inadequate",and thusdetrimental to "thepriorcomplementary
relationship".While I do not sharethispartof his formulation, he mustbe
creditedfordevelopingthezero phonemeof Jakobsonand Lotz beyondpho-
nologyintobroaderculturalcontext. WhereastheTurnerian multivocalsym-
bol is assigneda finitesetof meanings,thefloatingsignifier brimswithinfinite
possibilitiesformeaning,since it is not attachedto any meaningor a set of
meanings.
Barthesbrieflydiscusses zero degree and zero sign in his Elementsof
Semiology(1979 [1964]). His propositions derivefromthelinguisticopposi-
tionof themarkedand theunmarked. Accordingto Barthes,thezero degree
of the oppositionis thereforenot a total absence but is "a significant
absence". The zerodegree,or thezero signin semantics, thus"testifiesto the
powerheldby anysystemof signs,of creatingmeaning'out of noting'"{ibid.:
11). Relegatingto a place in parenthesesa most important statement, he
observes:"theabsenceof any explicitsignifier functions by itselfas a signi-
fier". Thisis Barthes'smostarticulate formulation ofzerosignsas absentsig-
nifiers4,whilein EmpireofSigns(1982 [1970]5,he offersan exampleof a zero
meaning. The faceofa Japanesekabukiactoris whitenedout,as itwere,only
to createinfinite formeaning,
possibilities just as a biologicalmalecan be more
feminine precisely because of theabsence of biologicalconstraints, whichact
as a limitation fora biologicalfemale.
If we developthe zero signifiers in phonologyintoa generalproblemof
signification, theabove propositionsof zero signifiers constitutetwotypes:the
zero signifier thatdoes notconstitute an absenceof specificmaterialqualities,
likethezero phonemeof Jakobsonand Lotz; thezero signifier, like thevoice-
less vowels and the unmarked, whose zero formrepresentsspecificproper-
ties. Parallelsof thesetwo typesof zero signifiers are foundin zero mean-
ings: the floatingsignifierrepresentsempty but full meaning,while the
unmarked is assignedtheabsenceof a specificproperty thatcharacterizes the
markedcounterpart.

and Zero Meaningsin JapaneseCulture

Zero Signifiers

and zero meanings,I introducethe absent

As examplesof zero signifiers
in
pronouns Japanesediscourse, conceptma (emptyspace and time),and
the
theconceptof mu (nothingness).Theyare also threeimportant practicesand
concepts of Japaneseculture and thus countless publicationsare availa-
ble. Some authors,however,have presentedtheseconceptsas if theywere
expressionsof thoughtpatternsand modes of discourseunique to the Japa-

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62 EMIRO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

nese. The conceptofmuhas beendiscussedonlyin itshighlydevelopedform

as developedin Zen Buddhism,andtherehas beenlittleattempt
to teaseoutthe
betweenthetwo conceptsma and mu. Below I examinethemas
differences
folkconceptsand theday-to-day practicesfroma semioticperspective.

AbsentPronounsas Zero Signifiers

Thereis littlestructuralpressurein Japaneseto use pronouns. Subjectsare

oftenmissingor absent,transitive verbsdo not have objects,includingpro-
nouns,and thewordorderis quiteflexible. Furthermore, Japaneselacksauth-
enticthirdpersonpronouns(Kuno 1973: 17-18)6. The ellipsisof subjectsand
objectsis notdue to paucityofpronouns. To thecontrary, therearemorethan
thirty forms
linguistic that serve as
syntactically pronouns.
The ellipsis of pronounsis especiallyconspicuousin the discourseof
politeness(teineigo)and thatof deference(keigo)- bothcharacterized by the
use of different registers7. In factthe deletionof -
pronouns especiallythe
firstand second personpronouns and possessivecases- is obligatory
their as a
social practice. Theirdeletionmustbe accompaniedby the additionsof or
changesin inflections, expressingdeferenceor humblenesseithertowardthe
subjector theobject,in otherpartsofthediscourse,i.e., nouns,verbs,auxiliary
verbs,etc.
The followingexamplesfortheexpression"has come" illustrate how not
only the verb and the auxiliaryverb alone can a
constitute sentence but they
identify the absent the
subject, speaker and theaddressee,as well as thesocial
relationships amongthe people involved,indexicallyor conceptually, in the
discourse.
VERB AUXILIARY VERB

(a) Irrasshaimashita Polite Polite

(b) Irrasshatta Polite Plain
(c) Ki mashita Plain Polite
(d) Kita Plain Plain
(e) Mairi mashita Humble Polite

