Why are some words written backwards on trucks


I was driving the other day and saw a truck with 一般 written as 般一 on the
drivers side door. My wife was telling me that this is often the case with
trucks, where it is actually written from right to left in 縦 style, as if
there was only 1 row. Just was wondering if there was a particular reason for
it or if this is limited to just trucks or can this be found elsewhere.

Of note, it was _NOT_ written flipped so as to be seen correctly when looked
at through a mirror like ambulances and such in the U.S.

Note: This question is on the border in terms of being off-topic, but since it
is referring to language use within Japanese culture, I felt it was
appropriate to ask.

Examples of text  
<http://septieme-ciel.air-nifty.com/nikubanare/2005/09/post_5b58.html>




Matt's answer is right enough, and Axioplases's description does have
historical accuracy, but I felt differently enough to propose another answer.

First, here is the truck in question, with the words `カンガルー便` written on the
side, "backwards".

![ooragnak](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KRjxY.jpg)

Note, though, that the text for the parent company, Seino, is the "right" way
round, presumeably because it's in romaji, which is not as flexible as
Japanese kanji and kana in terms of direction. If this were simply a matter of
viewing the car in a "front is top" concept, then why not also include the
romaji? It's only the Japanese text that is flexible enough about direction.

How flexible is Japanese in terms of direction? A little. The root of the
issue lies in the fact that Japanese text is traditionally written vertically.
The choice to go left or right when writing horizontally is, or was, therefor
somewhat arbitrary. Back in the day, one would have come across writing right
to left more than today, as in this old train sign:

![kyoto sign](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KW7Os.jpg)

Or how the car brand "Ford" is written `ドーォフ` (or `ドーオフ`) on this Taishō era
building:

![taisho era Ford factory](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cmtjJ.png)

Or in this awesome political map:

![political map](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iYbWC.jpg)

Note in all these pictures that the romaji offered goes left-to-right, but
both kanji and kana are right-to-left.

Why do these historical examples matter? Because it's evidence that there is a
cultural basis for accepting text right-to-left that makes the truck sign
possible in Japanese culture.

What I'm driving at is the contrast with English culture where the direction
of text is 100% locked in to be left to right. If a hypothetical delivery
company in an English country wrote "Yreviled Ooragnak" on the side of their
trucks, because they wanted to follow a "front is top" logic, or _any_ other
rational, no one would have any doubt they were doing something wrong. The
horizontal direction in English is non-negotiable, with the only exception
being deliberabe subversion of the norm in some kind of artistic context.

Of course, the massive exposure to English text has influenced textual
presentation in Japan, to the point where you don't see this much anymore. But
**it's not a rule** that writing must go left to right, and some people will
still go right to left, like this racist jerk here, who probably did it
precisely because he doesn't want to play by the west's rules (Just so its
clear, although the text direction supports my point, the content of this
jerk's sign is unredeemable, and I _strongly_ oppose the sentiment):

![racist jerk's sign](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7lgmj.jpg)

So the "backward" phenomena is not just about vehicles or flags, or a front-
as-top logic. Japanese text, insofar as it has escaped English cultural
hegemony, can be flexible about which horizontal direction it goes in. Why
exactly Seino opted to go right-to-left on the right side of their trucks, I'm
not sure, I just know that the option to do so existed for them because the
language permits it in a general sense.

Maybe right-to-left writing will die out, as it does seem to be the exception
these days. Or maybe not. Consider this nostalgic retro-branding of a biscuit
box, made available in 2014, preserving the right-to-left writing, for the
Japanese text only, to give an old-timey feel. Maybe one day a retro trend
will spark a revival...

![biscuits](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZB8zi.jpg)

What I'm pretty sure you won't see, though, is bottom-to-top. The text
direction is not _that_ flexible.




Matt's answer is right enough, and Axioplases's description does have
historical accuracy, but I felt differently enough to propose another answer.

First, here is the truck in question, with the words `カンガルー便` written on the
side, "backwards".

![ooragnak](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KRjxY.jpg)

Note, though, that the text for the parent company, Seino, is the "right" way
round, presumeably because it's in romaji, which is not as flexible as
Japanese kanji and kana in terms of direction. If this were simply a matter of
viewing the car in a "front is top" concept, then why not also include the
romaji? It's only the Japanese text that is flexible enough about direction.

How flexible is Japanese in terms of direction? A little. The root of the
issue lies in the fact that Japanese text is traditionally written vertically.
The choice to go left or right when writing horizontally is, or was, therefor
somewhat arbitrary. Back in the day, one would have come across writing right
to left more than today, as in this old train sign:

![kyoto sign](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KW7Os.jpg)

Or how the car brand "Ford" is written `ドーォフ` (or `ドーオフ`) on this Taishō era
building:

![taisho era Ford factory](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cmtjJ.png)

Or in this awesome political map:

![political map](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iYbWC.jpg)

Note in all these pictures that the romaji offered goes left-to-right, but
both kanji and kana are right-to-left.

Why do these historical examples matter? Because it's evidence that there is a
cultural basis for accepting text right-to-left that makes the truck sign
possible in Japanese culture.

What I'm driving at is the contrast with English culture where the direction
of text is 100% locked in to be left to right. If a hypothetical delivery
company in an English country wrote "Yreviled Ooragnak" on the side of their
trucks, because they wanted to follow a "front is top" logic, or _any_ other
rational, no one would have any doubt they were doing something wrong. The
horizontal direction in English is non-negotiable, with the only exception
being deliberabe subversion of the norm in some kind of artistic context.

Of course, the massive exposure to English text has influenced textual
presentation in Japan, to the point where you don't see this much anymore. But
**it's not a rule** that writing must go left to right, and some people will
still go right to left, like this racist jerk here, who probably did it
precisely because he doesn't want to play by the west's rules (Just so its
clear, although the text direction supports my point, the content of this
jerk's sign is unredeemable, and I _strongly_ oppose the sentiment):

![racist jerk's sign](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7lgmj.jpg)

So the "backward" phenomena is not just about vehicles or flags, or a front-
as-top logic. Japanese text, insofar as it has escaped English cultural
hegemony, can be flexible about which horizontal direction it goes in. Why
exactly Seino opted to go right-to-left on the right side of their trucks, I'm
not sure, I just know that the option to do so existed for them because the
language permits it in a general sense.

Maybe right-to-left writing will die out, as it does seem to be the exception
these days. Or maybe not. Consider this nostalgic retro-branding of a biscuit
box, made available in 2014, preserving the right-to-left writing, for the
Japanese text only, to give an old-timey feel. Maybe one day a retro trend
will spark a revival...

![biscuits](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZB8zi.jpg)

What I'm pretty sure you won't see, though, is bottom-to-top. The text
direction is not _that_ flexible.

