How kanji became kana

Kanji were adapted to write Japanese

By the fifth century, Chinese texts and characters were being used in Japan. They reached the Japanese archipelago through centuries of exchange across East Asia, including the Korean peninsula.

Chinese and Japanese have different structures. Japanese words may have several syllables, changing endings, and grammatical particles. Japanese writers therefore adapted Chinese characters to fit their language.

One solution borrowed a character only for its sound. 安 (AN / ya-su-i, “peace; inexpensive”), for example, could represent あ (a). This system was called man’yōgana (man-yō-ga-na). It worked, but its complex characters encouraged the development of simpler kana.

安 (AN / ya-su-i, “peace; inexpensive”) became あ (a)

Writers used flowing cursive forms of man’yōgana (man-yō-ga-na) to write faster. Strokes joined and shapes became simpler.

These cursive forms developed into hiragana. The hiragana あ (a) came from a cursive form of 安 (AN / ya-su-i, “peace; inexpensive”), which was borrowed for its sound rather than its meaning.

Court women helped hiragana literature flourish

Men commonly used kanji for formal writing. Court women, whose access to formal Chinese education was limited, used hiragana widely for Japanese letters, poems, diaries, and stories. Hiragana was therefore also called onnade (on-na-de), meaning “women’s hand.”

Works by women, including The Tale of Genji, used hiragana extensively. Men also wrote literature in hiragana. Its use was never limited to women.

One main form for each sound

Different kanji and writing styles produced several hiragana forms for the same sound.

In 1900, Japan selected one main hiragana for each sound for use in schools. The other forms are called hentaigana (hen-tai-ga-na). Some are still used in signs and calligraphy.

阿 (A, “corner; flattery”) became ア (a)

In the ninth century, Buddhist monks used shorthand marks to help read Chinese texts in Japanese. They formed the marks from parts of man’yōgana (man-yō-ga-na) kanji.

These partial forms developed into katakana. The name refers to “fragmentary kana.” The katakana ア (a) came from part of 阿 (A, “corner; flattery”); only its sound and shape mattered here.

Same sounds, different uses

Hiragana is used for grammar, many native Japanese words, and reading guides.

Katakana is often used for loanwords, foreign names, sound effects, scientific terms, and emphasis.

Both systems represent nearly the same sounds. For example, さくら (sa-ku-ra) and サクラ (sa-ku-ra) can both write the word “cherry blossom,” though hiragana is the more ordinary form. The kanji is 桜 (sa-ku-ra, “cherry blossom”).

Across or down

Japanese may be written horizontally from left to right.

It may also be written in vertical columns. Each column runs from top to bottom. The columns usually begin on the right and continue toward the left.