Hentaigana/historical kana

[nedkelly]

Can someone recommend software which enables one to type hentaigana / historical kana? Hopefully software which is easy to use and free.

 

[Toritoribe]

As far as I know, it doesn't exist. The following site can convert hiragana into hentaigana.
【みんなの知識 ちょっと便利帳】平仮名を変体仮名に変換する

If you want to use other variations of each kana, it's common to copy and paste each hentaigana in a list, for instance from 収録グリフ一覧 in the following page.
Unicode変体仮名フォント

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

変体仮名とは
hentaigana
"In the Japanese writing system, hentaigana (変体仮名, "variant kana")[a] are obsolete or nonstandard hiragana. They include both stylistic variants of current hiragana and distinct alternative hiragana characters. Today, with a few exceptions, there is only one hiragana for each of the fifty consonant–vowel sequences (moras) in Japanese. However, traditionally there were generally several more-or-less interchangeable hiragana for each. A 1900 script reformhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hentaigana#cite_note-4 ordained that only one selected character be used for each mora, with the rest deemed hentaigana. Although not normally used in publication, hentaigana are still used in shop signs and brand names to create a traditional or antiquated air."

「Unicode変体仮名フォント」
Review
【レビュー】「Unicode 10.0」に追加された"変体仮名"を表示できる「Unicode変体仮名フォント」 - 窓の杜
Author's site
Unicode変体仮名フォント

Sites that convert hiragana to hentaigana.
【みんなの知識 ちょっと便利帳】平仮名を変体仮名に変換する

 

[nedkelly]

Thank you very much for your guidance. My query might seem strange but I am simply wishing to type the hentaigana so as to make more clear the written hentaigana in some haiku as part of my exhibition catalogue. Thank you once again.

 

[Lothor]

Hiroyuki san,

I like the first sentence of that Wikipedia entry!
Not to be confused with Hentai.

 

[Toritoribe]

Thank you very much for your guidance. My query might seem strange but I am simply wishing to type the hentaigana so as to make more clear the written hentaigana in some haiku as part of my exhibition catalogue. Thank you once again.

As you might already know, unlike the modern hiragana or katakana, hentaigana are not only one for each pronunciaition. Several kanji are used as a base for one pronunciantion, and furthermore, there are many variations for each kanji depending on the writing style. That's why it's hard to convert by a software or something. You need to choose the one written on your catalogue manually from a list of many variations of hentaigana.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Hiroyuki san,

I like the first sentence of that Wikipedia entry!
Not to be confused with Hentai.

It is 変態(Hentai). (^^;