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Go-on (呉音, Japanese pronunciation: [ɡo.oɴ],^{[note 1]} "sounds from the Wu region") are one of the several possible ways of reading Japanese kanji. They are based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the then-prestigious eastern Jiankang^[1] (now Nanjing) dialect.

Go-on preceded the kan-on (漢音) readings. Both go-on and kan-on exhibit characteristics of Middle Chinese.

History and uses[edit]

Go-on readings were introduced into Japan during the 5th and 6th centuries^{[citation needed]}, when China was divided into separate Northern and Southern dynasties. They may have been imported either directly from the Southern dynasty or from the Korean Peninsula. There was an influx of thinkers from China and Korea to Japan at that time, including practitioners of both Buddhism and Confucianism. However, there is no historical documentation to demonstrate that go-on readings are actually based on Southern Chinese.

Shibatani has noted that go-on readings make up the first of three waves of Chinese loans to the Japanese language, the others being kan-on and tou-sou-on (meaning Tang Song sound), with go-on being mainly associated with Buddhism.^[2]

Go-on readings are particularly common for Buddhist and legal terminology, especially those of the Nara and Heian periods. These readings were also used for the Chinese characters of the ancient Japanese syllabary used in the Kojiki.

When kan-on readings were introduced to Japan, their go-on equivalents did not disappear entirely. Even today, go-on and kan-on readings still both exist. Many characters have both pronunciations. For instance, the name Shōtoku (which is go-on) is pronounced as such in some derived placenames, but as Seitoku (which is kan-on) in others.

However, some go-on sounds are now lost. Even though monolingual Japanese dictionaries list a complete inventory of go-on for all characters, some were actually reconstructed using the fanqie method or were inferred to be the same as their modern homophones.^[3]

Names[edit]

Go-on readings were formerly referred to as Wa-on (和音, lit. "Japanese sound"). The term 'go-on' was first introduced in the mid-Heian, likely by people who wished to promote kan-on readings.^{[citation needed]} During the Tang dynasty, people in Chang'an referred to their own way of reading characters as qínyīn (秦音, shin'on, lit. "Qin sound") and all other readings, particularly those originating south of the Yangtze, as wúyīn (呉音, go'on, lit. "Wu sound") or one of many other similar names.^{[citation needed]} It is thought^{[by whom?]} that Japanese students studying in China adopted this practice, and, taking the position that the Chang'an-based manner of elocution were the correct ones, they also began to refer to the previously imported, unfashionable kanji readings as "go-on".

Go-on readings were also occasionally referred to as Tsushima-on (対馬音) and Kudara-on (百済音, literally "Baekje sound") because of a story that claims a Baekjean nun named Hōmei (法明) had taught Buddhism in Tsushima by reading the Vimalakīrti Sutra entirely in go-on.^[3]

Characteristics[edit]

Go-on readings are generally less orderly than kan-on readings, but can be characterized as follows.

voiced consonants in Middle Chinese were distinguished from unvoiced consonants when they occurred in syllable-initial positions.
Syllable-initial nasal consonants are pronounced as nasals (m-, n-) in Middle Chinese, but in kan-on, they are interpreted as voiced plosives (b-, d-).
In some characters, -o and -u are both acceptable and widespread, e.g., 素 (so, su), 奴 (do, nu) and 都 (to, tsu).

Examples (rare readings in parentheses)
Kanji	Meaning	Go-on	Kan-on	Middle Chinese^[4]
明	bright	myō	mei	mjaeng
京	capital	kyō	kei	kjaeng
上	up	jō	shō	dzyangX
下	below	ge	ka	haeX, haeH

Notes[edit]

^ Also [ɡoꜜoɴ].

References[edit]

Most of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Japanese-language article, accessed on June 5, 2006.

^ Edwin G Pulleyblank (1991). Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation: In Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin. UBC Press. pp. 487–. ISBN 978-0-7748-4467-3.
^ Masayoshi Shibatani (2008). The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-0521369183.
^ ^a ^b Miyake, Marc Hideo (2003). Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction. Routledge. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-134-40373-8.
^ Baxter, William H. (1992), A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-012324-1

[1] Also [ɡoꜜoɴ].

