English words of Japanese origin

• 日本語の中に含まれる英単語の扱い

英語版 Wikipedia は英語の百科事典です。日本語由来の外来語や地名には、最も一般的な英単語が用いられるべきです。たとえ日本語での発音やローマ字のスペリングが違っていても例外ではありません。例えば Fuji-san なら Mount Fuji、Tōkyō なら Tokyo、Jūjutsu なら Jujutsu、Shōgi なら Shogi と表記します。ただし、特に英語表記と日本語表記（ローマ字）が異なる場合は、最初の段落において日本語表記を常に掲載するべきです。

The English Wikipedia is an English-language encyclopedia. An English loan word or place name of Japanese origin should be used in its most common English form in the body of an article, even if it is pronounced or spelled differently from the properly romanized Japanese; that is, use Mount Fuji, Tokyo, jujutsu, and shogi, instead of Fuji-san, Tōkyō, jūjutsu, and shōgi. However, the romanized Japanese form should always be listed in the opening paragraph, especially if it differs from the English form (see below).

日本語の話者には奇妙に思えるかもしれませんが、日本語由来の外来語の一部は英文法に則って通常複数形にされます。例えば tsunami（津波）、tycoon（大君;将軍）、futon（布団）で、これらは複数形で用いられます。koi（鯉）、sushi（寿司）、haiku（俳句）、anime（アニメ）、ronin（浪人）あるいは dojo（道場）のようなより特殊な日本語の場合、英語話者が日本語における使い方を理解している場合が多いため、複数形で用いられることはありません。geisha（芸者）や kamikaze（神風）のような極少数の単語では、複数形を用いても用いなくても受け入れられます。疑問に感じた場合は、辞書を参考にして単語を使用するのがベストです。Helpful tools include the Merriam Webster website for American-English usage and the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary for British-English usage.

Some Japanese loan words are usually pluralized according to English grammar rules, although this usage may sound odd to Japanese speakers. A few examples are tsunami, tycoon, and futon, which take the plurals tsunamis, tycoons, and futons. In the case of more specialized Japanese words such as koi, sushi, haiku, anime, ronin, or dojo, English-language speakers are often familiar with Japanese word usage, and the words usually lack plural forms. For a few words, such as geisha and kamikaze, both forms of pluralization are acceptable. When in doubt, it is probably best to use a dictionary for reference. Helpful tools include the Merriam Webster website for American-English usage and the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary for British-English usage.

Capitalization of words in roman script

• ローマ字における単語の小文字化

日本語文中（チラシ、ポスターなど含む）において、曲名、歌手名、会社名などは、しばしば大文字で書かれることがあります。関連する宣伝部（？）やファンは、大文字であることの重要性を猛烈に主張するかもしれません。しかしながら、これらの名前や要素が英語版Wikipediaにおける命名規則ガイドラインから除外されることはありません。すなわち、英語版Wikipediaにおいては、すべての文字を大文字で表記するべきではありません。例えば、日本語や日本語版Wikipediaにおいては漫画「BLEACH」のタイトルは常にすべて大文字で「BLEACH」と書かれていますが、英語版Wikipediaでは「Bleach」と書くべきです。

Titles of songs, and the names of singers, companies and so forth are often capitalized when written in Roman script within a Japanese-language context or (in flyers, posters, etc.) for a Japanese audience, and the relevant publicity departments or fanbases may vehemently insist on the importance of the capitalization. However, these names and name elements are not excluded from the guidance provided by the main manuals of style for English-language Wikipedia, listed above. Words should not be written in all caps in the English Wikipedia. For example, although the title of the manga Bleach is always written as "BLEACH" in Japanese (e.g. in its article within Japanese-language Wikipedia), it should be written as Bleach within English-language Wikipedia.

Using Japanese in the article body

• 記事本文における日本語の使用

文学記事においては、その記事の主題（最初の行が理想です）に日本語原題を挿入してください。最初にその単語が出てきたときだけでよく、その記事中で繰り返し挿入してはいけません。（以下略）

In a narrative article, provide the Japanese script for the subject of that article when first introducing it (ideally in the first line of the article). Do not repeat the Japanese for that term in the article. Where possible, provide the Japanese script for proper names as well. However, do not provide the Japanese for any Japanese term that is linked to an article containing the Japanese for that term. If the linked article does not contain the Japanese, please add it to the linked article. When Japanese terms other than proper names do not link to articles, before adding the Japanese, consider carefully whether or not the Japanese script adds to the English article.

Linking to Japanese Wikipedia

• 日本語版Wikipedia へのリンク

Use interwiki links to link to the equivalent article on the Japanese Wikipedia. Additionally, there is generally no need to use inline links to the equivalent Japanese Wikipedia article for any words in an article. If a word is important enough to warrant a link, it will have an article here, in which case a standard link is sufficient.

