Tech New app to decipher cursive characters in old Japanese documents

[thomas]

Toppan's new application should be able to help with a lot of the requests we receive in our "Good luck flag and militaria" section: it enables users to decipher ancient Japanese documents written mainly in cursive characters from the Edo period . Its trial version is scheduled to be released possibly by the end of this month.

There are many materials in the possession of public institutions that have not been deciphered, and even if they are brought to research institutions, the organizations do not have the capacity to handle them. As a result, valuable materials, such as letters and records, are lost as they are disposed of or damaged without being read. For this reason, Toppan has been researching deciphering technology since 2015, and has developed the app in collaboration with the Kyoto municipal history museum, the Tokyo-based public interest incorporated foundation Mitsui Bunko and other bodies. The app is equipped with dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) that has memorized deciphered ancient documents. It analyzes the cursive characters captured by the smartphone camera, converts them into printed characters, and displays them on its screen. For documents from the Edo period, the decipherment accuracy is said to be about 90%, and it is possible to tell what is written to some extent.

App designed to read cursive characters in old Japanese documents set for debut - The Mainichi

OSAKA -- A smartphone app that enables users to decipher ancient Japanese documents written mainly in cursive characters from the Edo period (1603-186

mainichi.jp

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凸版印刷、AI-OCRで古文書を解読するスマホアプリを開発

スマートフォンで撮影したくずし字資料を、その場で手軽に解読できるアプリケーションを開発。資料館・大学等と連携し実証実験を開始、2023年3月に正式リリース予定

www.toppan.co.jp

古文書を解読できるスマホアプリ　凸版印刷が開発　くずし字対応AI-OCRを活用

凸版印刷は、古文書などのくずし字資料をスマートフォンで撮影し、その場で解読できるアプリを発表した。資料館などの調査業務効率化を効率化する狙い。23年1月にiOS版アプリのβ版を公開、3月に正式版を一般販売する予定。

www.itmedia.co.jp

 

[Majestic]

I have been using an app called "Miwo". It is useful maybe 1/10th of the time, which I consider pretty decent. I mean, out of 100 documents that were completely inaccessible to me, I know have access to (or a partial understanding of) 10 of those documents. And this will only improve, so I am hopeful.
Actually I'm also somewhat apprehensive about this future. Its kind of a unique skill to be able to decipher handwritten Japanese texts, especially pre-war texts. The value of that skill is getting eroded year after year, which kind of makes me sad.

Miwo app here ↓

miwo: App for AI Kuzushiji Recognition

codh.rois.ac.jp

 

[mdchachi]

I have been using an app called "Miwo". It is useful maybe 1/10th of the time, which I consider pretty decent. I mean, out of 100 documents that were completely inaccessible to me, I know have access to (or a partial understanding of) 10 of those documents. And this will only improve, so I am hopeful.
Actually I'm also somewhat apprehensive about this future. Its kind of a unique skill to be able to decipher handwritten Japanese texts, especially pre-war texts. The value of that skill is getting eroded year after year, which kind of makes me sad.

Miwo app here ↓

miwo: App for AI Kuzushiji Recognition

codh.rois.ac.jp

I'd say the value of the skill should be going up as fewer and fewer people can do it.

 

[Petaris]

The same thing is happening, though slower, in the US. Kids are not being taught how to write, or read, cursive. Most working adults are probably unable to read shorthand at all (myself included).

Its a problem that will get worse the less actual writing is done. Spelling is getting worse and worse as well since people lean on technology to correct spelling for them. How many kids and even young adults don't know the difference between things like "your" and "you're"?

I'm sure the same is true for many other languages around the world as well.

 

[cloa513]

Can it decipher modern kanji writiting on signs that often consists of a big blotch?

 

[Grandpa Frank]

When I was in Japan , us "gaijins" called it hen scratching.