[Pulleyblank-2] Edwin G Pulleyblank (1991). Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation: In Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin. UBC Press. pp. 487–. ISBN 978-0-7748-4467-3.

[Shibatani-3] Masayoshi Shibatani (2008). The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-0521369183.

[Miyake-4] Miyake, Marc Hideo (2003). Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction. Routledge. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-134-40373-8.

[5] Baxter, William H. (1992), A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-012324-1

[note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Redirect|Go-On|the Uverworld song|Go On (Uverworld song)}}
-{{nihongo|'''Go-on'''|呉音}} are one of the different readings of [[Japanese language|Japanese]] [[kanji]]. They are old pronunciations of [[Chinese characters]], believed to be taken from [[China]] to [[Japan]] prior to the importation (by the [[Kenzuishi]] envoy to the [[Sui dynasty]] and monks studying abroad) of {{nihongo|"[[kan-on]]"|漢音||lit. "[[Han Dynasty|Han]] sound"}} readings from [[Chang'an]] during the [[Nara period]].  Like kan-on readings, they are said to display the characteristics of [[Middle Chinese]].
+{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
+{{nihongo|'''''Go-on'''''|呉音||{{IPA-ja|ɡo.oɴ}},<ref group=note>Also {{IPA-ja|ɡoꜜoɴ|}}.</ref> "sounds from the [[Wu (region)|Wu region]]"}} are one of the several possible ways of reading [[Japanese language|Japanese]] [[kanji]]. They are based on the classical pronunciations of [[Chinese characters]] of the then-[[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestigious]] eastern [[Jiankang]]<ref name="Pulleyblank">{{cite book|author=Edwin G Pulleyblank|title=Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation: In Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWGIxP1R4P4C&pg=PA487|date=1991|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-4467-3|pages=487–}}</ref> (now [[Nanjing]]) dialect.
+''Go-on'' preceded the {{nihongo|''[[kan-on]]''|漢音}} readings. Both ''go-on'' and ''kan-on'' exhibit characteristics of [[Middle Chinese]].
-Introduced to Japan during the 5th and 6th centuries, when China was divided into separate [[Northern and Southern Dynasties]], it is thought that go-on readings were imported either directly from the Southern dynasty, or through the [[Korean peninsula]].  This explanation is based mainly on historical reasoning: there was an influx of other foreign thought from China and [[Korea]] to Japan at that time, including both [[Buddhist]] and [[Confucianist]] thought.  However, there is no historical documentation to conclusively demonstrate that go-on readings are actually based on Southern dynastic Chinese.
+== History and uses ==
-Go-on readings are used particularly often in Buddhist terms and legal terms, especially those of the Nara and [[Heian period]]s.  When kan-on readings were introduced to Japan, their go-on equivalents did not disappear, and even today, go-on and kan-on readings continue to be used together.  Go-on readings were also used for the Chinese characters of the ancient Japanese syllabary used in the [[Kojiki]].
+{{citation needed span|date=March 2023|''Go-on'' readings were introduced into Japan during the 5th and 6th centuries}}, when China was divided into separate [[Northern and Southern dynasties]]. They may have been imported either directly from the Southern dynasty or from the [[Korean Peninsula]]. There was an influx of thinkers from China and [[Korea]] to Japan at that time, including practitioners of both [[Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]].  However, there is no historical documentation to demonstrate that ''go-on'' readings are actually based on Southern Chinese.
