Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 49:97–120, 2011

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0163-9374 print / 1544-4554 online
DOI: 10.1080/01639374.2011.536751

Modified Hepburn Romanization System

in Japanese Language Cataloging:
Where to Look, What to Follow

YOKO KUDO
University Libraries, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

The ALA-LC Romanization Table for Japanese instructs catalogers

to consult multiple editions of Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English
Dictionary and the American National Standard system concern-
ing the Modified Hepburn romanization system. These resources
and editions, however, not only vary in scope, but also present
some conflicting policies, which may be hindering the operation of
romanization. This study addresses the issues of Japanese roman-
ization guidelines by clarifying what the Modified Hepburn system
is, and analyzing the discrepancies among the guidelines. Selected
romanization data in OCLC WorldCat records are also examined
to see how this problem has affected the current practices.

KEYWORDS Japanese romanization, Japanese transliteration,

Modified Hepburn system, ALA-LC Romanization Tables, OCLC
WorldCat

The bulk of the Japanese section of the ALA-LC Romanization Tables1 is

made up of rules related to word division. Regarding how to replace Japanese
letters with the roman alphabet, it only provides the following paragraph:

The modified Hepburn system of romanization as employed in

Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary (3rd and later editions)
is used. For the syllabic nasal, n is always used preceding b, m, and
p. Romanization for words of foreign (i.e., non-Japanese) origin follows

Received July 2010; revised October 2010; accepted October 2010.

This article was prepared while the author was affiliated with Texas A&M Univer-
sity Libraries. She is now affiliated with the University of California Riverside Libraries.
Address correspondence to Yoko Kudo, University of California Riverside Libraries, P. O.
Box 5900, Riverside, CA 92517-5900, USA. E-mail: yokokudo@ucr.edu

97
98 Y. Kudo

the American National Standard system for the romanization of Japanese;

e.g., dddd (Betonamu); ddddd (Vetonamu).2

This directs catalogers to external resources, and the table per se does not
provide any specific rules. Having to turn to more than one source is un-
doubtedly cumbersome for catalogers, even though no conclusive proof was
found in the author’s previous study that this inconvenience is the greatest
hurdle in maintaining consistent romanization practices.3
While researching the previous study, the author experienced difficulty
in identifying the appropriate romanization rules, because of the differences
in scope, as well as some conflicts among the designated sources and edi-
tions. Kenkyusha’s statement about the use of what they call their own ro-
manization methods for certain syllables also added to the confusion. With
only the limited information from the paragraph cited above, it was not at all
clear whether those methods also fall within the realm of the Modified Hep-
burn system employed by the ALA-LC Romanization Tables. The research
questions for this study originate in this frustrating experience: Why is it that
catalogers cannot simply use the “Modified Hepburn system” itself? Do other
Japanese language catalogers have access to all the resources and editions,
and share the uniform understanding of romanization rules? What should,
and could be improved to help make the guidelines more straightforward?
This study is an attempt to bring to light and untangle the problems
of Japanese romanization guidelines set forth in the ALA-LC Romanization
Tables, Romanization System section.4 To this end, the study particularly
attempts to:

1. Refresh the knowledge of catalogers about the Modified Hepburn system,

a romanization scheme adopted by the ALA-LC Romanization Tables;
2. Compare the sets of guidelines from the designated sources, identify dif-
ferences among them, and analyze the effect those differences may have;
3. Examine selected romanized data in OCLC WorldCat records to see how
discrepancies in guidelines are actually affecting the current romanization
practices; and based on the findings in 2 and 3,
4. Discuss possible improvements to the ALA-LC Romanization Tables and
offer other suggestions.

Increasing availability and popularity of original script-based access to re-

sources in non-roman script languages have prompted various studies on
the utility of romanization (e.g., Arsenault5,6 and Agenbroad7). In the recent
online discussion of the Non-English Access Working Group on Romaniza-
tion of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS),
important values of romanization in bibliographic records were emphasized
in the midst of criticisms against its effectiveness.8 It was pointed out that one
of the values of Japanese romanization is to relieve catalog users of inputting
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 99

and finding the correct reading of complex kanji characters.9 Because of such
advantages of providing romanization and other various reasons, the final
report of the Working Group recommends the continued use of romanized
fields while preparations are made for the smooth shift to simpler multiscript
records.10 During this transitional time, it is hoped that this study will help
Japanese language catalogers, especially beginning catalogers who are still
familiarizing themselves with romanization rules, to reduce the burden of
romanization, and to optimize its great value.

HISTORY OF THE MODIFIED HEPBURN SYSTEM

The Hepburn system, or Hebon-shiki dddd in Japanese, of Japanese

romanization has gone through several changes and additions over time.
It originates in James Curtis Hepburn’s Wa-Ei gorin shūsei dddddd
(A Japanese and English Dictionary with an English and Japanese Index)
published in 1867.11 By incorporating a considerable number of changes
recommended by Rōmajikai dddd (Society for Roman Letters),12 a group
of advocates of romanization, a revised version of the system was developed
in 1886 in Wa-Ei Ei-Wa gorin shūsei dddddddd (A Japanese-English
and English-Japanese Dictionary), which corresponds to the third edition of
Wa-Ei gorin shūsei.13 The system was later adopted by Rōmaji Hiromekai
dddddddd (Japanese Society for the Propagation of Rōmaji),14 a
successor organization to Rōmajikai, and was further developed with some
modifications to its official system named Dai Nihon hyōjunshiki ddd
ddd (Japan standard system)15 or simply Hyōjunshiki ddd (Standard
system).16
Among the various studies related to Japanese romanization, only a
handful have dealt with the complete history of the Hepburn system. While
some provided a detailed narrative (e.g., Hirai17 and Matsumura18), others
only briefly touched on its origin (e.g., Umesao19 and Kida20). Surprisingly,
most of the literature has not clearly defined what is, or should be called
the “Modified” Hepburn system, or Shūsei Hebon-shiki dddddd. Mat-
sumura states that the beginning of the Modified version of the Hepburn
system was Rōmajikai’s adaptation in 1885.21 Other studies, however, in-
cluding Meiji Gakuin University’s “Wa-Ei gorin shūsei” Digital Archives Web
site,22 which has traced Hepburn’s efforts and achievements in developing a
romanization scheme, do not even use the term “Modified Hepburn.” Accord-
ing to Kaizu, two different views are commonly known in Japan other than
that of Matsumura. In one view, Modified Hepburn system is the Hyōjunshiki
romanization adopted by Rōmaji Hiromekai in 1908, while the other refers
to the version published in the third edition of Hepburn’s dictionary.23
100 Y. Kudo

