Usage of Sentences Mixing Regular-Script Kanji and Hiragana in Printed Books During the Edo Period: A Historical Study of Sentence Mixing of Kanji and Kana

Abstract

The aim of this article is to clarify when and why Japanese people wrote in sentences mixing regular-script kanji (楷書, kaisho) and hiragana during the Edo period. In previous research, it has been pointed out that the Japanese started to write in this style in the Meiji period due to the development of the printing press. Japanese sentences were typically written using a mix of kanji and kana, comprising of semi-cursive-script kanji (行書, gyōsho) and hiragana, and regular- script kanji and katakana. However, this article reports that books written in sentences mixing regular-script kanji and hiragana were published primarily in the 18th century in the medical field, in addition to Buddhism in the middle of the century, and a number of books in the latter part of the century.

In the medical field, books were written in either a classical Chinese style (漢文, kanbun) or with the style of Chinese texts translated into Japanese (漢文訓読文, kanbun-kundoku-bun). Kanbun and kanbun-kundoku-bun were written in regular-script kanji. Hence, in the medical field, it was typical that medical books were written in regular-script kanji. Meanwhile, during the Edo period hiragana became more widely used after the development of commercial publishing. Many printed books were written in semi-cursive-script kanji and hiragana in which hiragana took on an important role in writing. This change caused medical books to be primarily written in sentences mixing regular-script kanji and hiragana in the 18th century.