The Hunter × Hunter Alphabet is a simple substitution cipher for Japanese.
About
The alphabet in the world of Hunter × Hunter is made up of runic looking symbols. In reality these symbols are simple substitutions for Japanese kana, the collective term for hiragana and katakana; two of the three written systems in Japan.
In other words, a specific character in the Hunter × Hunter alphabet corresponds to a specific kana in Japanese. This in extension means that all the signs and written media seen throughout the World of Hunter × Hunter are real Japanese words and sentences, and can thus be rendered readable in all cases, provided that one knows the cipher and understand Japanese Kana.
The characters used in the cypher were created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the mangaka.
Gallery of Individual Signs
Trivia
- The symbol similar to the uppercase letter U in normal position is absent from the charts that compile the Hunter × Hunter Alphabet, but it appeared, in Chapter 187, integrating a word on the cover of one of the three books that Kite turn in to Won[1] (from the zoological agency of the Kakin Empire government). The word is decrypted as ほ(?)こくしよ/ho(?)kokushiyo, probably standing for 報告しよ (ほうこく しよ, Hōkoku shiyo) translated as "to report". In Roman transliteration the long vowel [o] is usually indicated by "ō", "oo" or "ou", so the Hunter × Hunter Alphabet character that makes more sense to be used is the one that look like an inverted uppercase letter U (similar to: Ո) (already deciphered as う/u). Yoshihiro Togashi may have drawn the fictional character inverted by accident.
References
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Volume 18, Chapter 187