+Shibatani has noted that ''go-on'' readings make up the first of three waves of Chinese loans to the Japanese language, the others being ''kan-on'' and ''tou-sou-on'' (meaning Tang Song sound), with ''go-on'' being mainly associated with [[Buddhism]].<ref name="Shibatani">{{cite book|author = Masayoshi Shibatani|title = The Languages of Japan|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sD-MFTUiPYgC&q=go%27on&pg=PA121|date = 2008|publisher = Cambridge University Press|isbn = 978-0521369183|pages = 121–}}</ref>
-==Name==
-Go-on readings were formerly referred to as {{Nihongo|"'''wa-on'''"|和音||lit. "Japanese sound"}}.  The term "go-on" was first introduced in the mid-Heian period, likely by people who wished to promote kan-on readings.  During the [[Tang Dynasty]], people in the capital ([[Chang'an]]) referred to their own way of reading characters as {{Nihongo|"qínyīn"|秦音|shin'on|lit. "[[Qin]]{{Disambiguation needed|date=February 2012}} sound"}} and all other readings, particularly those originating south of the [[Yangtze]], as {{Nihongo|"wúyīn"|呉音||lit. "[[Wu (region)|Wu]] sound"}}, or one of many other similar names.  It is thought that Japanese students studying in China adopted this practice, and, taking the position that Chang'an's readings were the correct ones, they also began to refer to Japan's previously imported kanji readings as "go-on".
+''Go-on'' readings are particularly common for Buddhist and legal terminology, especially those of the [[Nara period|Nara]] and [[Heian period]]s. These readings were also used for the Chinese characters of the ancient Japanese syllabary used in the ''[[Kojiki]]''.
-Go-on readings are also sometimes referred to as {{Nihongo|"'''tsushima-on'''"|対馬音||lit. "[[Tsushima]] sound"}} and {{Nihongo|"'''kudara-on'''"|百済音||literally "[[Baekje]] sound"}}.  This is according to a tradition that a Baekjean nun named [[Hōmei]] taught Buddhism in Tsushima by reading the [[Vimalakīrti Sutra]] entirely in go-on.
+When ''kan-on'' readings were introduced to Japan, their ''go-on'' equivalents did not disappear entirely. Even today, ''go-on'' and ''kan-on'' readings still both exist. Many characters have both pronunciations. For instance, the name ''[[Prince Shōtoku|Shōtoku]]'' (which is ''go-on'') is pronounced as such in some derived placenames, but as ''[[Seitoku University|Seitoku]]'' (which is ''kan-on'') in others.
-==Characteristics==
-Go-on readings are generally less orderly than kan-on readings, but can be characterized as follows.
+However, some ''go-on'' sounds are now lost. Even though monolingual [[Japanese dictionary|Japanese dictionaries]] list a complete inventory of ''go-on'' for all characters, some were actually reconstructed using the ''[[fanqie]]'' method or were inferred to be the same as their modern [[homophone]]s.<ref name='Miyake'>{{cite book|last=Miyake|first=Marc Hideo |authorlink=Marc Hideo Miyake|title=Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1bp_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-40373-8|page=104}}</ref>
-* The [[voiced consonant]]s and [[unvoiced consonant]]s of [[Middle Chinese]] are differentiated for [[initial consonant]]s.
-* The initial [[nasal stop]]s of [[Middle Chinese]] are pronounced as nasals. In kan-on, they are pronounced as voiced plosives.
+==Names==
-* In go-on readings of characters such as 素 ("so", "su"), 奴 ("no", "nu") and 都 ("to", tsu") otherwise equivalent "-o" and "-u" readings are both acceptable and widespread.