ABSENT SUBJECT ABSENT ADDRESSEE

(a) a person(s)superiorto boththespeakerand theaddressee superiorto thespeaker

(b) a personsuperiorto thespeaker equal/belowthespeaker
(c) a personnotrelatedto theaddressee superiorto thespeaker
(d) thesame as (c) equal/belowthespeaker
(e) a personrelatedto thespeaker superiorto thespeaker

A pronounas theobjectof a verbmayalso be deletedthrough similaruses

verband the auxiliaryverb. The possessivecases are vir-
of the transitive
tuallyunnecessary prefixo is addedto kuruma(car),
because if a highregister

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Tero Signifiers 63

forexample,thenokurumahas to be thecar belongingnotto thespeakerbutto

theaddressee,thuseliminating thenecessityof using"your". At thepsycho-
logicallevel,theredundant pronounswouldmakethestatement too directand
therefore offensive8.
In orderto examinethenatureand thepoweroftheabsentpronouns, letme
briefly comparetheselfrepresented in theabsentpronounsin Japanesewiththe
Peircianindexical"I". Benveniste(1971 [1966]) in France,through his intro-
ductionof "subjectivity" in semioticanalysis,and Peircein theUnitedStates,
through have highlighted
his "interprétant", theimportance of pronouns. The
absentpronounin Japaneseis a shifter in thePeirciansense in thattheabsent
pronounis a signrepresenting a personby a rulein linguistic convention, while
at thesametimeitis an indexrepresenting thepersoninvolvedin thediscourse
by beingin existentialrelationto the person. Like the Peircianshifters, its
meaningconstitutes an overlapofcode and message. (For shifters, see Burks
1948-1949:676, 678; Hanks 1990; Jakobson 1971: 130-133; Peirce 1932
[I960]: 156-173;Silverstein 1976.)
However,the absent pronounsin Japanesediscoursedepartsfromthe
indexical"I" of thePeircianshifters in a significantway. To use thefirstper-
son singularas an example,the"I" represented by an absentfirstpersonpro-
nounin Japaneseis definedin relationto theother(s)in thecontextof thedis-
course,preciselybecause an appropriatespeech level can be chosen only
in referenceto the relativestatusamong the personsinvolvedin the dis-
course. In thecase of Peircianshifters, theindexical"I" is the specificsub-
or
ject,Mary John, without explicit reference to anyoneelse. In contrast, the
indexical "I" of theJapanese discourse is an relational
explicitly "I" in a given
contextof discourse. The absentsubjectas a zero signifier represents above
all thesocial, nottheindividual,selfwho is specifically constructed in relation
to othersin a givencontextof discourse. The "I" conveyedby theabsentsub-
ject in Japanesediscourseis modifiedin each discoursesituation, and therefore
thesame individualchangeshis/her expressedsocial identity dependingupon
the other(s)and the social context - it is at once mostspecific,thatis, rela-
tionaland indexical,and yet,or therefore, a mostimpermanent self.
The relationalselfexpressedin the absentpronounis the structural basis
forthepronoun'spower. A changeof register in thespeechlevel enablesthe
creationof anotherset of self and other;one can easily lower a registerto
createan inferior otherand a superiorself. Alternatively, a changemay be
the
accomplishedthrough objectif ication of pronouns,violatinga crucialrule
ofthepoliteand deferential discourse. Inappropriate uses ofpronounsconvey
a powerfulmessage- eitherthe speakeris deliberatelytryingto insultthe
addressee,or it is a clear indicationof the speaker'slack of finesse. Like a
metaphor, the speechlevel can move the self and the otherin a given social
contextup or down. It can "adorn"or "disparage"(Aristotle1960: 187) the
relationally definedselfand other.
The speech level is purposelyviolatedotherwise. Telling examplesare

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64 EMIKO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

