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| Tōyō kanji reform | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tōyō kanji reform |
| Native name | 当用漢字制限表 |
| Date | 1946–1949 |
| Location | Japan |
| Type | Language reform |
| Outcome | Standardization of 1,850 kanji for daily use; later superseded by Jōyō kanji reform |
Tōyō kanji reform was a postwar Japanese language policy that standardized a set of kanji for official, educational, and publishing use. Initiated by the Allied occupation of Japan authorities in consultation with Japanese ministries, the reform sought to simplify orthography and restrict character repertoire to support literacy campaigns after World War II. It influenced subsequent standards in Ministry of Education policy and later reforms like the Jōyō kanji list.
In the wake of World War II and the Occupation of Japan, language reform became part of broader reconstruction efforts tied to SCAP directives and consultations with the Cabinet of Japan. Debates involved figures from Waseda University, University of Tokyo, Keio University, and the Japanese Language Council, along with publishers such as Kodansha and Shueisha. International influences included linguists from United States Department of State and scholars associated with Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley. Legislative context intersected with statutes like the 1947 Constitution of Japan and administrative reforms driven by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The reform aimed to achieve higher literacy for citizens under policies promoted by Shigeru Yoshida, Hitoshi Ashida, and officials in the Cabinet. It sought to reduce complexity associated with classical texts from the Meiji period, Taishō period, and prewar bureaucratic practices rooted in the Meiji Restoration. The objectives included facilitating publishing by houses like Iwanami Shoten and Chūōkōron-sha, standardizing school curricula in institutions such as Tokyo University of Education and regional boards like the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education, and enabling clearer administration within ministries such as the Ministry of Finance (Japan) and the Ministry of Justice (Japan).
The process unfolded through committees convened by the Ministry of Education and advisory bodies including members with ties to NHK, the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Mainichi Shimbun. Announced in 1946 and formalized in 1949, the list followed deliberations among linguists from Kyoto University, scholars like Tetsujiro Inoue and bureaucrats who had worked under Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama and Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Implementation required coordination across postal services such as Japan Post, transportation agencies including Japanese National Railways, and educational institutions like Hokkaido University and Nagoya University.
Selection criteria emphasized frequency in daily life, appearance in official documents from the Diet of Japan, representation in educational readers used in elementary school curricula, and typesetting practicality for presses like Ishimasa and Toppan Printing. The resulting table enumerated 1,850 characters, balancing classical usage from texts by authors such as Natsume Sōseki, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and Kawabata Yasunari with practical vocabulary used in ministries like the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Japan). Scholarly input referenced corpora assembled by researchers at National Diet Library and comparative orthography studies influenced by academics from University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.
Schools adjusted lesson plans in line with guidelines affecting textbooks from publishers such as Gakken and university syllabi at Meiji University. Newspapers and periodicals including Bungeishunjū and Shinchō adapted style guides, while government forms and legal codes in the National Diet Library and municipal offices were revised. Printing technology from firms like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ricoh evolved to handle the standardized set, and typefoundries such as Morohashi Tetsuji’s studios retooled typefaces used in academic presses like Iwanami Shoten.
Critics among scholars at University of Tokyo and public intellectuals affiliated with Chūōkōron-sha argued that the restriction of characters marginalized classical literature and complicated names recorded in municipal registries like those of Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Legal disputes arose in cases involving the Supreme Court of Japan over personal name registration, and commentary in outlets such as the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun highlighted perceived cultural loss. Debates also involved international comparisons with reforms in the People's Republic of China and orthographic proposals discussed at conferences hosted by UNESCO.
Over time the Tōyō list influenced the 1981 adoption of the Jōyō kanji list by the Ministry of Education, which expanded and revised the standard under input from institutions like the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan), National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, and publishers including Kodansha. The legacy appears in contemporary policies of the National Diet Library and educational standards at universities such as Osaka University, while debates about kanji use continue in media from NHK and journals like Japan Quarterly.
Category:Japanese orthography