It seems that there are no official documents published in the past

under the name of Hepburn, or Modified Hepburn system.24 None of the
three publications that were accessible by the author, which were, Rōmaji
ni te Nihongo no kakikata dddddddddddd (How to romanize
Japanese) by Rōmajikai, and Rōmaji tebiki ddddddd (Romanization
manual) (sixth edition) and Rōmajibun no tehodoki ddddddddd
d (Introduction to romanization) by Rōmaji Hiromekai, refer to the name
Hepburn system, let alone use it in their titles.25 Interestingly, despite being
issued by the same organization, Rōmajibun no tehodoki published in 1974
and Rōmaji tebiki’s sixth edition in 1916 differ considerably from each other
both in scope and appearance. The marked differences include the use of
modern kana (Japanese syllabary) orthography instead of historical spelling,
and the addition of letters that were designed to be used for foreign words
(e.g., dd, she; dd, che; dd, tse).26
Based on the above observations, the Hepburn system can be reason-
ably considered more as a set of principles, something that serves as the
bedrock of a specific romanization method, rather than as a fixed set of
rules. It also follows that the system needs to be, and is, flexible enough to
adjust to the ever increasing vocabulary and changing usage in the Japanese
language. Kakuchō Hebon-shiki dddddd (Extended Hepburn system)
proposed by Kaminishi is a recent example of Hepburn-based romanization
methods.27 Meanwhile, the name Modified Hepburn is likely a popular name
that is broadly used to point to any version developed from the first edition
of Hepburn’s dictionary. The idea of the Hepburn system as underlying prin-
ciples explains not only why ALA-LC Romanization Tables instruct catalogers
to consult external sources, but also why phased changes or conflicts often
occur among different sources.

SOURCES OF THE MODIFIED HEPBURN SYSTEM

Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary
Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary (Kenkyusha shin Wa-Ei dai-
jiten ddddddddd) was first introduced in 1959 to “Far Eastern
Languages: Manual of Romanization, Capitalization, Punctuation, and Word
Division for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean” in Cataloging Rules of the Amer-
ican Library Association and the Library of Congress. Additions and Changes,
1949–1958.28 Later in 1983 when the Library of Congress (LC) issued the ro-
manization table for Japanese in Cataloging Service Bulletin (CSB),29 the third
and later editions of the dictionary replaced the old 1931 (second) edition.30
According to Matsumura, there was a concern at the time about the de-
cision to adopt the Kenkyusha’s dictionary as the U.S. standard, since there
could be possible confusion caused by its edition-by-edition modifications.31
However, Dr. Samuel E. Martin’s statement also quoted by Matsumura
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 101

indicates clearly that Kenkyusha’s widely acknowledged authority in

the United States became a decisive factor in resolving the concern.32
Kenkyusha’s authority was based on the concrete reason that its dictio-
nary had phenomenal sales. As seen in Hashiba’s estimates, the first edition
of the dictionary, also known as Takenobu’s Japanese-English Dictionary
(Takenobu Wa-Ei daijiten ddddddd) (1918),33 was reprinted 26 times
in 260 days between 1918 and 1919. Assuming one thousand copies were
printed at a time, the dictionary sold about one hundred copies per day in
Japan. The second edition (1931) was reprinted one hundred times in eleven
years, which means more than nine times a year.34 This is an astonishing
figure given the country’s limited level of English proficiency at that time.35
Winning national acclaim as one of the greatest Japanese–English dictionaries
in the early twentieth century, Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary
was not only exported to the United States, but was also printed by Harvard
University Press in response to the increasing interest in and need for the
Japanese language during World War II.36
At the time the CSB’s romanization table for Japanese was published
in 1983, the phrase “Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary (3rd and
later editions)” referred to only two editions, namely, the third (1954) and
fourth (1974).37 As of March 2010, however, this open-ended phrase also
includes the fifth edition published in 2003.38 Each edition provides a ro-
manization chart in its compilation principles section, which presents basic
kana letters and their equivalents in roman letters. They are accompanied
by brief guidelines on other distinctive syllables, that is, long vowels (chōon
dd), the syllabic nasal (hatsuon dd), and glottal stop (sokuon dd). In
the third and fourth editions, entry words are romanized according to this
chart and guidelines, and are listed in alphabetical order. The fifth edition,
on the other hand, has been redesigned to enter words in Japanese script
and arrange them in the order of the Japanese syllabary (gojūon ddd).
As a result, in this edition, romanization is only used for Japanese words
appearing in English example sentences. Additionally, the third and fourth
editions provide a statement explaining that these editions use their original
rules to romanize several types of syllables including those of foreign origin,
the syllabic nasal, and glottal stop.39 The fourth edition also elaborates on
the types of foreign syllables that are affected by those original rules.40

American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese

American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese (ANSI
Z39.11-1972) was approved in 1971, and published in 1972 by the Ameri-
can National Standards Institute (ANSI).41 ANSI Z39.11-1972 was introduced
to the CSB’s romanization table in 1983 along with the third and later
editions of Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, but then was
102 Y. Kudo

administratively withdrawn by NISO in 1994 and has not been replaced.42 It

is a little confusing that the ALA-LC Romanization Tables rests on a standard
that is no longer accredited as the national standard.
The main components of ANSI Z39.11-1972 are general rules of applica-
tion and four tables: Table 1, Simple Signs; Table 2, Diagraphs Representing
Palatalized Syllables; Table 3, Hiragana Diagraphs and Trigraphs Contain-
ing Long Vowels; Table 4, Modified Katakana Used Only in Representing
Non-Japanese Words.43 Tables 3 and 4 are accompanied by notes on how to
apply those tables in various situations when there may be some confusion.
The syllabic nasal and glottal stop are covered in general rules of applica-
tion. The instruction in the ALA-LC Romanization Tables to follow this ANSI
standard for romanization of words of foreign origin apparently refers to the
use of Table 4.44

