Editing Old Japanese (section)

==Writing system==
{{main|Man'yōgana|Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai}}
Artifacts inscribed with Chinese characters dated as early as the 1st century AD have been found in Japan, but detailed knowledge of the script seems not to have reached the islands until the early 5th century.
According to the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'', the script was brought by scholars from [[Baekje]] (southwestern Korea).{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=8–9}}
The earliest texts found in Japan were written in [[Classical Chinese]], probably by immigrant scribes.
Later "hybrid" texts show the influence of [[Japanese grammar]], such as the [[word order]] (for example, the verb being placed after the object).{{sfn|Seeley|1991|pp=25–31}}

Chinese and Koreans had long used Chinese characters to write non-Chinese terms and proper names phonetically by selecting characters for Chinese words that sounded similar to each syllable.
Koreans also used the characters phonetically to write Korean particles and inflections that were added to Chinese texts to allow them to be read as Korean ([[Idu script]]).
In Japan, the practice was developed into {{tlit|ja|[[man'yōgana]]}}, a complete script for the language that used Chinese characters phonetically, which was the ancestor of modern [[kana]] syllabaries.{{sfn|Shibatani|1990|p=126}}
This system was already in use in the verse parts of the ''[[Kojiki]]'' (712) and the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' (720).{{sfn|Seeley|1991|pp=41–49}}{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=18–20, 28–40}}

For example, the first line of the first poem in the ''Kojiki'' was written with five characters:{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=1, 18, 22}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=19}}

{| border="0" style="margin-left: 2em;"
|-
!
| {{lang|ojp-Hant|夜}} || {{lang|ojp-Hant|久}} || {{lang|ojp-Hant|毛}} || {{lang|ojp-Hant|多}} || {{lang|ojp-Hant|都}}
|-
! [[Middle Chinese]]{{efn|Readings are given in [[Baxter's transcription for Middle Chinese]], omitting marking of tones, which are not relevant here.}}
| {{tlit|ltc|yae}} || {{tlit|ltc|kjuw}} || {{tlit|ltc|maw}} || {{tlit|ltc|ta}} || {{tlit|ltc|tu}}
|-
! Old Japanese
| colspan="3" | {{tlit|ojp|ya-kumo<sub>1</sub>}} || colspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|tatu}}
|-
!
| colspan="3" | eight-cloud || colspan="2" | rise.{{abbr|{{sc|adn}}|adnominal}}
|-
!
| colspan="5" | 'many clouds rising'
|}

This method of writing Japanese syllables by using characters for their Chinese sounds ({{tlit|ja|ongana}}) was supplemented with indirect methods in the complex mixed script of the ''[[Man'yōshū]]'' ({{circa|759}}).{{sfn|Seeley|1991|pp=49–53}}{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=20, 24–27}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=17–20}}

===Syllables===
In {{tlit|ja|man'yōgana}}, each Old Japanese syllable was represented by a Chinese character. Although any of several characters could be used for a given syllable, a careful analysis reveals that 88 syllables were distinguished in early Old Japanese, typified by the ''Kojiki'' songs:{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=49–51}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=26–27}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Syllables in early Old Japanese, with common [[man'yōgana]]{{efn|These are the characters most used in the ''Kojiki'' songs, except for ''go<sub>1</sub>'' and ''zo<sub>1</sub>'' (which do not occur in the ''Kojiki'') from the ''Man'yōshū''.}}
|-
| {{tlit|ojp|a}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|阿}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ka}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|加,迦}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ga}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|賀}}
| {{tlit|ojp|sa}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|佐}}
| {{tlit|ojp|za}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|邪}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ta}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|多}}
| {{tlit|ojp|da}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|陀}}
| {{tlit|ojp|na}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|那}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pa}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|波}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ba}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|婆}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ma}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|麻}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ya}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|夜}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ra}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|良}}
| {{tlit|ojp|wa}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|和}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|i}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|伊}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ki<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|岐}}
| {{tlit|ojp|gi<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|芸}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|si}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|斯,志}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|zi}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|士}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ti}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|知}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|di}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|遅}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ni}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|爾,迩}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pi<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|比}}
| {{tlit|ojp|bi<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|毘}}
| {{tlit|ojp|mi<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|美}}
| rowspan="2" style="background-color:#ccc" |
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ri}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|理}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|wi}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|韋}}
|-
| {{tlit|ojp|ki<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|紀}}
| {{tlit|ojp|gi<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|疑}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pi<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|斐}}
| {{tlit|ojp|bi<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|備}}
| {{tlit|ojp|mi<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|微}}
|-
| {{tlit|ojp|u}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|宇}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ku}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|久}}
| {{tlit|ojp|gu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|具}}
| {{tlit|ojp|su}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|須}}
| {{tlit|ojp|zu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|受}}
| {{tlit|ojp|tu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|都}}
| {{tlit|ojp|du}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|豆}}
| {{tlit|ojp|nu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|奴}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|布}}
| {{tlit|ojp|bu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|夫}}
| {{tlit|ojp|mu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|牟}}
| {{tlit|ojp|yu}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|由}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ru}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|流}}
| style="background-color:#ccc" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|e}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|亜}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ke<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|祁}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ge<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|牙}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|se}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|勢,世}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ze}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|是}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|te}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|弖}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|de}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|傅}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ne}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|泥}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pe<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|弊}}
| {{tlit|ojp|be<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|辨}}
| {{tlit|ojp|me<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|賣}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|ye}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|延}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|re}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|禮}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|we}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|恵}}
|-
| {{tlit|ojp|ke<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|気}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ge<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|宜}}
| {{tlit|ojp|pe<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|閇}}
| {{tlit|ojp|be<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|倍}}
| {{tlit|ojp|me<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|米}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|o}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|淤,意}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ko<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|古}}
| {{tlit|ojp|go<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|胡,呉}}
| {{tlit|ojp|so<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|蘇}}
| {{tlit|ojp|zo<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|俗,蘇}}
| {{tlit|ojp|to<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|斗}}
| {{tlit|ojp|do<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|度}}
| {{tlit|ojp|no<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|怒}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|po}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|富,本}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|bo}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|煩}}
| {{tlit|ojp|mo<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|毛}}
| {{tlit|ojp|yo<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|用}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ro<sub>1</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|漏,路}}
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|ojp|wo}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|袁,遠}}
|-
| {{tlit|ojp|ko<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|許}}
| {{tlit|ojp|go<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|碁}}
| {{tlit|ojp|so<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|曾}}
| {{tlit|ojp|zo<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|叙}}
| {{tlit|ojp|to<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|登}}
| {{tlit|ojp|do<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|杼}}
| {{tlit|ojp|no<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|能}}
| {{tlit|ojp|mo<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|母}}
| {{tlit|ojp|yo<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|余,與}}
| {{tlit|ojp|ro<sub>2</sub>}} {{lang|ojp-Hani|呂}}
|}

