History.

The evolution of triathlon as a distinct event is difficult to trace with precision. Many, including triathlon historian and author Scott Tinley, consider events in early twentieth century France to be the beginnings of triathlon, with many three element multisport events of differing composition appearing all called by different names. The earliest record for an event was from 1901 in Joinville-le-Pont, Val-de-Marne it called itself ""Les trois sports"" (The three sports) it was advertised as an event for "The sportsmen of the time" and consisted of a run bicycle and canoe segment. By 19 June 1921 the event in Joinville-le-Pont had become more like a standard triathlon with the canoe element being replaced with a swim, newspaper L’Auto stating the race consisted of a 3 km run, a 12 km bike ride and the crossing of the river Marne, all staged consecutively and without a break. Throughout the 1920s other bike, run, and swim events had appeared in different cities such as the ""Course des Trois Sports” in" Marseilles. And "La Course des Débrouillards" in Poissy. These multisport events would continue to slowly spread and grow in popularity such by 1934 "Les Trois Sports" was being hosted in the city of La Rochelle though it consisted three distinct events, swimming a channel crossing (200m), a bike competition around the harbour of La Rochelle and the parc Laleu(10 km), and a run in the stadium André-Barbeau(1.2 km). Throughout this growth with new events appearing no unified rules ever existed and as a whole would remain a minority event on the world stage.

Modern beginnings.

The first modern swim/bike/run event was held at Mission Bay, San Diego, California on September 25, 1974. The race was conceived and directed by two members of the San Diego Track Club, Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan. Johnstone recalls that he was a part of the 70s jogging craze in America and that after entering a few races he was not regaining his "mediocre fitness" despite having been a member of the 1957 Collegiate and AAU All-American swim teams. Then in 1973, Johnstone learned of the Dave Pain Birthday Biathlon, a 4.5 mile run followed by what was billed as a quarter-mile swim (the actual distance was between 200 and 300 yards). The following year after competing in the event for the second time and placing in the top ten Johnstone desired more of this style of race and with equal emphasis on the swim, so he petitioned the chairman of the San Diego Track Club who told him he would add a race to the club calendar but the rest of the race was up to Johnstone to organise and at the same time to contact Don Shanahan so there wouldn't be too many "weird" races on the club schedule. Shanahan told Johnstone that he wanted to include a biking leg to the race, whilst hesitant Johnstone agreed to the addition. When naming the event the pair used the unofficially agreed naming system for multisport event (already used for pentathlon, heptathlon, and decathlon), of using the prefix Greek number for the number of events "trias" (three) and suffix of "athlos" the Greek for a competition, hence named the event the Mission Bay Triathlon. It is worthy of note that neither founder had heard of the French events, both believing their race a unique idea.  On Wednesday, September 25, 1974 the race started, it began with a run of a three-mile loop, then biking twice around Fiesta Island for a total of five miles entrants would then get off the bikes, take their shoes off and run into the water swimming to the mainland, then ran in bare feet before swimming again along the bay, then did one last swim up to the entrance of Fiesta Island before crawling up a steep dirt bank to finish. Most participants were not skilled swimmers, so Johnstone recruited his 13-year-old son to float on his surfboard and act as lifeguard. Also some participants took longer than expected, and it began to get dark as they finished their swims. Shanahan recalls they pulled up a few cars and turned on the headlights so the athletes could see. The large number of entrants (46) surprised Johnstone and Shanahan with entrants mainly from local running clubs, two notable entrants Judy and John Collins, would four years later found the event which brought international attention to the new sport Ironman Hawaii.

European migration.

With the sport's popularity growing in the US its spread outside the country seemed inevitable, by 1980 triathlon had made its way across the Atlantic to northern Europe with the first European triathlon held on 30 August 1980 in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. The Netherlands, Belgium and West Germany follow after, all hosting an event in 1981, but the media coverage of these events is almost non-existent.  Then in 1982, the event organiser IMG, worked in partnership with the American channel CBS (direct competitor of ABC who held the exclusive rights to Hawaii), to create a new event that would take place in Europe. The initial aim was to establish a new premier competition, the European Triathlon, with the goal of being of the same size and prestige to directly compete with that of Hawaii. Originally the event was to be hosted in Monaco, but with the death of Princess Grace in September 1982 the previous agreements fell through; however, IMG refused to cancel the event so it was reorganised to be hosted in Nice, France. The first Nice Triathlon was held on 20 November 1982 where fifty seven competitors took the start, for an ill-defined competition that consisted of 1,500 meters of swimming, 100 kilometres of cycling and a marathon. In December of that year the national television station France 2 broadcast a program, "Voyage au bout de la souffrance" ("Journey to the End of Suffering") which detailed the events of the Nice Triathlon. This program shocked many that watched and was the introduction of the sport to the general public. Some fans of traditional sports strongly criticised this new practice as seven of the entrants were hospitalised due to the swim, as the temperature of the Mediterranean was only 14 °C. Despite this criticism IMG's plan succeeded and throughout the 1980s. The Nice triathlon was, alongside Hawaii, one of the two important Long Distance races each year for both prize money and media attention.  The year 1985 saw the creation of the first international triathlon structure, the European Triathlon Union (ETU) with the objectives to federate the triathlon structures in each European country and to act as a counterbalance to American triathlon in the creation of a future worldwide federation. The following year, the eleven nations that composed the ETU met in Brussels to standardise the national structures of each European country. During this time France dominated discussions, as it was the only federation recognised by its own National Olympic Committee. With the legitimacy from CONADET, forerunner of the French Triathlon Federation (FFTri), which has been organising triathlon in France since 1984 the French system became standard all over Europe.

A global federation.

The first attempt to create a global triathlon entity was the Triathlon Federation International (TFI), it had only 22 members most of which were national European federations. But immediately fights of influences broke out between the European and UK-American federations over many issues, particularly in view of a favourable vote system for the ETU, this causes immediate fracturing and the TFI never fully establish itself.  Around the same time, Canadian Les McDonald held talks with Juan Antonio Samaranch, then President of the International Olympic Committee. Samaranch had already declared his intention to add triathlon to the Olympic games as fast as possible, and assured that triathlon could appear as a demonstration sport at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona but only under the auspices of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon (UIPMB). Many within the triathlon community were unhappy with the arrangement wishing for their own federation not to be held as part of UIPMB. Unable to accept the offer, Samaranch established an Olympic working committee for triathlon in an effort to form a consensus on an Olympic route for the sport. McDonald was selected as President of the committee, while Sweden's Sture Jonasson was elected as Secretary.  Then in February 1989, an informal meeting was held in Vancouver, Canada where members of the working committee worked nonstop for a week on the statutes and regulations of the future International Triathlon Union (ITU). Then on 1 April 1989, 30 National Federations attended the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France. After further discussions on the way forward to reach the Olympics, including the refusal to follow the path of the UIPMB and how triathlon should develop both economically and as a sport, the Congress endorses the creation of the International Triathlon Union and elects its first executive committee. McDonald was elected President. The city of Avignon is also give the honour of hosting the first World Championship.  In 1991, the IOC recognized the ITU as the sole governing body for the sport of triathlon at its 97th session in Birmingham, UK. In 1993 the Pan American Games approved triathlon for competition at the 1995 Pan Am Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Then in September 1994, triathlon was added to the Olympic program as a medal earning sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Organisations.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in 1989 as the international governing body of the sport, with the chief goal, at that time, of putting triathlon on the Olympic program. The ITU sanctions and organises the World Triathlon Series and World Cup races each year, with annual world champions crowned each year for elite pro-triathletes, junior pro-triathletes, and age-group athletes. ITU races are conducted in a draft legal format for the bike leg, whereas drafting is not permitted at the amateur level. In addition, the ITU has a Long Distance Triathlon series.  The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a private company that sanctions and organises the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races each year. These races serve as qualifying events for their own annual World Championships. The Ironman World Championship is held annually in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October while the Ironman 70.3 World Championship is held in September and changes location each year. The "Ironman" and "Iron" brands are property of the WTC. Therefore, long-distance multi-sport events organized by groups other than the WTC may not officially be called "Ironman" or "Iron" races. For its part, the ITU does not sanction WTC races; however, USAT uses a combination of ITU and WTC rules to sanction WTC's branded events.  Many other organisations exist from local clubs hosting one 100 entrant race a year up to companies like the Challenge Family brand produces long-distance events around the world, and includes events like Challenge Roth. International Ultra-Triathlon Association (IUTA) is the official governing body of Ultratriathlon, which involves triathlon in distances longer than an iron-distance race.