+''Go-on'' readings were formerly referred to as {{Nihongo|'''''[[Wa (Japan)|Wa]]-on'''''|和音||lit. "Japanese sound"}}.  The term ''''go-on'''' was first introduced in the mid-Heian, likely by people who wished to promote ''kan-on'' readings.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} During the [[Tang dynasty]], people in Chang'an referred to their own way of reading characters as {{Nihongo|''qínyīn''|秦音|shin'on|lit. "[[Shaanxi|Qin]] sound"}} and all other readings, particularly those originating south of the [[Yangtze]], as {{Nihongo|''wúyīn''|呉音|go'on|lit. "[[Wu (region)|Wu]] sound"}} or one of many other similar names.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} It is thought{{By whom|date=January 2023}} that Japanese students studying in China adopted this practice, and, taking the position that the Chang'an-based manner of elocution were the correct ones, they also began to refer to the previously imported, unfashionable kanji readings as "''go-on''".
+''Go-on'' readings were also occasionally referred to as {{Nihongo|''[[Tsushima Island|Tsushima]]-on''|対馬音}} and {{Nihongo|''Kudara-on''|百済音||literally "[[Baekje]] sound"}} because of a story that claims a Baekjean [[bhikkhuni|nun]] named {{nihongo|Hōmei|法明|}} had taught Buddhism in Tsushima by reading the ''[[Vimalakirti Sutra|Vimalakīrti Sutra]]'' entirely in ''go-on''.<ref name='Miyake'/>
+==Characteristics==
+''Go-on'' readings are generally less orderly than ''kan-on'' readings, but can be characterized as follows.
+* [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced consonant]]s in [[Middle Chinese]] were distinguished from [[Voicelessness|unvoiced consonant]]s when they occurred in syllable-initial positions.
+* Syllable-initial [[nasal consonant]]s are pronounced as nasals (''m-'', ''n-'') in Middle Chinese, but in ''kan-on'', they are interpreted as voiced plosives (''b-'', ''d-'').
+* In some characters, ''-o'' and ''-u'' are both acceptable and widespread, e.g., 素 (''so'', ''su''), 奴 (''do'', ''nu'') and 都 (''to'', ''tsu'').
 <!-- table is from here -->
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable" align="center"
-|+ ''On'' readings of Kanji
+|+ Examples <small>(rare readings in parentheses)</small>
-! character/word !! Go-on ({{lang|ja|呉音}}) !! Kan-on ({{lang|ja|漢音}})
 |-
+! Kanji
-! {{lang|ja|明}}<ref name="Coulmas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=VOywmavmZ3UC&pg=PA125&dq=Go-on+Kan-on+Japanese+example&lr=&sig=qGirQQwajFPzvTxhwNBL8lTRNNA#PPA126,M1 Writing Systems of the World], Florian Coulmas</ref>
+! Meaning
-| myō || mei
+! Go-on
+! Kan-on
+! [[Baxter's transcription for Middle Chinese|Middle Chinese]]<ref>{{citation
+  | title = A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology
+  | first = William H. | last = Baxter | author-link = William H. Baxter
+  | location = Berlin | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter | year = 1992
+  | isbn = 978-3-11-012324-1
+  | postscript =
+  }}</ref>
 |-
+! style="font-weight: normal;" | {{Wikt-lang|ja|明}}
-! {{lang|ja|京}}<ref name="Coulmas"/>
+| bright
-| kyō || kei
+| ''myō''
+| ''mei''
+| ''mjaeng''
 |-
+! style="font-weight: normal;" | {{Wikt-lang|ja|京}}
-! {{lang|ja|下}}<ref name="Loveday">[http://books.google.com/books?id=miK9XJPY3fwC&pg=PA41&dq=Go-on+Kan-on+Japanese+example&lr=&sig=HvW0GllhxnrbPIS0Q7jeRdIqvvo Language Contact in Japan: A Socio-Linguistic History], Leo Loveday</ref>
+| capital
-| ge || ka
+| ''kyō''
+| ''kei''
+| ''kjaeng''
+|-
+! style="font-weight: normal;" | {{Wikt-lang|ja|上}}
+| up
+| ''jō''
+| ''shō''
+| ''dzyangX''
+|-
+! style="font-weight: normal;" | {{Wikt-lang|ja|下}}
+| below
+| ''ge''
+| ''ka''
+| ''haeX'', ''haeH''
 |-
-! {{lang|ja|上下}}
-| jō-ge || sho ka
 |}
 <!-- table end -->
 ==See also==
+* ''[[Kan-on]]'': a later pronunciation
-* [[Hakka Chinese]]
+* ''[[Tō-on]]'': an even later pronunciation
 * [[Checked tone]]
+==Notes==
+{{reflist|group=note}}
 ==References==
 Most of the content of this article comes from the equivalent [[:ja:呉音|Japanese-language article]], accessed on June 5, 2006.
-===Footnotes===
 {{reflist}}
+{{Japanese language}}
 [[Category:Kanji]]
-[[zh-min-nan:Gô͘-im]]
-[[ja:呉音]]
-[[zh:吳音]]