Historical kana usage
Encyclopedia
The , or , refers to the in general use until orthographic reforms after World War II
; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946. By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese
pronunciation. It differs from modern usage (Gendai Kanazukai
) in the number of characters and the way those characters are used.
The historical orthography is found in most Japanese dictionaries
, such as Kōjien
. In the current edition of the Kōjien, if the historical orthography is different from the modern spelling, the old spelling is printed in tiny katakana
between the modern kana and kanji transcriptions of the word. Ellipses
are used to save space when the historical and modern spellings are identical. Older editions of the Kōjien gave priority to the historical orthography.
The historical orthography should not be confused with hentaigana
, alternate kana that were declared obsolete with the orthographic reforms of 1900.
In historical kana usage:
Most of the historical kana usage has been found to accurately represent certain aspects of the way words sounded during the Heian period
. As the spoken language has continued to develop, some orthography looks odd to the modern eye. As these peculiarities follow fairly regular patterns, they are not difficult to learn. However, some of the historical kana usages are simply mistakes. For example,
Some forms of unusual kana usage are not, in fact, historical kana usage. For example, writing dojō (loach
, a sardine-like fish) in the form dozeu is not historical kana usage (which was dodiyau), but a kind of slang writing originating in the Edo period
.
The table at the bottom gives a more complete list of the changes in spelling patterns.
), notably in Yebisu beer, which is written ヱビス webisu but pronounced ebisu.
In addition, alternate kana letterforms, known as hentaigana
(変体仮名), have nearly disappeared. A few uses remain, such as kisoba, often written using obsolete kana on the signs of soba
shops.
The use of を (historically pronounced /wo/), へ, and は for sentence particles instead of お, え, and わ is a remnant of historical kana usage.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946. By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
pronunciation. It differs from modern usage (Gendai Kanazukai
Gendai Kanazukai
The is the present official kanazukai . Also known as shin-kanazukai , it is derived from the historical kana usage.-History:...
) in the number of characters and the way those characters are used.
The historical orthography is found in most Japanese dictionaries
Japanese dictionaries
Japanese dictionaries have a history that began over 1300 years ago when Japanese Buddhist priests, who wanted to understand Chinese sutras, adapted Chinese character dictionaries. Present-day Japanese lexicographers are exploring computerized editing and electronic dictionaries...
, such as Kōjien
Kojien
The is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. Many native speakers of Japanese regard the Kōjien as the most authoritative dictionary, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions...
. In the current edition of the Kōjien, if the historical orthography is different from the modern spelling, the old spelling is printed in tiny katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
between the modern kana and kanji transcriptions of the word. Ellipses
Ellipsis
Ellipsis is a series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word, sentence or whole section from the original text being quoted. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence...
are used to save space when the historical and modern spellings are identical. Older editions of the Kōjien gave priority to the historical orthography.
The historical orthography should not be confused with hentaigana
Hentaigana
are historical variants of modern standard hiragana. They are a legacy of man'yōgana, where many different kanji could be used to represent the same sound value. As the man'yōgana became simplified into cursive forms, multiple hiragana, including the hentaigana, was the result...
, alternate kana that were declared obsolete with the orthographic reforms of 1900.
General differences
- This section uses Nihon-shikiNihon-shikiNihon-shiki or Nippon-shiki Rōmaji is a romanization system for transliterating the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet. In discussion about romaji, it is abbreviated as Nihon-shiki or Nippon-shiki. Among the major romanization systems for Japanese, Nippon-shiki is the most regular, and has...
romanization for づ, ず, ぢ, じ, ゐ, and ゑ.
In historical kana usage:
- Two kana are used that are obsolete today: ゐ/ヰ wi and ゑ/ヱ we. These are today read as i and e. Words that formerly contained those characters are now written using い/イ i and え/エ e respectively.
- Outside of its use as a particleJapanese particlesJapanese particles, or , are suffixes or short words in Japanese grammar that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range can indicate various meanings and functions, such as speaker affect and assertiveness....
, the を wo kana is used to represent the o sound in some, but not all, words. - YōonYoonis a feature of the Japanese language in which a mora is formed with an added sound.Yōon are represented in hiragana using a kana ending in i, such as き , plus a smaller-than-usual version of one of the three y kana, ya, yu or yo. For example kyō, "today", is written きょう, using a small version of...
sounds, such as しょう shō or きょう kyō, are not written with a small kana (ゃ, ゅ, ょ); depending on the word, they are written with either two or three full-sized kana. If written with two kana and the last one is や ya, ゆ yu, or よ yo, then it represents a short syllable of one moraMora (linguistics)Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
, such as きよ kyo. If written with two or three kana and the last one is う u or ふ fu, then it represents a long syllable of two moras. The first kana is not always the same as one used in the modern spelling, as in 今日 kyō "today", written けふ kefu. If written with three kana, the middle one will always be や ya, ゆ yu, or よ yo, and the last kana will always be う u or ふ fu, as in 丁 chō, the counter for tools, guns, etc., written ちやう chiyau. - The series of kana ha hi fu he ho are used to represent, in some words, the sounds wa, i, u, e, o, respectively.