Conflict.

Two major rule making bodies, the ITU and WTC, had an overlap of rules and authority, an issue which began to create conflict in the 2000s. This culminated in 2005 when the ITU and USAT asked all national triathlon federations to refuse to continue sanctioning any WTC events. The reasons for this stemmed from WTC not recognising the ITU as the sport's governing body as WTC was attempting to set up their own federation. Furthermore, ITU and USAT argued against supporting WTC because they were a profit driven organisation, that it was directly conflicting with ITU titles, such as the long and standard distance world championship, and that the WTC was not following World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. If ITU member nations did not comply with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter rules they risked being excluded from the Olympic program. However, in 2006, the ITU backed down on its stance allowing national federations to once again sanction WTC events. This was due to an out of court settlement days before a lawsuit at the court for the arbitration of sports. This settlement had a large effect on WTC races including WADA membership for the WTC and out of competition testing for elite athletes.  Since 2008, coinciding with leadership changes at both the ITU and WTC, the two organisations have been slowly working together. Efforts in 2012 and 2014 resulted in the announcement that Ironman would standardise the rule set for its 2015 races, and would start the unification toward ITU rules on long-distance racing with specific interest on the drafting and penalty rules.  In 2017 the ITU and WTC signed a memorandum of understanding in which the two organisations stated they will:

Race formats.

Triathlons longer than full distance are classed as Ultra-triathlons.  Triathlons are not necessarily restricted to these prescribed distances. Distances can be any combination of distance set by race organizers to meet various distance constraints or to attract a certain type of athlete.  The standard Olympic distance of 1.5/40/10km (0.93/24.8/6.2miles) was created by longtime triathlon race director Jim Curl in the mid-1980s, after he and partner Carl Thomas produced the U.S. Triathlon Series (USTS) between 1982 and 1997.  In addition to the above distances, two new long-distance events have appeared, the 111 and 222 events. The 111 distance is swimming, bicycling and running, totalling. The 222 distance is double that.  Most triathlons are individual events. Another format is relay triathlons, where a team of competitors take turns to compete at a race; each competitor must do a segment of swimming, cycling and running. The ITU Team Triathlon World Championships began with two separate classifications for men and women. In 2009, it adopted a 4x4 mixed relay format, where each team has two men and two women. The triathlon at the Youth Olympic Games also has a 4x mixed relay since 2010, and the event will be introduced at the 2020 Summer Olympics  The ITU accepts a 5% margin of error in the cycle and run course distances. Though there can be some variation in race distances, particularly among short triathlons, most triathlons conform to one of those above standards.

Race organization.

In general, participation in a triathlon requires an athlete to register and sign up in advance of the actual race. After registration, racers are often provided a race number, colored swim cap, and, if the event is being electronically timed, a timing band. Athletes will either be provided or briefed on details of the course, rules, and any problems to look out for (road conditions, closures, traffic lights, aid stations). At a major event, such as an Ironman or a long course championship, triathletes may be required to set up and check-in their bike in the transition area a day or two before the race start, leaving it overnight and under guard.  On the day of the race, before the start of competition, athletes will generally be provided with a bike rack to hold their bicycle and a small section of ground space for shoes, clothing, etc. in the transition area. In some triathlons, there are two transition areas, one for the swim/bike change, then one for the bike/run change at a different location.  Racers are generally categorized into separate professional and amateur categories. Amateurs, who make up the large majority of triathletes, are often referred to as "age groupers" since they are typically further classified by sex and age; which offers the opportunity to compete against others of one's own gender and age group. The age groups are defined in five- or ten-year intervals. There is typically a lower age limit; which can vary from race to race. In some triathlons, heavier amateur athletes may have the option to compete against others closer to their own weight since weight is often considered an impediment to speed. As an example, under USA Triathlon rules, "Clydesdale" athletes are those men over, while "Athena" athletes are women over. Other races and organizations can choose whether or not to offer Clydesdale- and Athena-type divisions and set their own weight standards.  Depending on the type and size of the race, there may be any of the following methods implemented to start the race. In a mass start, all athletes enter the water and begin the competition following a single start signal. In wave start events, smaller groups of athletes begin the race every few minutes. An athlete's wave is usually determined either by age group or by predicted swim time. Wave starts are more common in shorter races where a large number of amateur athletes are competing. Another option is individual time trial starts, where athletes enter the water one at a time, a few seconds apart.  The swim leg usually proceeds around a series of marked buoys before athletes exit the water near the transition area. Racers exit out of the water, enter the transition area, and change from their swim gear and into their cycling gear. Competition and pressure for faster times have led to the development of specialized triathlon clothing that is adequate for both swimming and cycling, allowing many racers to have a transition that consists of only removing their wetsuit, cap, and goggles and pulling on a helmet and cycling shoes. In some cases, racers leave their cycling shoes attached to their bicycle pedals and slip their feet into them while riding. Some triathletes don't wear socks, decreasing their time spent in transition even more.  The cycling stage proceeds around a marked course, typically on public roads. In many cases, especially smaller triathlons, roads are not closed to automobiles; however, traffic coordinators are often present to help control traffic. Typically, the cycling stage finishes back at the same transition area. Racers enter the transition area, rack their bicycles, and quickly change into running shoes before heading out for the final stage. The running stage usually ends at a separate finish line near the transition area.  In most races, "aid stations" located on the bike and run courses provide water and energy drinks to the athletes as they pass by. Aid stations at longer events may often provide various types of food as well, including such items as energy bars, energy gels, fruit, cookies, soup, and ice.  Once the triathletes have completed the event, there is typically another aid station for them to get water, fruit, and other post-race refreshments. Occasionally, at the end of larger or longer events, the provided amenities and post-race celebrations may be more elaborate.

Rules of triathlon.

While specific rules for triathlon can vary depending on the governing body (e.g. USA Triathlon, ITU), as well as for an individual race venue, there are some basic universal rules. Traditionally, triathlon is an individual sport and each athlete is competing against the course and the clock for the best time. As such, athletes are not allowed to receive assistance from anyone else outside the race, with the exception of race-sanctioned aid volunteers who distribute food and water on the course. Triathlons are timed in five sequential sections:  Results are usually posted on official websites and will show for each triathlete his/her swim time; cycle time (with transitions included); run time; and total time. Some races also post transition times separately.  Other rules of triathlon vary from race to race and generally involve descriptions of allowable equipment (for example, wetsuits are allowed in USAT events in the swimming stage of some races when the water temperature is below ), and prohibitions against interference between athletes. Additionally, the use of flippers or other swim propulsion and flotation aids are illegal in triathlon and can result in disqualification.  One rule involving the cycle leg is that the competitor's helmet must be donned before the competitor mounts (or even takes possession of, in certain jurisdictions) the bike and must remain on until the competitor has dismounted; the competitor may not be required to wear the helmet when not on the bicycle (e.g. while repairing a mechanical problem). Failure to comply with this rule will result in disqualification. Additionally, while on the bike course, all bicycles shall be propelled only by human force and human power. Other than pushing a bicycle, any propulsive action brought on by use of the hands is prohibited. Should a competitor's bike malfunction they can proceed with the race as long as they are doing so with their bicycle in tow. There are also strict rules regarding the 'bike mount' line. Competitors may not begin riding their bicycle out of transition until they are over a clearly marked line. Mounting the bike prior to this may incur a penalty (example: a 15-second time penalty at the London 2012 Olympics was awarded to Jonathan Brownlee, a competitor from Great Britain, for mounting his bike too early.)  Other time penalties can be incurred during the race for, among other things, drafting on the bike in a non-drafting race, improper passing, littering on course, and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Triathlon and fitness.

Participants in triathlon often use the sport to improve or maintain their physical fitness. With each sport being an endurance event, training for a triathlon provides cardiovascular exercise benefits. Additionally, triathletes encounter fewer injuries than those who only use running as part of their exercise routine due to the incorporation of low impact swim and bike training.  Triathletes spend many hours training for competitions, like other endurance event participants. There are three components that have been researched to improve endurance sports performance; aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, and economy. Injuries that are incurred from long hours of a single activity are not as common in triathlon as they are in single sport events. The cross-training effect that athletes achieve from training for one sport by doing a second activity applies to triathlon training. Additional activities that triathletes perform for cross-training benefits are yoga, pilates, and weight training.

Swimming.

