1841.
Notices of Japan, No. VIII.
213
Klaproth has given a version of a geographical treatise, and Titsingh has trans- lated, or caused to be translated, Annals of the Daïri, and Annals of the Sin-
introduced into books which it is desirable to make very plain. In the specimen here given, the small figures at the right hand corner of many of the characters are the grammatical terminations; the catches and figures at the other corner of many others show that they are to be transposed in reading. For instance, the
first two characters 取鈹 are transposed, being read kawawo toru, and the
catch at the left hand corner of toru shows that it is to be read after the other. It will be observed that the second of the two has hira-kana syllables on the side; this is an instance of their use in explanations, for the character is an unusual one, and moreover is here used in an uncommon sense. The circles are marks of punctuation. A translation of this paragraph also will be found on page 96th of vol. IX.
Specimen of Chinese Writing with Japanese explanations.
復或輕風于煇
造几
加加灑浮火爐炭籥洪取
候水津力 頭。之 燻鈹取
座落屋鈹ㄨㄢ
其取津到手座。俗
而 然鎔把
未俗
者葉流化
長 辣設成謂
出 鉄就墙
燻璞槽 秩
宝墙假之 背燻壁,字波
乃
道。其
將前
更随牛擦
良謂世冬
当鈹不
出滓
炭冷搖排人
加
滓耗繕
酪及
道。
波銅
Prefaces of books are frequently written in Chinese, while the body of the work is in hira-kana; in these cases, the running-hand is often employed, which mach
increases the labor of decyphering the text, if the reader has learned only the com- mon form.]