hentaigana

変体仮名 変体がな

Hentaigana are variant forms of hiragana (one of Japanese's two syllabic writing systems) derived from cursive forms of the Chinese characters that were historically used to write the language (man'yougana). While in the past these variant forms could be used interchangeably, they were phased out as part of the 1900 script reform, which was the first of a series of efforts to standardize and modernize Japanese spelling. Hentaigana may be used in modern times for a stylistic or "old-timey" effect.

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