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送り仮名 in its simplest understanding is かな used for conjugation purposes. However, the rules for 送り仮名are not quite set in stone. Though variant spellings in this regard are disappearing in replace of one spelling, literature is still pervaded with variant spellings.

Natives still show relative inconsistency in the matter. This is because guidelines by the government have not been crafted to the point that they should touch on individual spelling practices. 

Resource Note: Much of this information is adopted from the Ministry of Education guidelines for 送り仮名 usage, which can be found at  http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/joho/kijun/naikaku/okurikana/index.html.

In writing words in 漢字 and making clear what reading should be used, it has become orthodox to affixかな. For instance, in order to read 送 as おくる rather than ソウ or even some conjugation likeおくらない, る is affixed to it. However, things that do have 漢字spellings but are replaced with かな, 交ぜ書き, is not called 送り仮名.  

Rules for properly using 送り仮名 have been passed by the government, and it wouldn’t be surprising if these guidelines were modified again. However, even the preface of the guidelines published in 1973 admits that these rules do not pervasively apply to every aspect of Japanese. For instance, standards in science, the arts, and special fields are immune to having to follow these rules, which is why there have been plenty of mentions of how to address these situations thus far.

However, it is without a doubt that these guidelines do play a substantial role in orthography used in broadcast, official documents, newspapers, etc.

In studying the use of 送り仮名, you must first distinguish words in two groups: those that conjugate and those that don’t. Compound words are also important to consider. Though these different faces of 送り仮名 are rather complex, there are basic principles to keep in mind that work for the majority of cases.

If a word conjugates, it will have 送り仮名 affixed.

Irregularities

1. Adjectives that end in しい・じい such as 美しい and 凄まじい(terrible) were historically 美し and 凄まじ. So, this is why し・じ haven’t been dropped in the spellings.

2: Native suffixes that create adjectives such as か, らか, andやか are also left as 送り仮名.　

3: The following words are irregular.

Derivations are included in 送り仮名.

1. Conjugations/derivations of verbs.

2. Words including an adjectival root.

3. Things with nouns in them.

許容: When there is no worry of being misread, 送り仮名 may be abbreviated as in the following words.

Note: The following words are deemed to follow Rule 1 instead: 明るい・荒い・悔しい・恋しい. 

Excluding words dealt with via Rule 4, nouns shouldn’t have 送り仮名.

Irregularities

1.

2. With the counter つ: 一つ, 二つ, 三つ, 四つ, 五つ, 六つ, 七つ, 八つ, 九つ, 幾つ 

Nouns that come from a conjugatable part of speech or those made with the suffixes ～さ, ～み, or ～げ abide by the 送り仮名 spellings of the base word.

 Irregularities

The following words do not have 送り仮名.

Note: 送り仮名is only lost when their verbal sense is lost. Ex. 話し VS 話, 氷り VS 氷.

許容: In the case when there is no worry of a word being misread, 送り仮名 may be dropped in the following fashion for the words below.

The final mora in adverbs, attributes, and conjugations is usually 送り仮名.

Irregularities

・With more 送り仮名:

・With no 送り仮名: 又

Adverbs/Conjunctions from Verbs/Adjectives or + particles:

In regards to compound words excluding those dealt with via Rule 7, 送り仮名 is determined by the individual components’ 音訓.

1. Examples of words that conjugate:

2. Examples of words that do not conjugate:

許容: When there is no worry of being misread, 送り仮名 can be dropped in the following fashion in the example words.

Note: In cases like こけら落とし， さび止め， 洗いざらし， 打ちひも whether either the front or end part of the word is written in かな instead of in漢字, you should not abbreviate 送り仮名 out. 　

Compounds may or may not have 送り仮名 according to convention.

1.The first in the guidelines with this rule are particular words of domain in which  conventional spelling is recognized.

ア: Names of positions and titles:

イ: Handicraft words that end in 「織」、「染」、「塗」、「彫」、「焼」等.

ウ; Others:

2. Spellings that are generally conventional.

Notes:

1. Even when the items in 《》 are different, these guidelines still apply.

2. This list is not exhaustive. Therefore, as far as convention may be recognized, similar words are to be dealt with likewise. When it is hard to determine whether Rule 7 should be applied or not, use Rule 6.  

Words specifically mentioned in the Cabinet guidelines from words within the bounds of the 常用漢字表, which includes not only lists of general characters but general readings with exceptions. 

浮つく　 The reasoning for this is that the verb comes from the use of a suffix, つく.

お巡りさん  This spelling is motivated by convention.

差し支える　立ち退く　

Note: Alternatively, 送り仮名 within compound words such as this are often dropped. Thus, 差支える and 立退く. For compounds nouns, all 送り仮名 can be dropped. Ex. 話し合い・話合い・話合.

The following nouns were deemed to not ever have 送り仮名.