Triathletes will often use their legs less vigorously and more carefully than other swimmers, conserving their leg muscles for the cycle and run to follow. Many triathletes use altered swim strokes to compensate for turbulent, aerated water and to conserve energy for a long swim. In addition, the majority of triathlons involve open-water (outdoor) swim stages, rather than pools with lane markers. As a result, triathletes in the swim stage must jockey for position, and can gain some advantage by drafting, following a competitor closely to swim in their slipstream. Triathletes will often use "dolphin kicking" and diving to make headway against waves, and body surfing to use a wave's energy for a bit of speed at the end of the swim stage. Also, open-water swims necessitate "sighting": raising the head to look for landmarks or buoys that mark the course. A modified stroke allows the triathlete to lift the head above water to sight without interrupting the swim or wasting energy.  Because open water swim areas are often cold and because wearing a wetsuit provides a competitive advantage, specialized triathlon wetsuits have been developed in a variety of styles to match the conditions of the water. For example, wetsuits that are sleeveless and cut above the knee are designed for warmer waters, while still providing buoyancy. Wetsuits are legal in sanctioned events at which the surface water temperature is or less. In non-sanctioned events or in "age group" classes where most racers are simply participating for the enjoyment of the sport instead of vying for official triathlon placing, wetsuits can often be used at other temperatures. Race directors will sometimes discourage or ban wetsuits if the water temperature is above due to overheating that can occur while wearing a wetsuit. Other rules have been implemented by race organizers regarding both wetsuit thickness as well as the use of "swim skins;" which need to be considered by those participating in future triathlons. Some triathlon sanctioning bodies have placed limits on the thickness of the wetsuit material. Under ITU and some national governing bodies' rules no wetsuit may have a thickness of more than.

Cycling.

Triathlon cycling can differ from most professional bicycle racing depending on whether drafting is allowed during competition. In some competitions, like those governed by USA Triathlon and the World Triathlon Corporation, drafting is not allowed, and thus the cycling portion more closely resembles individual time trial racing. In other races, such as those in World Cup and Championship racing, drafting and the formation of pelotons are legal. This places an emphasis on running performance as several athletes will enter the bike to run transition at the same time due to drafting.  Triathlon bicycles are generally optimized for aerodynamics, having special handlebars called aero-bars or tri-bars, aerodynamic wheels, and other components. Triathlon bikes use a specialized geometry, including a steep seat-tube angle both to improve aerodynamics and to spare muscle groups needed for running (see also triathlon equipment). At the end of the bike segment, triathletes also often cycle with a higher cadence (revolutions per minute), which serves in part to keep the muscles loose and flexible for running.

Running.

The primary distinguishing feature of running in a triathlon is that it occurs after the athlete has already been exercising in two other disciplines for an extended period of time, so many muscles are already tired. The effect of switching from cycling to running can be profound; first-time triathletes are often astonished at their muscle weakness, which may be caused by lactate accumulation and the bizarre, sometimes painful sensation in their thighs a few hundred yards into the run, and discover that they run at a much slower pace than they are accustomed to in training. Triathletes train for this phenomenon through transition workouts known as "bricks": back-to-back workouts involving two disciplines, most commonly cycling and running.

Transition.

The change over from sport to sport takes place in a designated transition area. The transition provides a staging area where bicycles, running shoes, hydration and other gear is set up ready to be used during the course of the event. The first transition, known as "T1", is between the swim-to-bike segments of the race. The second transition, "T2", is between the bike-to-run segments. Most events have one common transition area for both T1 and T2, while some point to point events have two separate transition areas. The time spent in transition is a timed segment and contributes towards the overall finishing time of the event.

Notable events.

ITU-sanctioned events.

Olympics.

The sport made its debut on the Olympic program at the Sydney Games in 2000 over the Olympic Distance (swim: – bike: – run: ).

Paralympics.

Paratriathlon at the Summer Paralympics debuted at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paratriathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The Paralympic event originally scheduled a sprint race with athletes competing in six categories according to the nature of their physical impairments.

Other events.

Thousands of individual triathlons are held around the world each year. A few of these races are well known because they have a long history or because they have particularly grueling courses and race conditions.

A triathlon is a multisport race with three continuous and sequential endurance races. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς or "treis" (three) and ἆθλος or "athlos" (competition).

三项全能(英语:triathlon,源自希腊语),又称为铁人三项,简称铁人赛或三铁,是由三项运动组成的比赛。现代比赛通常由游泳、自行车、长跑三个项目顺序组成,运动员需要连续完成三个运动项目,转换项目时更换衣服和鞋的时间亦计算在比赛时间之内。因此,若运动员只擅长其中一项,并不代表比赛占有优势。运动员进行比赛前需要适当地锻炼体能和耐力,以确保每个阶段都能够顺利完成。


Etymology.

"Saranda" is from the name of the Byzantine monastery of the "Agioi Saranda" (), meaning the "Forty Saints", in honor of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Under Ottoman rule, the town in the Turkish language became known as "Aya Sarandi" and then "Sarandoz". Owing to Venetian influence in the region, it often appeared under its Italian name "Santi Quaranta" on Western maps. This usage continued even after the establishment of the Principality of Albania, owing to the first Italian occupation of the region. During the Italian occupation of Albania in World War II, Benito Mussolini changed the name to "Porto Edda", in honor of his eldest daughter. Following the restoration of Albanian independence, the city employed its Albanian name "Saranda".

History.

Ancient.

Due to the archaic features found in the ancient Greek name of the city: Onchesmus () and the toponyms of the surrounding region it appears that the site was part of the proto-Greek area of late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC Bronze Age tools typical of Mycenaean Greece have been unearthed in Sarandë which date c. 1400-1100 BC. In antiquity the city was known by the name of Onchesmus or Onchesmos and was a port-town of Chaonia in ancient Epirus, opposite the northwestern point of Corcyra, and the next port upon the coast to the south of Panormus. It was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians. Onchesmos flourished as the port of the Chaonian capital Phoenice (modern-day Finiq). It seems to have been a place of importance in the time of Cicero, and one of the ordinary points of departure from Epirus to Italy, as Cicero calls the wind favourable for making that passage an "Onchesmites". According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus the real name of the place was the Port of Anchises (Ἀγχίσου λιμήν), named after Anchises, the father of Aeneas; and it was probably owing to this tradition that the name Onchesmus assumed the form of Anchiasmus or Anchiasmos () under the Byzantine Empire.  Saranda, then under the name of Onchesmos, is held to be the site of Albania's first synagogue, which was built in the 4th or 5th century. It is thought that it was built by the descendants of Jews who arrived on the southern shores of Albania around 70 CE. Onchesmos' synagogue was supplanted by a church in the 6th century.  The city was probably raided by the Ostrogoths in 551 AD, while during this period it became also the target of piratic raids by Gothic ships. In a medieval chronicle of 1191 the settlement appears to be abandoned, while its former name (Anchiasmos) isn't mentioned any more. From that year, the toponym borrows the name of the nearby Orthodox basilica church of "Agioi Saranta", erected in the 6th century, ca. southeast of the modern town.

Modern.

In the early 19th century during the rule of Ali Pasha, British diplomat William Martin Leake reported that there existed a small settlement under the name Skala or Skaloma next to the harbor. Following the Ottoman administrative reform of 1867, a müdürluk (independent unit) of Sarandë consisting of no other villages was created within the kaza (district) of Delvinë. Sarandë in the late Ottoman period until the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) consisted of only a harbour being a simple commercial station without permanent residents or any institutional community organisation. The creation of the Saranda müdürluk was related to the desires of Ottoman authorities to upgrade the port and reduce the economic dependence of the area on Ioannina and Preveza. In 1878, a Greek rebellion broke out, with revolutionaries taking control of Sarandë and Delvinë. This was suppressed by Ottoman troops, who burned twenty villages in the region. One of the earliest photographs of Saranda dates from 3 March 1913 and shows Greek soldiers in the main street during the course of the Second Balkan War. Saranda was a major centre of the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.  Greek troops occupied it during the Balkan Wars. Later, the town was included in the newly formed Albanian state in 17 December 1913 under the terms of the Protocol of Florence. The decision was rejected by the local Greek population, and as the Greek army withdrew to the new border, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was established. In May 1914, negotiations were started in Sarandë between representative of the provisional government of Northern Epirus and that of Albania which continued in nearby Corfu and ended up with the recognition of the Northern Epirote autonomy inside the newly established Albanian state.  It was then occupied by Italy between 1916 and 1920 as part of the Italian Protectorate on southern Albania. Throughout 1926–1939 of the interwar period, Italy financed extensive improvements to the harbour at Sarandë. A small Romanian concession was established in 1934. Sarandë was again occupied by Italian forces in 1939 and was a strategic port during the Italian invasion of Greece. During this occupation, it was called "Porto Edda" in honor of the eldest daughter of Benito Mussolini.  During the Greco-Italian War, the city came under the control of the advancing Greek forces, on 6 December 1940. The capture of this strategic port further accelerated the Greek penetration to the north. As a result of the German invasion in Greece in April 1941, the town returned to Italian control. On 9 October 1944 the town was captured by a group of British commandos under Brigadier Tom Churchill and local partisans of LANÇ under Islam Radovicka. The involvement of the British troops was considered problematic by LANÇ as they considered that they would use the town as their base and install allies of the Greek resistance in the area as British documents indicate that EDES forces also joined the operation. However, the British troops soon withdrew from the region, leaving the region to the Albanian communist forces.  As part of the People's Republic of Albania (1945-1991) policies a number of Muslim Albanians were settled from northern Albania in the area and local Christians are no longer the only community in Saranda. During this period as a result of the atheistic campaign launched by the state the church of Saint Spyridon in the harbor of the city was demolished. After the restoration of democracy in Albania (1991) a small shrine was erected at the place of the church.  During the Albanian Civil War (1997) units comprised by the local Greek minority were able to achieve the first military success through capture of a military tank for the opposition forces.

