I'm aware that there are a couple different linguistic traditions in Japan; there's the indigenous script, adopted Chinese characters, and a variety of pronunciations. What I want to know is how prevalent real Chinese language skills were among Japanese elites during the Warring States period; would Oda Nobunaga be able to read the Confucian Classics unabridged? If so, could he have a conversation with Qi Jiguang, or were Japanese elites only trained in native pronunciation, grammar, etc?
Japanes versions of Chinese texts were not abridged but annotated with a system of special symbols called "Kanbun" (Chinese writing). This allowed the reader to parse Chinese text into a readable form.