The meaning of 'Fushitsusha' / '???'...

[krakow]

I've heard various things about English meanings / translations for Fushitsusha, but, not knowing any Japanese, I'm a bit stuck about what might actually be valid.

The one that I got from somewhere and always had in my mind, was that it meant "breathing life into non-living things" or similar, but then I read (on ILX, where there's some other titbits and anecdotes) that this was incorrect and that it was better translated (by the ever helpful Mr Cummings no less) as "man without qualities".

So, what's the story...?

What has Haino said about this himself? I can't recall the details of his various interviews off the top of my head, but I'm guessing that he's been asked. Can anyone recall the references?

Thanks very much

[Coquille]

i do recall ( ).... reading an interview in which he did sort of explain it .... 
i thought the idea had some Buddhist origin, it is an uncommon phrase ...
... obviously, i too would like to be set straight on this one!

[BzL]

I think I remember Fushitsusha being a word Haino thought he invented, meaning "man without qualities"; but someone warned him that the word actually existed in a bouddhist sutra, with a different meaning. There is an interview I read some time ago where you may find more information.

edit: Oh well, here you go!

from http://www.halana.com/haino3.html
footnote #9

[krakow]

Thanks BzL. I actually have that interview sitting by my bed, still waiting to be read fully. I'm always too tired by the time I get there...

The following was posted by the user Duke on ILX, who similarly pointed out the Halana interview and Alan's note:

"Breathing life into non-living things" is not a valid translation of Fu Shitsu Sha. In an interview Haino did once talk of "breathing life into non-living things", but he was not saying that this was the meaning of the group's name, simply that this was the effect/intention of its music.

? = Fu
? = shitsu
? = sha

"Sha" is one of several Kanji that convey the idea of a person/human
"Fu" and "shitsu" both convey the idea of "non-" or "un-". "Fu" is very common indeed, "Shitsu" less so (although I should say my Japanese is very basic".

Alan Cummings (no less) did once translate Fushitsusha as something along the lines of "A man without qualities" (if I recall correctly).

Given this translation, I wondered about any connection or relation to the book by Robert Musil.

The following quotes from Haino (the first from the Halana piece) were also pointed out by Duke as being pertinent to what he means by the name and the band itself:

[alancummings]

The three characters literally mean:
??un-
??lost
??person

The Unlost?
I have a memory of Haino once talking about this as a term that he understood as referring to meditation, not sure if it was in an interview or conversation. If the initial goal of meditation is to rid yourself of the conscious thinking mind/self and just be, then this term referred to some deeper level of accomplishment in which the self could be rediscovered, but as a self stripped of certain qualities.
A bit vague, I know.