ANALYSIS
Basic Letter-by-Letter Romanization
This section clarifies the differences between the romanization charts pro-
vided by the editions of Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary45 and
Tables 1, 2, and 4 of ANSI Z39.11-1972, in terms of the range of letters and
corresponding roman letter values. Rōmajibun no tehodoki was also exam-
ined to compare how differently Kenkyusha’s editions and the ANSI standard
employed the Modified Hepburn system from the Hyōjunshiki romanization.
See the Appendix for the complete comparison of the five different sources.
While the range of letters varies, assigned roman letter values are consis-
tent from source to source. In fact, some discrepancies exist in Kenkyusha’s
earlier second edition (1931) regarding roman letter assignment.46 For exam-
ple, the second edition uses the value chi for both d and dd, whereas
the later editions clearly distinguish those two. This discrepancy apparently
comes from insufficient recognition of foreign sounds at the time of the
second edition’s publication, and possibly is one of the reasons why the
current version of ALA-LC Romanization Tables excludes this edition. A
small increase in the range of letters can be observed between Kenkyusha’s
third and fourth edition. The range of ANSI Z39.11-1972 is broader than
Kenkyusha’s editions. In addition to all letters provided in Kenkyusha’s edi-
tions, the standard covers dd ja, dd ju, dd jo, and d o in Table 1
and 2, and a number of other letters in Table 4. To put it another way, it is
practically acceptable to consult solely the ANSI standard, as far as the basic
syllable romanization is concerned.
To romanize letters not listed in the chart, ANSI Z39.11-1972 instructs
users to follow the “analogy with those listed, otherwise sign-by-sign accord-
ing to the values in Table 1.”47 No mention is made in Kenkyusha’s editions
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 103

of letters beyond the scope, but it stands to reason that Kenkyusha’s ro-
manization chart is focused on providing information necessary to romanize
words in the dictionary. The increasing range of letters from one edition
to the next indicates the growing and changing variety of entry words and
words that are used in example sentences. Rōmajibun no tehodoki lays out
extra letters for future use in foreign words, some of which are not even
listed in Table 4 of ANSI Z39.11-1972.48

Long Vowels, Syllabic Nasal, Glottal Stop

This section addresses long vowels, the syllabic nasal, and glottal stop cov-
ered by the notes in Kenkyusha’s romanization charts, and various sections
of ANSI Z39.11-1972. The following Table 1 is a list of guidelines or trans-
lation of those that are provided by the different sources. Rōmajibun no
tehodoki was again used for comparison, and some elements were also
taken from Rōmaji tebiki, sixth edition to supplement the parts that are left
out by Rōmajibun no tehodoki. Within each type of syllable, similar top-
ics and issues are arranged in the same row. Kenkyusha’s third and fourth
editions share a column since their guidelines are identical except for some
example words. It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive, and the
text is summarized or trimmed to meet its illustrative purpose.

LONG VOWELS
Japanese long vowels have several variations other than the most common
type represented by a vowel d u. As shown in Table 2, while the ANSI
standard and Rōmajibun no tehodoki provide instructions on how to deal
with those variations, the notes in Kenkyusha’s editions touch only on one
of those that ends with d i in the third and fourth editions.49 No mention
is made of long vowel variations in the fifth edition. It is highly possible
that these minimum guidelines available in Kenkyusha’s editions divide cat-
alogers’ judgment on how to go about words with a long vowel other than
the common d u type, such as ddd (d, d in kanji characters) (fire;
flame), and dd (an exclamation) where the long vowels are expressed by
repeating or adding a vowel inherent to the preceding syllable. Some cata-
logers would carefully look up the entry words to see if they are romanized
differently, but others might simply use a macron (-) in the same way as
the d u type without paying much attention to the difference in Japanese
spelling. There may also be catalogers who turn to ANSI Z39.11-1972 for
more information, even though the ALA-LC Romanization Tables instructs
that it should be applied only to foreign words.
104
TABLE 1 Romanization Guidelines for Distinctive Syllables

Rōmajibun no tehodoki/
Kenkyusha 3rd/4th eds.a Kenkyusha 5th ed.b ANSI Z39.11-1972c Rōmaji tebikid

Long Expressed with a macron Expressed with a macron
vowels placed over the vowel.
dd, dd, dd etc. are Three names of
romanized as keiken,
seikaku, eigo (use ei
instead of marking with a
macron).
Long vowels are marked with a ˆ(circumflex), ¯(macron)
placed over the vowel. macron; the macron is placed over
the second vowel in those syllables
containing two vowels.
The vowel i when lengthened by dd may be romanized as a
jurisdictions, Tokyo, kana d is romanized ii. long vowel, but ei is
Kyoto, Osaka were not preferred as in tokei,
marked with a macron. seishin.(from Rōmaji tebiki)
Long vowels expressed by repeating ddd nīsan (niisan) Double
the sign for a pure vowel or by i for dddd (osoroshii)
adding it to a syllabic sign in which (from Rōmaji tebiki)
that vowel is inherent are
romanized by marking the vowel in
question with a macron; dd ā; d
dd honō; dddd nēsan
Long vowels expressed in katakana A lengthening bar with
by the addition of a lengthening bar katakana is treated as a
are romanized by marking the long vowel (ā!, hē!) (from
vowel in question with a macron. Rōmaji tebiki)
The ending u following another vowel dd maruu (from Rōmaji
in the basic form of the verb is tebiki)
always treated as morphemic;
omou, tou. Exception is made in the
case of the verb sōrō (not sōrou).
 Syllabic Always romanized as n; do Romanized as n, except Preceding b, m, or p internally, Use m or n before m, b, p; d
nasal d not use m with b, m, p for some words syllabic- final n is romanized n dd amma(anma); ddd
(dd shinbun, dd including tempura. rather than m; hanbai (not emma(enma); ddd
shinmai, ddd ranpu) hambai). tombo(tonbo).
When preceding a vowel or When preceding a vowel Syllabic-final n, when preceding a N’ n’ (preceding a vowel or y)
y, use (‘) to distinguish or y, use (‘) to vowel or y in the same word, : dd ren’ai, dd kon’ya,
syllables. distinguish syllables. followed by an apostrophe. dd kin’yo.
Glottal stop Expressed by doubling the Expressed by doubling Preceding a sign with an inherent dd kokki, dd issai, dd
d consonant. For the the consonant: ppa d consonant the subscript sign for tsu itto, dd itcho, ddd
d(chi) syllable, add t d, kka dd, sshi dd, (d or d) is romanized by doubling gottsosan
before ch; dd hatchaku, ccha ddd, etc. the consonant in question; sh, ch,
dd mitchaku and ts become ssh, tch, tts
respectively
dd A’ a’; dd I’ i’; dd U’
u’; dddd pika’ to; d
ddd piri’ to; ddd gu’
to; ddd che’; (but ddd
kitto; dddd mottomo)
Source: aSenkichiro Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1954), xvi; Koh Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New
Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1974), xiii (translated by author).
bToshirō Watanabe, Edmund R. Skrzypczak, and Paul Snowden eds., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 2003), [xiv] (translated