Environment.

Geography.

The district of Saranda lies in the most southern extremity of Albania. It is bordered with Vlora to the north, Delvina and Gjirokastër to the east and with Greece to the south of Ionian Sea. Saranda is a place in the most southern part of Albania. It lies between the hills that descend and reach the Ionian Sea. The district of Saranda has a plain relief which is composed of southern seashore mountains that lie from Borsh to the bay of Ftelia, Vrina Fields and the hills of Saranda, Lëkurësi, Ksamil, Butrint and Konispol. All these units make up the southern part of the Albanian Riviera where the eye catches the countless bays, beaches, the rocky coastline, hills with olives and citrus, mountains that surround the landscape. Saranda is traversed by Kalasa, Bistrica and Pavlla rivers which flow in the Ionian Sea. In Saranda's hydrograph belongs even Butrinti Lake which is one of the biggest sea lakes in Albania. The Butrint Lake is very rich in sea species and in their waters now are being growing mussels. Its relief, geographical location and subtropical climate create favorable conditions for planting citrus trees and olives.  The present municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Ksamil and Sarandë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Sarandë.

Climate.

Sarandë has a typical Mediterranean climate and has over 300 sunny days a year. During the summer, temperatures may rise as high as 30 degrees Celsius. However, a refreshing sea breeze constantly blows. Winters are mild and subzero temperatures are uncommon. The wettest months of the year are November and December. Summers are very dry.

Demographics.

During the late Ottoman period until the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) Sarandë consisted of only a harbour and was without permanent residents. In 1912, right after the Albanian Declaration of Independence, the settlement had only 110 inhabitants. At the 1927 census, it had 810 inhabitants, but was not yet a town. In the 1930s, it had a good demographic development, and it is in this period that the first public buildings and the main roads were constructed. In 1957, the city had 8,700 inhabitants and was made the center of a district. The population of Sarandë was exclusively Christian. A Muslim community was settled in the city as part of the resettlement policies during the People's Republic of Albania (1945–1991).  The total population is 20,227 (2011 census), in a total area of 70.13 km. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 17,233; however, the population according to the civil offices is 41,173 (2013 estimate).  According to a survey by the Albanian Helsinki Committee, in 1990 Sarandë numbered 17,000 inhabitants, of whom 7,500 belonged to the Greek minority. The members of the Greek minority of the city, prior to the collapse of the socialist regime (1991), were deprived from their minority rights, since Sarandë did not belong to the "minority areas". In fieldwork undertaken by Greek scholar Leonidas Kallivretakis in the area during 1992 noted that Saranda's mixed ethno-linguistic composition (total population in 1992: 17,555) consisted of 8,055 Muslim Albanians, 6,500 Greeks and an Orthodox Albanian population of 3,000. Statistics from the same study showed that, including the surround villages, Sarande commune had a population consisting of 43% Albanian Muslims, 14% Albanian Christians, 41% Greek Christians, and 2% Aromanian Christians. In the early 1990s, the local Orthodox Albanian population mainly voted for political parties of the Greek minority based in the Saranda area.  Since the 1990s the population of Sarandë has nearly doubled. According to official estimation in 2013, the population of the city is 41,173. According to a survey conducted by the Albanian Committee of Helsinki, in 2001 the Albanian population numbered about 26,500, while Greeks formed the rest with about 3,400 alongside a small number of Vlachs and Roma. The city, according to the Albanian Committee of Helsinki, has lost more than half of its ethnic Greeks from 1991 to 2001, because of heavy emigration to Greece. According to official estimates of 2014 the number of the Greek community in the former municipality is 7,920, not to count those who live in the wider current municipality (including additionally 4,207 in Ksamil). Sarandë is considered one of the two centers of the Greek minority in Albania, Gjirokastër being the other. According to Human Rights Watch, the Greek community is large enough to warrant a Greek school, according to the local state legislation about minorities, but one still does not exist. According to the representatives of the Greek minority, 42% of the town's population belong to the local Greek community.

Economy.

Given its coastal access and Mediterranean climate, Sarandë has become an important tourist attraction since the fall of communism in Albania. Saranda as well as the rest of the Albanian Riviera, according to "The Guardian", "is set to become the new "undiscovered gem" of the overcrowded Med." Tourism is thus the major economic resource, while other resources include services, fisheries and construction. The unemployment rate according to the population census of 2008 was 8.32%. It has been suggested that family tourism and seasonal work during the summer period help mitigate the real unemployment rate. Recently, the town has experienced an uncontrolled construction boom which may hamper the city's future tourism potential. Since 2012, the Port of Saranda is undergoing an expansion to accommodate cruise ships at its terminal.

Tourism.

Tourism is the main driver of the economy of Sarandë. It is a significant tourist destination on the Ionian Sea, and by far one of the most popular destination in Albania.  It's a prosperous region with varied attractions, plants and mountains, rivers and lakes, springs and virgin beaches, citrus plantations, olive groves and vineyards, pastures and woods, fish and shellfish farming, desirable hunting places. In short, the right place for the development of tourism. Saranda's stony beaches are quite decent and there are plenty of sights in and around town, including the mesmerising ancient archaeological site of Butrint and the hypnotic Blue Eye Spring. Between Saranda and Butrint, the lovely beaches and islands of Ksamil are perfect for a dip after a day of exploring.

International relations.

Saranda has cooperation agreements with the following cities/regions:

Sarandë (; ; ), also Saranda, is a coastal town in Albania. Geographically, it is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the central Mediterranean, about east of the northern end of the island of Corfu. Stretching along the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast, Saranda typically has over 300 sunny days a year.

萨兰达(阿尔巴尼亚语:Sarandë)是位于阿尔巴尼亚南部的一个沿海城市,属夫罗勒州萨兰达区一部分。萨兰达是阿尔巴尼亚全国最重要的旅游城市之一,其附近的文化古城布特林特被列入世界文化遗产名录之中。萨兰达也是阿尔巴尼亚重要的港口。在2001年阿尔巴尼亚全国的人口普查中,达特福区居住人口有85,911人。2008年,萨兰达居住人口有32000人。萨兰达有着多样的植物品种,因此也是阿尔巴尼亚重要的疗养度假都市。随着近年到访萨兰达的游客数量持续上升,萨兰达沿海岸线一带的度假旅馆、民宿、酒店数量也不断增加。进入21世纪初期后,许多新人选择在萨兰达进行新婚旅行,萨兰达也因此是一座蜜月旅行都市。现在萨兰达的观光产业取得了巨大的发展。萨兰达的主要产业是观光业。现时萨兰达的服务业、渔业、建造业等产业也很发达。自2012年起,萨兰达港口的规模得到了扩大。


Pronunciation and etymology.

