[Essay✏️] The Lost Hiragana 'wi' and 'we': A Revival in the Reiwa Era✴️

🤔 The Lost Hiragana 'wi' and 'we'

I am a cram school teacher.

My job is to help students get even one more point on their tests,
and guide them to pass their entrance exams.

Today, let's try our hand at 'Classical Japanese',
which even appears on public high school entrance exams.

...Well, can you solve it? Fukazawa.

I know, right?
Even though it's Japanese, it makes absolutely no sense.

This is basically just a code now.
Middle school Classical Japanese is just an association game
where you guess the meaning based solely on the annotations (a radical opinion).

But it's strange how, as you work through the problems,
you somehow start to understand the meaning.

Perhaps in a past life,
I was a Heian aristocrat.

One who speaks of a past life
is very amusing

For the poor Mr. Fukazawa,
who does not share such noble blood,
there is indeed a problem he can solve (kakari-musubi).

"Teacher, what are these (1) maruru and (2) yururu?"

Ho ho ho...
To think you'd read them both as 'ru',
perhaps your studies are a bit lacking.

A person called Fukazawa
is truly pathetic

Now then, let me, the teacher,
explain it in the language of the Reiwa era.

🤔 Are 'wi' and 'we' really not used? ①

It is true that since the Meiji era,
they have been substituted with 'i' and 'e'.

However, after the war,
various languages flowed into Japan.

For example, even in our daily lives,

'Wiener sausage',
'virus',
'website'...

'Wi' and 'we' are used in many loanwords. This pronunciation is gaining citizenship at an incredible pace.

Especially for loanwords that use 'W',
they are often pronounced that way.

However, surprisingly,
a major company that Japan boasts to the world
has taken the lead in naming a product,
which could be called a crystallization of technology, using 'wi'.


As someone who loves hiragana, I cannot accept this.

Those with a keen sense have probably already noticed.


Yes.

Nintendo.

It is true that using an alphabet-based name
to promote Japan's high technical capabilities
is correct as a global strategy.

However, now it isthe world's Nintendo!

With its uniqueness,
it overwhelmingly surpasses other content.
Even if the name were in hiragana,
that technology would never fade.

So, let's proudly boast of Japanese technology.


Let's change it.

🤔 Are 'wi' and 'we' really not used anymore? 2

I recently realized that
words using 'wi' and 'we'
are not limited to foreign loanwords.

In fact, even in words used by certain people
that have no foreign origin,
'wi' and 'we' are frequently used.

Those with sharp intuition have probably already noticed.

That's right.

Party people.

I'm not a fan of them.

I mean, they drink alcohol at barbecues during the day,
and go to clubs to drink alcohol at night, right? (Prejudice) They wear tank tops even in winter, showing off their biceps and gold necklaces, right? (Prejudice)

We must teach those flashy types the Japanese spirit of wabi-sabi.

Let's change it.

You might as well just
enjoy some kemari during the day,
and sit in seiza in a tea room at night.

🤔 Those who inherit language

Hiragana is something we learn now, but
it was originally a language created by aristocrats with time to spare.

For example, reading beautiful waka poetry
is no different from going to karaoke in modern times.

Hiragana is, so to speak, an aristocratic pastime.

Commoners likely did not receive an education
and probably couldn't even read or write.

Thinking about it, education is a very luxurious form of entertainment.

If they hadn't used hiragana,
we surely wouldn't even be able to enjoy literature.

I found myself thinking about the
Heian-period 'party people (aristocrats)' who created hiragana.

They surely weren't caught up in conflicts,
nor were they troubled by hunger.
They just idly read waka and spent their days playing.

Perhaps Heian aristocrats, just like the party people of the Reiwa era,
'Wei (Yay!)'were enjoying the prime of their lives with the same pronunciation.

Thinking of it that way, those who inherit lost words
are truly suited to be the
party people of the Reiwa era who carry the future of Japan.

Indeed.

Those who are party people are truly wonderful

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