Hepburn romanization#Variations

File:James Curtis Hepburn.jpg, creator of the system]]

In 1867, American 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.{{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}} He published a second edition in 1872 and a third edition in 1886, which introduced minor changes.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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. Compared to Hepburn, Nihon-shiki is more systematic in its representation of the Japanese syllabary (kana), as each symbol corresponds to a phoneme.{{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}} 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 as {{Transliteration|ja|nihon-shiki|si}} and {{Transliteration|ja|nihon-shiki|tya}} in Nihon-shiki. 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.{{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}}

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. 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}}.

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. The Commission eventually decided on a slightly modified "compromise" version of Nihon-shiki, which was chosen for official use by cabinet ordinance on September 21, 1937; this system is known today as Kunrei-shiki romanization. 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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

Although it lacks de jure status, Hepburn remains the de facto standard for multiple applications in Japan.{{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,[...]}} As of 1977, many government organizations used Hepburn, including the Ministry of International Trade and Industry; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires the use of Hepburn on passports, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requires its use on transport signs, including road signs and railway station signs.{{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}} According to a survey by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2022, the Japanese primarily use Hepburn to spell place names.{{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 }}{{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}}

Hepburn is also used by private organizations, including The Japan Times and the Japan Travel Bureau.{{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}}

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. 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.

In January 2024, the Cultural Affairs Agency proposed revising the 1954 Cabinet ordinance to make Hepburn the standard romanization system of Japan.{{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 }}

File:Toyooka Station Sign (cropped).jpg-style board of Toyooka Station. For the two adjacent stations, "GEMBUDŌ" follows the Hepburn romanization system, but "KOKUHU" follows the Nihon-shiki/Kunrei-shiki romanization system.]]

There are many variants of the Hepburn romanization. The two most common styles are as follows:

• Traditional Hepburn, as defined in various editions of Hepburn's dictionary, with the third edition (1886){{cite web|url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hep3.html|script-title=ja:和英語林集成第三版|trans-title=Digital 'Japanese English Forest Collection'|publisher=Meiji Gakuin University|website=Meiji Gakuin University Library|orig-year=2006|date=March 2010|access-date=August 10, 2017|language=ja|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022013225/http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hep3.html|url-status=live}} often considered authoritative{{cite web |url=http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/mgda/index5_j.html |title=明治学院大学図書館 - 『和英語林集成』デジタルアーカイブス |publisher=Meijigakuin.ac.jp |access-date=June 29, 2012 |archive-date=December 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216222332/http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/mgda/index5_j.html |url-status=dead }} (although changes in kana usage must be accounted for). It is characterized by the rendering of syllabic n as m before the consonants b, m and p: for example, {{Transliteration|ja|Shimbashi}} for {{nihongo2|新橋}}.
• Modified Hepburn, also known as Revised Hepburn, in which (among other changes) the rendering of syllabic n as m before bilabial consonants is no longer used: {{Transliteration|ja|Shinbashi}} for {{nihongo2|新橋}}. The version of the system published in the third (1954) and later editions of Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary are often considered authoritative; it was adopted in 1989 by the Library of Congress as one of its ALA-LC romanizations,{{cite journal |last=Kudo |first=Yoko |date=January 28, 2011 |title=Modified Hepburn Romanization System in Japanese Language Cataloging: Where to Look, What to Follow |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01639374.2011.536751 |format=pdf |journal=Cataloging & Classification Quarterly |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=97–120 |doi=10.1080/01639374.2011.536751 |s2cid=62560768 |access-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229064352/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01639374.2011.536751 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} and is the most common variant of Hepburn romanization used today.{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/online/rom_hist.htm |title=UHM Library : Japan Collection Online Resources |publisher=Hawaii.edu |date=October 6, 2005 |access-date=June 29, 2012 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226172935/http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/online/rom_hist.htm |url-status=live }}

In Japan itself, there are some variants officially mandated for various uses:

