Wakan Konkō-bun

is a Japanese writing style which uses a mix of Japanese and Chinese writing styles that intermingles Japanese and Chinese character readings, grammar, and lexical styles. It came from the practice of using marks, added to Chinese characters, to indicate the order in which to read them for Japanese speakers. was often written in Hiragana and derived from Japanese reading conventions for classical Chinese. shows that the development of written Japanese is inseparable from the use of literary Chinese. It can be considered a transition style between pure '' kanbun'' and modern Japanese.

Works using Wakan Konkō Bun

Many classical works use Wakan Konkō Bun. Many of these originated in the Heian period or after.

is one of them. ''Collection of Tales from a Time now Past'' is a collection of 1039 Setsuwa compiled in the early 12th century during the Heian Period. These stories are not presented as though they were being spoken by a narrator, but rather as transmissions of stories that have been heard, passed down, and recorded.

also used the wakan konkō-bun writing style, as it contains Chinese literary influence from the ''Wakan Rōeishū'' poetry collection. ''The Tale of the Heike'' is an epic account of the wars between the Minamoto and Taira clans at the end of the 12th Century. The use of has been attributed to helping achieve the intensity of the battles found within ''The Tale of the Heike''.

Not all works written in Wakan Konkō Bun are from the Heian period. "Destiny" by Koda Rohan was written in 1919 using .Chieko Irie Mulhern, Koda Rohan (New York; Ardent Media, 1977) 143-147.

Notes

Archaic Japanese language
Japanese literature
Japanese writing system

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