by author).
cAmerican National Standards Institute, American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese Z39.11-1972 (New York: ANSI, 1972), 5, 6, 9. Adapted

with permission from the copyright holder, (c)1972 American National Standards Institute, Inc.
dKageyasu Amano, ed., Rōmaji Hiromekai nintei Rōmajibun no tehodoki: hyōjunshiki Rōmajigaki Nihongo no kakikata (Tōkyō: Hyōjun Rōmajikai, 1974), 4, 5; Katsuji

Fujioka, Rōmaji tebiki, 6th ed. (Tōkyō: Rōmaji Hiromekai, 1916), 5, 7 (translated by author).

105
106 Y. Kudo

As implied by Rōmajibun no tehodoki offering two options, nīsan or

niisan, for the word dddd (older brother),50 the sources are not in
agreement on the treatment of such long vowels that are expressed by
adding a vowel inherent to the preceding syllable. For example, ddd
(fire; flame) is romanized as honō with a macron by the ANSI standard.51
The word is also entered as honō in Kenkyusha’s third edition, but in the
fourth edition, it appears as honoo, doubling the vowel o instead of using a
macron.52 Both the ANSI standard and Kenkyusha’s editions romanize dd
(an exclamation) as ā by using a macron,53 but the ALA-LC Romanization
Tables use aa for this word in an example for the word division rules.54
As discussed later, this inconsistency may have a significant effect on actual
romanization practices.
The fifth edition states that no macron is used for the long vowels of the
three names of jurisdictions, dd (Tokyo), dd (Osaka), dd (Kyoto) as
an exceptional case.55 This is apparently derived from Kenkyusha’s policy to
spell anglicized Japanese words as they are well known in English.56 It can
be safely assumed that the treatment for these words is not strictly part of the
rules that are used by Kenkyusha to romanize Japanese script. According to
Kenkyusha’s other editions and the ANSI standard, these words should be
romanized as Tōkyō, Ōsaka, Kyōto respectively.

SYLLABIC NASAL
Japanese syllabic nasal d is represented as n. It is an independent syllable
on its own, which is why the ANSI standard includes d in Table 1 as one of
the basic syllables.57 While the ALA-LC Romanization Tables clearly advise
always using n for the syllabic nasal placed before a consonant b, m and
p,58 Kenkyusha’s fifth edition uses m instead of n for selected words as seen
in tempura (Japanese deep-fried dish).59 This exception undoubtedly comes
from its policy for the spelling of anglicized words, and is not considered to
be part of the rules for romanization.
The syllabic nasal preceding a consonant b, m and p was originally ro-
manized as m in Modified Hepburn system, which is retained in Rōmajibun
no tehodoki offering two options of n and m.60 According to the ANSI stan-
dard, consistent use of n irrespective of the following letter was first intro-
duced in Kenkyusha’s third edition.61 This explains why this edition claims
that it uses its original rule for the syllabic nasal.

GLOTTAL STOP
Japanese glottal stop d (lower-case or subscript d) is normally romanized
by doubling the following consonant, which is consistently stated in all the
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 107

sources. However, a question arises in two situations: when the glottal stop
precedes ch, and when it comes at the end of the word, mainly interjections
such as dd and dd. As to the first situation, only Kenkyusha’s fifth edition
doubles the consonant c (e.g., ddd ccha) as opposed to adding t before
c.62 It is unclear whether this is another exception based on the spelling of
anglicized Japanese words. This discrepancy between Kenkyusha’s editions
might confuse catalogers. The second situation is addressed in the third and
fourth editions, but it is done in a way that is different from Rōmajibun
no tehodoki. The former marks the sound with a breve (˘), whereas the
latter uses an apostrophe (’).63 According to Kaizu, no official romanization
schemes, which include the Modified Hepburn, provide guiding principles
in romanizing the glottal stop used at the end of the word.64 That is to say,
there is considerable freedom about how to romanize it, and that is the
reason why the sources are not consistent in this respect.