theuse of thehighregister as a commandand theuse of an informal formas a

morepoliteform. Thus, Otachininattekudasai (Please standup) is at the
highestregisterand yetcan be deliveredas an order,whereasa plainand fairly
blunt form, Tatte kurenaika (Won't you stand up)?, can be a polite
request. When a couple startsa quarrel,one switchesto a highregisterto
insultone's spouse, much as an English-speaking parentscolds a child by
addressing him/her with the full name ("Mr. John Smith,what have you
done!"). Another in
parallel English "Yes,is Sir!" which can be a replyin
indignation.
A deliberatetransgression of the rulesof the discourseof politenessand
deferenceis a commonlyused weapon forinsult,ridicule,irony,"rubbingit
in","respectfuldistance",etc. For theJapanese,who are sensitively attunedto
thespeechlevel and its subtleyetpowerfuleffectof themeta-language of the
discourse,a misuseof the speech level is farmoredevastatingthana curse
word. Thisexplainstheextremepaucityof cursewordsin Japanese;thereare
onlyaboutthreecommonly usedcursewords(chikushõ[beast],baka [fool]and
manuke[fool]). It is forthisreasonthat"misuses"of speechlevel are a favo-
ritetacticin Japanesecomedies,suchas rakugo,guaranteeing roarsof laughter
fromthe audience. The comic operasby Sir WilliamS. Gilbertand Arthur
Sullivancapturetheessenceof it.
In sum, in Japanesethe relationaland indexicalself and the other(s)
involvedin thediscourseare expressedby theabsence ofpronounsand their
possessivecases thatare predicatedby appropriate inflectionsof nouns,verbs,
auxiliaryverbs,etc. The inflections maketheuse of pronounsredundant.
Giventhecentrality of theabsence of pronounsin Japanesediscourse,the
deliberateand inappropriate objectificationof thesubjectand objectas a stan-
dardweaponfortransgression clearlyrevealsthepowerof theabsentpronouns
- theirpoweris ordinarily
as zerosignifiers hiddenin thestructure of discourse
butit is transformed intoan enormousperformative powerthrough transgres-
sions. The absentpronounand itspowerworkon thesame principleas word
taboo,discussedlater.
Note thatan oppositepractice - the transformation of a materialsignifier
intoa zero signifier- also revealsthepowerengenderedby theplay between
materialand non-material signifiers. For example,in newspapercoverageof
a criminaloffense, thestandardpracticeis to referto victimsusingtheaddress
form,san foradultsand chan forchildren,but to deletethe addressformin
reference to offenders.A typicalnewspaperarticlemayread: "On the6that
10:20 p.m.,a large-sizetruck,drivenby KobayashiMasakazu, 37 yearsold,
fromShizuokaPrefecture (his addressin detail) ran into a passengercar in
front ofiton Highway#3 ... The driverofthepassengercar,NakanoYoshio-
san, 35 yearsold, of (his address)..." The culpritKobayashiMasakazu is not
addressedwithsan, a genericaddressformin Japanese,unlikethe victim
Nakano Yoûùo-san. This example servesto illustrateculturalpracticesin
whichzero signifiers represent negativemeaningor power.

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Zero Signifiers 65

If theobjectif
icationof personswho shouldnotbe representedby pronouns
is a weaponforinsult,thecounterpracticeof transforming a materialsignifier
intoa zero signifier to a non-socialentity,
reducesa personwithsocial identity
represented by a zero signifier.

Ma (Zero Unitsof Space/Time)as Zero Signifier

I proposethatthe ma- spatialand temporalzero units - is anotherzero
signifierbut,unlikethe absentpronouns,it does not represent an absence of
specific form. The ma constitutestemporal zero unitsbetween wordsin dis-
course,or spatialzerounitspurposelyleft"empty"in architecture, gardens,etc.
(see Hall 1966: 152-154). The ma has been well-developed in aesthetics of
highculture, but it has also remained an importantconcept cum practice in the
day-to-day lives of theJapanese.
The emptybrushstrokes (kükaku)of calligraphy, whichis practicedevenby
childrenand thus not confinedto high culture, offer an example. Mukai
(1991: 67) explainsthattheemptybrushstrokes, of vitalsignificance in callig-
raphy,represent themovementsof thebrushwhichhave become invisibleto
the eye. They represent"the emptybackgroundas an additionalcarrierof
meaningin thetext". It is forthisreasonthatcalligraphy invitesat once a vis-
ible and tactileinvolvement, as well as imagination,bothforthecalligraphers
and forviewers/readers.The ma is crucial even for an individual'shouse
wherewalls shouldneverbe filledwithpictures,since the emptyspace has
powerfulmeaning(Hall 1966). In fact,the meaningof the entirewall rests
moreon thespace left"empty",withoutwhichtheaestheticsof even a master-
piece is diminished.
The silentbeats in the traditional Japanesepoems of haikuand waka are
oftencitedas examplesof thetemporalma (Arima1991). Kenmochi(1978:
23-25) characterizes thema duringtheNoh play as a momentwhenthe per-
formers, who synchronize theirrhythms bothof soundsand movements, cause
thebreathing oftheaudienceto stopbythetensionwhichtheirown momentary
haltingof theirbreathcreate. The ma is an activecreationon thepartof the
performers9.
The mutualsensingof therhythm in theseperforming artsis referred to as
ma o tora(to createthema), a commonphrasein theday-to-day Japanesedis-
course,in whichpauses in the flow of conversationare morepowerfulthan
speech;therefore incessanttalkingwithouttemporalma is devoidof powerful
messages. The followingare somecommonexpressionsin thedailydiscourse
thatincludethetermma.
Temporalma:
ma o motsu(to hold thema)
ma o motanai(to be unableto hold thema)
ma ga warui(wrongma; inconvenient, unlucky)