As in later forms of Japanese, the system has gaps where ''yi'' and ''wu'' might be expected. [[Shinkichi Hashimoto]] discovered in 1917 that many syllables that have a modern ''i'', ''e'' or ''o'' occurred in two forms, termed types {{nihongo|''A''|甲|kō}} and {{nihongo|''B''|乙|otsu}}.{{sfn|Miyake|2003|pp=49–51}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=28–29}}
These are denoted by subscripts 1 and 2 respectively in the above table. The syllables ''mo<sub>1</sub>'' and ''mo<sub>2</sub>'' are not distinguished in the slightly later ''Nihon Shoki'' and ''Man'yōshū'', reducing the syllable count to 87.{{sfn|Miyake|2003|p=51}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=30}}
Some authors also believe that two forms of ''po'' were distinguished in the ''Kojiki''.{{sfn|Miyake|2003|p=61}}
All of these pairs had merged in the Early Middle Japanese of the Heian period.{{sfn|Miyake|2003|p=84}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=26}}

The consonants ''g'', ''z'', ''d'', ''b'' and ''r'' did not occur at the start of a word.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=34}}
Conversely, syllables consisting of a single vowel were restricted to word-initial position, with a few exceptions such as {{tlit|ojp|kai}} 'oar', {{tlit|ojp|ko<sub>2</sub>i}} 'to lie down', {{tlit|ojp|kui}} 'to regret' (with conclusive {{tlit|ojp|kuyu}}), {{tlit|ojp|oi}} 'to age' and {{tlit|ojp|uuru}}, the adnominal form of the verb {{tlit|ojp|uwe}} 'to plant'.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=39}}{{sfn|Vovin|2020|pp=48–50}} [[Alexander Vovin]] argues that the non-initial syllables ''i'' and ''u'' in these cases should be read as Old Japanese syllables ''yi'' and ''wu''.{{sfn|Vovin|2020|pp=49–54}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|+ Frequencies of Old Japanese syllables in the ''Man'yōshū''{{sfn|Frellesvig|Horn|2023}}
!
! ''-''
! ''k-''
! ''g-''
! ''s-''
! ''z-''
! ''t-''
! ''d-''
! ''n-''
! ''p-''
! ''b-''
! ''m-''
! ''y-''
! ''r-''
! ''w-''
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | ''-a''
| <!-- a --> 4612
| <!-- ka --> 7616
| <!-- ga --> 3358
| <!-- sa --> 3473
| <!-- za --> 255
| <!-- ta --> 5212
| <!-- da --> 734
| <!-- na --> 5891
| <!-- pa --> 6450
| <!-- ba --> 2195
| <!-- ma --> 6018
| <!-- ya --> 3184
| <!-- ra --> 4213
| <!-- wa --> 2581
|-
! ''-i<sub>1</sub>''
| rowspan="2" | <!-- i --> 3679
| <!-- ki1 --> 5771
| <!-- gi1 --> 762
| rowspan="2" | <!-- si --> 8070
| rowspan="2" | <!-- zi --> 350
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ti --> 2195
| rowspan="2" | <!-- di --> 335
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ni --> 7101
| <!-- pi1 --> 3489
| <!-- bi1 --> 585
| <!-- mi1 --> 5818
| rowspan="2" style="background-color:#ccc" |
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ri --> 3901
| rowspan="2" | <!-- wi --> 270
|-
! ''-i<sub>2</sub>''
| <!-- ki2 --> 690
| <!-- gi2 --> 404
| <!-- pi2 --> 756
| <!-- bi2 --> 140
| <!-- mi2 --> 589
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | ''-u''
| <!-- u --> 1556
| <!-- ku --> 4855
| <!-- gu --> 444
| <!-- su --> 2507
