異本

• Reading: いほん
• Romaji: ihon
• Kanji breakdown: 異 (i) — different | 本 (hon) — book, origin
• Pronunciation: /i.hoɴ/

Meaning

Variant text; a version of a literary work that differs from the standard or received text due to scribal variation, editing, or separate transmission.

A noun used in philological and textual scholarship to denote a manuscript or printed edition that diverges from the established authoritative text (定本). Before printing standardised texts, hand-copying inevitably produced variants through errors, deliberate revisions, or regional traditions. Scholars compare 異本 to reconstruct original texts and understand how works evolved. The concept is central to classical Japanese literary studies.

Examples

1. その古典作品には複数の異本が存在し、研究者の間で長年比較検討されてきた。 Multiple variant texts of that classical work exist and have been compared and debated by scholars for many years.
2. 発見された異本には、定本には見られない独自の章が含まれていた。 The newly discovered variant text contained a unique chapter not found in the standard edition.
3. 写本の時代には、書き手の誤写や意図的な改変によって異本が生まれた。 In the age of manuscript copying, variant texts arose through scribal errors and deliberate alterations by copyists.

Usage Guide

Context: philology, textual scholarship, classical literature, manuscript studies

Tone: academic

Origin & History

Compound of 異 (i) meaning 'different, unusual' and 本 (hon) meaning 'book, origin, main'. Together they denote a 'different book' — a version that diverges from the primary text.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: Adults

Social background: Scholars