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66 EMIKO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

ma ni au (to meetthema' to be in time,to come in handy)

ma o motasu(to skillfully kill thetime)
Spatialma :
ma o kubaru(to arrangeat intervals)
Spatio-temporal ma :
ma o oku (to createthema',to pause,to space)
ma o kaku(to lack thema' insufficient)
As theabove expressionsshow,thetemporaland spatialma are character-
ized by the absence of specificphysicalcharacteristics - a certainamountof
timeflow or a certainamountof space. The temporaland spatialma is a
zero signifierwhose presenceis predicatedby objectifiedsignifiers, such as
words,events,activities,drumbeats, visible brunshstrokes, or rocks in the
rock garden. The objectifiedsignifierswhich signal the presenceof the
absence,ma, are in turngivenmeaningby thema. The ma is in itselfdevoid
of specificmeaning;its powerrestsin providingmeaningto othersignifiers/
symbols.
Justas thepowerof an absentpronounis engendered through transgression,
thepowerof ma too becomesapparentthrough transgression,as expressedin
some of theabove expressions. The deletionof ma by fillingdiscoursewith
words,and walls and gardenswithtoo manyobjects constitutes the trans-
gressionwhicherasesthemeaning and value of words,paintings, etc.
The centrality of zero signifiersin Japanesecultureis succinctlyexpressed
in theexpressions, oftenusedas a ridiculeor an insult,ofma ga nukeru(to lack
thema; beingstupid)or manuke(a personwithoutma,thatis, a fool). A pro-
foundimplication of theuse of thesephrasesis thatthema, an important signi-
fierin social discourse,is thought to be an importantdefinitionalfeatureof the
social self.
If thespeechlevel and absentpronounsfindequivalentsin non-verbal dis-
coursein othersocieties,so does thema thatis important in discoursein most
societies,althoughthedegreeof its importance and its formalizationmaydis-
tinguish cultures such as Japanese from others.

as Zero Signifier
The Mu (Nothingness)

The thirdzero signifierI wishto consideris theraw,nothingnessor empti-

ness. Althoughoriginallydevelopedas a Taoist concept(see later),thecon-
ceptof muwas developedin Japanto a highdegreeby Zen Buddhism,and has
muchattention
attracted in and out of Japan. In recentyears,NishidaKitarõ
(1870-1945) and his so-calledKyotoSchool have drawnattention, as well as
to theconceptofmuthrough
controversy, theirdiscussionofthemuandrelated
concepts(see note 8). But the mu occupies an equally important place in
plebeianculture.

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Zero Signifiers 67

For example,a commonmotifin Japanesefairytales is "theemptycenter

motif, articulatedin the storyof "The Bush Warbler'sHome" (Uguisu no
Sato):
A youngwoodcutter goes intoa forest,wherehe encountersa splendidman-
sionthathe neversaw or heardof before. Entering themansion,he mets[sic]
therea beautifullady who asks him to watchover it while she goes briefly
away. While leaving,she forbidshim to look intothe nextroom,whichhe
promisesher. Once he is leftalone,however,he breaksthepromiseandenters
thenextroom. Threepretty girlsare sweepingthatroom,butuponseeingthe
woodcutter,they immediatelydisappeared, slipping quickly away like
birds. The woodcutter entersthenone roomafteranotherof themansion,and
sees thattheycontainmanytreasures. The seventhroomcontainsa bird'snest
withthreesmalleggs. Whilepickingup theeggs,he accidentally dropsthem.
Threebirdscome out of the eggs and flyaway. Justthen,the lady comes
back,and blamesthewoodcutter forbreakinghis promiseand causingthereby
the deathof her threedaughters. Transforming herselfintoa bush warbler,
she,too,fliesaway. Whenthemanbecomesawareofhimself, he standsalone
in thesame place wherehe foundthe mansion;but the mansionis no longer
there(Kawai 1991: 157).

