Kokuji: Script and Identity in Japan

Kokuji are a specific type of character, or Sinograph, present in Japanese script. Kokuji are differentiated from “normal” Sinographs in Japanese, kanji, by the origin. Kokuji are Sinographs of Japanese origin while other kanji in Japanese are of Chinese origin. The purpose of this paper was to explore how this kind of character has changed since it was first identified and the implications these changes have on Japanese identity. This essay is split into three chapters past the introduction. The first chapter explains the terminology used in the rest of the paper, how Sinographs work, and explores similar phenomena in other scripts. The second chapter focuses on the status of kokuji during two periods of Japanese history, the Edo period (1603-1868) and the Meiji period (1868-1912). The Edo period is relevant because during this period kokuji were first recognized as entities separate from normal kanji. The Meiji period is important because it marks the shift into modern Japan, and it started the linguistic and orthographic reforms that would continue until the late twentieth century. The last chapter takes a closer look at the linguistic reforms that took place during the Taishō period and the Shōwa periods. The Taishō period has Japan still trying to become a “modern” nation and continues some of the language reform from the Meiji period. The Shōwa period post-World War II enacts many of the language reforms that shape modern Japanese language. Through these linguistic reforms we can figure out why kokuji have fallen out of use and why the remaining ones are somewhat common.