How are Japanese computer keyboards set out?

Question:

I'm assuming it's not possible to fit every single Kanji character onto a keyboard. There are thousands. Do Japanese computers have some kind of software that is similar to predictive text messaging as you might see on a cell phone? How do they operate? Also, before computers were invented, what were Japanese typewriters like? Thanks.

Answer:

Here's what a typical Japanese keyboard looks like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_la…

Each key has an alphanumeric character and hiragana on it, and you can toggle which of them you use for input (romaji/kana input modes). Whichever input mode you use, you first type the pronunciation, and then hit the Space bar or 変換 (Convert) key to convert it into kanji. When there're more than one possible kanji or kanji combinations for the pronunciation, a list of kanji/kanji combination comes up, and you pick the right one from among them. Software that does this is installed on every computer in Japan. The software is referred to as Input Method Editor, or IME.

For example you first type かく (kaku) and hit the space bar; a list of 核 (nuclear), 書く (write), 各 (each), 掻く (scratch), 画 (stroke) and 欠く (lack), etc comes up, from which you choose the right one. The one you picked will come to the top of the list you type the same pronunciation.

Japanese typewriters in pre-computer days were incredibly inefficient; litearally thousands of cast metal sorts were arranged in a determined order, and when typing you found the right one from among them, picked it up using a sliding mechanical arm, and used it to type each letter. In order to use a typewriter you needed to be familiar with the arranging order of thousands of letters, which was considered to be a special skill by itself. And even with that skill the best you could do was something like 10 letters per minute. So Japanese typewriters were nowhere near as quick, handy or practical as English ones were.