Interpreting thistale, Kawai (ibid.: 114) suggeststhat"nothinghas hap-

pened" should be interpreted as "thenothingness has happened". Thatis, the
empty center is the raw. Kawai (cited in Arima 1991: 52-53) pointsout that
thehollowcentermotifhas had a longhistoryin Japaneseoraltradition, point-
ing to its presencein the Kojiki,myth-history compiledin 712 A.D., which
althoughcommissioned by theimperialcourt,drewits sourcesfromfolkoral
traditionsat thetime(Ohnuki-Tierney 1993).
The rawas illustrated in the hollow centermotifis a zero signifierpre-
dicatedby materialsignifiers, thatis, all its surroundings.The rawas the
emptycenterholds infinite possibilitiesformeaning.
The rawas a zero signifierwithpowerfulsemioticfunctionis not at all
unique to Japaneseculture. In fact this typeof powerfulzero signifieris
foundin religionand cosmologyin manyculturesof the world. The mana,
upon whichLévi-Strauss' s floatingsignifierwas formulated, is a raw. Like-
in the
wise, Taoism, original source for the raw, Tao is "without a name",i.e. a
powerful zero signifier. It is a basic principle of the universe which is "com-
pletelyunnameable, unknowable, and nonexistent" and yet"all-embracing and
unfailing"(Abe 1985: 124-125).
In Judaism,Jacobson(1978: 146) persuasivelyarguesthat"thehistoryof
theHoly of Holies is a historyof an accretionof absence". WhenGod was a
friend,a chief, etc., he and his mightybehaviors were seen and were
acclaimed. Onlylater,he recedes"intothevagueand magneticinvisibility of
an imagelessexistence,of a voice, if that,fromthe still silenceof a euphe-
mism"(ibid.: 138). Jacobsonpointsto the emptinessor at mostonlyblank
(that is withoutwriting)stones in the most holy place, the Holy of the

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68 EMIRO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

Holies. Likewise,insteadof the body of Jesus,the two womenfound"the

significant and profoundemptiness"(ibid.: 146). Most important, and best
known,is the taboo againstpronouncing YHWH (cf. de Certeau 1988: 339-
342). In otherwords,God is represented by a zero signifier - thepresenceof
a verbal,spatialand temporalabsence.
A similarreligioustaboois practicedamongtheAinuof southern Sakhalin
forwhomit is a stricttabooto pronouncethenamesof thetwomostpowerful
deitiesofthesea, as well as thoseofpowerfull elders,forwhomteknonyms are
used. Similarly, thecarvingof thebear,theirsupremedeity,is a stricttaboo
(Ohnuki-Tierney 1974: 36-38, 101-102)1«. Theirdeitiestoo mustremainzero
signifiers.
The Jewishand Ainupracticesrepresent a commonmodeof symbolization
in religionswherebythe mostpowerful,i.e. the supremedeity,is not repre-
sentedas icons or words,butthelessersuper-humans - saintsin Christianity,
-
lesserdeitiesin Shinto,and lesserbuddhas are objectified11.
Thatzerosignifiers notonlyarepowerfulbutthattheycarrytransformative
power is well-documented by manyscholarswho repeatedlyemphasizethe
importance of the ceremonial seclusionsand thestructural and physical"invis-
ibility",such as the burialof the and
neophyte symbolic death, duringtheini-
tiationritualsfoundin manyculturesof the world(e.g. Turner1967: 95-97).
Van Gennep,Lévi-Strauss,Douglas, and Turner,to name only a few major
anthropologists on thetopic,all pointto thedramaticpowerof thesepractices
forthetransformation of the initiates. If not verbalsignifiers, thesecultural
institutionsthatcreatesignificant absencesare indeed zero and they
signifiers
are foundin culturalloci, such as theinitiation ritual.
If themostsacredis too powerfulto be objectified, its/their
objectification
is a blasphemoustransgression, which,in turn,is purposelyused notonlyto
defythesacredbutalso to use themforsecularinsults. Indeed,one can effi-
cientlylocatethemostimportant culturalinstitutions by studying cursewords
and wordsof insult,as Leach (1964) has done in his celebratedarticleon ver-
bal abuse in English. Curse wordsin AmericanEnglishcenteron sex and
religion,manyof whichare objectification in wordsof theunmentionables and
thosenotto be mentioned. In eithercase, thetabooagainstverbalization dic-
tatesthatthe mostpowerfulmustremainas zero signifiers whose meanings
are of extremeculturalsignificance. In Japanesecultureneithersex norreli-
gionsconstitute a focal pointof significance, yieldingto thepaucityof curse
wordsinvolvingtheseculturalinstitutions.The deliberatemisuseof thedis-
courseof politenessand deferenceas a mostfrequent weaponof insulttestifies
to thecentrality accordedto thesocial relationalship or socialityin Japanese
culture.

Having surveyedthreetypesof zero signifiersin Japaneseculturewith

some comparative let me brieflycompareand contrastthem.
perspective,

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Zero Signifiers 69

as signifier as meaning
Absentpronouns zero signifier relationallydefined
predicated social actor

