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I am currently reading 村上春樹's 「海辺のカフカ」and I came across several examples of words being written in kanji in one instance and in kana shortly after.

Here is one example where the two writings occur in the same page:

p.282, ln.4 「僕は自分にそう言いきかせる。」

p.282, ln.13 「と自分にいいきかせる。」

Now, it seems like there are no set rules for when to use or not to use kanji, although grammatical constructs and commonly used words tend to be written in kana according to Totland's answer to this question: Where to check if a word is used with kanji or not?.

But is there a good reason for using two different writings instead of sticking with a convention? Is there in fact a rule I am missing? Or could this be a deliberate stylistic choice from 村上春樹?

(I have a suspicion this also happens in other works from different writers but unfortunately I do not have any other example at hand at the moment.)

kiyopi
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    This is not about grammar but all about style. Whether to use kanji is particularly complicated in the literary sphere. But even in practical writing, the judgment is heavily dependent on each situation. One reason to use hiragana for a word that is usually written in kanji is to improve readability. I will recommend you to read styleguides such as the classic,『日本語の作文技術, if you are to know more about the reasoning behind when to use or not to use kanji. – user48754 May 28 '21 at 12:56
  • Right, I can see how using a kanji in the first sentence could improve readability by breaking up a long string of kana (although we do end up with a long string of kana in the second case too!). Thank you for the recommendation. – kiyopi May 28 '21 at 13:10
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    I would suggest reframing the question, or you are unlikely to elicit relevant enough answers since nobody would be able to point out with confidence the reasoning behind a literary book's author's decision to use kanji or hiragana. There are no explicit rules on this matter. In fact, you can also write 自分に言い"聞"かせる in the phrase in question. Whether to use kanji or hiragana is similar to punctuation usage in English. Improving readability may be a consideration, but in literary books, the judgment is related more to style or aesthetic. – user48754 May 29 '21 at 01:05

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