There are a multitude of terms that may be spelled in either hiragana or katakana; the names of animals are a ready example that comes to mind. (e.g., [[ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%82%AB%E3%83%9F | オオカミ ]]/[[ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8B%E3%81%BF | おおかみ ]] "wolf") Normal Japanese words may also be spelled in either hiragana or katakana for special effect. A comparison with uppercase/lowercase Latin is not perfect but sufficient.
The hiragana / katakana mapping seems like a straightforward operation, yet it is not happening in major search engines. (See T173650#3580309 for examples.)
[Description edited from comments on T173650.]
Example mappings:
- [[ http://cmikavac.net/2012/09/08/mapping-japanese-kana-characters-hiraganakatakana-for-use-in-programming/ | Mapping Japanese kana characters (hiragana/katakana) for use in programming ]]
- [[ https://gist.github.com/terrancesnyder/1339971 | Hiragana to Katakana Mapping ]]
- [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kana#Hiragana_and_katakana | English Wikipedia article on Kana ]]