Japanese Kana and Hentaigana – Simple is Best
Japanese kana (hiragana and katakana) were originally created by simplifying parts of Chinese characters (kanji). Each sound like a, i, u, e, o comes from a specific kanji.
Before modern kana were standardized, many different simplified forms existed. These are called hentaigana (variant kana). They look different, but represent the same sound.
Examples of sound → kanji → kana
| Sound | Original kanji (字母) | Modern hiragana | Example hentaigana |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | 安 | あ | (old forms based on 安) |
| i | 以 / 伊 | い | (variant forms based on 以, 伊) |
| u | 宇 / 有 | う | (variant forms based on 宇, 有) |
| e | 衣 / 江 / 盈 | え | (old YE/E forms based on these kanji) |
| o | 於 | お | (variant forms based on 於) |
Old sounds like WI, WE, WO
In older Japanese, there were sounds like wi, we, wo. They also had their own kanji origins:
- wi → 為, 井 → ゐ (now usually written as い)
- we → 恵, 衛 → ゑ (now usually written as え)
- wo → 遠, 乎, 越 → を (still used as a particle)
Why this is interesting
If you imagine a time before kana existed, people looked at kanji and extracted shapes to represent sounds. That is why kana often look like “softened” or simplified versions of kanji. Knowing the original kanji (jibo) helps you understand the structure behind Japanese writing.
In short: Simple is best – seeing the link between sound, kanji, and kana makes Japanese much easier to understand.
