[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-129732-en":3,"doc-seo-129732-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},129732,549768702563,"Sage","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/8000c4aa63b76e948b?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786536092046926083",2,"Literature","Tsubaki Stationery Store - Translator’s Note - An Introduction to Japanese Writing","Translator’s note provides an accessible introduction to modern Japanese writing, using Poppo’s story to motivate why script knowledge matters. It explains how Japanese may be written vertically or horizontally, and how three main scripts—hiragana, katakana, and kanji—work together. The note clarifies that hiragana and katakana are phonetic, while kanji conveys both sound and meaning, and it describes common allocation rules for nouns, verb and adjective elements, grammatical parts, and loanwords. Examples of “Tsubaki Stationery Store” in the three scripts close the section.","Also by Ito Ogawa  \nThe Restaurant of Love Regained The Island of Expectation  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nAn imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019  \n[penguinrandomhouse.com](penguinrandomhouse.com)  \nCopyright © 2016 by Ito Ogawa  \nTranslation © 2026 by Cat Anderson  \nMap illustration © 2026 by shunshun  \nPenguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. Please note that no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence  \ntechnologies or systems.  \nDUTTON and the D colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.  \nCover illustration by Ing Lee  \nLetters designed by Keiko Kayatani  \nLIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA has been applied for.  \nHardcover ISBN 9798217047314  \nEbook ISBN 9798217047321  \nFirst English-language edition published in the United Kingdom in 2026 by Hutchinson Heinemann, an imprint of Cornerstone. Cornerstone is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies.  \nOriginally published in Japanese as Tsubaki Bunguten by Gentosha Inc., Tokyo, Japan, in 2016.  \nEnglish-language translation rights arranged with Gentosha Inc. through The English Agency (Japan)  \nLtd. and New River Literary Ltd.  \nThe authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68, Ireland, [https://eu](https://eu)  \n[contact.penguin.ie](contact.penguin.ie).  \nep_prh_ 7.5a_ 156711966_c0_r0  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nContents  \nDedication  \nMap  \nTranslator ’s note: An introduction to Japanese writing  \n : Summer  \n : Autumn  \n : Winter  \n : Spring  \nAbout the Author and Translator  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nWith warm thanks to Antonella for thoughts on Italian speech patterns, and to Roses for being my test reader.  \n—Cat  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTranslator ’s note: An introduction to Japanese writing[ * ]  \nWriting plays an important part in Poppo’s story, so I would like to provide a brief background for readers on how modern Japanese writing works. Japanese can be written vertically (from top to bottom and right to left) or horizontally (from left to right, like English) . The language is primarily written with a combination of three scripts—hiragana, katakana and kanji—as well as some supplementary use of the Roman alphabet, Arabic numerals and various other symbols.  \nHiragana and katakana characters are phonetic—each represents a set sound without inherent meaning—whereas kanji characters, which grew out of the Chinese writing system, generally represent both sound and meaning (not unlike how symbols such as 1 or & work in English) . Kanji is typically used for words adopted from Chinese, nouns, the core elements of verbsand adjectives, and names; hiragana for grammatical elements; and katakana for words adopted from languages other than Chinese. However, there are many more ins and outs to how the different scripts are used, and choosing which to use can also be a matter of style.  \nThis is what “Tsubaki Stationery Store”(pronounced tsubaki bunguten) looks like written in the three main scripts:  \nHiragana:  \nKatakana:  \nKanji:","cbCaipGoBZ5iR8bK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipGoBZ5iR8bK","pdf",15738760,5,1,247,"English","en",105,"# Translator’s note: An introduction to Japanese writing\n## Writing direction and script system\n## Hiragana, katakana, and kanji roles\n## Examples: Tsubaki Stationery Store in three scripts","[{\"question\":\"How is Japanese writing direction explained in the note?\",\"answer\":\"Japanese can be written vertically (top to bottom and right to left) or horizontally (left to right, like English).\"},{\"question\":\"What does the note say about hiragana and katakana?\",\"answer\":\"Hiragana and katakana are phonetic scripts: each character represents a set sound without inherent meaning. The note contrasts this with kanji’s meaning-carrying role.\"},{\"question\":\"How does kanji differ from hiragana and katakana in usage?\",\"answer\":\"Kanji generally represents both sound and meaning, and it is typically used for words adopted from Chinese, nouns, core verb and adjective elements, and names. Hiragana covers grammatical elements, while katakana often marks words borrowed from non-Chinese languages.\"}]","Tsubaki Stationery Store - Translator’s Note - An Introduction to Japanese Writing | PDF",1786107375,380,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":29},"tsubaki-stationery-store-translators-note-an-introduction-to-japanese-writing","",{"@graph":37,"@context":86},[38,54,69],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,48,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/tsubaki-stationery-store-translators-note-an-introduction-to-japanese-writing/129732/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":42,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-31","2026-08-07",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"How is Japanese writing direction explained in the note?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"Japanese can be written vertically (top to bottom and right to left) or horizontally (left to right, like English).","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"What does the note say about hiragana and katakana?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"Hiragana and katakana are phonetic scripts: each character represents a set sound without inherent meaning. 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