When interwiki linking to the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia, omit spaces from the Japanese page name. For example a page beginning

Junichiro Koizumi (小泉 純一郎 Koizumi Jun'ichirō, born January 8, 1942) …

must be linked as [[ja:小泉純一郎]] (no space between 小泉 and 純一郎).

Romanisation

• ローマ字化

ウィキペディアでは後述されるような改訂ヘボン式ローマ字を用います。それが学者によって一般的に受け入れられ、英語話者に対して日本語の発音を公平に表示することができるからです。他のローマ字化システムに関心のある方は、この改訂ヘボン式ローマ字も理解できるでしょう。下記の場合を除いたすべての場合について 長音記号を使用してください。

Wikipedia uses the version of Revised Hepburn romanisation described below because it is generally accepted by scholars and it gives a fair indication of Japanese pronunciation to the intended audience of English speakers. People who care about other romanization systems are knowledgeable enough to look after themselves. macrons should be used in all cases outside of those specifically mentioned below.

Body text

• 記事本文

記事本文（タイトル以外のすべて）でのローマ字の使用に関しては、以下の点に注意してください:

Take care with these points regarding usage in article body text (anything that is not the title of the article):

1. 漢字や平仮名から音訳する際、「オー」や「ウー」は長音記号を用いてそれぞれ「ō」「ū」と書いてください。IME を用いてこれらの文字を入力するのが難しければ、編集画面の一番下部にあるエディットツールにある文字をクリックすることで入力できます。キーボードから直接入力するための設定については Help:Macrons をご覧ください。また、HTMLの実体参照を用いることもできます。「ō」なら「ō」、「ū」なら「ū」です。他のすべての長母音は長音符号を用いずに書かれています : ああ → aa, いい → ii, and ええ → ee
2. 平仮名から音訳する際、可能ならば英語のスペリングを使用してください。例えば「サンダーバード」を訳す場合は「Sandābādo」とするのではなく、Thunderbird (サンバーバード, Sandābādo) のようにします。英語にスペリングはないものの、語源が日本語以外からのスペリングがある場合はそれを使用してください。例えば「ザーサイ」ならば Zha cai (ザーサイ, Zāsai) のように書きます。Otherwise, macrons should be used for all long vowels indicated with ー, including "a", "e", and "i".
3. は, ヘ and を as particles are written wa, e, and o respectively.
4. Syllabic n ん is generally written n (see below).
5. Syllabic n ん is written n' when followed by a vowel or y but not when followed by another n.
6. Transliterated terms should be italicized in accordance with Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Foreign terms. Note that proper nouns (place/person names) should not be italicized.
7. Do not capitalize suffixes in the titles of historical periods and events, such as Edo period, Tokugawa shogunate, and Recruit scandal.
8. Names should be romanized according to common usage (see below), which includes unconventional romanizations by licensees (e.g., Devil Hunter Yohko and Tenjho Tenge).
9. City names should include macrons in all cases, except for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. These cities are well-known around the world already.
10. Likewise, prefecture names should include macrons in all cases, except for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. The capitals of these three prefectures are well-known around the world already.
11. Island names should include macrons in all cases, except for Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands, and Iwo Jima. These islands use the common English name.
12. For other Japanese terms which are used frequently in English (such as Sumo), any clearly established romanization should be given preference.

The original version of Hepburn used m when syllabic n ん is followed by b, m, or p. While generally deprecated, this is still allowed in titles for cases where the official romanisation continues to use m (examples: Asahi Shimbun, Namba Station). Use Google to check popularity if in doubt, and create a redirect from the n version.

Article titles

Article titles should follow all of the points above, with the following exceptions:

1. Article titles should use macrons as specified for body text except in cases where the macronless spelling is in common usage in English-speaking countries (e.g., Tokyo, Osaka, Sumo and Shinto, instead of Tōkyō, Ōsaka, Sumō and Shintō).
2. Where macrons are used in the title, appropriate redirects using the macronless spellings should also be created which point to the actual title (e.g., Tessho Genda and Tesshou Genda pointing to Tesshō Genda).
3. For proper names, redirects should be created for the Japanese name order which points to the actual title of the article (e.g., Genda Tesshō, Genda Tessho, and Genda Tesshou pointing to Tesshō Genda).

Category link sorting of macronned titles

In accordance with Wikipedia:Categorization, articles with macronned titles should not use macrons for category sorting. If a title has macrons in it, the non-macronned version of the title should be used in category sorting. Therefore, the article Tesshō Genda would use the following format for categories: [[Category:Japanese voice actors|Genda Tessho]]. Another option for articles which fall into multiple categories is to use the {{DEFAULTSORT}} keyword to put the page in the correct order in every category which it is a member. An example usage is {{DEFAULTSORT:Genda Tessho}}.