Foreign Syllables
Kenkyusha’s fourth edition states as follows:

“Aluminum” [dddddd], “calcium” [ddddd], etc. are entered

as aruminyūmu, karushūmu, etc., and “Greece” [dddd] as Girisha.
Waitress, vodka, etc. are romanized as uētoresu, uokka, etc. The letter w
is not used to romanize such words.65

This approach to romanizing foreign words is characterized by its empha-

sis on how those words are normally pronounced instead of how they are
spelled in the Japanese kana letters. It deviates from letter-by-letter roman-
ization, where the word dddddd (aluminum) would be represented as
aruminiumu, with d converted into a, d into ru, d into mi, d into ni,
d into u, and d into mu. dddd (Greece) would be romanized letter by
letter as Girishia instead of Girisha. Two questions might be raised on this
unique policy by Kenkyusha: (1) Are other words that contain the syllables
dd (u +mu) or dd (shi +a) also romanized in the same way? If so, what
are those words? (2) Does this comply with the Modified Hepburn system?
During the author’s previous study, the word dddddd (sympo-
sium) romanized into shinpojūmu was nearly judged as incorrect until it was
found with the help of an experienced cataloger that the word is actually
entered as shinpojūmu in the fourth edition, thus had to be romanized in
this way. It follows from this that other words are also romanized using the
analogy of aruminyūmu or Girisha. To find out specifically what words are
covered by the dictionary, entry words should be consulted point by point.
The author’s misjudgment on romanization of dddddd (sympo-
sium) is based on the assumption that romanization has to be performed
108 Y. Kudo

letter-by-letter. Romanization charts could convey the impression that ro-

manization is the replacement of one letter with another, laying out the
letters and roman values side by side. In fact, however, this is not always the
case. The ANSI standard notes as follows:

The limitation of the tables to kana signs and their romanized equivalents
should not be taken to imply that the operation of romanizing Japanese
with accuracy requires that a text be fully rendered into kana.66

A good illustration of this is dddddd (community), which is normally

written using lowercase letters d and d. ANSI Z39.11-1972 instructs users
to romanize this word as komyuniti according to its standard reading, irre-
spective of the size of the letters d and d.67 Another example can be found
in Rōmajibun no tehodoki, where ddddd (thank you for the delicious
meal) is romanized as gottsōsan based on its popular reading instead of
gochisōsan that represents each kana letter more accurately.68
The reason why this complication occurs might be found in the follow-
ing analysis by Arsenault:

When romanizing nonphonological writing systems such as languages

that do not use alphabets or syllabaries—Chinese for example—the oper-
ation is slightly more complex since no direct graphemic correspondence
can be established between the target and the host script. Technically
speaking, transliteration (script to script conversion) between the Chi-
nese and roman scripts is impossible; only transcription (sound to script
conversion) is feasible.69

Even though the Japanese language uses syllabaries, sound to script conver-
sion needs to be applied to situations where scripts do not accurately reflect
actual pronunciation. Foreign words are typically open to this situation be-
cause no solid standards are yet officially established on how to spell foreign
syllables in kana letters.70 This theory underlies the approach of Kenkyusha’s
fourth edition, and is also implemented in the ANSI standard as seen earlier,
which provides good evidence to consider this to be one of the appropriate
ways to interpret and extend the Modified Hepburn system.
Girisha (Greece) and uokka (vodka) are also indexed in the third edi-
tion. Interestingly, however, these words are transliterated back into Japanese
kana forms that are different from those used in the fourth edition: Girisha
(Greece) is transliterated back into dddd instead of dddd, and uokka
(vodka) is back into dddd instead of dddd.71 In other words, these
two words are expressed in more than one way in Japanese kana, but are
romanized in only one way, which is a notable example of sound to script
conversion.
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 109

ROMANIZATION PRACTICE

As suggested by the analysis of the guidelines from different sources, it is

quite challenging for catalogers to locate and determine what romanization
rules to follow, especially concerning the three distinctive syllables (long
vowels, the syllabic nasal, glottal stop) and syllables of foreign origin. This
section examines the possible influence on actual romanization practices cre-
ated by this confusing situation of varied guidelines. For the limited purpose
of quickly obtaining an idea of the current practices, the following simple
criteria were applied: Title keyword search was conducted in the OCLC
Connexion client using twelve keywords that contain one of the aforemen-
tioned distinctive syllables. Ten words were collected from the guidelines
in Kenkyusha’s editions and the ANSI standard, which are, ddd (d; d)
(fire; flame), dd (an exclamation), ddd (ddd) (want), dddd (d)
(serve), dddd (ddd; ddd; ddd) (Japanese deep fried dish), dd
ddd (dd) (close contact; adhesive), dd (an exclamation), ddddd
d (aluminum), dddd (Greece), dddd (vodka). Two words, dddd
d (dd) (Japan-China), and dddddd (symposium) were additionally
chosen on a random basis from words that have been frequently used in
Japanese language titles. To retrieve a manageable number of records, the
search was limited to monograph titles published between 2000 and 2008.
Only the keywords that appeared in the title proper of master bibliographic
records were examined. Selected words and the search results are shown
in Table 2. Where the discrepancies were significant, the number of records
created by Japanese institutions and vendors are stated separately. The ro-
manization practice of those records does not always conform to North
American standards, which may have been a factor causing the discrepancy.

Long Vowels
Possibly reflecting the conflict among the guidelines that was mentioned
earlier, romanization of ddd (d; d) (fire; flame) and dd (an exclama-
tion) was divided into two different forms. While the words were romanized
using a macron (-) in majority of the examined titles, ddd (fire; flame)
in twenty-five titles, and dd (an exclamation) in thirty-seven titles were
represented as if they had two vowels instead of one long vowel (honoo;
aa). Given that the forms with a macron were mostly found in the records
of Japanese origin, there is a probability that this inconsistency comes from
practices in Japan. All 204 instances of the verb ddd (ddd) (want) were
romanized as hoshii. Even though the vowel i lengthened by d i is not ex-
plicitly covered in Kenkyusha’s guidelines, the word is indexed as hoshii
in the third and fourth editions,72 which agrees with the ANSI standard as
well as ALA-LC Romanization Tables that use ddd tanoshii (fun) as an
110
TABLE 2 Romanization of Selected Words in OCLC WorldCat Records

No. of
Type of retrieved No. of No. of Date of
syllables Words records Romanization records Romanization records search

