The historical kana orthography (歴史的仮名遣, rekishiteki kanazukai), or old orthography (旧仮名遣, kyū kanazukai), refers to the kana orthography (正仮名遣, sei kana-zukai) in general use until orthographic reforms after World War II; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946. By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese pronunciation. It differs from modern usage (Gendai kana-zukai) in the number of characters and the way those characters are used. There was considerable opposition to the official adoption of the current orthography, on the grounds that the historical orthography conveys meanings better, and some writers continued to use it for many years after.