Shōjo


Shōjo, shojo or shoujo is a Japanese word for "girl". The word is derived from a Classical Chinese expression written with the same characters. The Chinese characters literally mean "little" and "woman" respectively. In Japanese, these kanji refer specifically to a young woman approximately 7–18 years old.

Etymology

Like most kanji compounds, the term shōjo is borrowed from Classical Chinese characters. The original term is written as 少女, which can be pronounced as shào nǚ in Mandarin, so nyŏ in Korean, thiếu nữ in Vietnamese, and shōjo in Japanese.
The earliest surviving written record of the term 少女 is in the Book of the Later Han, published in China in the 5th century, in chapter 86, The myth of Yao, referring to young girls.
In the 7th century, the word was introduced into the Japanese language through the adoption of the Chinese-style Ritsuryō legal system, where it referred to females between the ages of 17 and 20.

Modern usage

In legal settings, shōjo is a subset of shōnen and refers to any female juvenile who has not reached the age of 20.
In Japan, the word shōjo has many applications outside of the law. It refers to anything of, for, or about school-age girls. Examples include shōjo manga, shōjo culture, shōjo novels, shōjo hobbies, and shōjo fashions, among others.

Footnotes