{"id":1673,"date":"2023-06-10T21:31:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T12:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2025-08-31T23:02:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T14:02:38","slug":"%e6%b0%97%e3%81%ab%e3%81%aa%e3%82%8b%e8%a8%80%e8%91%891tp3-te3%80%9c%e3%81%9d%e3%81%ae%ef%bc%92%e3%80%9c%e3%80%8c%e51-tp3tad%90%e4%be%9b%e3%80%8d%e3%81%8b%e3%80%8c%e5%ad%90%e3-81%a9%e3%82%82%e3%80%8d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/2023\/06\/10\/%e6%b0%97%e3%81%ab%e3%81%aa%e3%82%8b%e8%a8%80%e8%91%891tp3-te3%80%9c%e3%81%9d%e3%81%ae%ef%bc%92%e3%80%9c%e3%80%8c%e51-tp3tad%90%e4%be%9b%e3%80%8d%e3%81%8b%e3%80%8c%e5%ad%90%e3-81%a9%e3%82%82%e3%80%8d\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese language that concerns me - Part 3 - \"Kodomo\" or \"Child\"?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I first wrote this article titled \"The Japanese I'm curious about,\" I expressed my desire to eventually make it a series. However, there has been a long gap, and this is finally the second installment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this issue, we will consider how the word \"kodomo\" is written. When writing the word \"children,\" there are various ways to write it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>They are \"children,\" \"children,\" and \"children's.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Theoretically, it could be written as \"ko offerings\" but it is too uncomfortable. I myself have never seen one, so I exclude it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, which of these three notations to take, varies quite a bit from person to person and medium to medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no uniformity among media organizations, nor among schools, nursery schools, and kindergartens, where education and childcare are provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some may think, \"Well, there's no need for uniformity, and we can do whatever we want.\" Some people may think, \"There is no need for unification. It is true that if a word has more than one possible form, it is up to each person to choose the one he or she likes best. Basically, you can choose whichever you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, \"as follows\" vs. \"as follows\" or \"again\" vs. \"once again\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However,<strong>There has been much debate in the past as to how \"children\" should be spelled.<\/strong>It is not as simple as it sounds. We will explain that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I myself am basically a \"child\" person. However, I am not particularly particular about it. Recently, the mainstream in the world seems to be \"children,\" and I am conforming to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the following text, we will also write \"children\" unless we are discussing individual notation methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-background\" id=\"we-re-a-studio-in-berlin-with-an-international-practice-in-architecture-urban-planning-and-interior-design-we-believe-in-sharing-knowledge-and-promoting-dialogue-to-increase-the-creative-potential-of-collaboration\" style=\"background-color:#1adb004f\">Mainstreaming from \"children\" to \"children<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a long time, the word \"child\" was the most common way to describe this term. When I was a student, I can hardly remember ever seeing \"child\" written in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, at some point, some people began to argue that the term \"child\" was not appropriate and that the term \"children\" should be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who believe that \"children\" should be used primarily<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The word \"child\" gives the impression that the child is the \"companion\" of the adult, i.e., a companion or incidental object of the adult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The word \"offerings\" is inappropriate because it is also used for \"offerings\" etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally, the word \"tadamo\" was used to pluralize nouns. In historical dramas, people shout \"Hey, you guys, let's charge! in historical dramas. This \"tadori\" is clearly used to mean \"more than one person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, when we say, for example, \"I have to pick up my child soon,\" that does not necessarily mean that there is more than one child. We say \"children\" even when we are picking up a single child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this way, the \"offering\" of \"children\" in modern times is not used to pluralize children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also a popular theory that the word \"kodomo\" has existed since the Manyo period (710-794), and that the kanji was simply applied to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And well, there are many reasons, many explanations, but both the \"child\" and \"children\" groups have a point to make. It can be said that it is not so much a matter of eye-rolling as it is a matter of how to write words that mean the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, however, kanji characters have their origins and inherent meanings. If a kanji character may not be used in a very positive way, it is of course desirable to take this into consideration before using it. That is why there have been so many discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, more