"Yen" derives from the Japanese word, which borrows its phonetic reading from Chinese yuan, similar to North Korean won and South Korean won. Originally, the Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived, the Chinese called them "silver rounds" () for their circular shapes. The coins and the name also appeared in Japan. While the Chinese eventually replaced with, the Japanese continued to use the same word, which was given the shinjitai form in reforms at the end of World War II.  The spelling and pronunciation "yen" is standard in English because when Japan was first encountered by Europeans around the 16th century, Japanese () and () both had been pronounced and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them "ye". By the middle of the 18th century, and came to be pronounced as in modern Japanese, although some regions retain the pronunciation. Walter Henry Medhurst, who had neither been to Japan nor met any Japanese, having consulted mainly a Japanese-Dutch dictionary, spelled some "e"s as "ye" in his "An English and Japanese, and Japanese and English Vocabulary" (1830). In the early Meiji era, James Curtis Hepburn, following Medhurst, spelled all "e"s as "ye" in his "A Japanese and English dictionary" (1867); in Japanese, "e" and "i" are slightly palatalized, somewhat as in Russian. That was the first full-scale Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling "yen". Hepburn revised most "ye"s to "e" in the 3rd edition (1886) to mirror the contemporary pronunciation, except "yen". This was probably already fixed and has remained so ever since.

History.

Introduction.

In the 19th century, silver Spanish dollar coins were common throughout Southeast Asia, the China coast, and Japan. These coins had been introduced through Manila over a period of two hundred and fifty years, arriving on ships from Acapulco in Mexico. These ships were known as the Manila galleons. Until the 19th century, these silver dollar coins were actual Spanish dollars minted in the new world, mostly at Mexico City. But from the 1840s, they were increasingly replaced by silver dollars of the new Latin American republics. In the later half of the 19th century, some local coins in the region were made in the resemblance of the Mexican peso. The first of these local silver coins was the Hong Kong silver dollar coin that was minted in Hong Kong between the years 1866 and 1869. The Chinese were slow to accept unfamiliar coinage and preferred the familiar Mexican dollars, and so the Hong Kong government ceased minting these coins and sold the mint machinery to Japan. The Japanese then decided to adopt a silver dollar coinage under the name of 'yen', meaning 'a round object'. The yen was officially adopted by the Meiji government in an Act signed on June 27, 1871. The new currency was gradually introduced beginning from July of that year. The yen was therefore basically a dollar unit, like all dollars, descended from the Spanish Pieces of eight, and up until the year 1873, all the dollars in the world had more or less the same value. The yen replaced Tokugawa coinage, a complex monetary system of the Edo period based on the mon. The "New Currency Act" of 1871, stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of "yen" (1, ),'(, ), and'(, ), with the coins being round and manufactured using Western machinery. The yen was legally defined as 0.78 troy ounces (24.26 g) of pure silver, or 1.5 grams of pure gold (as recommended by the European Congress of Economists in Paris in 1867; the 5-yen coin was equivalent to the Argentine 5 peso fuerte coin), hence putting it on a bimetallic standard. Following the silver devaluation of 1873, the yen devalued against the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar (since those two countries adhered to a gold standard), and by the year 1897, the yen was worth only about US$0.50. In that year, Japan adopted a gold exchange standard and hence froze the value of the yen at $0.50. This exchange rate remained in place until Japan left the gold standard in December 1931, after which the yen fell to $0.30 by July 1932 and to $0.20 by 1933. It remained steady at around $0.30 until the start of the Pacific War on December 7, 1941, at which time it fell to $0.23.  The sen and the rin were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953.

Fixed value of the yen to the U.S. dollar.

No true exchange rate existed for the yen between December 7, 1941, and April 25, 1949; wartime inflation reduced the yen to a fraction of its pre-war value. After a period of instability, on April 25, 1949, the U.S. occupation government fixed the value of the yen at ¥360 per US$1 through a United States plan, which was part of the Bretton Woods System, to stabilize prices in the Japanese economy. That exchange rate was maintained until 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard, which had been a key element of the Bretton Woods System, and imposed a 10 percent surcharge on imports, setting in motion changes that eventually led to floating exchange rates in 1973.

Undervalued yen.

By 1971, the yen had become undervalued. Japanese exports were costing too little in international markets, and imports from abroad were costing the Japanese too much. This undervaluation was reflected in the current account balance, which had risen from the deficits of the early 1960s, to a then-large surplus of US$5.8 billion in 1971. The belief that the yen, and several other major currencies, were undervalued motivated the United States' actions in 1971.

Yen and major currencies float.

Following the United States' measures to devalue the dollar in the summer of 1971, the Japanese government agreed to a new, fixed exchange rate as part of the Smithsonian Agreement, signed at the end of the year. This agreement set the exchange rate at ¥308 per US$1. However, the new fixed rates of the Smithsonian Agreement were difficult to maintain in the face of supply and demand pressures in the foreign-exchange market. In early 1973, the rates were abandoned, and the major nations of the world allowed their currencies to float.

Japanese government intervention in the currency market.

In the 1970s, Japanese government and business people were very concerned that a rise in the value of the yen would hurt export growth by making Japanese products less competitive and would damage the industrial base. The government therefore continued to intervene heavily in foreign-exchange marketing (buying or selling dollars), even after the 1973 decision to allow the yen to float.  Despite intervention, market pressures caused the yen to continue climbing in value, peaking temporarily at an average of ¥271 per US$1 in 1973, before the impact of the 1973 oil crisis was felt. The increased costs of imported oil caused the yen to depreciate to a range of ¥290 per US$1 to ¥300 per US$1 between 1974 and 1976. The re-emergence of trade surpluses drove the yen back up to ¥211 in 1978. This currency strengthening was again reversed by the second oil shock in 1979, with the yen dropping to ¥227 per US$1 by 1980.

Yen in the early 1980s.

During the first half of the 1980s, the yen failed to rise in value even though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly. From ¥221 per US$1 in 1981, the average value of the yen actually dropped to ¥239 per US$1 in 1985. The rise in the current account surplus generated stronger demand for yen in foreign-exchange markets, but this trade-related demand for yen was offset by other factors. A wide differential in interest rates, with United States interest rates much higher than those in Japan, and the continuing moves to deregulate the international flow of capital, led to a large net outflow of capital from Japan. This capital flow increased the supply of yen in foreign-exchange markets, as Japanese investors changed their yen for other currencies (mainly dollars) to invest overseas. This kept the yen weak relative to the dollar and fostered the rapid rise in the Japanese trade surplus that took place in the 1980s.

Effect of the Plaza Accord.

In 1985, a dramatic change began. Finance officials from major nations signed an agreement (the Plaza Accord) affirming that the dollar was overvalued (and, therefore, the yen undervalued). This agreement, and shifting supply and demand pressures in the markets, led to a rapid rise in the value of the yen. From its average of ¥239 per US$1 in 1985, the yen rose to a peak of ¥128 in 1988, virtually doubling its value relative to the dollar. After declining somewhat in 1989 and 1990, it reached a new high of ¥123 to US$1 in December 1992. In April 1995, the yen hit a peak of under 80 yen per dollar, temporarily making Japan's economy nearly the size of that of the US.

Post-bubble years.

The yen declined during the Japanese asset price bubble and continued to do so afterwards, reaching a low of ¥134 to US$1 in February 2002. The Bank of Japan's policy of zero interest rates has discouraged yen investments, with the carry trade of investors borrowing yen and investing in better-paying currencies (thus further pushing down the yen) estimated to be as large as $1 trillion. In February 2007, "The Economist" estimated that the yen was 15% undervalued against the dollar, and as much as 40% undervalued against the euro.

After the global economic crisis of 2008.

However, this trend of depreciation reversed after the global economic crisis of 2008. Other major currencies, except the Swiss franc, have been declining relative to the yen.  On April 4, 2013, the Bank of Japan announced that they would expand their Asset Purchase Program by $1.4 trillion in two years. The Bank of Japan hopes to bring Japan from deflation to inflation, aiming for 2% inflation. The amount of purchases is so large that it is expected to double the money supply. But this move has sparked concerns that the authorities in Japan are deliberately devaluing the yen in order to boost exports. However, the commercial sector in Japan worried that the devaluation would trigger an increase in import prices, especially for energy and raw materials.

Coins.

