national script; official writing system
Refers to a country's officially recognized writing system or script. Often used in historical or comparative contexts.
Kanji is one of China's national scripts.
kana; Japanese syllabary
In Japanese contexts, 国字 can specifically mean kana (hiragana and katakana), the syllabic scripts developed in Japan, as opposed to kanji.
Japanese-made kanji; kokuji
The most common modern meaning: kanji characters created in Japan following Chinese character formation principles, such as 峠 (tōge) or 働 (hataraku).
During the Heian period, kana, the Japanese syllabary, came to be widely used.
Characters like 峠 and 畑 are kokuji, kanji created in Japan.
Compound of 国 (kuni, 'country') and 字 (ji, 'character'). The meaning has shifted over time: originally 'national script', later 'kana', and now primarily 'kanji created in Japan'.