Kunrei-shiki is based on the older Nihon-shiki romanization, which was modified for modern standard Japanese. For example, the word かなづかい, romanized kanadukai in Nihon-shiki, is pronounced kanazukai in standard modern Japanese and is romanized as such in Kunrei-shiki. The system competes with the older Hepburn romanization system, which was promoted by the SCAP during the Allied occupation of Japan, after World War II.
History
In 1930, the Ministry of Education appointed a board of inquiry to determine the proper romanization system of the Japanese language. This resulted in a cabinet order (訓令 kunrei) issued on 21 September 1937[2] that a modified form of the Nihon-shiki system would be officially adopted as Kunrei-shiki.[3] The form at the time differs slightly from the modern form.[4] Originally, the system was called the Kokutei (国定, government-authorized) system.[3]
The Japanese government gradually introduced Kunrei-shiki; which appeared in secondary education, on railway station signboards, on nautical charts, and on the 1:1,000,000 scale International Map of the World;[5] as well as literature and educational material for tourists.[6] Nevertheless, unofficial use of Nihon-shiki and Modified Hepburn continued concurrently because of support from individuals.[5]
After Japan's defeat in the Pacific War in 1945, General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), issued a directive, dated 3 September 1945, that stated that Modified Hepburn was the method to transcribe Japanese names. Some editorials printed in Japanese newspapers advocated for using only Hepburn.[7] Kunrei-shiki had developed associations with Japanese militarism, and the US occupation was reluctant to promote it.[6] Supporters of Hepburn denounced pro-Kunrei-shiki and pro-Nihon-shiki advocates to the SCAP offices[8] by accusing them of being inactive militarists[7] and of collaborating with militarists. Unger said that the nature of Kunrei-shiki led to "pent-up anger" by Hepburn supporters.[8] During the postwar period, several educators and scholars tried to introduce romanized letters as a teaching device and a possible later replacement for kanji. On 9 December 1954, the Japanese government re-confirmed Kunrei-shiki as its official system[3] but with slight modifications.[9]Eleanor Jorden, an American linguist, made textbooks with a modified version of Kunrei-shiki, which were used in the 1960s in courses given to US diplomats. The use of her books did not change the US government's hesitation to use Kunrei-shiki.[6]
As of 1974, according to the Geographical Survey Institute (now the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan), Kunrei-shiki was used for topographical maps, and Modified Hepburn was used for geological maps and aeronautical charts.[10]
Despite the official status of Kunrei-shiki and its use in Japanese elementary schools, Hepburn romanization remained the primary romanization system used in Japanese government and by other groups in Japan.[11]
Legal status
The system was originally promulgated as Japanese Cabinet Order No. 3 as of 21 September 1937. Since it had been overturned by the SCAP during the occupation of Japan, the Japanese government repealed it and decreed again, as Japanese Cabinet Order No.1 as of 29 December 1954. It mandated the use of Kunrei-shiki in "the written expression of Japanese generally". Specific alternative spellings could be used in international relations and to follow established precedent. See Permitted Exceptions for details.[1]
Kunrei-shiki has been recognised, along with Nihon-shiki, in ISO 3602:1989. Documentation—Romanisation of Japanese (kana script) by the ISO. It was also recommended by the ANSI after it withdrew its own standard, ANSI Z39.11-1972 American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese (Modified Hepburn), in 1994.
