DESCRIPTION
The Iroha (いろは) is a Japanese poem traditionally attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai. The first record of its existence dates from 1079. It is famous because it is a perfect pangram, containing each character of the Japanese syllabary exactly once. Because of this, it is also used as an ordering for the syllabary, in the same way as the A, B, C, D... sequence of the Latin alphabet.
以呂波耳本部止 千利奴流乎和加 餘多連曽津祢那 良牟有為能於久 耶万計不己衣天 阿佐伎喩女美之 恵比毛勢須
いろはにほへと Iro wa nioedo
ちりぬるを Chirinuru o
わかよたれそ Wa ga yo tare zo
つねならむ Tsune naran
うゐのおくやま Ui no okuyama
けふこえて Kyō koete
あさきゆめみし Asaki yume miji
ゑひもせす Yoi (or ei) mo sezu