Shōjo

Shōjo, shojo or shoujo (少女|) is a Japanese| word for "girl".

The word is originally derived from a Chinese expression written with the same characters. The Chinese characters (少 and 女) literally mean young/little and woman respectively. In Japanese, these kanji refer specifically to a young woman approximately 7–18 years old.

Etymology
Like most kanji compounds, the term shōjo is borrowed from Classical Chinese character|s. The original term is written as "少女", which could be pronounced as shào nǚ in Mandarin| (pinyin romanization), so nyŏ in Korean| (McCune-Reischauer romanization), thiếu nữ in Vietnamese|, and shōjo in Japanese| (Hepburn romanization).

The earliest surviving written record of the term 少女 is on the Book of the Later Han, published in China in the 5th century, in Chapter 86, The myth of Yao|, referring to young girls.

In the 7th century, the word was introduced into the Japanese language through the adoption of the Chinese-style Ritsuryō legal system, where it referred to females between the ages of 17 and 20.

Modern usage
In legal settings, shōjo is a subset of shōnen (meaning "minor"|) and refers to any female juvenile who has not reached the age of 20.

In Japan, the word shōjo has many applications outside of the law. It refers to anything of, for, or about school-age girls. Examples include shōjo manga, shōjo culture, shōjo novels, shōjo hobbies, and shōjo fashions, among others.

Manga

 * Binetsu Shōjo, a shōjo manga series by Kaho Miyasaka
 * Shōjo Sect, a Japanese adult manga series written and illustrated by manga author Ken Kurogane.

Music

 * Bishōjo Shinri, a song about the psychology of shōjo written by Tsunku, published in °C-ute|'s 2007 single Meguru Koi no Kisetsu.