Alphabetical order

Lists of romanized words in the English Wikipedia should be ordered in alphabetical order, A-Z, instead of the common Japanese ordering system which is based on the kana characters. In the case of names, alphabetize by family name, not by given name. Words with macrons should be alphabetized as if the macron was one of the normal 26 letters. In cases where two words are exactly the same except for a macron vowel in one word, the non-macron version should be listed first.

This rule also applies to lists of prefectures or other place names, and is in contrast to the Japanese standard of ordering from north to south. Exceptions to this rule can be made when the geographic location or arrangement is important to the overall context of the article, such as in the article Prefectures of Japan. Articles which fall under this exception should still explain the non-alphabetic sort order used within the article.

Words ending in 絵 (e) and 画 (ga)

For words ending in 絵 (e), place a hyphen directly before the "e" in the romanized word (e.g., yamato-e, ukiyo-e). Do not use a hyphen for words ending with 画 (ga) (e.g., manga, bunjinga). Do not use a hyphen for words beginning with 絵 or 画 (e.g. emaki rather than "e-maki").

Related languages

The transliteration of related languages such as (but not limited to) Ainu and Ryukyuan should use the accepted standard transliteration for that language, if any. If there is no accepted standard transliteration for that language, and the word is generally written in katakana in Japanese, a direct katakana to rōmaji transliteration — without macrons — should be used (e.g. ドウモイ becomes "doumoi" rather than "dōmoi"). If no other accepted transliteration method exists, the Japanese transliteration as described here should be used.

Japanese terms

Give the romanization for any name or term written in kanji or kana when the Japanese pronunciation is different from the English pronunciation. Use the pattern:

English (Japanese characters rōmaji)

Then you can use the English term in the rest of the article.

For example:

At 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) tall, Mount Fuji (富士山, Fuji-san) is the highest mountain on the island of Honshū …

Do not use the <ruby> tag to further annotate the kanji, as many browsers cannot display it properly.

Template

There is a template ( Template:Nihongo) to help standardize the entries for Japanese terms.

Usage example:

{{Nihongo|New Meikai Japanese Dictionary|新明解国語辞典|Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten}}

appears as

New Meikai Japanese Dictionary (新明解国語辞典, Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten)

The first entry appears before the brackets, the second is the Japanese term in Kanji and Kana, the last is the reading in modified Hepburn romanization described here. The question mark ^? is a link to Help:Japanese.

Names

This section defines the proper way to write Japanese names on the English Wikipedia. If you are unsure of how to write a name after reading the information below, please post your question on the Talk page. Please note that in all cases, a redirect should be employed for any commonly-used romanization other than that indicated here in order to cover alternate usages. Redirects for the opposite naming orders noted below should also be employed. That is, if an article is titled "given name + family name", a redirect from "family name + given name" is required; and, vice versa.

Names of historical figures

For a historical figure (a person born before the first year of Meiji (1868)), always use the traditional Japanese order of family name + given name and family name + <space> + given name for Japanese characters. Names from Japanese mythology and folklore fall into this category. For example:

Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康, January 30, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate …

Macron usage in the name of an historical figure should adhere to the following, in order of preference:

1. Use name most commonly used in academic journals and texts;
2. Use the form found in a dictionary entry from a generally-accepted English dictionary;
3. If none of the above is available, use the macronned form.

Names of modern figures

For a modern figure (a person born from the first year of Meiji (1868) onward), always use the Western order of given name + family name for Western alphabet, and Japanese style family name+<space>+given name for Japanese characters. For example:

Junichiro Koizumi (小泉 純一郎 Koizumi Jun'ichirō, born January 8, 1942) is a Japanese politician …

Spelling, including macron usage, of the name of a modern figure should adhere to the following, in order of preference:

1. Use the official trade name if available in English/Latin alphabet;
2. Use the form found in a dictionary entry from a generally-accepted English dictionary;
3. Use the form publicly used on behalf of the person in the English-speaking world;
4. Use the form publicly used on behalf of the person in any other popular Latin-alphabet-using language (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Dutch, or variations); or
5. If none of the above is available, use the macronned form.

Pseudonyms

In the case of an actor, athlete, author, artist or other individual who is more well known under a pseudonym, use the pseudonym as the article title, and note the additional names they may use (e.g., birth name, other pseudonyms), following the standards above.

If the individual is more well known by family name + given name, a redirect for that should be used as well, and the article should note the multiple ways the name is used.

