Classical Japanese

The classical Japanese language (文語 bungo, "literary language"), also called "old writing" (古文 kobun), sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese" is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa period (1926–1989). It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken during the Heian period (794–1185), but exhibits some later influences. Its use started to decline during the late Meiji period (1868–1912) when novelists started writing their works in the spoken form. Eventually, the spoken style came into widespread use, including in major newspapers, but many official documents were still written in the old style. After the end of World War II, most documents switched to the spoken style, although the classical style continues to be used in traditional genres, such as haiku and waka. Old laws are also left in the classical style unless fully revised.

The terms 文語 (bungo "written language") and 口語 (kōgo "spoken language") are still used for classical and modern Japanese, respectively. Their literal meanings are only historical, as classical Japanese is no longer used, while modern Japanese is the only current written language, despite its name. These terms are often used in descriptions of grammar to distinguish classical and modern inflections. For example, the bungo inflection of the verb 書く (kaku "to write") is quadrigrade (kaka, kaki, kaku, kake), but its kōgo inflection is quintigrade due to a historical sound change (kaka, kakō < kakau < kakamu, kaki, kaku, kake).