• {{nihongo|Railway Standard|鉄道掲示基準規程|Tetsudō Keiji Kijun Kitei}},{{cite web |url=http://homepage1.nifty.com/tabi-mo/font_kitei2.htm#10 |title=鉄道掲示基準規程 |publisher=Homepage1.nifty.com |access-date=July 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301033237/http://homepage1.nifty.com/tabi-mo/font_kitei2.htm#10 |archive-date=March 1, 2012 |url-status=dead }} which mostly follows Modified Hepburn, except syllabic n is rendered as in Traditional. Japan Railways and other major railways use it for station names.
• {{nihongo|Road Sign Romaji (Hepburn)|道路標識のローマ字(ヘボン式)|Dōrohyōji no rōmaji (Hebonshiki)}}, used for road signs, which otherwise follows Modified Hepburn closely but specifies that macrons are not to be used.{{cite web|url=http://www.kictec.co.jp/varieties-road-sign/hebon-romaji/|script-title=ja:道路標識のローマ字(ヘボン式) の綴り方|trans-title=How to spell Roman letters (Hepburn style) of road signs|website=Kictec|date=June 14, 2012|access-date=August 10, 2017|language=ja|archive-date=April 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420041720/http://www.kictec.co.jp/varieties-road-sign/hebon-romaji/|url-status=live}}
• {{nihongo|Ministry of Foreign Affairs Passport Standard|外務省旅券規定|Gaimushō Ryoken Kitei}},{{cite web|url=https://www.ezairyu.mofa.go.jp/passport/hebon.html|title=ヘボン式ローマ字綴方表|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=May 16, 2022|archive-date=August 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810185158/https://www.ezairyu.mofa.go.jp/passport/hebon.html|url-status=live}} a permissive standard that renders the syllabic n as m before b, m and p. Most of the long vowels are not rendered, and macrons are not used above the letter. Moreover, this standard explicitly allows the use of {{nihongo|"non-Hepburn romaji"|非ヘボン式ローマ字|hi-Hebon-shiki rōmaji}} in personal names with special approval,{{cite web|url=https://www.ezairyu.mofa.go.jp/passport/hebon.html|title=ヘボン式ローマ字綴方表 (Hebon-shiki Romanization) |website=ezairyu.mofa.go.jp |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=15 January 2025}} notably for passports. In particular, the long vowel ō can be romanized oh, oo or ou (Satoh, Satoo or Satou for {{nihongo2|佐藤}}).

Details of the variants can be found below.

The romanizations set out in the first and second versions of Hepburn's dictionary are primarily of historical interest. Notable differences from the third and later versions include:

{{Col-begin}}

{{Col-2}}

• {{nihongo2|エ}} and {{nihongo2|ヱ}} were written as ye: Yedo
• {{nihongo2|ズ}} and {{nihongo2|ヅ}} were written as dzu: kudzu, tsudzuku
• {{nihongo2|キャ}}, {{nihongo2|キョ}}, and {{nihongo2|キュ}} were written as kiya, kiyo and kiu
• {{nihongo2|クヮ}} (modern: {{nihongo2|カ}}) was written as kuwa{{cite book|title=A Japanese-English And English-Japanese Dictionary|author=James Curtis Hepburn|year=1872|publisher=American Presbyterian mission press|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081858254;view=1up;seq=326|pages=286–290|edition=2nd|access-date=December 16, 2013|archive-date=January 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101221254/http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081858254;view=1up;seq=326|url-status=live}}

{{Col-break}}

The following differences are in addition to those in the second version:{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/japaneseenglishe00hepb_0|title=Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary.|first=J. C. (James Curtis)|last=Hepburn|date=December 10, 1872|publisher=Shanghai, American Presbyterian mission press|via=Internet Archive}}

• {{nihongo2|ス}} was written as sz.
• {{nihongo2|ツ}} was written as tsz.
• {{nihongo2|ズ}} and {{nihongo2|ヅ}} were written as du.

{{Col-end}}

The main feature of Hepburn is that its orthography is based on English phonology. More technically, when syllables that are constructed systematically according to the Japanese syllabary contain an "unstable" consonant in the modern spoken language, the orthography is changed to something that better matches the real sound as an English-speaker would pronounce it. For example, {{nihongo2|し}} is written shi not si. This transcription is thus only partly phonological.