Names of emperors

For Japanese emperors prior to Emperor Hirohito, including emperors from both the northern and southern courts during the Nanboku-chō Era, use the form [[Emperor {name}]], which is a partial translation of their posthumous name. Note that the word Emperor is an integral part of the name and not merely a title, so it should be capitalized and the article the should not appear before it. It is also acceptable to refer to a Japanese emperor using only the {name} portion of their name, so long as the first appearance of the name uses the above format. Be sure to create appropriate redirects so that the version of the name without the title will bring the reader to the correct location.

For Emperor Hirohito, although he too has been posthumously named Emperor Shōwa, it is also acceptable to refer to him as Emperor Hirohito, or just Hirohito, as that is the name by which he continues to be most widely known in the West. Similarly the current emperor may be referred to as Emperor Akihito, or just Akihito. Note that it is incorrect to refer to Emperor Akihito as Emperor Heisei, as he will not be renamed Emperor Heisei until after his death.

Place names

For prefectures, use the form [[{prefecture-name} Prefecture]] without ken, fu, or to, for example, Tochigi Prefecture. As an exception, use the title Hokkaidō Prefecture (as Hokkai Prefecture sounds quite awkward.)

For cities, use the form [[{city-name}, {prefecture-name}]]; for example, Otaru, Hokkaidō.

For districts, use the form [[{district-name} District, {prefecture-name}]]; for example, Tosa District, Kōchi.

For towns and villages, use the form [[{town or village-name}, {prefecture-name}]]; for example, Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi.

For wards in cities, use the form [[{ward-name}-ku, {city-name}]]; for example, Naka-ku, Yokohama.

For the 23 special wards in Tokyo, use the form [[{ward-name}, Tokyo]]; for example, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Suffixes

Capitalize suffixes in place names. For example, Tochigi Prefecture; Kashima District, Ibaraki; Ise Province; Himeji Castle; Tokyo Station.

Temples and shrines

Use the Japanese name and insert a hyphen before bō (坊), dō (堂), in (院), ji (寺), gū (宮), sha (社), taisha (大社) and tera/dera (寺). However, write the English word "Shrine" in place of jinja (神社) and jingū (神宮). Use common name instead of formal name ( Kinkaku-ji, not Rokuon-ji; Yama-dera, not Risshaku-ji). All words are capitalized and place/personal names should be offset with a space. Use redirects liberally.

Do not add the word "Temple" into the title. Do not write English translations of names in article titles (where appropriate, they are welcome within the article, e.g. "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion"). Do not prefix -san names (山号) (e.g. do not write "Kinryūzan Sensōji"; simply write "Sensōji"), unless absolutely necessary to distinguish famous temples of the same name and provide a disambiguation page, for example, Kaikozan Hase-dera and Buzan Kagura-in Hase-dera.

Examples:

• Temples: Sensō-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjūsangen-dō, Byōdō-in
• Shrines: Nikkō Tōshō-gū, Fushimi Inari-taisha but Meiji Shrine (Meiji-jingū), Oyama Shrine (Oyama-jinja)

Train and Subway stations

• The default name is X Station.
• When necessary, disambiguate by geographical location: Y Station → Y Station (Prefecture) → Y Station (Prefecture, City).
• Stations on private lines that have the same name as other train or subway stations in the same prefecture are disambiguated as Z Station (PrivateCo). For example, there are two stations named Asakusa Station both located in Asakusa, Tokyo. One is an interchange station for 3 different train companies and one is a smaller station for the Tsukuba Express. As a default, the major station would be Asakusa Station, while the Tsukuba Express station is Asakusa Station (Tsukuba Express).

Names of companies, products, and organizations

Honor the current spelling used officially by that party (i.e., Kodansha rather than Kōdansha, Doshisha University rather than Dōshisha University). If the entity no longer exists, use the most commonly used format. If this can not be determined, use the Hepburn romanization as defined here.

Names in titles

If the name in question is a title (i.e., of a book, an award, etc.), the name order within the title itself should not be changed. For example, the Ina Nobuo Award should not be changed to Nobuo Ina Award even though Nobuo Ina is a modern figure as defined above. However, a redirect pointing at Ina Nobuo Award should be put in place for Nobuo Ina Award in order to avoid any possible confusion.

Using Japanese characters on the English Wikipedia

Since the conversion of the English Wikipedia to the use of the UTF-8 character encoding, most characters used around the world can be directly used in Wikipedia articles. Since these characters are supported by the UTF-8 standard they are no longer converted to character references, with the exception of a few characters reserved for usage in HTML, such as the ampersand.

Fonts for Japanese come as standard for most modern commercial operating systems (such as Windows XP and Mac OS X). Please be aware, however, that some users may not have installed (or may have disabled) the Japanese fonts needed to display kanji and kana.

See also

• Appendix:Japanese film credit terms
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Martial Arts