- Precedence is given to grammar over pronunciation. For example, the verb warau (to laugh), is written わらふ warafu, and in accordance with Japanese grammar rules, waraō, the volitional form of warau, is written わらはう warahau.
- The kana づ du and ぢ di, which are mostly only used in rendakuRendakuis a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word...
in modern kana usage, are more common. Modern kana usage replaces them with the identically-pronounced ず zu and じ ji in most cases. For example, ajisai (hydrangeaHydrangeaHydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
) is written あぢさゐ adisawi.
Most of the historical kana usage has been found to accurately represent certain aspects of the way words sounded during the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
. As the spoken language has continued to develop, some orthography looks odd to the modern eye. As these peculiarities follow fairly regular patterns, they are not difficult to learn. However, some of the historical kana usages are simply mistakes. For example,
- aruiwa (or) should be ,
- mochiiru (use) should be , and
- tsukue (desk, table) should be , and
- ebisu (barbarian, savage) should be , according to the old pronunciations.
Some forms of unusual kana usage are not, in fact, historical kana usage. For example, writing dojō (loach
Loach (fish)
Cobitidae is the family of the true loaches, which are Old World freshwater fish. They occur throughout Eurasia and in Morocco, and inhabit riverine ecosystems. Today, most "loaches" are placed in other families...
, a sardine-like fish) in the form dozeu is not historical kana usage (which was dodiyau), but a kind of slang writing originating in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
.
Examples
Here are some representative examples showing the historical and modern spellings and the kanji representation.| Historical usage | Current usage | Kanji | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| けふ | kefu | きょう | kyō | 今日 | today |
| てふ | tefu | ちょう | chō | 蝶 | butterfly |
| ゐる | wiru | いる | iru | 居る | there is/are (humans/animals) |
| あはれ | ahare | あわれ | aware | 哀れ | sorrow; grief; pathos Mono no aware , literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.-Origins:... |
| かへる | kaheru | かえる | kaeru | 帰る | to return home |
| くわし | kuwashi (kwashi) | かし | kashi | 菓子 | sweets |
| とうきやう | Toukiyau | とうきょう | Tōkyō | 東京 | Tokyo, the city of |
The table at the bottom gives a more complete list of the changes in spelling patterns.
Current usage
Historical kana usage can be used to look up words in larger dictionaries and dictionaries specializing in old vocabulary, which are in print in Japan. Because of the great discrepancy between the pronunciation and spelling and the widespread adoption of modern kana usage, historical kana usage is almost never seen, except in a few special cases. Companies, shrines and people occasionally use historical kana conventions such as ゑびす (EbisuEbisu (mythology)
Ebisu , also transliterated Yebisu or called Hiruko or Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami , is the Japanese god of fishermen, luck, and workingmen, as well as the guardian of the health of small children...
), notably in Yebisu beer, which is written ヱビス webisu but pronounced ebisu.
In addition, alternate kana letterforms, known as hentaigana
Hentaigana
are historical variants of modern standard hiragana. They are a legacy of man'yōgana, where many different kanji could be used to represent the same sound value. As the man'yōgana became simplified into cursive forms, multiple hiragana, including the hentaigana, was the result...
(変体仮名), have nearly disappeared. A few uses remain, such as kisoba, often written using obsolete kana on the signs of soba
Soba
is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...
shops.
The use of を (historically pronounced /wo/), へ, and は for sentence particles instead of お, え, and わ is a remnant of historical kana usage.
Romanization
Readers of English occasionally encounter words romanized according to historical kana usage, in which e was typically rendered ye, in accordance with the pronunciation of the 16th through 19th centuries. Here are some examples, with modern romanizations in parentheses:- Inouye (InoueInoueInoue is the 17th most common Japanese surname. It can also be romanized as Inouye.- People :In politics or business:...
): a Japanese family nameJapanese namein modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used.Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation... - Yen (En): the basic unit of Japanese currencyJapanese currencyJapanese currency has a history covering the period from the 8th century to the present. After the traditional usage of rice as currency medium, Japan's currency was characterized by an early adoption of currency systems and designs from mainland China, before developing into an original system of...
- Tokugawa Iyeyasu (IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasuwas the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
) - Uyeno (Ueno): a place name
- Yedo (EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
): a former name of Tokyo - Kwannon (KannonKuan YinGuanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means "Observing the Sounds of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa...
): A BodhisattvaBodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and... - KwaidanKwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, often shortened to Kwaidan, is a book by Lafcadio Hearn that features several Japanese ghost stories and a brief non-fiction study on insects...
(Kaidan), meaning ghost storyGhost storyA ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
, the title of a collection of Japanese ghost stories compiled by Lafcadio HearnLafcadio HearnPatrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things... - Kwansei Gakuin UniversityKwansei Gakuin University, colloquially abbreviated to , is a non-denominational Christian private and coeducational university located in Nishinomiya, Sanda, Osaka City, and Tokyo, Japan....
(KansaiKansaiThe or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
): A universityUniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in Kobe and Nishinomiya - Iwo JimaIwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
(Iō-jima; now officially Iōtō): An island known as the site of a battle during World War II