THE TWO SYLLABARIES
Meet the main kana
Open any character to see its sound, source kanji, counterpart and history.
GO FURTHER
Every kind of kana
Voicing marks, small kana, combinations and historical spellings belong to the story too.
WRITING THROUGH TIME
From borrowed characters to Japanese scripts.
Japanese writers first borrowed kanji sounds. Hiragana grew from cursive whole forms; katakana from abbreviated parts. Both emerged in the early Heian period. Entry pages distinguish that broad history from an individually attested first date.
Explore the evidence →