Editing Hepburn romanization (section)

== History ==
[[File:James Curtis Hepburn.jpg|thumb|[[James Curtis Hepburn]], creator of the system]]
In 1867, American [[Presbyterian Mission Agency|Presbyterian]] missionary doctor [[James Curtis Hepburn]] published the first Japanese–English dictionary, in which he introduced a new system for the [[romanization of Japanese]] into [[Latin script]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sant|first1=John Van|last2=Mauch|first2=Peter|last3=Sugita|first3=Yoneyuki|title=Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQOyAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|date=January 29, 2007|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|isbn=978-0-8108-6462-7|page=104|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405062931/https://books.google.com/books?id=fQOyAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref> He published a second edition in 1872 and a third edition in 1886, which introduced minor changes.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Nishiyama|editor-first1=Kunio|editor-last2=Kishimoto|editor-first2=Hideki|editor-last3=Aldridge|editor-first3=Edith|title=Topics in Theoretical Asian Linguistics: Studies in Honor of John B. Whitman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=st18DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA292|date=December 15, 2018|publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]]|isbn=978-90-272-6329-2|page=292|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405062841/https://books.google.com/books?id=st18DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA292|url-status=live}}</ref> The third edition's system had been adopted in the previous year by the {{nihongo3|"Romanization Club"|羅馬字会|Rōmaji-kai}}, a group of Japanese and foreign scholars who promoted a replacement of the [[Japanese script]] with a romanized system.<ref name="Seeley2000">{{cite book|last=Seeley|first=Christopher|title=A History of Writing in Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIkuX0US69QC&pg=PA139|date=April 1, 2000|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|isbn=978-0-8248-2217-0|pages=139–140|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405062838/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIkuX0US69QC&pg=PA139|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hepburn romanization, loosely based on the conventions of [[English orthography]] (spelling), stood in opposition to [[Nihon-shiki romanization]], which had been developed in Japan in 1881 as a script replacement.<ref name="Seeley2000" /> Compared to Hepburn, Nihon-shiki is more systematic in its representation of the Japanese [[syllabary]] (''[[kana]]''), as each symbol corresponds to a [[phoneme]].<ref name="Unger1996-53">{{cite book|last=Unger|first=J. Marshall|author-link=James Marshall Unger|title=Literacy and Script Reform in Occupation Japan: Reading Between the Lines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYjmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53|date=August 1, 1996|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-510166-9|pages=53–55|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405063441/https://books.google.com/books?id=mYjmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the notation requires further explanation for accurate pronunciation by non-Japanese speakers: for example, the syllables {{IPA|ja|ɕi|}} and {{IPA|ja|tɕa|}}, which are written as ''{{Transliteration|ja|hepburn|shi}}'' and ''{{Transliteration|ja|hepburn|cha}}'' in Hepburn, are rendered&nbsp;as ''{{Transliteration|ja|nihon-shiki|si}}'' and ''{{Transliteration|ja|nihon-shiki|tya}}'' in Nihon-shiki.<ref name="Seeley2000" /> After Nihon-shiki was presented to the {{Transliteration|ja|Rōmaji-kai}} in 1886, a dispute began between the supporters of the two systems, which resulted in a standstill and an eventual halt to the organization's activities in 1892.<ref name="Hannas1997">{{cite book|last=Hannas|first=William C.|title=Asia's Orthographic Dilemma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJfv8Iyd2m4C&pg=PA42|date=June 1, 1997|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|isbn=978-0-8248-1892-0|page=42|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405063404/https://books.google.com/books?id=aJfv8Iyd2m4C&pg=PA42|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905, the two factions resurfaced as the {{nihongo3|"Society for the Spread of Romanization"|ローマ字ひろめ会|Rōmaji Hirome-kai}}, which supported Hepburn's style, and the {{nihongo3|"Romanization Society of Japan"|日本のローマ字社|Nihon no Rōmaji-sha}}, which supported Nihon-shiki.<ref name="Hannas1997" /> In 1908, Hepburn was revised by educator [[Kanō Jigorō]] and others of the ''Rōmaji Hirome-kai'', which began calling it the {{nihongo3|"modified Hepburn system"|修正ヘボン式|Shūsei Hebon-shiki}} or {{nihongo3|"standard system"|標準式|Hyōjun-shiki}}.<ref name="Seeley2000" />

