diff --git a/arch/sh/Kconfig.debug b/arch/sh/Kconfig.debug
index c449e7c1b20f..8bcd6c1431a9 100644
--- a/arch/sh/Kconfig.debug
+++ b/arch/sh/Kconfig.debug
@@ -22,6 +22,17 @@ config STACK_DEBUG
 	  every function call and will therefore incur a major
 	  performance hit. Most users should say N.
 
+config EARLY_PRINTK
+	bool "Early printk"
+	depends on SH_STANDARD_BIOS
+	help
+	  Say Y here to redirect kernel printk messages to the serial port
+	  used by the SH-IPL bootloader, starting very early in the boot
+	  process and ending when the kernel's serial console is initialised.
+	  This option is only useful while porting the kernel to a new machine,
+	  when the kernel may crash or hang before the serial console is
+	  initialised.  If unsure, say N.
+
 config 4KSTACKS
 	bool "Use 4Kb for kernel stacks instead of 8Kb"
 	depends on DEBUG_KERNEL && (MMU || BROKEN) && !PAGE_SIZE_64KB