Hyōgai kanji usage


Is it 'compulsory' that I can't use 蛸 in the word たこ焼き for 'octopus' and what
would happen if I used it in a sign in Japan? Would police direct me to remove
it?

For 外人, nothing specific is told about what happens to people who use Hyōgai
kanji, or kanji outside of what's 'permitted' by the government.




Almost no Japanese people strictly remember which is a jōyō-kanji and which is
not. Many hyōgai kanji are used by native speakers without even realizing it's
so (e.g., 絆, 飴, 雫...). Of course, the police won't care, either.

Newspapers tend to follow the rule of not using hyōgai-kanji relatively
strictly, but even newspaper publishers have their own lists of exceptional
characters that are hyōgai but usable in articles.

That said, the spelling of _takoyaki_ seen on signboards, Wikipedia articles
and such is almost always たこ焼き (and rarely タコ焼き). If you used 蛸焼き, it would
look simply unfamiliar, and some people might even wonder if you're selling
something unusual.




Almost no Japanese people strictly remember which is a jōyō-kanji and which is
not. Many hyōgai kanji are used by native speakers without even realizing it's
so (e.g., 絆, 飴, 雫...). Of course, the police won't care, either.

Newspapers tend to follow the rule of not using hyōgai-kanji relatively
strictly, but even newspaper publishers have their own lists of exceptional
characters that are hyōgai but usable in articles.

That said, the spelling of _takoyaki_ seen on signboards, Wikipedia articles
and such is almost always たこ焼き (and rarely タコ焼き). If you used 蛸焼き, it would
look simply unfamiliar, and some people might even wonder if you're selling
something unusual.

