is one of the sources of

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...

of Japanese

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

. They were borrowed during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(7th to 9th century), introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. This period corresponds with the Japanese

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

. Not to be confused with

Tō-on , also pronounced "tō-in", are Japanese kanji readings imported from China by Zen monks and merchants during and after the Song dynasty. This period roughly corresponds with the mid- Heian to Edo periods of Japan. During the Muromachi perio ...

"Tang sound", which actually refers to later phonetic loans. ''Kan-on'' is based on the central

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

pronunciation of

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

. The name ''Kan'' could refer to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, which also had Chang'an as its

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

. Furthermore, ''Kan'' has also become a description for all things Chinese, e.g.,

Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

('Chinese characters'). Kan'on partly displaced the earlier ''

go'on are one of the several possible ways of reading Japanese kanji. They are based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the then- prestigious eastern Jiankang (now Nanjing) dialect. ''Go-on'' preceded the readings. Both ''go- ...

'', which were "just imitations of Korean imitations, but ''Kan-on'' were imitations of the real things." A minority of characters never had their ''Kan-on'' transmitted to Japan; their ''Kan-on'' are sometimes reconstructed in Japanese dictionaries although not specifically marked as such. A few dictionaries go as far as to discard attested ''Kan-on'' in favour of more systematic pronunciations.

Characteristics as compared to Go-on

In consonants

In vowels

References

Kanji {{vocab-stub

Characteristics as compared to Go-on

In consonants

In vowels

See also

References