Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

A general term for a number of syllabic writing systems developed in Japan on the basis of Chinese characters for writing Japanese. Etymologically the word kana derives from kari ‘temporary, non-regular’ plus na ‘name’ or ‘writing’. In the early literary history of Japan ‘regular’ writing was Chinese writing, whereas kana evolved as an alternative system suitable to write the Japanese language. The kana signs were derived from Chinese characters used as reading aids in annotating Buddhist texts. Considering the important role that the study of these texts played in the evolution of the kana syllabaries, it is not surprising to find traces of Indian influence. The sequence of kana Vs ( a, i, u, e, o ) and kana Cs ( k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w ) largely corresponds to the usual arrangement of Indian writing systems. Manyōgana , the kana used in the eighth-century ce Manyōshū anthology of Japanese poetry, still look like standard Chinese characters, although they function as phonograms used irrespective of their Chinese meaning. There were 87 different syllables in eighth-century Japanese which were represented by some 970 manyōgana . The system was still highly complex and redundant. Gradually the number of characters was reduced and their form stylized, by and large losing their graphic resemblance to the Chinese characters of which they were derived. The two ... log in or subscribe to read full text