2025 Volume 13 Issue 3 Pages 17-32
This paper discusses the history of the unification of the Japanese input methods. To this end, the paper conducts a literature review, focusing on input devices—including non-existent ones —developed between 1979 and 1983, five years after the introduction of Japanese word processors. The research reveals that after initial branching, hardware that used the kana-kanji conversion eventually consolidated into a unified system. It further highlights the diversity in the ease of use, difficulty, and “efficiency” of input, depending on the user's skills. Unlike the prevalence of touch typing in Western countries, Japanese users tend to look at their hands while typing. In this case, the ease of retrieval is emphasized, with knowledge of the Japanese syllabary (gojūon) acting as an index. While touch typing might be the ultimate form of “efficiency,” using knowledge of the Japanese syllabary (gojūon) to locate letters quickly offers another strategy to improve “efficiency” for those less skilled at touch typing. Therefore, Romaji input, which separates vowels and consonants and uses fewer characters than kana input, was adopted. The experience of using a word processor in the 1980s helped smooth the transition to typing on mobile devices in later years.