Long vowels ddd (ddd) 184 honō 159 (158) honoo 25 (1) 11/09
dda 124 ā 87 (78) aa 37 (10) 12/09
ddd (ddd) 204 hoshii 204 — — 11/09
dddd (d) 60 sōrō 59 saurau 1 11/09
Syllabic nasal d dddd (ddddddd) 3 tenpura 3 — — 12/09
Glottal stop d ddddd (dd) 34 mitchaku 34 — — 11/09
ddddd (dd) 467 Nitchū 466 Nicchū 1 11/09
ddb 66c a 61 (38) a’ 4 (4) 11/09
Foreign syllables dddddd 34 aruminiumu 26 (26) aruminyūmu 8 (0) 11/09
dddddd 428d shinpojiumu 244 (218) shinpojūmu 179 (3) 12/09
dddd 1 uokka 1 — 0 02/10
dddd 179 Girishia 177 Girisha 2 02/10
Parentheses indicate the number of records of Japanese origin.
aThis includes sequences of more than two d such as ddd. bThis excludes dd followed by a particle d to. cThe number includes one instance romanized as

atsu. dThe number includes five instances romanized as shinpojium and sinpoziumu.
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 111

example.73 It seems that guidance is sufficiently provided on romanizing this

word. The ANSI standard calls attention to the word dddd (d) (serve)
as an exception to verbs ending with the letter d u.74 While d at the end of
verbs is normally romanized as an independent syllable u, ANSI instructs to
treat the one used in dddd (serve) as part of a long vowel. Kenkyusha’s
editions neither index nor provide instruction on this particular word, but
in all instances except one of dddd (serve) were consistently romanized
as sōrō. This result shows a possibility that catalogers might also consult the
ANSI standard to romanize long vowels.

Syllabic Nasal
dddd (ddd; ddd; ddd) (Japanese deep fried dish) is spelled as
tempura in Kenkyusha’s fifth edition, using m in place of the syllabic nasal
d. Only three records included this word in their titles, all of which were
romanized as tenpura with n instead of m as instructed in the other sources.
Clearing the search limit for the date brought thirteen more records, and only
one of them reflected the fifth edition’s practice of using m.
Five hundred and one titles were examined in total for the words dd
ddd (dd) (close contact; adhesive) and ddddd (dd) (Japan-
China). One instance of ddddd (Japan-China) was romanized as Nicchū
as seen in Kenkyusha’s fifth edition, but the rest of the titles represented
the two words using the tch for d (mitchaku; Nitchū), as instructed in
the other sources. ddddd Nitchū (Japan-China) is used in the ALA-
LC Romanization Tables as an example for the word division rules.75 This
might be why current practices have not been affected by the fifth edition.
Romanization of dd (an exclamation) showed some interesting results.
In a great proportion of sixty-six titles, the word was represented by the
letter a alone without any diacritics, which follows neither Kenkyusha’s
approach with a breve symbol (ˇ) nor that of Rōmajibun no tehodoki with
an apostrophe (’). Apparently the reason why the breve and apostrophe are
not used is that those diacritics are not covered by the ALA-LC Romanization
Tables. Four instances using an apostrophe were all found in records loaded
from Japanese institutions.

Foreign Syllables
dddd (vodka) appeared in only one title, which was romanized as uokka,
according to Kenkyusha’s fourth edition rather than the ANSI’s Table 4 that
assigns wo to dd. Significant inconsistency was observed in the syllables d
d (u+mu) following the vowel i. In twenty-six out of thirty-four titles, dd
dddd (aluminum) was romanized letter by letter as aruminiumu instead
of aruminyūmu. Similarly, dddddd (symposium) was romanized as
112 Y. Kudo

FIGURE 1 Romanization of dddddd.

shinpojiumu instead of shinpojūmu, in more than half of the examined titles.

While this letter by letter romanization was mostly found in records from
Japan, it was also observed in twenty-six records created by North American
institutions, which is worthy of attention. Figure 1 is an excerpt from one of
those twenty-six records. In this record, the main entry in MARC field 111 has
the established form, shinpojūmu, whereas the title proper in the 245 field
shows the other form, shinpojiumu. It is possible that catalogers are not on
the same page in terms of romanizing these foreign syllables. As to the word
dddd (Greece), the letter-by-letter romanization is even more dominant.
In an overwhelming 177 out of 179 records, the word was represented as
Girishia, not as Girisha that was used in Kenkyusha’s editions.

DISCUSSION

Even though the problems found in the selected OCLC WorldCat records
cannot be solely attributed to the divergent guidelines, it is obvious that
the current romanization practices are influenced to a considerable degree
by insufficient direction. The results reveal that, despite the instruction in
the ALA-LC Romanization Tables, not all Kenkyusha’s methods were always
followed or even took precedence over other guidelines. The glottal stop at
the end of the word dd (an exclamation) was not marked by a breve dia-
critic (ˇ) as described in the third and fourth editions, but was left unmarked
in most records. Some records showed dd (an exclamation) romanized
according to an example in the ALA-LC Romanization Tables, rather than
Kenkyusha’s use of macron (-). A substantial proportion of foreign words
did not comply with the fourth edition’s features on sound-to-script basis.
When there are conflicts among Kenkyusha’s editions, there was a tendency
to opt for the third and fourth editions over the fifth edition, as observed in
words such as ddddd (Japan-China), which was romanized as Nitchū
as opposed to Nicchū.
To avoid this confusion in the future, it would be necessary to specify
which part of Kenkyusha’s guidelines and features, including charts, notes,
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 113

