Postby Belton » April 4th, 2010 11:05 am
According to my Japanese thesaurus 目 is the most common usage but 眼 (read as め)is also sometimes used, and although it isn't explicit on the issue I would read from that that sometimes 眼 is substituted for 目 in non-compounds as a stylistic decision.
It uses まなこ rather than 眼 in its usage examples.
め isn't an "approved" reading for 眼 (except in 眼鏡 I think) so the two would usually differentiate in compounds having different readings. I would say that mostly 眼 relates to the organ and is seen in medical terminology a lot. 目 also has a lot of other uses besides eye (the physical organ)
め【目】
まなこ【眼】
アイ
人や動物に備わる、物を見る器官。英the eye
使い方
目▽目をあける▽寝不足で目が赤い▽驚いて目を丸くする
眼▽まなこを閉じる▽ねぼけまなこ▽どんぐりまなこ
アイ▽アイバンク▽アイシャドー▽カメラアイ
使い分け
【1】「目」が最も一般的。「眼(め)」と表記する場合もある。
【2】「まなこ」は、元来は瞳(ひとみ)の意で、転じて、目をさすようになった。
【3】「アイ」は、他の外来語と複合して用いる。