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This is a: article, written by Birgit Kellner 2172 days ago.
Keywords: Transliteration conventions, Japanese transliteration

Two different systems are widely used to transliterate Japanese in roman alphabet: Hepburn (Jap. “hebon”), devised by Reverend James Curtis Hepburn and published in 1867, and Kunreisiki (or Kunreishiki according to the Hepburn system), the “Cabinet-ordered system”. Kunreishiki had been the subject of Japanese Cabinet Order No.3 as of September 21, 1937. During the Occupation of Japan by Allied Forces, this order was overturned, but decreed again as Japanese Cabinet Order No.1 as of December 29, 1954. Kunreishiki, technically implemented as ISO 3062, is based on the older Nipponshiki system that had been invented by the physicist Akitsu Tanakadate in 1885 and is implemented as ISO 3602 strict.

In Japan, railway companies (Japanese Rail) use Hepburn. The government also uses Hepburn for road signs, in passports, and to romanize Japanese expressions in English-language contexts. Hepburn is generally used outside Japan. Kunreishiki is used predominantly inside Japan, and by linguists.

Explanations and charts:

1. Kunreishiki
2. Hepburn

Kunrei-shiki has the advantage of making Japanese grammar more transparent. For instance, in Hepburn, one might assume that the forms “tatsu”, “tachimasu”, “tateru” are irregular conjugation patterms of the verb meaning “to stand”, while in Kunrei-shiki “tatu”, “tatimasu”, “tateru” one immediately notices the regularity. On the other hand, from Kunrei-shiki one would not be able to guess pronounciation correctly. At least for English speakers, Hepburn is phonologically more intuitive.