The Degree of Independence of the Postpositional Mora in Sino-Japanese: Transition of the Japanese Syllabic Structure and the Sores of Japanese Buddhist Chants(<Feature Articles>Historical Studies of Japanese Phonology)

Abstract

This paper describes a change in the degree of the independence of the postpositional mora by taking notice of the position of kana in the scores of shomyo, Japanese Buddhist chants. An investigation into the scores of the Nanzan-shin School, the Soo-in School and the Tendai School revealed that the postpositional mora acquired its independence as a unit of syllabication during the Medieval Japanese and Early Modern Japanese periods.