and all other statements related to romanization, are and should be employed
by the ALA-LC Romanization Tables. Catalogers should be alerted to rules
that are less apparent, such as those that are available in only one of the edi-
tions. The current statement, “The modified Hepburn system of romanization
as employed in Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary (3rd and later
editions) is used” should be reexamined, especially in terms of whether “later
editions” include the fifth edition that was not available at the time when the
romanization table was originally issued. If the fifth edition’s unique treat-
ments seemingly prepared for anglicized Japanese words are not considered
for the romanization tables, it might be appropriate to exclude this edition
from the designated sources. With the romanization chart being identical to
that of the fourth edition, as well as the Japanese kana entry words be-
ing of no use for romanization purposes, there seems to be no significant
benefit to continuing to refer to the fifth edition in particular. Reducing the
number of relevant sources would make the guidelines more accessible, and
save the time catalogers need for searching them. According to Kenkyusha,
Japanese kana entry was introduced in the fifth edition in order to increase
convenience for native Japanese speakers, who are the primary target market
for the dictionary. This radical revision was also encouraged by the recent
trend toward kana-based indexing among major Japanese-English dictionar-
ies published in Japan.76 In light of this, the chance of switching back to the
romanized form of entry in future editions seems to be quite low.
It would also be important to resolve discrepancies between the
Kenkyusha’s editions and other sources. Romanization examples in the ALA-
LC Romanization Tables should be adjusted or replaced if they conflict with
adopted Kenkyusha’s guidelines. Additionally, it would be helpful to clarify
which part of ANSI Z39.11-1972 other than Table 4 could be consulted for
foreign syllables.
Meanwhile, attention should be paid to the pitfalls of relying on
Kenkyusha’s romanization guidelines that are intended for other purposes.
Unlike the ANSI standard that was developed for general use, Kenkyusha’s
guidelines are provided to serve users of specific editions of the specific
dictionary, resulting in the narrower scope than the ANSI standard, and the
differences between editions. The guidelines are perceived as inconsistent
or insufficient, not because they are, but because they are diverted for ro-
manization of bibliographic information, which not only involves different
features of the Japanese language, but also has different uses from entry
words of the dictionary.
That being said, with today’s growing support for simple multiscript
records, possibly resulting in the finite future of romanized data, it might
not be realistic to launch an extensive project on tailoring the guidelines.
Rather, what would be reasonable and economical is to make the most
of opportunities such as conference meetings and mailing lists to discuss
the problems, and share solutions for them one by one. If there are any
114 Y. Kudo

undocumented practices on particular issues, such as which romanization

form to use from multiple alternatives, or which Kenkyusha’s edition should
be given priority, they should be made more visible so that all concerned
communities can share solutions enabling further improvements.

CONCLUSION

This study addresses the issues of Japanese romanization guidelines regard-

ing the Modified Hepburn system. Although the results of the analysis ended
up proving the current Japanese romanization process is cumbersome and
inconsistent, which has often been grounds for questioning its benefits, the
results of the study by no means call for immediate discontinuation of roman-
ized fields in bibliographic records. It is hoped instead that the findings of
the study will emphasize the importance of cataloger-friendly romanization
guidelines, which will eventually contribute to the improvement of access to
Japanese language resources for users who prefer, or might be better served
through romanization. Variations in romanization forms could, if not always,
seriously affect information retrieval. While the problem can be overcome to
some extent by providing access points for variants, this solution adds extra
work to the process, and should not be regarded as more than a stopgap
measure. In the future, it would be useful to investigate the extent to which
catalogers have convenient access to all of Kenkyusha’s editions and the
ANSI standard, as well as the degree to which catalogers actually consult
each of them. Such an investigation would provide more information in as-
sessing the usability of the current guidelines, and how they may be made
more clear. It is hoped that this study will offer a stepping stone to further
discussion and study of the effectiveness of Japanese romanization.

NOTES

1. Randall K. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” in ALA-LC Romanization Tables: Transliteration Schemes for
Non-Roman Scripts. (Washington, DC: Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service, 1997). Also
available online at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html (accessed June 5, 2010).
2. Ibid., 73.
3. Yoko Kudo, “A Study of Romanization Practice for Japanese Language Titles in OCLC WorldCat
Records,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 48, no. 4 (2010): 279–302.
4. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” 73.
5. Clement Arsenault, “Word Division in the Transcription of Chinese Script in the Title Fields of
Bibliographic Records,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 32, no. 3 (2001): 109–137.
6. Clement Arsenault, “Pinyin Romanization for OPAC Retrieval: Is Everyone Served?” Information
Technology and Libraries 21, no. 2 (2002): 45–50.
7. James E. Agenbroad, “Romanization Is Not Enough,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 42,
no. 2 (2006): 21–34.
8. ALCTS Non-English Access Working Group on Romanization, “ALCTS Non-English Ac-
cess Working Group on Romanization: Open Discussion Forum,” available at ALA Connect,
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 115

http://connect.ala.org/node/76105 (accessed June 5, 2010). The Working Group and its discussion forum
were established in June 2009 and completed in July 2010.
9. Ibid.
10. ALCTS Non-English Access Working Group on Romanization, “Report, Dec. 15, 2009,” avail-
able at ALA Connect, http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/ianda/nonenglish/apd15a.pdf (accessed
October 9, 2010).
11. J. C. Hepburn, Wa-Ei gorin shūsei dddddd (Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission
Press, 1867).
12. Tamiko Matsumura, “Word Division in Romanized Japanese Titles” (Master’s thesis, University
of Chicago, 1964), 52.
13. J. C. Hepburn, Wa-Ei Ei-Wa gorin shūsei dddddddd (Tokyo: Maruzen Shōsha Shoten,
1886).
14. Edwin O. Reischauer, “Romaji or Romazi,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 60, no. 1
(1940): 82.
15. Masao Hirai, Kokugo kokuji mondai no rekishi ddddddddd (1948; repr., Tokyo:
Sangensha, 1998), 283.
16. Matsumura, “Word Division,” 53.
17. Hirai, Kokugo kokuji mondai no rekishi.
18. Matsumura, “Word Division.”
19. Tadao Umesao, Asu no Nihongo no tame ni dddddddddd (Tokyo: Kumon Shuppan,
1987).
20. Jun’ichirō Kida, Nihongo dai hakubutsukan ddddddd (Tokyo: Jasuto Shisutemu, 1994).
21. Matsumura, “Word Division,” 52.
22. Meiji Gakuin Daigaku Toshokan, “Wa-Ei gorin shūsei” dejitaru ākaibusu” dddddddd
dddddddd, Meiji Gakuin Daigaku Toshokan dejitaru ākaibusu dddddddddddddd
dd, http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/mgda/index.html (accessed June 5, 2010).
23. Haruo Kaizu, “Rōmaji no iroiro” ddddddddd, 2.19 ed., updated November 29, 2008,
Rōmaji sōdanshitsu ddddddd, http://www.halcat.com/roomazi/iroiro1f.html (accessed June 5,
2010). Cited with permission from the copyright holder, (c) Kaizu, Haruo 1997, 2008.
24. Ibid.
25. Rōmajikai, ed., Rōmaji ni te Nihongo no kakikata ddddddddddddd (Tokyo:
Rōmajikai, 1885); Katsuji Fujioka, Rōmaji tebiki ddddddd, 6th ed. (Tokyo: Rōmaji Hiromekai,
1916); Kageyasu Amano, ed., Rōmaji Hiromekai nintei rōmajibun no tehodoki: hyōjunshiki rōmajigaki
Nihongo no kakikata dddddddddddddddddddd: ddddddddddddddd
d (Tokyo: Hyōjun Romajikai, 1974).
26. Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 2.
27. Toshio Kaminishi, “Kakuchō Hebon-shiki no teishō” d d d d d d d d d, Nihon-
gogaku d d d d 22, no. 1 (2003): 76–84. Also available at http://www.halcat.com/roomazi/doc/
KakutyouHebonSiki/rohmazhi.pdf 1.30 ed., updated December 21, 2009 (accessed June 5, 2010).
28. Cataloging Rules of the American Library Association and the Library of Congress. Additions
and Changes, 1949–1958 (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1959).
29. “Japanese,” Cataloging Service Bulletin 20 (Spring 1983): 51.
30. Senkichiro Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Tokyo:
Kenkyusha, 1954); Yoshitaro Takenobu, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary (Tokyo:
Kenkyusha, 1931).
31. Matsumura, “Word Division,” 56.
32. Ibid.
33. Yoshitaro Takenobu, Takenobu’s Japanese-English Dictionary (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1918).
34. Masaichi Hashiba, “Takenobu Wa-Ei” dd
dd in Nihon no eigaku 100-nen Taishō hen d
dddd100d ddd, ed. Nihon no Eigaku 100-nen Henshūbu (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1968), 241.
35. Ibid.
36. Toshiaki Machida, Sandai no jisho: kokugo jisho hyakunen shōshi ddddd: dddddd
dd, Kaitei ed. (Tokyo: Sanseidō, 1981), 40, 64.
37. Koh Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha,
1974).
38. Toshirō Watanabe, Edmund R. Skrzypczak, and Paul Snowden, eds., Kenkyusha’s New
Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 2003).
116 Y. Kudo

39. Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., xiii; Masuda,
Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., ix.
40. Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., ix.
41. American National Standards Institute, American National Standard System for the Romaniza-
tion of Japanese, ANSI Z39.11-1972 (New York: ANSI, 1972).
42. ANSI Online, e-mail message to author, September 8, 2009.
43. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 5–11.
44. Ibid., 10, 11.
45. Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., xvi; Masuda, ed.,
Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., xiii; Watanabe, Skrzypczak, and Snowden,
Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th ed., xiv.
46. Takenobu, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, i.
47. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 11.
48. Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 2.
49. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 5, 9; Amano,
ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 4; Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed.,
xvi; Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., xiii.
50. Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 4.
51. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 9.
52. Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. “honō;” Masuda,
ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., s.v. “honoo.”
53. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, ed., 9; Kat-
sumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. “ā”; Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s
New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., s.v. “ā.”
54. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” 78.
55. Watanabe, Skrzypczak, and Snowden, Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th ed.,
xiv.
56. Ibid., x.
57. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 7.
58. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” 73.
59. Watanabe, Skrzypczak, and Snowden, eds., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th
ed., xiv.
60. Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 5.
61. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 6.
62. Watanabe, Skrzypczak, and Snowden, eds., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th
ed., xiv.
63. Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., xvi; Masuda,
Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., xiii; Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 4.
64. Haruo Kaizu, “FAQ,” 1.3.3 ed., updated December 6, 2003, Rōmaji sōdanshitsu ddddd
dd, http://www.halcat.com/roomazi/faq.html (accessed June 5, 2010). Cited with permission from the
copyright holder, (c) Kaizu, Haruo 2000, 2003.
65. Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., ix (translated by author).
66. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 5. Cited with
permission from the copyright holder, (c) 1972 American National Standards Institute, Inc.
67. Ibid., 11.
68. Amano, ed., Rōmajibun no tehodoki, 4.
69. Arsenault, “Pinyin Romanization for OPAC Retrieval,” 46.
70. Tamotsu Koizumi, Nihongo no seishohō ddddddd (Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, 1978),
294.
71. Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. “Girisha,” “uokka.”
72. Ibid., s.v. “hoshii;” Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed., s.v.
“hoshii.”
73. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” 79.
74. American National Standards Institute, System for the Romanization of Japanese, 5.
75. Barry, ed., “Japanese,” 84.
76. Kenkyūsha “Shin Wa-Ei Daijiten” Henshūbu [Kenkyusha “new Japanese-English dictionary”
editorial dept.], e-mail message to author, February 15, 2010.
 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 117

APPENDIX Romanization Charts Comparison

(Continued on next page)

118 Y. Kudo

APPENDIX Romanization Charts Comparison (Continued)

 Modified Hepburn Romanization System 119

APPENDIX Romanization Charts Comparison (Continued)

(Continued on next page)

120 Y. Kudo

APPENDIX Romanization Charts Comparison (Continued)

Outlined cells indicate letters that are provided in ANSI Z39.11-1972 Table 4. Shaded cells indicate letters that are not covered by
all sources. Parentheses indicate letters that are provided in the source with no Japanese kana equivalents. Letters marked with
∗
indicate those provided in the source outside the romanization chart.
Source. aSenkichiro Katsumata, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1954), xvi. bKoh
Masuda, ed., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 4th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1974), xiii. cToshirō Watanabe, Edmund
R. Skrzypczak, and Paul Snowden eds., Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th ed. (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 2003), [xiv].
d
American National Standards Institute, American National Standard System for the Romanization of Japanese Z39.11-1972 (New
York: ANSI, 1972), 7–10. Adapted with permission from the copyright holder, (c)1972 American National Standards Institute, Inc.
e
Kageyasu Amano, ed., Rōmaji Hiromekai nintei Rōmajibun no tehodoki: hyōjunshiki Rōmajigaki Nihongo no kakikata (Tōkyō:
Hyōjun Rōmajikai, 1974), 2.