and sogana. All types of kana ultimately derive from Chinese characters(kanji): they borrow the original phonetic values of kanji and were developed from simplified forms or components of those characters.

Historically, there was no strict functional distinction between hiragana and katakana. Texts could be written in a mixture of Chinese characters and either form of kana entirely alone without a fixed division of roles. This situation changed following language reforms after World War II, which established