Coins were introduced in 1870. There were silver 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-sen and 1-yen, and gold 2-, 5-, 10- and 20-yen. Gold 1-yen were introduced in 1871, followed by copper 1-rin, -, 1- and 2-sen in 1873. Cupronickel 5-sen coins were introduced in 1889. In 1897, the silver 1-yen coin was demonetized and the sizes of the gold coins were reduced by 50%, with 5-, 10- and 20-yen coins issued. In 1920, cupro-nickel 10-sen coins were introduced.  Production of silver coins ceased in 1938, after which a variety of base metals were used to produce 1-, 5- and 10-sen coins during the Second World War. Clay 5- and 10-sen coins were produced in 1945, but not issued for circulation.  After the war, brass 50-sen, 1- and 5-yen were introduced between 1946 and 1948. In 1949, the current type of holed 5-yen was introduced, followed by bronze 10-yen (of the type still in circulation) in 1951.  Coins in denominations of less than 1-yen became invalid on December 31, 1953, following enforcement of the.  In 1955, the current type of aluminium 1-yen was introduced, along with unholed, nickel 50-yen. In 1957, silver 100-yen pieces were introduced, followed by the holed 50-yen coin in 1959. These were replaced in 1967 by the current cupro-nickel type, along with a smaller 50-yen coin. In 1982, the first 500-yen coins were introduced.  The date (expressed as the year in the reign of the emperor at the time the coin was stamped) is on the reverse of all coins, and, in most cases, country name (through 1945, ; after 1945, and the value in kanji is on the obverse, except for the present 5-yen coin where the country name is on the reverse.  Alongside with the 5-Swiss franc coin and the rarely used 5-Cuban convertible peso coin, the 500-yen coin is one of the highest-valued coin to be used regularly in the world, with value of US$4.5. Because of this high face value, the 500-yen coin has been a favorite target for counterfeiters; it was counterfeited to such an extent, that in 2000, a new series of coins was issued with various security features, but counterfeiting continued.  The 1-yen coin is made out of 100% aluminium and can float on water if placed correctly.  On various occasions, commemorative coins are minted, often in gold and silver with face values up to 100,000 yen. The first of these were silver ¥100 and ¥1000 Summer Olympic coins issued on the occasion of the 1964 games. Recently this practice is undertaken with the 500-yen coin, the first two types were issued in 1985, in commemoration of the science and technology exposition in Tsukuba and the 100th anniversary of the Governmental Cabinet system. The current commemorative 500- and 1000-yen coin series honouring the 47 prefectures of Japan commenced in 2008, with 47 unique designs planned for each denomination. Only one coin per customer is available from banks in each prefecture. 100,000 of each 1000-yen silver coin have been minted. Even though all commemorative coins can be spent like ordinary (non-commemorative) coins, they are not seen often in typical daily use and normally do not circulate.  Instead of displaying the Gregorian calendar year of mintage like most nations' coins, yen coins instead display the year of the current emperor's reign. For example, a coin minted in 2009, would bear the date Heisei 21 (the 21st year of Emperor Akihito's reign).  Due to the great differences in style, size, weight and the pattern present on the edge of the coin they are very easy for people with visual impairments to tell apart from one another.

Current banknotes.

The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 10 yen to 10,000 yen; since 1984, the lowest-valued banknote is the 1,000 yen note.  Before and during World War II, various bodies issued banknotes in yen, such as the Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Japanese National Bank. The Allied forces also issued some notes shortly after the war. Since then, the Bank of Japan has been the exclusive note issuing authority. The bank has issued five series after World War II. Series E, the current series introduced in 2004, consists of ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 notes. The EURion constellation pattern is present in the designs.  Japan is generally considered a cash-based society, with 38% of payments in Japan made by cash in 2014. Possible explanations are that cash payments protect one's privacy, merchants do not have to wait for payment, and it does not carry any negative connotation like credit.

New banknotes.

On April 9, 2019, Finance Minister Tarō Asō announced new designs for the ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 notes, for use beginning in 2024. The ¥1000 bill will feature Kitasato Shibasaburō and The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the ¥5000 bill will feature Tsuda Umeko and wisteria flowers, and the ¥10,000 bill will feature Shibusawa Eiichi and Tokyo Station.

Determinants of value.

Beginning in December 1931, Japan gradually shifted from the gold standard system to the managed currency system.  The relative value of the yen is determined in foreign exchange markets by the economic forces of supply and demand. The supply of the yen in the market is governed by the desire of yen holders to exchange their yen for other currencies to purchase goods, services, or assets. The demand for the yen is governed by the desire of foreigners to buy goods and services in Japan and by their interest in investing in Japan (buying yen-denominated real and financial assets).  Since the 1990s, the Bank of Japan, the country's central bank, has kept interest rates low in order to spur economic growth. Short-term lending rates have responded to this monetary relaxation and fell from 3.7% to 1.3% between 1993 and 2008. Low interest rates combined with a ready liquidity for the yen prompted investors to borrow money in Japan and invest it in other countries (a practice known as carry trade). This has helped to keep the value of the yen low compared to other currencies.

International reserve currency.

SDR basket.

The special drawing rights (SDR) valuation is an IMF basket of currencies, including the Japanese yen. The SDR is linked to a basket of five different currencies, with 41.73% for the U.S. dollar, 30.93% for the Euro, 10.92% for the Chinese renminbi, 8.33% for the Japanese yen, and 8.09% for the pound sterling (as of 2016). The percentage for the yen has, however, declined from 18% in 2000. The exchange rate for the Japanese yen is expressed in terms of currency units per U.S. dollar; other rates are expressed as U.S. dollars per currency unit. The SDR currency value is calculated daily and the valuation basket is reviewed and adjusted every five years. The SDR was created in 1969, to support the fixed exchange system.

Historical exchange rate.

Before the war commenced, the yen traded on an average of 3.6 yen to the dollar. During the war, because of overprinting and inflation as the Empire occupied more territory, the yen went as low as 600 yen to the USD.  When McArthur and the US forces entered Japan in 1945, they decreed an official conversion rate of 15 yen to the USD.  Within 1945-1946: the rate tanked to 50 yen to the USD because of the ongoing inflation. During the first half of 1946, the rate fluctuated to 66 yen to the USD and eventually plummeting to 600 yen to the dollar by 1947 because of the failure of the economic remedies.  Eventually, the peg was officially moved to 270 yen to the dollar in 1948 before being adjusted again from 1949–1971 to 360 yen to the dollar.  The table below shows the monthly average of the U.S. dollar–yen spot rate (JPY per USD) at 17:00 JST:

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the Euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the Euro, and the U.K. pound sterling.

圆(,日语罗马字:Yen),亦简作日元,全称为日本圆,货币符号为¥,国际标准化组织ISO 4217的货币代码为JPY,是日本的官方货币。其发行机构为日本银行,纸币称为日本银行券,由国立印刷局所印制。日圆在储备货币的国际构成比例仅次于美元、欧元,列于第3位。


Writing system.

The modern hiragana syllabary consists of 46 base characters:  These are conceived as a 5×10 grid ("gojūon",, "Fifty Sounds"), as illustrated in the adjacent table, read and so forth, with the singular consonant appended to the end. Of the 50 theoretically possible combinations, "yi" and "wu" do not exist in the language and "ye", "wi" and "we" are obsolete (or virtually obsolete) in modern Japanese. "wo" (を) is usually pronounced as a vowel ("o") in modern Japanese and is preserved in only one use, as a particle.  Romanization of the kana does not always strictly follow the consonant-vowel scheme laid out in the table. For example, ち, nominally "ti", is very often romanised as "chi" in an attempt to better represent the actual sound in Japanese.  These basic characters can be modified in various ways. By adding a "dakuten" marker ( ゙), a voiceless consonant is turned into a voiced consonant: "k"→"g", "ts/s"→"z", "t"→"d", "h"→"b" and "ch"/"sh"→"j". For example, か ("ka") becomes が ("ga"). Hiragana beginning with an "h" can also add a "handakuten" marker ( ゚) changing the "h" to a "p". For example, は ("ha") becomes ぱ ("pa").  A small version of the hiragana for "ya", "yu", or "yo" (ゃ, ゅ or ょ respectively) may be added to hiragana ending in "i". This changes the "i" vowel sound to a glide (palatalization) to "a", "u" or "o". For example, き ("ki") plus ゃ (small "ya") becomes ("kya"). Addition of the small "y" kana is called "yōon".  A small "tsu" っ, called a "sokuon", indicates that the following consonant is geminated (doubled). In Japanese this is an important distinction in pronunciation; for example, compare, "saka", "hill" with, "sakka", "author". The "sokuon" also sometimes appears at the end of utterances, where it denotes a glottal stop, as in (, Ouch!). However, it cannot be used to double the "na", "ni", "nu", "ne", "no" syllables' consonants – to double these, the singular "n" (ん) is added in front of the syllable, as in みんな ("minna", "all").  Hiragana usually spells long vowels with the addition of a second vowel kana; for example, おかあさん ("o-ka-a-sa-n", "mother"). The "chōonpu" (long vowel mark) (ー) used in katakana is rarely used with hiragana, for example in the word, "rāmen", but this usage is considered non-standard in Japanese; the Okinawan language uses chōonpu with hiragana. In informal writing, small versions of the five vowel kana are sometimes used to represent trailing off sounds (, "haa",, "nee"). Standard and voiced iteration marks are written in hiragana as ゝ and ゞ respectively.

