Explain how 向{む}く "to face" can take "上{うえ}" as a direct object using を?

Question

There's a famous old song that's actually the only ever Japanese language song to reach #1 on the US pop charts: "上{うえ}を向{む}いて歩{ある}こう".

This is both the title of the song and a frequently repeated line in it.

向{む}いて is the -te form of 向{む}く, meaning "to face".

My understanding of 上{うえ} is that in Japanese it's a noun even though it's usually translated to another part of speech in English, such as "up".

It seems odd from the point of view of an English speaker that "to face", "to look toward" would be a transitive verb requiring a direct object.

Is that in fact what's happening or have I got it all wrong trying to parse this phrase due to my English speaker's intuition and my limited knowledge of Japanese?

Is what I'm seeing more of a quirk of the verb 向く or is there something about the particle を that I haven't learned yet? Or maybe it's all about the 上 in this case?

Answer 1

Although it is usually the transitive verb that takes a "Noun + を" in front of it, there is an important exception to this general rule.

Intransitive verbs such as 向く、[走]{はし}る (to run)、[飛]{と}ぶ (to fly)、[出]{で}る (to get out), etc. can take a "Noun + を" when it describes the place of an action or the direction of a movement.

上を向く = to look upward

[公園]{こうえん}を走る = to run in the park

[空]{そら}を飛ぶ = to fly in the sky

レストランを出る = to leave the restaurant

Other such intransitive verbs:

[曲]{ま}がる (to make a turn)、[降]{お}りる (to get off)、[通]{とお}る (to pass), etc.

Answer 2

上 is a noun and を is to show the process of the act. [上]{うえ}を[向]{む}いて= with [your face] looking up [at the sky]

Answer 3

(This is just a supplementary note to compliment the answer above)

向く is an interesting case (see below) but generally when an intransitive verb takes を the English equivalent often contains an additional word:

1. You fly across the sky.-> 空を飛ぶ

2. You run along a road-> 道を走る

3. You stroll around a park -> 公園を散歩する

4. You go out of a house -> 家を出る

5. You feel sad about your friend's failure -> 友達の失敗を悲しむ

6. You turn left around a corner -> 角を左へ曲がる

This does not always work: I think some people still get off "of" a bus (〜バスを降りる) and you might turn "to" the left (左を向く）but I struggle to do more that just look up (上を向く).

However, the real reason I picked on 向く as interesting is to compare it to 曲がる. In the first case we turn to the left, in the latter we turn left around a corner. It seems that in the end there is no substitute for understanding the verb and how it is used, not just knowing if it is transitive or intransitive.

For reference:
Some books give one use of を with intransitive verbs, Makino's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar gives three:

1) to indicate a space where something moves (1,2,3 & 6 above)
2) to indicate location from where something moves (4)
3) to mark the cause of some emotion (5)

I am not quite sure which 上を向く fits, probably 1, but it is still intransitive (transitive verb is 向ける).