Ma zero signifier assigningmeaningto

predicated predicates

Mu zero signifier meaning

empty/full
predicated

As presented in theabove chart,all threeare zero signifiers in thattheydo

nothave materialrepresentations.The threealso sharethefeaturethattheir
-
presenceis predicatedby materialsignifiers inflectionsof otherlinguistic
forms, in the case of the absence pronouns;sound,space and othermaterialsig-
nifiersthatcreatethema; and "all else" fortheraw. These zero signifiers then
belongto a systemof signification based on material signs. The context in
whicheach zero signifier is used is different: theabsentpronouns is in social
discourse,thema is mostinvolvedin humanaffairs, includingsocial relation-
ships,while the raw'sinvolvementis at the cosmologicallevel12. The mu
differsfromtheothertwotypesof zerosignifiers in thatitis locatedin thecon-
ceptual structure and cannot be a discursive signifier.
Theirmeaningsrangefromthemostconcreteand specificto themostab-
stract. The absentpronounis mostspecificallypredicated:it is theindexical
selfconstructed in relationto theothersin thediscourse. The meaningof this
type of zero signifier is farfromemptyor nothing. In contrast, themeaningof
the two other types of zero signifiers is zero: zero signifiers with zero mean-
ings. Yet, thetwo zero meanings are different. In the case of the discursive
ma, its meaningis trulyzero; it has no meaning in itself. Yet, it has the
powerfulfunction of assigningmeaningto those material signifiers thatpred-
icate its presence. Withoutthema, its predicateslose theirmeaningful pre-
sence. The raw,in contrast, has itsown meaning - emptybutfull:a potential
forall meanings.
As elaboratedelsewhere(Ohnuki-Tierney 1981), almosteverysymbolhas
morethanone meaning:denotativemeaning,identified by "ethnoscience", and
variouspoeticmeaningsat higherlevelsof abstraction thatare elicitedby sym-
bolic classification and variousapproachesto tropes. These meaningsconsti-
tutedifferent levels of abstraction - fromthe mostconcreteto the most ab-
stract. The meaningsengenderedby the threetypesof zero signifiersalso
followthepatternin thebasic semanticstructure.
In regardto signification, theraw'spredicatesare all else, likethezeropho-
nemeof Jakobsonand Lotz. Thus therawconstitutes an absencethatcannot
be objectified, since there is no specificpredicate for it. In contrast, thepred-
icatesof the absentpronouns and the ma are specific inflections for the pro-
nounand materialsignifiers in the immediate environment of the ma. They
are likethevoicelessvowelsor thezerophonemeof Jakobson, Fantand Halle.
All threecases challengethe"directarrow"modelof signification in which

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70 EMIKO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

predication

Absentpronouns
and indexical
relational inflections
"I" and "Others"

'
^ meaning - -

- predication
^ ^^^

MA adjacentsignifiers
MEANING

predication ..^^^

MU all else
full/empty

The Modesof Signification

a signifier pointsto thesignified. In all cases,thezerosignifiers,

directly their
meaning,and theirpredicatesconstitute a complexstructure, each in its own
way,as schematizedin thisfigure. Inflections of verbs,auxiliaryverbs,and
nounscan signify notthemselves butabsentpronouns, in fact,in a veryspecific
way. The ma does nothave a meaningin itself,but assignsmeaningto the
materialsignifiersthatcreatethema. For the raw,the predicatesare all the
to whichthemuopposesbuttherawsustainsan infinite
materialsignifiers pos-
for
sibility meaning.
and zero meaningsare quitecommonin manysemioticsys-
Zero signifiers
tems,althoughthe space limitation allows me to offeronly a few examples
fromothercultures. Any semioticsystem/symbolic systemis based on a

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 rs
Zero Signifie 71

dynamicinterplaybetweenmaterialsignifiersand theirmeanings,and zero

and zero meanings.
signifiers
Note thatzero signifiersare assignedto culturallysignificant practices,
deliberately
prohibiting theirobjectif¡cationeitherin wordor object. Conse-
quently,theirtransgression constitutes structuralpractice,thatis, structure
generatesitsown practice. This in turn providesperformative powerto social
agents,who, as a subject,may also use theact of transgression his/her
for own
individualpurposes13. Elsewhere(Ohnuki-Tierney 1987: 156-158,218, 227)
I have extensivelydiscussed what I call breakable taboos- taboos thatare
meantto be brokenbutrequirea redemptory afterthe
rite,suchas purification,
breach. Here I arguethatzero signifiers -markedtaboos; they
are implicitly
are officiallynot to be broken,and thusgenerateconsiderablepower when
transgressed.
The wholearea- culturalpracticesthatare embeddedin a systembased on
materialityand yet are deliberatelynot representedin materiality14 - needs
moreattention by anthropologists in orderforus to understand how humansas
homosignificans museas well as act on thepresenceand absenceof material
signsand theircomplexmode of signification thatis neitherlogocentric,nor
discursive.
The University Madison
of Wisconsin,

Acknowledgement

J. Pouillonhas been mostencouragingand helpfulin theprocessof com-

pletingthisarticle. I benefitedfromP. Beillevaire'scommentson an earlier
draft. M. Kramerread a veryearlydraft,offering me invaluablecomments
and criticisms, to Jacobson'swork. Discus-
while also callingmy attention
sionswithT. Conleyon M. de Certeauclarifiedmythinking aboutthezero sig-
nifiers. J.Vansina'sencouragement to pursuethistopicand commentson this
acknowledged. I thankthemall, althoughall the short-
articleare gratefully
comingsin thisarticleare myresponsibilities.