In 1930, a Special Romanization Study Commission, headed by the Minister of Education, was appointed by the government to devise a standardized form of romanization.<ref name="Unger1996-53" /> The Commission eventually decided on a slightly modified "compromise" version of Nihon-shiki, which was chosen for official use by [[Cabinet of Japan|cabinet]] ordinance on September 21, 1937; this system is known today as [[Kunrei-shiki romanization]].<ref name="Unger1996-53" /> On September 3, 1945, at the beginning of the [[occupation of Japan]] after [[World War II]], [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] issued a directive mandating the use of modified Hepburn by occupation forces.<ref name="Unger1996-78">{{cite book|last=Unger|first=J. Marshall|author-link=James Marshall Unger|title=Literacy and Script Reform in Occupation Japan: Reading Between the Lines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYjmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78|date=August 1, 1996|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-510166-9|page=78|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405063345/https://books.google.com/books?id=mYjmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78|url-status=live}}</ref> The directive had no legal force, however, and a revised version of Kunrei-shiki was reissued by cabinet ordinance on December 9, 1954, after the end of occupation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, Volume 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YvEpAQAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|isbn=978-0-87011-626-1|page=336}}</ref>

Although it lacks ''[[de jure]]'' status, Hepburn remains the ''[[de facto]]'' standard for multiple applications in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/03/250d39967042-japan-to-revise-official-romanization-rules-for-1st-time-in-70-yrs.html|title=Japan to revise official romanization rules for 1st time in 70 yrs|agency=[[Kyodo News]]|date=2024-03-24|access-date=2024-08-26|quote=The Hepburn system [...] has long been predominantly used in society as well as in officialdom,[...]}}</ref> As of 1977, many government organizations used Hepburn, including the [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry]]; the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] requires the use of Hepburn on passports, and the [[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)|Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]] requires its use on transport signs, including road signs and railway station signs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Visconti|first=Jacqueline|title=Handbook of Communication in the Legal Sphere|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fheBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|date=September 24, 2018|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|isbn=978-1-61451-466-4|page=454|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405063408/https://books.google.com/books?id=fheBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA454|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a survey by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2022, the Japanese primarily use Hepburn to spell place names.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-02 |title=Akasi or Akashi? Hepburn Most Established of Japan's Different "Rōmaji" Systems |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01483/ |website=nippon.com |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303050008/https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01483/ |archive-date= Mar 3, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2022 |title=Cultural agency now weighing romanization of Japanese words |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14732540 |author1=Momoko Jingu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303052857/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14732540 |archive-date=Mar 3, 2024 |website=The Asahi Shimbun}}</ref>
Hepburn is also used by private organizations, including ''[[The Japan Times]]'' and the [[Japan Travel Bureau]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Kent|editor-first1=Allen|editor-last2=Lancour|editor-first2=Harold|editor-last3=Daily|editor-first3=Jay E.|title=Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1pNvzr_n98C&pg=PA155|date=May 1, 1977|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|isbn=978-0-8247-2021-6|page=155|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405063412/https://books.google.com/books?id=H1pNvzr_n98C&pg=PA155|url-status=live}}</ref>

''American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese'' (ANSI Z39.11-1972), based on modified Hepburn, was approved in 1971 and published in 1972 by the [[American National Standards Institute]].<ref name="Kudo2010" /> In 1989, it was proposed for [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) standard 3602, but was rejected in favor of Kunrei-shiki.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} ANSI Z39.11-1972 was deprecated as a standard in 1994.<ref name="Kudo2010" />

In January 2024, the [[Cultural Affairs Agency]] proposed revising the 1954 Cabinet ordinance to make Hepburn the standard romanization system of Japan.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20240131-165580/ | title=Hepburn-Style Romaji Likely to Become Standardized | date=January 31, 2024 }}</ref>