Prehistoric Japan

The root origin of Japanese language trace back in time to the Jomon (14,000–300 BCE) and Yayoi (300 BCE–300 CE) period. During those ancient times, the early forms of Japanese language was molded (shaped) by noble and indigenous people with an added spice of neighbouring cultures laying groundwork for the elite Japanese language .

Influence of Chinese

Between 5th and 9th centuries, there were significant cultural and intellectual transformation in Japan due to its interaction with China. During this time chinese characters Kanji was introduced in Japan by scholars, monks and traders through cultural exchange from Chinese mainland.

Nara Period (710-794)

Man’yogana writings appeared during this period. These early kana used kanji for their phonetic standards and laid the foundation for the modern Japanese writing system. Major works such as the poetry book Man’yoshu were produced, which showcased Japan’s early literary skills.

Heian Period (794-1185)

From kanji people formulated hiragana and katakana an easy writing system which are part of the Japanese or mati Alphabets. These typewriters aided people to write more and they also had a primary function in printing. During this period authors came up with useful books one of them being The Story of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. As the name suggests, many consider this book to be the first novel that was ever has been written by medieval Japanese.

Kamakura-Muromachi Period (1185-1573):

Under the influence of Buddhism and the growing popularity of Chinese literature, a more standard written language began to develop. This period saw the Japanese language evolution, literature and scholarship literature flourishing.

Sengoku Period (1467-1603):

Political divisions gave rise to several regional dialects. In addition, contact with European traders and missionaries introduced Portuguese and other foreign words into the Japanese vocabulary, adding new elements to the Japanese language.

Edo Period (1603-1868)

The linguistic unification that was achieved meant that there was a clear link between the spoken and written language that was restored with the help of the stability and isolation under the rule of Tokugawa shogunate. The emergence of popular works and the activity of the woodblock printing contributed to the fact that literature become more available to the broad population.

Meiji Restoration (1868-1912)

Many new foreign words appeared due to a rather fast process of modernization and westernization of the society throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Due to the need for effective administration and spread of literacy and cultural homogeneity, the government introduced a standardized middle Korean or a national language called ‘hojungo’.