Onji
Encyclopedia
On is Japanese
for "sound". It is used to mean the phonetic units counted in haiku
, tanka
and other such poetic forms. Known as "mora
e" to English-speaking linguists, the modern Japanese term for the linguistic concept is hyōon moji (表音文字).
Ji (字) is Japanese for "symbol" or "character". The concatenation of the two words on and ji into onji (音字), was used by Meiji era (1868–1912) grammarians to mean "phonic character" and was translated into English by Nishi Amane in 1870 as "letter". Since then, the term has become obsolete in Japan, and only survives in foreign-language discussion of Japanese poetry
. Gilbert and Yoneoka call the use of the word onji "bizarre and mistaken". It was taken up after a 1978 letter to Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America decrying the then-current use of the word jion, which itself appears to have arisen in error. The normal Japanese term in the context of counting sounds in poetry is "on".
Counting on in Japanese poetry is the same as counting characters when the text is transliterated into hiragana
. In cases where a hiragana is represented by a pair of symbols each pair (or "digraph" e.g. "kyo" (きょ)) equates to a single on. When viewed this way, the term "ji" ("character") is used in Japanese.
In English-language discussions of Japanese poetry, the more familiar word syllable
is sometimes used. Although the use of "syllable" is inaccurate, it often happens that the syllable count and the on count match in Japanese-language haiku. The disjunction between syllables and on becomes clearer when counting sounds in English-language versions of Japanese poetic forms, such as haiku in English
. An English syllable may contain one, two or three morae and, because English word sounds are not readily representable in hiragana, a single syllable may require many more ji to be transliterated into hiragana.
To illustrate this, the most famous of all haiku, Bashō
's
happens to contain 17 monomoraic syllables (i.e. it has 17 morae or hyōon moji, 17 syllables and 17 on or ji), while the English phrase
contains three syllables but six morae. An attempted transliteration of that phrase into hiragana would require at least ten ji.
There is disagreement among linguists as to the definitions of "syllable" and "mora". In contrast ji (and hence on) is unambiguously defined by reference to hiragana.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
for "sound". It is used to mean the phonetic units counted in haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
, tanka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
and other such poetic forms. Known as "mora
Mora (linguistics)
Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
e" to English-speaking linguists, the modern Japanese term for the linguistic concept is hyōon moji (表音文字).
Ji (字) is Japanese for "symbol" or "character". The concatenation of the two words on and ji into onji (音字), was used by Meiji era (1868–1912) grammarians to mean "phonic character" and was translated into English by Nishi Amane in 1870 as "letter". Since then, the term has become obsolete in Japan, and only survives in foreign-language discussion of Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
. Gilbert and Yoneoka call the use of the word onji "bizarre and mistaken". It was taken up after a 1978 letter to Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America decrying the then-current use of the word jion, which itself appears to have arisen in error. The normal Japanese term in the context of counting sounds in poetry is "on".
Counting on in Japanese poetry is the same as counting characters when the text is transliterated into hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
. In cases where a hiragana is represented by a pair of symbols each pair (or "digraph" e.g. "kyo" (きょ)) equates to a single on. When viewed this way, the term "ji" ("character") is used in Japanese.
In English-language discussions of Japanese poetry, the more familiar word syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
is sometimes used. Although the use of "syllable" is inaccurate, it often happens that the syllable count and the on count match in Japanese-language haiku. The disjunction between syllables and on becomes clearer when counting sounds in English-language versions of Japanese poetic forms, such as haiku in English
Haiku in English
Haiku in English is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language.Contemporary haiku are written in many languages, but most poets outside of Japan are concentrated in the English-speaking countries....
. An English syllable may contain one, two or three morae and, because English word sounds are not readily representable in hiragana, a single syllable may require many more ji to be transliterated into hiragana.
To illustrate this, the most famous of all haiku, Bashō
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
's
- furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
happens to contain 17 monomoraic syllables (i.e. it has 17 morae or hyōon moji, 17 syllables and 17 on or ji), while the English phrase
- "Give me strength"
contains three syllables but six morae. An attempted transliteration of that phrase into hiragana would require at least ten ji.
There is disagreement among linguists as to the definitions of "syllable" and "mora". In contrast ji (and hence on) is unambiguously defined by reference to hiragana.