In January 2024, the Cultural Affairs Agency proposed revising the 1954 Cabinet Order to make Hepburn the standard romanization system of Japan.[12]
Usage
Example: tat-u
Conjugation
Kunrei
Hepburn
Mizen 1
tat-a-
tat-a-
Mizen 2
tat-o-
tat-o-
Ren'yô
tat-i
tach-i
Syûsi/Rentai
tat-u
tats-u
Katei
tat-e-
tat-e-
Meirei
tat-e
tat-e
Despite its official recognition, the Japanese commonly choose between the Nihon-shiki/Kunrei-shiki and Hepburn systems for any given situation. However, the Japanese government generally uses Hepburn, especially for passports,[13] road signage,[13] and train signage.[14] Most Western publications, as well, and all English-language newspapers use some form of Hepburn.[15]
J. Marshall Unger, the author of Literacy and Script Reform in Occupation Japan: Reading between the Lines, said that the Hepburn supporters "understandably" believed that the Kunrei-shiki "compromise" was not fair because of the presence of the "un-English-looking spellings" that the Modified Hepburn supporters had opposed.[8] Andrew Horvat, the author of Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker, argued that "by forcing non-native speakers of Japanese with no intentions of learning the language to abide by a system intended for those who have some command of Japanese, the government gave the impression of intolerant language management that would have dire consequences later on."[6] Because Kunrei-shiki is based on Japanese phonology rather than the actual phonetic realization, it can cause non-native speakers to pronounce words incorrectly. John Hinds, the author of Japanese: Descriptive Grammar, describes that as "a major disadvantage."[16][page needed]
Additional complications appear with newer kana combinations such as ティーム (チーム) team. In Hepburn, they would be distinguished as different sounds and represented as tīmu and chīmu respectively. That gives better indications of the English pronunciations. For some Japanese-speakers, however, the sounds ティ "ti" and チ "chi" are the same phoneme; both are represented in Kunrei-shiki as tîmu. Such complications may be confusing to those who do not know Japanese phonology well. Use of an apostrophe (t'îmu), not unseen in Wāpuro rōmaji, may be a possible solution.
Today, the main users of Kunrei-shiki are native speakers of Japanese, especially within Japan, and linguists studying Japanese. The main advantage of Kunrei-shiki is that it is better able to illustrate Japanese grammar, as Hepburn gives the impression of certain conjugations being irregular (see table, right).[17][page needed] The most serious problem of Hepburn in this context is that it may change the stem of a verb, which is not reflected in the underlying morphology of the language. One notable introductory textbook for English-speakers, Eleanor Jorden's Japanese: The Spoken Language, uses her JSL romanization, a system strongly influenced by Kunrei-shiki in its adherence to Japanese phonology, but it is adapted to teaching proper pronunciation of Japanese phonemes.
The Cabinet Order makes an exception to the above chart:
In international relations and situations for which prior precedent would make a sudden reform difficult, the spelling given by Chart 2 may also be used:
しゃ sha
し shi
しゅ shu
しょ sho
つ tsu
ちゃ cha
ち chi
ちゅ chu
ちょ cho
ふ fu
じゃ ja
じ ji
じゅ ju
じょ jo
ぢ di
づ du
ぢゃ dya
ぢゅ dyu
ぢょ dyo
くゎ kwa
ぐゎ gwa
を wo
The exceptional clause is not to be confused with other systems of romanization (such as Hepburn) and does not specifically relax other requirements, such as marking long vowels.
Kent, Allen, Harold Lancour, and Jay Elwood Daily (Executive Editors). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science Volume 21. CRC Press, April 1, 1978. ISBN0-8247-2021-0, 9780824720216.
Unger, J. Marshall. Literacy and Script Reform in Occupation Japan : Reading between the Lines: Reading between the Lines. Oxford University Press. July 8, 1996. ISBN0-19-535638-1, 9780195356380.
^ abcdHorvat, Andrew. "The Romaji (Roomaji) Conundrum." (Archive) – Excerpt from Horvat's book: Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker. Hosted at the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication of Simon Fraser University. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.
^Geographical Survey Institute (1974). Bulletin of the Geographical Survey Institute. p. 22. As reported at the Second Conference, the writing of geographical names in Roman letters in Japan comes in two types — Kunrei Siki (system adopted under a Cabinet ordinance) and Syûsei Hebon Siki (Modified Hepburn System). Kunrei Siki is used for topographical maps, whereas Syûsei Hebon Siki is in use for aeronautical charts and geological maps.
^Powers, John. "Japanese Names", The Indexer Vol. 26 No. 2 June 2008. "It [Hepburn] can be considered the norm as, in slightly modified form, it is followed by the great majority of Western publications and by all English-language newspapers."
^Hinds, John (1986). Japanese: Descriptive Grammar. Croom Helm. ISBN0-7099-3733-4. LCCN86006372. The major disadvantage of this system (Kunrei-shiki) is that there is a tendency for nonnative speakers of Japanese to pronounce certain forms incorrectly.
^Hinds, John (1986). Japanese: Descriptive Grammar. Croom Helm. ISBN0-7099-3733-4. LCCN86006372. The major advantage of kunrei-shiki is that inflectional endings are seen to be more regular.
External links
Horvat, Andrew. "The Romaji (Roomaji) Conundrum." (Archive) – Excerpt from Horvat's book: Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker. Hosted at the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication of Simon Fraser University.
