New evidence suggests part of the Japanese writing system may have originated in Korea.
A Japanese scholar has discovered, in a Korean Buddhist text introduced to Japan in the early eighth century, letters that look like katakana, indicating the kana system could have originated in Korea.
Yoshinori Kobayashi, professor of Japanese at Tokushima Bunri University, announced his findings Tuesday at a lecture at Otani University in Kyoto.
Kobayashi said that while katakana script is believed to have been invented in Japan around the ninth century, his findings suggest it may have originated in the eighth century on the Korean Peninsula and introduced to Japan through Buddhist texts.