Table of hiragana.

The following table shows the complete hiragana together with the Hepburn romanization and IPA transcription in the "gojūon" order. Hiragana with "dakuten" or "handakuten" follow the "gojūon" kana without them, with the "yōon" kana following. Obsolete and normally unused kana are shown in brackets and. Those in bold do not use the initial sound for that row. For all syllables besides ん, the pronunciation indicated is for word-initial syllables, for mid-word pronunciations see below.

Spelling–phonology correspondence.

In the middle of words, the "g" sound (normally ) may turn into a velar nasal or velar fricative. An exception to this is numerals; 15 "jūgo" is considered to be one word, but is pronounced as if it was "jū" and "go" stacked end to end:.  In many accents, the "j" and "z" sounds are pronounced as affricates ( and, respectively) at the beginning of utterances and fricatives in the middle of words. For example, "sūji" 'number', "zasshi"'magazine'.  In archaic forms of Japanese, there existed the "kwa" ( ) and "gwa" ( ) digraphs. In modern Japanese, these phonemes have been phased out of usage and only exist in the extended katakana digraphs for approximating foreign language words.  The singular "n" is pronounced before "t", "ch", "ts", "n", "r", "z", "j" and "d", before "m", "b" and "p", before "k" and "g", at the end of utterances, and some kind of high nasal vowel before vowels, palatal approximants ("y"), fricative consonants "s", "sh", "h", "f" and "w".  In kanji readings, the diphthongs "ou" and "ei" are today usually pronounced (long o) and (long e) respectively. For example, (lit. "toukyou") is pronounced 'Tokyo', and "sensei" is 'teacher'. However, "tou" is pronounced 'to inquire', because the "o" and "u" are considered distinct, "u" being the verb ending in the dictionary form. Similarly, "shite iru" is pronounced 'is doing'.  For a more thorough discussion on the sounds of Japanese, please refer to Japanese phonology.

Obsolete Kana.

Ye.

An early, now obsolete, hiragana-esque form of "ye" may have existed (𛀁 ) in pre-Classical Japanese (prior to the advent of kana), but is generally represented for purposes of reconstruction by the kanji 江, and its hiragana form is not present in any known orthography. In modern orthography, "ye" can also be written as いぇ (イェ in katakana).  It is true that in early periods of kana, hiragana and katakana letters for "ye" were used, but soon after the distinction between /ye/ and /e/ went away, and letters and glyphs were not established.

Yi.

Though "ye" did appear in some textbooks during the Meiji period along with another kana for "yi" in the form of cursive 以. Today it is considered a Hentaigana by scholars and was encoded in Unicode 10 (𛀆).

Wu.

Hiragana "wu" also appeared in different Meiji textbooks () utilizing the cursive form of 汙. It was never commonly used.

Spelling rules.

With a few exceptions for sentence particles は, を, and へ (normally "ha", "wo", and "he", but instead pronounced as "wa", "o", and "e", respectively), and a few other arbitrary rules, Japanese, when written in kana, is phonemically orthographic, i.e. there is a one-to-one correspondence between kana characters and sounds, leaving only words' pitch accent unrepresented. This has not always been the case: a previous system of spelling, now referred to as historical kana usage, differed substantially from pronunciation; the three above-mentioned exceptions in modern usage are the legacy of that system.  There are two hiragana pronounced "ji" (じ and ぢ) and two hiragana pronounced "zu" (ず and づ), but to distinguish them, particularly when typing Japanese, sometimes "ぢ" is written as "di" and "づ" is written as "du". These pairs are not interchangeable. Usually, "ji" is written as じ and "zu" is written as ず. There are some exceptions. If the first two syllables of a word consist of one syllable without a "dakuten" and the same syllable with a "dakuten", the same hiragana is used to write the sounds. For example, "chijimeru" ('to boil down' or 'to shrink') is spelled ちぢめる and "tsuzuku" ('to continue') is. For compound words where the dakuten reflects "rendaku" voicing, the original hiragana is used. For example, "chi" ( 'blood') is spelled ち in plain hiragana. When "hana" ('nose') and "chi" ('blood') combine to make "hanaji" ( 'nose bleed'), the sound of changes from "chi" to "ji". So "hanaji" is spelled according to ち: the basic hiragana used to transcribe. Similarly, "tsukau" (; 'to use') is spelled in hiragana, so "kanazukai" (; 'kana use', or 'kana orthography') is spelled in hiragana.  However, this does not apply when kanji are used phonetically to write words that do not relate directly to the meaning of the kanji (see also ateji). The Japanese word for 'lightning', for example, is "inazuma" (). The component means 'rice plant', is written in hiragana and is pronounced: "ina". The component means 'wife' and is pronounced "tsuma" (つま) when written in isolation—or frequently as "zuma" when it features after another syllable. Neither of these components have anything to do with 'lightning', but together they do when they compose the word for 'lightning'. In this case, the default spelling in hiragana rather than is used.  Officially, ぢ and づ do not occur word-initially pursuant to modern spelling rules. There were words such as "jiban" 'ground' in the historical kana usage, but they were unified under じ in the modern kana usage in 1946, so today it is spelled exclusively. However, "zura" 'wig' (from "katsura") and "zuke" (a sushi term for lean tuna soaked in soy sauce) are examples of word-initial づ today. Some people write the word for hemorrhoids as ぢ (normally じ) for emphasis.  No standard Japanese words begin with the kana ん ("n"). This is the basis of the word game shiritori. ん "n" is normally treated as its own syllable and is separate from the other "n"-based kana ("na", "ni" etc.). A notable exception to this is the colloquial negative verb conjugation; for example "wakaranai" meaning "[I] don't understand" is rendered as "wakaran". It is however not a contraction of the former, but instead comes from the classic negative verb conjugation ぬ "nu" ( "wakaranu").  ん is sometimes directly followed by a vowel ("a", "i", "u", "e" or "o") or a palatal approximant ("ya", "yu" or "yo"). These are clearly distinct from the "na", "ni" etc. syllables, and there are minimal pairs such as "kin'en"'smoking forbidden', "kinen" 'commemoration', "kinnen"'recent years'. In Hepburn romanization, they are distinguished with an apostrophe, but not all romanization methods make the distinction. For example, past prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's first name is actually "Jun'ichirō" pronounced  There are a few hiragana that are rarely used. ゐ "wi" and ゑ "we" are obsolete outside of Okinawan orthography. 𛀁 "e" was an alternate version of え "e" before spelling reform, and was briefly reused for "ye" during initial spelling reforms, but is now completely obsolete. ゔ "vu" is a modern addition used to represent the /v/ sound in foreign languages such as English, but since Japanese from a phonological standpoint does not have a /v/ sound, it is pronounced as /b/ and mostly serves as a more accurate indicator of a word's pronunciation in its original language. However, it is rarely seen because loanwords and transliterated words are usually written in katakana, where the corresponding character would be written as ヴ.,, for "ja"/"ju"/"jo" are theoretically possible in rendaku, but are practically never used. For example, 'throughout Japan' could be written, but is practically always  The "myu" kana is extremely rare in originally Japanese words; linguist Haruhiko Kindaichi raises the example of the Japanese family name Omamyūda and claims it is the only occurrence amongst pure Japanese words. Its katakana counterpart is used in many loanwords, however.

History.

Hiragana developed from "man'yōgana", Chinese characters used for their pronunciations, a practice that started in the 5th century. The oldest examples of Man'yōgana include the Inariyama Sword, an iron sword excavated at the Inariyama Kofun in 1968. This sword is thought to be made in the year (most commonly taken to be A.D. 471). The forms of the hiragana originate from the cursive script style of Chinese calligraphy. The figure below shows the derivation of hiragana from manyōgana via cursive script. The upper part shows the character in the regular script form, the center character in red shows the cursive script form of the character, and the bottom shows the equivalent hiragana. The cursive script forms are not strictly confined to those in the illustration.  Male authors came to write literature using hiragana. Hiragana was used for unofficial writing such as personal letters, while katakana and Chinese were used for official documents. In modern times, the usage of hiragana has become mixed with katakana writing. Katakana is now relegated to special uses such as recently borrowed words (i.e., since the 19th century), names in transliteration, the names of animals, in telegrams, and for emphasis.  Originally, for all syllables there was more than one possible hiragana. In 1900, the system was simplified so each syllable had only one hiragana. The deprecated hiragana are now known as.  The pangram poem "Iroha-uta" ("ABC song/poem"), which dates to the 10th century, uses every hiragana once (except "n" ん, which was just a variant of む before the Muromachi era).