NOTES

1. For the purposeof thispaper,I use "sign" and "symbol"withouttechnicaldistinctionand referto

bothof themas "signifier"and use meaningand the signifiedinterchangeably.
2. These publicationsin the traditionof Austin (1962) and Searle (1969) include: Aoki 1991;
Basso 1990; Bauman 1983; Becker n.d.; Tannen & Saville-Troike 1985.
3. In antithesisto logo-centrism,
theyemphasize"a worldof unmarkedspace and timethatcannotbe
mediatedby language or signs" (Conley 1988: xvi, 1991).
4. Barth es's conceptssuch as le degrézéro, an écriturethatfreesa writerfrom"all bondage to a pre-
ordainedstateof language" in WritingDegree Zero (1967 [1953]: 76), and the "thirdmeaning",
whichhe definesas "the signifierwithoutthe signified"in The Responsibilityof Forms (Barthes

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72 EMIKO OHNUKI-TIERNEY

1991[1982]:55),constitute an ultimaterejection ofthesemiotic system. Theyaretheoppositeof

thesignificant absenceinElements ofSemiology (1979) andtheempty butfullmeaning inEmpire
of Signs(1982). Goodman(1968: 145)'s vacantsymbol, definedas "inscriptions without com-
plements", is closeto Barthes'sthirdmeaning. (Fortrajectories in Barthes'thoughts, see Sontag
1967;Vendler 1986.)
5. In thisbookon Japanese culture,Barthesplaysbothwithhiszerosign/degree in theElements and
his thirdmeaning, without reconciling
explicitly thetworadically different concepts. His inter-
pretationsandapplications ofthezennotionofnothingness oremptiness - thecentral focusinthis
book- areinconsistent. Thebookcontains bothbrilliant insights andgrossmisunderstandings of
Japanese culture.
6. Thiscontrast toEnglish, French, German, andotherlanguagesinwhichthereis structural pressure
tohavesubjectsforfinite verbs,objectsfortransitive verbs,andthesubjectappearsatthesentence-
initialposition, whereby a sentence at timesresortto a dummy subjectto retainthesubject-verb
pattern,as in"Itis raining" (Kuno 1973:16-17). EllipsisinEnglishis briefly discussed byBenve-
niste (1966: 163-179). See also Derrida's (1972: 200-201)critique ofBenveniste on thisissue.
7. A speechlevelor a register expressesthedifference/sameness in socialstatusamongindividuals
involvedin thecontextof a givendiscourse. The factorsthatdetermine therelativestatuses
include:socialposition, age,gender, theinsider/outsider principle, andthedegreeof formality of
thesituation.Theinsider/outsider principle operates on thebasisofwhether theaddressee belongs
tothesamesocialgroup,suchas a family, a company, etc. Forexample, an offspring useshigher
registersaddressing his/her butuseslowerregisters
parents, whenreferring totheparents, insiders,
to someoneoutsidethefamily.
Thehierarchy thatdetermines thechoiceofan appropriate speechlevelis neither fixednorper-
manent andintheory doesnotderivefrom theirformal statuses insociety. Forexample, a famous
artistwillassumea humblepositiontowardhis/her child'steacher, sincethetwoare analogous
according totheinsider/outsider principle.In actuality, however, a complexinterplay between the
situationalhierarchy andtheformalized hierarchy is expressed inthediscourse, as ineverysociety.
Although thespeechlevel is referred to as the"wordsof deference (keigof' thispractice
involvesboththeinflections expressing deference towardtheaddresseeandthoseexpressing hum-
blenesstowardoneself. Grammatical changesareonlya partof thedeferential discourse, which
involves theuseofnegatives, Chineseloanwords, longerutterances, etc.- all considered toexpress
politeness (Miller 1967:283). Forthediscourseof politeness andthespeechlevel,see Kuno
1973:19-20,291-323;Martin 1964;Miller 1967:268-307;Shibamoto1987:269-272;Suzuki
1973;Yamashita 1986.FortheviewsofJapanese peopleaboutthespeechlevel,see Kokuritsu
Kokugo Kenkyüsho,ed., 1957.
8. Manyscholars consider Japanese discourse as context dependent (e.g. Ikegami1991;Ikegami,ed.,
1991),someclaimingJapaneseis uniquein thisrespect. Notealmostan absurdstatement by
Barthes:"an enormous praxisdestined to haltlanguage"(Barthes 1982[1970]:74).
Everydiscourse inanylanguageis context in
dependent.Theexpression linguistic forms and
thesystematicity whereby theiruse is obligatory in everydiscoursedistinguish thelanguagewith
speechlevelsorwhatSilverstein(1976:30-33)refers toas "deference indexes"fromothertypes
of languages(see Martin [1964]forKorean,Errington[1988]forJavanese priyayi). In other
languages, suchas American English,we see a highlydevelopedspeechlevelexpressed through
nonverbal elements of paralinguistic,kinesicandproxemic features.
As an explanation forabsentpronouns in Japanese, NishidaKitarõ - thefounder of theKyoto
Schoolof philosophy - contrasts "thelogicofthepredicate" of theJapanese withtheAristotelian
logicofthesubjectandnegatesthepresence ofdualisminJapanese conception (Nishida Kitarõ
1965: 124-176;cf.also Dilworth 1973). Berque (1986: 102)'s subject-environment non-dual-
ismexpresses a similarconcept. Abe (1985: 134),ontheotherhand,seesstriking similaritiesbet-
weenHeidegger's andtheBuddhist notion oftheEmptiness.I tendtoviewNishida' s non-dualism
as an interactive dualismandeschewtheessentialization oftheuniqueness ofJapanese thought pat-
terns.
9. Likewiseinbunraku, thepuppettheatre, thepuppeteers, theshamisen accompanists, andthenarra-
torsynchronizes theirbreathing rhythm (Miyoshi1985,quotedin Arima 1991:49).
10. The Japanesegovernment brought a Swisscarverto introduce bearcarvings, a trademark of the
HokkaidoAinuinrecent years,inorderfortheAinutoearncashfromsellingthemtotourists, but
thebearcarvingremained tabooamongthenorthwest
a strict coastSakhalinAinu.
11. Originally theBuddhahimself was noticonically represented.
12. Extending theholloworempty center notionto broader socio-political arena,bothKawai (citedin
Arima 1991:52-53)andBarthes (1982 [1970]:30-32)see theemperor as occupying theempty
centerwithout politicalpower,andBarthesextendshisinterpretation to theemptycenterofJapa-

