司る

Alternative forms

• 掌る (less common)

Etymology

Compound of 官 (tsukasa, “position of authority”) +‎ 取る (toru, “to take”).^[1][2] The toru changes to doru as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) つかさど​る [tsùkásádóꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [4])^[2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝka̠sa̠do̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

司る (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana つかさどる, rōmaji tsukasadoru)

1. To manage or be in charge of a role or job, in a position of responsibility.

   会計事務 (かいけいじむ)を司 (つかさど)る者 (もの)

   kaikei jimu o tsukasadoru mono

   the person in charge of or responsible for the accounting work

2. To rule, control, or administer people or things, from a position of authority.

   生 (せい)死 (し)を司 (つかさど)る神 (かみ)

   seishi o tsukasadoru kami

   the god controlling life and death

3. (biology) To carry out a role, to serve a function, as done by an organ of the body.

   呼 (こ)吸 (きゅう)を司 (つかさど)る臓 (ぞう)器 (き)は肺 (はい)です。

   Kokyū o tsukasadoru zōki wa hai desu.

   The organ that handles breathing is the lungs.

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.