Some linguists such as Harold E. Palmer, Daniel Jones and Otto Jespersen object to Hepburn, contending that the pronunciation-based spellings can obscure the systematic origins of Japanese phonetic structures, inflections, and conjugations.{{Cite journal|author=松浦四郎|date=October 1992|title=104年かかった標準化|journal=標準化と品質菅理 -Standardization and Quality Control|volume=45|pages=92–93|publisher=Japanese Standards Association}} Since the vowel sounds in Hepburn are similar to the vowel sounds in Italian, and the consonants similar to those of many other languages, in particular English, speakers unfamiliar with Japanese will generally be more accurate when pronouncing unfamiliar words romanized in the Hepburn style compared to other systems.{{cite web|last1=Hadamitzky|first1=Wolfgang|last2=Spahn|first2=Mark|title=Romanization systems|url=https://www.hadamitzky.de/english/lp_romanization_sys.htm|website=Wolfgang Hadamitzky: Japan-related Textbooks, Dictionaries, and Reference Works|access-date=August 10, 2017|date=October 2005|archive-date=January 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124095310/http://www.hadamitzky.de/english/lp_romanization_sys.htm|url-status=live}}

In Hepburn, vowel combinations that form a long sound are usually indicated with a macron (◌̄). Other adjacent vowels, such as those separated by a morpheme boundary, are written separately:

All other vowel combinations are always written separately:

• E + I: {{nihongo2|{{Ruby|制|せい}}{{Ruby|服|ふく}}}} – sei + fuku – seifuku 'uniform' (despite E + I often being pronounced as a long E)
• U + I: {{nihongo2|{{Ruby|軽|かる}}い}} – karu + i – karui 'light (in weight)'
• O + I: {{nihongo2|{{Ruby|甥|おい}}}} – oi – oi 'nephew'

In foreign loanwords, long vowels followed by a chōonpu (ー) are indicated with macrons:

• {{nihongo2|セーラー}}: se + (ー) + ra + (ー) = sērā 'sailor'
• {{nihongo2|タクシー}}: ta + ku + shi + (ー) = takushī 'taxi'
• {{nihongo2|コンクール}}: ko + n + ku + (ー) + ru = konkūru 'competition'
• {{nihongo2|バレーボール}}: ba + re + (ー) + bo + (ー) + ru = barēbōru 'volleyball'
• {{nihongo2|ソール}}: so + (ー) + ru = sōru 'sole (of a shoe, etc.)'

Adjacent vowels in loanwords are written separately:

• {{nihongo2|バレエ}}: ba + re + e – baree 'ballet'
• {{nihongo2|ミイラ}}: mi + i + ra – miira 'mummy'
• {{nihongo2|ソウル}}: so + u + ru – souru 'soul', 'Seoul'

There are many variations on the Hepburn system for indicating long vowels with a macron. For example, {{nihongo2|東京}} ({{nihongo2|とうきょう}}) is properly romanized as Tōkyō, but can also be written as:

