Understanding Japanese Language Difficulty from a Historical Perspective

Tracing the Origins and Structure of the Japanese Language

Kokin Wakashū Kanajo (Scroll), opening section, copied around the 12th century; designated as a National Treasure, held at the Okura Museum of Art.

One major reason Western readers find Japanese challenging is due to the fundamentally different linguistic lineage it possesses compared to their own languages. Unlike European languages such as English or F…