Asahi characters
Encyclopedia
are forms of Kanji
particular to the Asahi Shimbun
newspaper. Unlike Simplified Chinese, where simplifications apply to all characters, the general custom in Japanese publications is to print Jōyō
/Jinmeiyō Kanji
in simplified Shinjitai
forms, and to print Hyōgaiji
(表外字, characters outside both lists) using their original, unsimplified forms. For example, the Jōyō Kanji 齊, 齋, 劑, 濟 are printed in their Shinjitai forms 斉, 斎, 剤, 済, but the Hyōgaiji 臍, 纃, 薺 (also containing 齊, making simplification possible) remain unsimplified.
The Asahi Shimbuns policy, however, is thoroughly to simplify Hyōgaiji in print on the model of Shinjitai simplifications, and so in Asahi Shimbun publications, 臍 would be printed as ⿰月斉 (The Asahi form exists in Unicode
as 𦜝 but is not widely supported in fonts) and 齟齬 would likewise be printed as ⿰歯且⿰歯吾 (𪗱 and 𪘚), and so these simplifications are known as "Asahi characters". This policy is also said to have been adopted because in the age of typewriter
-based printing, more complicated Kanji could not be clearly printed. This newspaper also is currently the only publication using this simplification practice. These simplifications are not used in other publications by the Asahi Shimbun company.
Some of these Asahi simplifications have been included in the JIS X 0208
and above character sets, and even more (although lesser supported) are included in Unicode. Some Asahi characters have become the defacto standard forms as a result of their inclusion in the JIS
standards (likely because the simplified forms are easier to display at lower sizes and resolutions), for example 鹸 in 石鹸 (sekken, ‘soap’), the Kyūjitai form 鹼 not being included until later versions. The character 葛 has become a source of controversy, as only the simplified form was included in the JIS standards; the Kyūjitai form (using 曷) being added as a result of protest from people living in areas or with given names using this character. Simplification of the 辶 and 示 radicals is also observed by other newspaper companies.
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
particular to the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
newspaper. Unlike Simplified Chinese, where simplifications apply to all characters, the general custom in Japanese publications is to print Jōyō
Joyo kanji
The is the guide to kanji characters announced officially by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Current jōyō kanji are those on a list of 2,136 characters issued in 2010...
/Jinmeiyō Kanji
Jinmeiyo kanji
The are a set of 861 Chinese characters known as the "name kanji" in English. They are a supplementary set of characters that can be legally used in registered personal names in Japan, despite not being in that country's set of "commonly used characters" . As a rule, registered personal names may...
in simplified Shinjitai
Shinjitai
Shinjitai are the forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in shinjitai are also found in simplified Chinese, but shinjitai is generally not as extensive in the scope of its modification...
forms, and to print Hyōgaiji
Hyogaiji
, literally characters from outside the table are Japanese kanji outside the two major lists Jōyō, which are taught in primary and secondary school, and Jinmeiyō, which are additional kanji that officially are allowed for use in personal names....
(表外字, characters outside both lists) using their original, unsimplified forms. For example, the Jōyō Kanji 齊, 齋, 劑, 濟 are printed in their Shinjitai forms 斉, 斎, 剤, 済, but the Hyōgaiji 臍, 纃, 薺 (also containing 齊, making simplification possible) remain unsimplified.
The Asahi Shimbuns policy, however, is thoroughly to simplify Hyōgaiji in print on the model of Shinjitai simplifications, and so in Asahi Shimbun publications, 臍 would be printed as ⿰月斉 (The Asahi form exists in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
as 𦜝 but is not widely supported in fonts) and 齟齬 would likewise be printed as ⿰歯且⿰歯吾 (𪗱 and 𪘚), and so these simplifications are known as "Asahi characters". This policy is also said to have been adopted because in the age of typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
-based printing, more complicated Kanji could not be clearly printed. This newspaper also is currently the only publication using this simplification practice. These simplifications are not used in other publications by the Asahi Shimbun company.
Some of these Asahi simplifications have been included in the JIS X 0208
JIS X 0208
JIS X 0208 is a 2-byte character set specified as a Japanese Industrial Standard, containing 6879 graphic characters suitable for writing text, place names, personal names, and so forth in the Japanese language. The official title of the current standard is...
and above character sets, and even more (although lesser supported) are included in Unicode. Some Asahi characters have become the defacto standard forms as a result of their inclusion in the JIS
JIS
JIS is a three letter acronym that can stand for:*Japanese Industrial Standards**JIS encoding**Shift JIS**Horsepower*Jakarta International School*Jeddah International School*Jerudong International School*Jabriya Indian School*Just in Sequence...
standards (likely because the simplified forms are easier to display at lower sizes and resolutions), for example 鹸 in 石鹸 (sekken, ‘soap’), the Kyūjitai form 鹼 not being included until later versions. The character 葛 has become a source of controversy, as only the simplified form was included in the JIS standards; the Kyūjitai form (using 曷) being added as a result of protest from people living in areas or with given names using this character. Simplification of the 辶 and 示 radicals is also observed by other newspaper companies.