420 CE - Present

The on'yomi (音読み "sound(-based) reading"), the Sino-Japanese reading, is the modern descendant of the Japanese approximation of the base Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced.

Generally, on'yomi are classified into four types according to their region and time of origin:

• Go-on (呉音, "Wu sound") readings are from the pronunciation during the Northern and Southern dynasties of China during the 5th and 6th centuries.
• Kan-on (漢音, "Han sound") readings are from the pronunciation during the Tang dynasty of China in the 7th to 9th centuries, primarily from the standard speech of the capital, Chang'an (modern Xi'an).
• Tō-on (唐音, "Tang sound") readings are from the pronunciations of later dynasties of China, such as the Song and Ming.
• Kan'yō-on (慣用音, "customary sound") readings, which are mistaken or changed readings of the kanji that have become accepted into the Japanese language. .

Go-on

Go-on readings were introduced into Japan during the 5th and 6th centuries, when China was divided into separate Northern and Southern dynasties.

They may have been imported either directly from the Southern dynasty or from the Korean Peninsula.

There was an influx of thinkers from China and Korea to Japan at that time, including practititioners of both Buddhism and Confucianism.

Kanji	神	大	土	地	分
Meaning	God	Big	Dust	Land	Minute
Go-on	じん	だい	ど	ぢ di	ぶん
Kan-on	しん	たい	と	ち ti	ふん

Kan-on

They were borrowed during the Tang dynasty (7th to 9th century), introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China.

Kan-on is based on the central Chang'an pronunciation.The name Kan could refer to the Han dynasty, which also had Chang'an as its capital city.

The most common form of readings is the kan-on one, and use of a non-kan-on reading in a word where the kan-on reading is well known is a common cause of reading mistakes or difficulty.

Kanji	衣	愛	解	花	素
Meaning	Cloth	Love	Separate	Flower	Plain
Kan-on	い	あい	かい	くゎ	そ
Go-on	え	え	げ	げ	す