Stroke order and direction.

The following table shows the method for writing each hiragana character. It is arranged in the traditional way, beginning top right and reading columns down. The numbers and arrows indicate the stroke order and direction respectively. <br>

Unicode.

Hiragana was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.  The Unicode block for Hiragana is U+3040–U+309F:  The Unicode hiragana block contains precomposed characters for all hiragana in the modern set, including small vowels and yōon kana for compound syllables, plus the archaic ゐ "wi" and ゑ "we" and the rare ゔ "vu"; the archaic 𛀁 "ye" is included in plane 1 at U+1B001 (see below). All combinations of hiragana with "dakuten" and "handakuten" used in modern Japanese are available as precomposed characters, and can also be produced by using a base hiragana followed by the combining dakuten and handakuten characters (U+3099 and U+309A, respectively). This method is used to add the diacritics to kana that are not normally used with them, for example applying the dakuten to a pure vowel or the handakuten to a kana not in the h-group.  Characters U+3095 and U+3096 are small か ("ka") and small け ("ke"), respectively. U+309F is a ligature of より ("yori") occasionally used in vertical text. U+309B and U+309C are spacing (non-combining) equivalents to the combining dakuten and handakuten characters, respectively.  Historic and variant forms of Japanese kana characters were first added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2010 with the release of version 6.0, with significantly more added in 2017 as part of Unicode 10.  The Unicode block for Kana Supplement is U+1B000–U+1B0FF, and is immediately followed by the Kana Extended-A block (U+1B100–U+1B12F). These blocks include mainly hentaigana (historic or variant hiragana):  The Unicode block for Small Kana Extension is U+1B130–U+1B16F:  In the following character sequences a kana from the /k/ row is modified by a "handakuten" combining mark to indicate that a syllable starts with an initial nasal, known as "bidakuon". As of Unicode 13.0, these character combinations are explicitly called out as Named Sequences:

Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems. With one or two minor exceptions, each sound in the Japanese language (strictly, each mora) is represented by one character (or one digraph) in each system. This may be either a vowel such as ""a"" (hiragana あ); a consonant followed by a vowel such as ""ka"" (か) or ""n"" (ん), a nasal sonorant which, depending on the context, sounds either like English "m", "n" or "ng" () when syllable-final or like the nasal vowels of French. Because the characters of the kana do not represent single consonants (except in the case of ん "n"), the kana are referred to as syllabic symbols and not alphabetic letters.

平假名()是日语中表音文字的一种。平假名是从中文汉字的草书演化而来的。早期平假名多为日本女性所用,且多作抒情之文,故谓女文字、女手;男性则以汉字为主,述史、论文,称男文字、男手。男性若用日语假名,亦多用片假名作汉文注释之用。可见早期平假名地位不高。直到纪贯之撰《古今和歌集》,以假名起序置于篇首,首开「歌论」先声,证明假名文学的价值,才奠定平假名的地位。其后紫式部《源氏物语》的流行,亦对平假名之流传有所贡献。


Two I's.

Services can be described in terms of I's.

Intangibility.

Services are by definition intangible. They are not manufactured, transported or stocked.  One cannot store services for future use. They are produced and consumed simultaneously.

Perishability.

Services are perishable in two regards: The service provider must deliver the service at the exact time of service consumption. The service is not manifested in a physical object that is independent of the provider. The service consumer is also inseparable from service delivery. Examples: The service consumer must sit in the hairdresser's chair, or in the airplane seat. Correspondingly, the hairdresser or the pilot must be in the shop or plane, respectively, to deliver the service.

Inconsistency (variability).

Each service is unique. It can never be exactly repeated as the time, location, circumstances, conditions, current configurations and/or assigned resources are different for the next delivery, even if the same service is requested by the consumer. Many services are regarded as heterogeneous and are typically modified for each service-consumer or for each service-context. Example: The taxi service which transports the service consumer from home to work is different from the taxi service which transports the same service consumer from work to home – another point in time, the other direction, possibly another route, probably another taxi-driver and cab. Another and more common term for this is heterogeneity.

Service quality.

Mass generation and delivery of services must be mastered for a service provider to expand. This can be seen as a problem of service quality. Both inputs and outputs to the processes involved providing services are highly variable, as are the relationships between these processes, making it difficult to maintain consistent service quality. Many services involve variable human activity, rather than a precisely determined process; exceptions include utilities. The human factor is often the key success factor in service provision. Demand can vary by season, time of day, business cycle, etc. Consistency is necessary to create enduring business relationships.

Specification.

Any service can be clearly and completely, consistently and concisely specified by means of standard attributes that conform to the MECE principle (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive).

Delivery.

The delivery of a service typically involves six factors:  The service encounter is defined as all activities involved in the service delivery process. Some service managers use the term "moment of truth" to indicate that point in a service encounter where interactions are most intense.  Many business theorists view service provision as a performance or act (sometimes humorously referred to as "dramalurgy", perhaps in reference to dramaturgy). The location of the service delivery is referred to as the stage and the objects that facilitate the service process are called props. A script is a sequence of behaviors followed by those involved, including the client(s). Some service dramas are tightly scripted, others are more ad lib. Role congruence occurs when each actor follows a script that harmonizes with the roles played by the other actors.  In some service industries, especially health care, dispute resolution and social services, a popular concept is the idea of the caseload, which refers to the total number of patients, clients, litigants, or claimants for which a given employee is responsible. Employees must balance the needs of each individual case against the needs of all other current cases as well as their own needs.  Under English law, if a service provider is induced to deliver services to a dishonest client by a deception, this is an offence under the Theft Act 1978.  Lovelock used the number of delivery sites (whether single or multiple) and the method of delivery to classify services in a 2 x 3 matrix. Then implications are that the convenience of receiving the service is the lowest when the customer has to come to the service and must use a single or specific outlet. Convenience increases (to a point) as the number of service points increase.

Service-commodity goods continuum.

The distinction between a good and a service remains disputed. The perspective in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries focused on creation and possession of wealth. Classical economists contended that goods were objects of value over which ownership rights could be established and exchanged. Ownership implied tangible possession of an object that had been acquired through purchase, barter or gift from the producer or previous owner and was legally identifiable as the property of the current owner.  Adam Smith’s famous book, "The Wealth of Nations", published in 1776, distinguished between the outputs of what he termed "productive" and "unproductive" labor. The former, he stated, produced goods that could be stored after production and subsequently exchanged for money or other items of value. The latter, however useful or necessary, created services that perished at the time of production and therefore did not contribute to wealth. Building on this theme, French economist Jean-Baptiste Say argued that production and consumption were inseparable in services, coining the term "immaterial products" to describe them.  Most modern business theorists describe a continuum with pure service on one terminal point and pure commodity good on the other. Most products fall between these two extremes. For example, a restaurant provides a physical good (the food), but also provides services in the form of ambience, the setting and clearing of the table, etc. And although some utilities actually deliver physical goods — like water utilities that deliver water — utilities are usually treated as services.  In a narrower sense, service refers to quality of customer service: the measured appropriateness of assistance and support provided to a customer. This particular usage occurs frequently in retailing.

Service types.

The following is a list of service industries, grouped into sectors. Parenthetical notations indicate how specific occupations and organizations can be regarded as service industries to the extent they provide an intangible service, as opposed to a tangible good.

List of countries by tertiary output.

Below is a list of countries by service output at market exchange rates at peak level as of.

In economics, a service is a transaction in which no physical goods are transferred from the seller to the buyer. The benefits of such a service are held to be demonstrated by the buyer's willingness to make the exchange. Public services are those that society (nation state, fiscal union or region) as a whole pays for. Using resources, skill, ingenuity, and experience, service providers benefit service consumers. Service is intangible in nature.

服务,在字义上来说是履行某一项任务或是任职某种业务,在中文地区以及法国等,也将它当作为了公众做事,替他人劳动涵义。其它一般西洋地区的这句话是个经济用语,涵盖所有在买卖过程后不会有物品留下,提供其效用来满足客户的这类无形产业。这也就是英国经济学家Colin Grant Clark所提到「斐帝-克拉克法则」中所谓的「第三产业」。