Wu

Wu (hiragana: 𛄟, katakana: 𛄢) is a hentaigana, a variant kana or Japanese syllable. History It is presumed that 𛄟 would have represented . Along with 𛀆 and 𛀁 (yi and ye respectively), the syllable wu has no officially recognized kana, as these syllables do not occur in native Japanese words; however, during the Meiji period, linguists almost unanimously agreed on the kana for yi, ye, and wu. 𛀆 and wu are thought to have never occurred as syllables in Japanese, and 𛀁 was merged with え and エ. Characters In the Edo period and the Meiji period, some Japanese linguists tried to separate kana u and kana wu. The shapes of characters differed with each linguist. 𛄟 and 𛄢 were just two of many shapes. They were phonetic symbols to fill in the blanks of the gojuon table. Japanese people didn't separate them in normal writing.