Shorthand Day

What Is Shorthand Day?

October 28 is Shorthand Day in Japan. On October 28, 1882, Takusari Koki held Japan's first shorthand course in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, The date was designated at the seventh-anniversary gathering of the course in 1888, and today the Japan Shorthand Association holds events on this day. Shorthand is the skill of quickly writing down spoken words using simple symbols, then converting them back into ordinary text, a process called transcription.

A History of Shorthand in Japan

Shorthand greatly changed how spoken words were recorded in Meiji-era Japan.

• The birth of Takusari-style shorthand: Drawing on English shorthand systems, Takusari devised a method of representing Japanese sounds with simple lines and dots. This is considered the starting point of Japanese shorthand.
• Recording the Diet: When the Imperial Diet opened in 1890, speeches in the Diet began to be recorded by stenographers, a system that continued for many decades.
• The age of speech recognition: In recent years, the Diet has introduced speech-recognition recording systems, with people checking and correcting the output.

How Shorthand Changed Written Japanese

Shorthand was not only a recording tool; it also influenced the written Japanese language.

• Rakugo in print: In 1884, stenographers transcribed a performance of "Kaidan Botan Doro" (The Peony Lantern) by rakugo master Sanyutei Encho, and it was published as a book. This book, which put spoken language directly into writing, became a hit.
• Influence on genbun itchi: Futabatei Shimei, who promoted "genbun itchi" (writing novels in a style close to spoken language), is said to have used Encho's transcribed performances as a reference.
• The boom in storytelling books: Many transcribed books of rakugo and kodan storytelling were published in the Meiji era and became popular reading material.

Shorthand Trivia

• 320 characters per minute: For Grade 1 of the Japan Shorthand Association's skills test, candidates must take down a passage read at 320 characters per minute for 10 minutes and then transcribe it.
• Many systems: Besides the Takusari system, which adapted America's Graham shorthand to Japanese, there are the Nakane, Waseda, House of Representatives, and House of Councillors systems, among others.
• Transcription matters: Shorthand doesn't end with taking notes. Converting the symbols into accurate text is part of the skill.
• Stenotype machines: In English-speaking courtrooms and elsewhere, stenographers use a special keyboard called a stenotype to input sounds.
• Transcription work today: The skills and mindset of shorthand live on in the work of creating text from recordings of meetings and lectures.

Ideas for Shorthand Day

• Take meeting notes with future readers in mind. Separating key points, decisions, and who is responsible makes them more useful.
• Try an automatic transcription tool and see if it fits your work.
• Explore works based on Meiji-era transcriptions, such as Sanyutei Encho's "The Peony Lantern."
• Write down whatever comes to mind for one minute without stopping. It helps organize your thoughts.

A Day to Appreciate the Craft of Recording Words

Shorthand Day on October 28 commemorates the beginning of a skill that captures spoken words as text on the spot. Shorthand supported the records of the Diet and, through transcribed rakugo books, even influenced written Japanese. Even now that speech recognition is widespread, the shorthand mindset of listening accurately and leaving a clear record lives on in meeting notes and minutes.