The syllabic scripts used in Japanese writing, including hiragana and katakana, as opposed to logographic kanji.
From Japanese 'kana,' originally meaning 'temporary' or 'provisional names,' derived from 'kari' (temporary) and 'na' (name). These scripts were considered 'temporary' or simplified alternatives to the more formal Chinese characters (kanji). The term dates to the Heian period (794-1185).
Kana scripts revolutionized Japanese literacy by providing a way to write purely Japanese sounds without Chinese characters, making reading and writing accessible to broader populations. Remarkably, hiragana was initially called 'women's script' because court women used it for personal correspondence while men used formal Chinese characters.
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