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Zero Signifiers 73

nese citiesthatcontrastto Europeancitieswitha plaza and/ormarketplace in thecenter. Since the

Japaneseemperormaybe viewed as a deity(kami) in theJapanesesense (Ohnuki-Tierney 1991),
theirinterpretationof the ma in referenceto the imperialsystemseems appropriate.
13. Bourdieu (1990: 9) makes a criticaldistinctionbetweenagent and subject.
14. We all know thatcommensalityis a most powerfulmeans of communication,oftenanalogous to
sexual intercourse,as testifiedby the importancegiven to commensalityaftersacrificialand most
religiousrituals,commensalityat the Englishcolleges of Oxfordand Cambridge,and eatingclubs
of theAmericanIvy League universities. Isak Dinesen's Babette's Feast, directedby GabrielAxel
dramaticallycapturesthe analogical relationshipbetweencommensalityand solidarity(fordetails,
see Ohnuki-Tierney 1993). Note,however,themostpowerfulfood maybe thenon-material food,
or spiritsas withthe case of Jainismwhose fastingtogetherconstitutestheircommensality.

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RESUME
EmikoOhnuki-Tierney, Le Pouvoirde Vabsence.Les signifiants zéroet leurtransgres-
sion. - L'auteursoulignel'importance de l'interactiondynamique entreles signifiants
objectivéset nonobjectivésdansquelquesystème sémiotiqueque ce soit,en examinant la
nature zéro,c'est-à-dire
etla forcedes signifiants sansmatérialité
de signifiants linguistique.
Néanmoins zérosontindiquéspardes signifiants
les signifiants quoiquesouvent
objectivés,
d'unefaçoncomplexe. que constitue
La transgression leurobjectivationen motsetenchoses
en faitressortir la force.L'argumentest illustréparles pronoms absents,dansle discours
japonais,ainsique parle cas des unitésspatio-temporelles (ma) et celuide mu(le néant).

RESUMEN
EmikoOhnuki-Tierney, El Poderde la ausencia.Los significantes ceroy su transgresión.
- El autorseñalala importancia dinámica
de la interacción entrelos significantes
objetivados
y noobjetivados en cualquiersistemasemiótico, examinando y la fuerzade los
la naturaleza
cero,es decirsignificantes
significantes sinmaterialidadlinguistica.Sinembargo, los signif-
icantesceroestánindicadosporsignificantes objetivados,aunquefrequentemente de manera
compleja.La transgresiónque constituye en palabrasy cosaspermiten
su objetivación desta-
carsufuerza. El argumento se ve ilustradoporla ausenciade pronombres enel discursojapo-
nés,asi comoporel caso de la unidadesespacio-temporales (mi)y de mu(la nada).

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