| <!-- zu --> 904
| <!-- tu --> 4417
| <!-- du --> 1065
| <!-- nu --> 1449
| <!-- pu --> 2905
| <!-- bu --> 389
| <!-- mu --> 2692
| <!-- yu --> 2190
| <!-- ru --> 3656
| style="background-color:#ccc" |
|-
! ''-e<sub>1</sub>''
| rowspan="2" | <!-- e --> 45
| <!-- ke1 --> 1145
| <!-- ge1 --> 13
| rowspan="2" | <!-- se --> 1220
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ze --> 210
| rowspan="2" | <!-- te --> 2831
| rowspan="2" | <!-- de --> 727
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ne --> 1425
| <!-- pe1 --> 1101
| <!-- be1 --> 203
| <!-- me1 --> 318
| rowspan="2" | <!-- ye --> 644
| rowspan="2" | <!-- re --> 2598
| rowspan="2" | <!-- we --> 342
|-
! ''-e<sub>2</sub>''
| <!-- ke2 --> 1011
| <!-- ge2 --> 489
| <!-- pe2 --> 959
| <!-- be2 --> 287
| <!-- me2 --> 1406
|-
! ''-o<sub>1</sub>''
| rowspan="2" | <!-- o --> 2441
| <!-- ko1 --> 1995
| <!-- go1 --> 138
| <!-- so1 --> 536
| <!-- zo1 --> 8
| <!-- to1 --> 485
| <!-- do1 --> 269
| <!-- no1 --> 583
| rowspan="2" | <!-- po --> 1870
| rowspan="2" | <!-- bo --> 75
| rowspan="2" | <!-- mo --> 7788
| <!-- yo1 --> 871
| <!-- ro1 --> 215
| rowspan="2" | <!-- wo --> 3657
|-
! ''-o<sub>2</sub>''
| <!-- ko2 --> 3407
| <!-- go2 --> 436
| <!-- so2 --> 1206
| <!-- zo2 --> 122
| <!-- to2 --> 5848
| <!-- do2 --> 882
| <!-- no2 --> 9618
| <!-- yo2 --> 1312
| <!-- ro2 --> 1177
|}

The rare vowel {{tlit|ojp|i<sub>2</sub>}} almost always occurred at the end of a morpheme.
Most occurrences of {{tlit|ojp|e<sub>1</sub>}}, {{tlit|ojp|e<sub>2</sub>}} and {{tlit|ojp|o<sub>1</sub>}} were also at the end of a morpheme.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=49}}

The {{tlit|ja|mokkan}} typically did not distinguish voiced from voiceless consonants, and wrote some syllables with characters that had fewer strokes and were based on older Chinese pronunciations imported via the Korean peninsula.
For example,
* {{tlit|ojp|ki<sub>1</sub>}} was written with the character {{lang|zh|支}}, pronounced *{{IPA|kje}} in [[Old Chinese]] and {{tlit|ltc|tsye}} in Middle Chinese, and
* {{tlit|ojp|to<sub>2</sub>}} was written with the character {{lang|zh|止}}, pronounced *{{IPA|tjəʔ}} in Old Chinese and {{tlit|ltc|tsyi}} in Middle Chinese.{{sfn|Inukai|2024|pp=466–468}}

=== Transcription ===
Several different notations for the type A/B distinction are found in the literature, including:{{sfn|Miyake|2003|p=62}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=32}}{{sfn|Vovin|2020|p=45}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Common notations for the type A/B distinction
|-
! index notation
| ''i<sub>1</sub>'' || ''i<sub>2</sub>'' || ''e<sub>1</sub>'' || ''e<sub>2</sub>'' || ''o<sub>1</sub>'' || ''o<sub>2</sub>''
|-
! Kindaichi, Miller, Tōdō
| ''i'' || ''ï'' || ''e'' || ''ë'' || ''o'' || ''ö''
|-
! Vovin
| ''i'' || ''ï'' || ''e'' || ''ɛ'' || ''o'' || ''ə''
|-
! modified Mathias–Miller
| ''î'' || ''ï'' || ''ê'' || ''ë'' || ''ô'' || ''ö''
|-
! Yale (Martin)
| ''yi'' || ''iy'' || ''ye'' || ''ey'' || ''wo'' || ''o̠''
|-
! Unger, Frellesvig and Whitman
| ''i'' || ''wi'' || ''ye'' || ''e'' || ''wo'' || ''o''
|}