and more people have been willing to avoid the use of the term \"child,\" and the shift to \"children\" seems to have been gradual. In fact, I feel that \"child\" has become the majority in the last decade or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other times, we see the notation \"kodomo\" (child), as in \"certified child care center\". The same is true of the recently established \"Administration for Children and Families. In addition, \"child\" is most commonly used in the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Media outlets, such as the mass media, seem to vary from time to time, referring to \"children\" or \"children\" depending on the program or article, even if it is the same company. They do not intend to operate too strictly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-background\" style=\"background-color:#1adb004f\">Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don't know if this is to put an end to the public debate that I wrote about above,<strong>The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology confirmed in 2013 that \"children\" will be used in official ministry documents.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Ministry of Education did not intend for this policy to spread to other ministries or local governments. It simply decided to use the term \"children\" in official ministry documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government uses the term \"child\" in many situations, as does the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. However, many wards, cities, towns, and villages in Tokyo also use the term \"children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left alignwide has-background\" style=\"background-color:#1adb004f\">The Administration for Children and Families recommends \"Children<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you all know, the \"Administration for Children and Families\" was established this April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I'm sure many of you don't know this,<strong>Last September 2022, when the \"Preparatory Office for the Establishment of the Agency for Children and Families\" existed before the Agency was established, a letter of request (administrative communication) was sent from this office to other ministries and agencies.<\/strong>The first is the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main point of the request letter, which is of interest to us, was \"Based on the principles of the Basic Act for Children, we recommend the use of the hiragana form of \"children\" in administrative documents (except for proper nouns and cases where it is required by law).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The actual request can be read here\u21e8<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhlw.go.jp\/content\/001043848.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Recommendation of the use of the term \"children\" (request)<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many documents issued by the government can be found on the websites of various ministries and agencies, so it is interesting to read them from time to time. If you have a specific law you want to look up, it is convenient to use the \"e-Gov Laws and Regulations Search\" to read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a side note, if you have any problems, it may help if you read the relevant laws and ordinances carefully. When you live a busy daily life, it doesn't often occur to you that the law can help you, but I recommend that you keep it in the back of your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Laws are not only something to be punished if one violates them, but also something to be examined and utilized by oneself in order to live wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-background\" style=\"background-color:#14db0052\">summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was in 2013 that the Ministry of Education confirmed within the ministry the use of \"children\" in official documents. Nine years later, in 2022, the Preparatory Office for the Establishment of the Agency for Children and Families asked other ministries to use \"child\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let's keep an eye on the \"kodomo\" notation, which has been shifting in the past and how it will continue to shift in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, how we notate words is, in some cases, very significant. Some people focus on the history of the Japanese language, others on the emotional impression they make when they read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most important thing for me is to use language and notation that will not hurt anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, it is never easy, and it happens all the time that expressions and notations that were acceptable until recently are now considered to be something to be avoided or discriminatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By changing the language we normally use, human consciousness changes. It is natural for humans to use words to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To pay attention and watch what is happening in our society today on a daily basis, and to think for ourselves. We must change with the times, or sometimes even ahead of the times. I believe that we have no choice but to continue to do so, steadily and steadily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What a very serious conclusion. At first I was just going to write about \"children\" or \"children\"...