Many students at アンミ英会話教室 and clients of our other service, ANM International, often spell names of places and people in Japan using variations of the Kunrei system (訓令式) and the Nippon system (日本式). These two systems are useful for Japanese writing for other Japanese or for people who understand Japanese. According to Wikipedia,1 the Kunrei system was made official first in 1937 by the Japanese government. Then in 1954, the government said that the Kunrei system would be used with a simplified version of the Hepburn system for international relations.
When you are communicating in English, I strongly suggest you use the Kunrei system with some parts of the Hepburn system. For some good examples, please notice how names of people, places, and things are spelled in the Japan Times, Nikkei Net, CNN, etc. If you only use the Kunrei system, Nippon system, or Monbushō system, then Mt. Fuji becomes Mt. Huji! Have you ever heard of Mt. Huji? Me neither. Even though the Japanese government declared the Kunrei and Nippon systems the official versions of romaji, and even received approval by ISO (ISO 3602), Japanese passports and road signs tend to use the Hepburn system. Even the government recognizes that the "official" version is not effective in communicating with non-Japanese.
Remember, the Kunrei and Nippon systems are good for someone who understands Japanese. If you want to communicate effectively with non-Japanese, or foreigners who don't understand the Japanese language, then you should basically use the Hepburn system or a combination of the Kunrei system with the Hepburn system so that you can communicate more clearly.
Here are two good charts3 taken from the Omniglot website:
(Click here for a printable version)
If you use these tables, you can avoid some strange spellings that foreigners can pronounce more naturally when using a Japanese word in English communication.
Here are some Examples:
| Kunrei/Nippon | Hepburn | Standard English usage |
| Huzi | Fuji | Mt. Fuji |
| Tokio | Tokyo | Tokyo (city) |
| Zyuuzyutu2 | Juujutsu | Jujitsu (martial art) |
| Zyun | Jun | Jun (boy's name) |
| Haituribasaido | Haitsu Ribasaido | Heights Riverside (apartment name) |
Finally, remember that when you are communicating in English, the most important thing is that you communicate clearly, regardless of any official standard; this is especially true if the official standard makes hinders clear communication!
Bibliography:
1. Kunrei-shiki Rōmaji. Answers.com. Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/kunrei-shiki-r-maji, accessed January 04, 2007.
2. The Romaji (Roomaji) Conundrum. Total Quality Japanese. http://www.cic.sfu.ca/tqj/GettingRight/romajiconundrum.html, accessed January 04, 2007.
3. Omniglot.Writing Systems and Languages of the World. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/japanese_romaji.htm, accessed January 04, 2007.
Additional Information:
ローマ字資料室:http://www.halcat.com/roomazi/doc/
