noun
historical kana orthography; old kana spelling
Refers to the kana usage system based on classical Japanese, officially used until the 1946 reform. Often contrasted with 現代仮名遣い (modern kana usage).
歴史的仮名遣いでは「てふてふ」と書いて「ちょうちょう」と読む。
In historical kana orthography, 'tefutefu' is written and read as 'chouchou' (butterfly).
古文を読むには歴史的仮名遣いの知識が必要だ。
Knowledge of historical kana orthography is necessary to read classical Japanese.