<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, that's all for now, See You!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When writing \"Kodomo\" in characters, I see \"Kodomo\" and \"Kodomo\", which is better?\u3000There is also \"kodomo\" which is written entirely in hiragana.... There is a reason why there are so many different notations.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":142885276,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6556,25016608],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-6556","category-25016608"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9iSo-qZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2982,"url":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/2025\/08\/17\/foreign-languages-of-concern-part-3-the-joy-of-learning-french-departure\/","url_meta":{"origin":1673,"position":0},"title":"Foreign Languages of Concern - Part 4 - The joy of learning French: Is the unpronounced \"e\" easy to pronounce, but difficult to write in katakana?","author":"takashi","date":"2025\u5e748\u670817\u65e5","format":false,"excerpt":"This time I will be thinking about the French language. In fact, this is a subject I have been wanting to write about for a long time. ...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\u30d5\u30a1\u30c3\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\u30d5\u30a1\u30c3\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3","link":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/category\/%e3%83%95%e3%82%a1%e3%83%83%e3%82%b7%e3%83%a7%e3%83%b3\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/seaotterdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/create-a-featured-image-for-a-blog-post-titled-%E6%B0%97%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E-2.png?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/seaotterdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/create-a-featured-image-for-a-blog-post-titled-%E6%B0%97%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E-2.png?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/seaotterdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/create-a-featured-image-for-a-blog-post-titled-%E6%B0%97%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E-2.png?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/seaotterdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/create-a-featured-image-for-a-blog-post-titled-%E6%B0%97%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E-2.png?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/2020\/12\/22\/%e3%80%8e%e5%a5%b3%e6%80%a7%e3%81%ae%e6%b4%bb%e8%ba%8d1tp3-te3%80%8f%e3%81%a8%e3%81%84%e3%81%86%e8%a8%80%e8%91%89%e31-tp3t81%ae%e6%84%8f%e5%91%b3%e3%81%ab%e3%81%a4%e3%81%84%e3-81%a6%e8%80%83%e3%81%88\/","url_meta":{"origin":1673,"position":1},"title":"I've been thinking about the meaning of the term \"women's success.\"","author":"takashi","date":"2020\u5e7412\u670822\u65e5","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, we often see words like \"women's success\" and \"women shine. Even on TV news programs,...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\u793e\u4f1a&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\u793e\u4f1a","link":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/category\/%e7%a4%be%e4%bc%9a\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2826,"url":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/2025\/02\/24\/%e6%b0%97%e3%81%ab%e3%81%aa%e3%82%8b%e8%a8%80%e8%91%891tp3-te3%80%9c%e3%81%9d%e3%81%ae%ef%bc%96%e3%80%9c%e6%97%a5%e61-tp3t9c%ac%e8%aa%9e%e3%81%ab%e3%81%8a%e3%81%91%e3%82%8b%e3-80%8c%e3%81%be%e3%81%82\/","url_meta":{"origin":1673,"position":2},"title":"The Japanese language that concerns me - Part 5 - The original use of \"well, well\" in Japanese and its change","author":"takashi","date":"2025\u5e742\u670824\u65e5","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you feel that the usage of \"well, well\" has been changing recently?\u3000Here we will discuss the original usage of \"so-so, so-so,\" as well as...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\u8a00\u8a9e\u30fb\u3053\u3068\u3070&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\u8a00\u8a9e\u30fb\u3053\u3068\u3070","link":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/category\/%e8%a8%80%e8%aa%9e%e3%83%bb%e3%81%93%e3%81%a8%e3%81%b0\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":271,"url":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/2019\/09\/14\/%e3%80%8e%e8%87%aa%e5%88%86%e8%87%aa%e8%ba%ab%e3%81%a71tp3-te8%80%83%e3%81%88%e3%82%8b%e3%81%93%e3%81%a8%e3%80%81%e81-tp3ta1%8c%e5%8b%95%e3%81%99%e3%82%8b%e3%81%93%e3%81%a8%e3-81%ab%e3%81%a4%e3%81%84\/","url_meta":{"origin":1673,"position":3},"title":"On thinking and acting for yourself","author":"takashi","date":"2019\u5e749\u670814\u65e5","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you usually think with your own mind? 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She is a coloratura sopr...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\u97f3\u697d&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\u97f3\u697d","link":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/category\/%e9%9f%b3%e6%a5%bd\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142885276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1673"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3068,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions\/3068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaotterdiary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}