• Tokyo – not indicated at all. Common for Japanese words that have been adopted into English, and the de facto convention for Hepburn used in signs and other English-language information around Japan.
• Tôkyô – indicated with circumflex accents, as in the alternative Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki romanizations. They are often used when macrons are unavailable or difficult to input, due to their visual similarity.{{cite book|script-title=ja:ローマ字手引き|trans-title=RÔMAJI TEBIKI|author=Fujino Katsuji|year=1909|publisher=Rômaji-Hirome-kai|language=ja}}{{cite web|script-title=ja:昭和29年内閣告示第1号 ローマ字のつづり方|trans-title=Japanese Cabinet Order No.1 in 1954 - How to write Romanization|date=December 9, 1954|url=http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19541209001/k19541209001.html|language=ja|publisher=Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology|author=Cabinet of Japan|author-link=Cabinet of Japan|access-date=May 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529171936/http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19541209001/k19541209001.html|archive-date=May 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}
• Tohkyoh – indicated with an h (only applies after o). This is sometimes known as "passport Hepburn", as the Japanese Foreign Ministry has authorized (but not required) it in passports.{{cite web|url=http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/hebon/ |title=PASSPORT_ヘボン式ローマ字綴方表 |trans-title=Table of Spelling in Hepburn Romanization |author=Bureau of Citizens and Culture Affairs of Tokyo |author-link=Tokyo Metropolitan Government |language=ja |access-date=December 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205110946/http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/hebon/ |archive-date=December 5, 2011 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/pdf/a_hihebon_romaji.pdf|script-title=ja:ヘボン式ローマ字綴方表|trans-title=Table of Spelling in Hepburn Romanization|author=Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco|language=ja|access-date=December 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513035601/http://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/pdf/a_hihebon_romaji.pdf|archive-date=May 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.detroit.us.emb-japan.go.jp/pdf/jp/ryouji/EXAMPLE%20OF%20APPLICATION%20FORM%20FOR%20PASSPORT.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.detroit.us.emb-japan.go.jp/pdf/jp/ryouji/EXAMPLE%20OF%20APPLICATION%20FORM%20FOR%20PASSPORT.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Example of Application Form for Passport|author=Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit|language=ja|access-date=December 13, 2011}}
• Toukyou – written using kana spelling: ō as ou or oo (depending on the kana). This is also known as wāpuro style, as it reflects how text is entered into a Japanese word processor by using a keyboard with Roman characters. Wāpuro more accurately represents the way that ō is written in kana by differentiating between {{nihongo2|おう}} (as in {{nihongo2|とうきょう}} ({{nihongo2|東京}}), Toukyou in wāpuro) and {{nihongo2|おお}} (as in {{nihongo2|とおい}} ({{nihongo2|遠い}}), tooi in wāpuro); however, it fails to differentiate between long vowels and vowels separated by a morpheme boundary.
• Tookyoo – written by doubling the long vowels. Some dictionaries such as the Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary{{cite book |author=Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0198607482/ref=sib_dp_pop_fc?ie=UTF8&p=S001#reader-link |title=Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary (9780198607489): Shigeru Takebayashi, Kazuhiko Nagai: Books | date=March 9, 2007 |publisher=Amazon.com | isbn=978-0-19-860748-9 |access-date=June 29, 2012 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308022156/https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0198607482/ref=sib_dp_pop_fc?ie=UTF8&p=S001#reader-link |url-status=live }} and Basic English Writers' Japanese-English Wordbook follow this style, and it is also used in the JSL form of romanization.

In traditional and modified:

• When {{nihongo2|は}} is used as a particle, it is written wa.

In traditional Hepburn:

• When {{nihongo2|へ}} is used as a particle, Hepburn originally recommended ye. This spelling is obsolete, and it is commonly written as e (Romaji-Hirome-Kai, 1974{{cite web |url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hyouzyunC.html |title=標準式ローマ字つづり―引用 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022012426/http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hyouzyunC.html |url-status=live }}{{self-published source|date=February 2016}}).
• When {{nihongo2|を}} is used as a particle, it is written wo.

In modified Hepburn:

• When {{nihongo2|へ}} is used as a particle, it is written e.
• When {{nihongo2|を}} is used as a particle, it is written o.

In traditional Hepburn:

:Syllabic n ({{nihongo2|ん}}) is written as n before consonants, but as m before labial consonants: b, m, and p. It is sometimes written as n- (with a hyphen) before vowels and y (to avoid confusion between, for example, {{nihongo2|んあ}} n + a and {{nihongo2|な}} na, and {{nihongo2|んや}} n + ya and {{nihongo2|にゃ}} nya), but its hyphen usage is not clear.

• {{nihongo2|案内（あんない）}}: annai – guide
• {{nihongo2|群馬（ぐんま）}}: Gumma – Gunma
• {{nihongo2|簡易（かんい）}}: kan-i – simple
• {{nihongo2|信用（しんよう）}}: shin-yō – trust

In modified Hepburn:

:The rendering m before labial consonants is not used and is replaced with n. It is written n' (with an apostrophe) before vowels and y.

• {{nihongo2|案内（あんない）}}: annai – guide
• {{nihongo2|群馬（ぐんま）}}: Gunma – Gunma
• {{nihongo2|簡易（かんい）}}: kan'i – simple
• {{nihongo2|信用（しんよう）}}: shin'yō – trust

Elongated (or "geminate") consonant sounds are marked by doubling the consonant following a sokuon, {{nihongo2|っ}}; for consonants that are digraphs in Hepburn (sh, ch, ts), only the first consonant of the set is doubled, except for ch, which is replaced by tch.

