kan-on

are Japanese kanji readings borrowed from Chinese during the Tang dynasty, from the 7th to the 9th centuries; a period which corresponds to the Japanese Nara period. They were introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. Kan-on should not be confused with , which were later phonetic loans.

Kan-on are based on the central Chang'an pronunciation of Middle Chinese. The syllable Kan is a reading of Middle Chinese: 漢 (xanH) as per Japanese phonology, referring to the Han dynasty, which had Chang'an as its capital city. Furthermore, Kan (漢) has also become a description for all things Chinese, e.g., kanji ('Chinese characters').