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1.3.4.6. What is the "kwa" in "kwaidan"?

In older texts, variant romanizations which are now no longer used are sometimes seen. Some examples of words romanized in this way have survived to the present day. Examples include:

• The vowel ''i'' plus ''o'' was sometimes used to represent the yōon (see 7.8. What is yōon?) sound, hence Tokyo becomes "Tokio" and Kyoto becomes "Kioto". This romanization can still be seen in the species name "mioga" of the Japanese vegetable myōga (a ginger-like root plant).
• The ''z'' consonant was romanized as ''dz'', as seen in the plant names "adzuki" and "kudzu".
• A ''y'' was added to the vowel ''e'', as in "yen" or "Inouye". See 5.2. Where does the word yen come from?.
• Based on the historical kana usage (see 1.1.7. What is historical kana usage?) writing くわ, the "ka" sound in "kaidan" "ghost story" was romanized as "kwa", as seen in Lafcadio Hearn's book "Kwaidan".
• The ぢ kana was romanized as "di", as can be seen in the name of the ice-cream company "Meidi-ya", which is pronounced "Meiji-ya".

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