>when you say syllable, do you mean how many characters it takes to write it in hiragana (excluding the small character)?

The answer is  "yes and including small character". e.g, 場合（ばあい）、現場（げんば）has 3 syllables, and 知った（しった）also 3 syllables. 

> Also, I noticed that 戦場 can be pronounced as senjou and ikusaba.  Is there a difference between the two?

Ikusaba is the word only old Samurai says, like 'いざ、戦場（IKUSAKA）に出向かん: Now I am headed for the battlefield", That IKUSABA only indicates "the battlefields in the mind of Samurai", which means all the other battlefields including those of WWII or Roman Empire,or Middle East, or medieval Eurpe, or old China are all 戦場（SENJO). And when we modern people think about the battlefield in Samurai era, it is als "SENJO". Ikusaba is the word only for warriors.

Hi AKI,

Thank you for the comprehensive and helpful article.

Just to confirm, when you say syllable, do you mean how many characters it takes to write it in hiragana (excluding the small character)?  Is this what syllable usually means when talking about Japanese?

Also, I noticed that 戦場 can be pronounced as senjou and ikusaba.  Is there a difference between the two?