• {{nihongo2|結果（けっか）}}: kekka – result
• {{nihongo2|さっさと}}: sassato – quickly
• {{nihongo2|ずっと}}: zutto – all the time
• {{nihongo2|切符（きっぷ）}}: kippu – ticket
• {{nihongo2|雑誌（ざっし）}}: zasshi – magazine
• {{nihongo2|一緒（いっしょ）}}: issho – together
• {{nihongo2|こっち}}: kotchi (not kocchi) – this way
• {{nihongo2|抹茶（まっちゃ）}}: matcha (not maccha) – matcha
• {{nihongo2|三つ（みっつ）}}: mittsu – three

• Each entry contains hiragana, katakana, and Hepburn romanization, in that order.
• † — The characters in {{red|red}} are historical characters and are obsolete in modern Japanese.{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~lf4a-okjm/genkan21.htm |script-title=ja:昭和21年内閣告示第33号 「現代かなづかい」 |trans-title=Japanese Cabinet Order No.33 in 1946 - Modern kana usage |date=November 16, 1946 |author=Cabinet of Japan |language=ja |access-date=May 25, 2011 |author-link=Cabinet of Japan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011006222929/http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~lf4a-okjm/genkan21.htm |archive-date=October 6, 2001}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/t19860701002/t19860701002.html|script-title=ja:昭和61年内閣告示第1号 「現代仮名遣い」|trans-title=Japanese Cabinet Order No.1 in 1986 - Modern kana usage|date=July 1, 1986|author=Cabinet of Japan|publisher=Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology|language=ja|access-date=May 25, 2011|author-link=Cabinet of Japan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524004651/http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/t19860701002/t19860701002.html|archive-date=May 24, 2011|url-status=dead}} In modern Hepburn romanization, they are often undefined.
• ‡ — The characters in {{blue|blue}} are rarely used outside of their status as a particle in modern Japanese, and romanization follows the rules above.

These combinations are used mainly to represent the sounds in words in other languages.

Digraphs with orange backgrounds are the general ones used for loanwords or foreign places or names, and those with blue backgrounds are used for more accurate transliterations of foreign sounds, suggested by the Cabinet of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.{{cite web|url=http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19910628002/k19910628002.html|title=平成3年6月28日内閣告示第2号:外来語の表記|trans-title=Japanese cabinet order No.2 (June 28, 1991):The notation of loanword|author=Cabinet of Japan|publisher=Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology|access-date=May 25, 2011|author-link=Cabinet of Japan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106125953/http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19910628002/k19910628002.html|archive-date=January 6, 2019|url-status=dead}} Katakana combinations with beige backgrounds are suggested by the American National Standards Institute{{cite web |url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/ansiz3911.html |title=米国規格(ANSI Z39.11-1972)―要約 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215902/http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/ansiz3911.html |url-status=live }}{{self-published source|date=February 2016}} and the British Standards Institution as possible uses.{{cite web |url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/bs4812.html |title=英国規格(BS 4812 : 1972)―要約 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224521/http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/bs4812.html |url-status=live }}{{self-published source|date=February 2016}} Ones with purple backgrounds appear on the 1974 version of the Hyōjun-shiki formatting.

• * — The use of {{nihongo2|ウ}} in these two cases to represent w is rare in modern Japanese except for Internet slang and transcription of the Latin sound {{IPA|[w]}} into katakana. E.g.: ミネルウァ (Mineruwa "Minerva", from Latin MINERVA {{IPA|[mɪˈnɛrwa]}}); ウゥルカーヌス (Wurukānusu "Vulcan", from Latin VVLCANVS, Vulcānus {{IPA|[wʊlˈkaːnʊs]}}). The wa-type of foreign sounds (as in watt or white) is usually transcribed to ワ (wa), while the wu-type (as in wood or woman) is usually to ウ (u) or ウー (ū).
• ⁑ — {{nihongo2|ヴ}} has a rarely used hiragana form in {{nihongo2|ゔ}} that is also vu in Hepburn romanization systems.
• ⁂ — The characters in {{green|green}} are obsolete in modern Japanese and very rarely used.

{{Portal|Japan|Language}}

• List of ISO romanizations

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hep1.html Preface of first edition of Hepburn's original dictionary, explaining romanization]
• [http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/hep3.html Preface of third edition of Hepburn's original dictionary, explaining romanization]

{{Japanese romanization}}

{{Japanese language}}

Category:Japanese writing system

Category:Romanization of Japanese

Category:Writing systems introduced in the 1860s