Where Are the Roots of Japanese?

This video is about the roots of the modern Japanese language.

One reason Japanese is often perceived as one of the world’s most difficult languages is its profoundly unique structure, which relates closely to the historical movements of various ethnic groups in ancient times.

In fact, the ultimate origins of today’s Japanese language are not native to the Japanese archipelago itself, but trace back to a certain region in northeastern China. Due to climate change and other factors, ethnic groups originating from this region abandoned their homeland and dispersed throughout the Eurasian continent, with some eventually making their way to Japan via the Korean Peninsula.

This migration marked the end of the Jomon era, which lasted over ten thousand years, and the beginning of the Yayoi period. By examining linguistic roots, we can better understand the formation of the Japanese language and discover that the Japanese people have historically been diverse rather than homogeneous.

Even today, the Japanese language remains complex and multifaceted, with local dialects preserving many ancient words. Indeed, some dialects sound so foreign to people from other regions that they seem like entirely different languages—reflecting a blend of vocabulary from the ancient Jomon and Yayoi peoples.

So, who were these ancient ethnic groups inhabiting early Japan, and how did they shape its history?

Clues to this fascinating journey still lie hidden within the Japanese language spoken today.