Thumb-shift keyboard

<p>
The thumb-shift keyboard (親指シフト, <i>oyayubi shifuto</i>) is  a <a href="/facts/Keyboard_(computing)/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a> design for inputting <a href="/facts/Japanese_language/EEv485a5">Japanese</a> sentences on <a href="/facts/Word_processor/qAR7lagF">word processors</a> and <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computers</a>. It was invented by <a href="/facts/Fujitsu/6e5gvNSa">Fujitsu</a> in the late 1970s and released in 1980 as a feature of the line of Japanese word processors the company sold, named OASYS, to make Japanese input easier, faster and more natural. It is popular among people who input large quantities of Japanese sentences, such as writers, playwrights, lawyers and so on, because of its ease of use and speed. The rights regarding the use of this design were transferred to Nihongo Nyuuryoku Consortium (Japanese Input Consortium), a technology sharing cooperative of interested companies, in 1989. It is referred to as an example of keyboard layout in <a href="/facts/Japanese_Industrial_Standards/qLrjj90V">Japanese Industrial Standards</a>. </p>

Thumb-shift keyboard open-in-new

Thumb-shift keyboard