聞き書き
ききがき
noun
written record of oral account; dictation; oral history transcript
writtencommunication
1.
written record of oral account; dictation transcript
A document created by writing down what someone has said, especially oral histories, interviews, or spoken testimony. Common as a literary and journalistic genre in Japan.
A compound of 聞く (to listen) and 書く (to write), in their conjunctive forms. The literal sense is "listening and writing" — recording what one hears.
Common collocations
- 聞き書きをする (to take oral accounts)
- 聞き書きをまとめる (to compile oral accounts)
- 聞き書きに基づく (to be based on oral accounts)
聞き書き is an established literary genre in Japan, used for documenting the words of craftsmen, historical witnesses, and elderly community members. The term emphasizes faithfully recording spoken words rather than the writer's interpretation.