Wikipedia

Place names in Japan

(Redirected fromJapanese place names)

Japanese place namesincludenamesfor geographic features, present and former administrative divisions, transportation facilities such as railroad stations, and historic sites inJapan.The articleJapanese addressing systemcontains related information on postal addresses.

Administrative level

edit

Most place names are suffixed with its administrative division. These suffixes are often dropped in common usage when no ambiguation is likely. The suffixes are as follows:

  • -ken( huyện ) for aprefecture;e.g.,Yamanashi-ken
  • -to( đô, lit. "capital" ), prefecture-level region name unique to the capitalTōkyō-to
  • -fu( phủ, lit. "office" or "area" ), prefecture-level region (sometimes translated "urban prefecture" ) named so for historical reasons. There are now only two:Ōsaka-fu andKyōto-fu. Tokyo-to was also classified as this before being reorganized.
  • dō( đạo ), an "administrative circuit",a semi-archaic administrative division formerly widespread. Modern usage is limited toHokkaido,but terms likeTōkaidō(southern portion of eastern Japan) remains in common informal usage.

Because of the above four suffixes, theprefectures of Japanare commonly referred to astodōfuken( đô đạo phủ huyện ). Below the level of prefectures, there are:

  • -gun( quận ), adistrictcomposed of one or moremachiormura(see below), usually rural. TheJapanese postal serviceand many other sources translate this ascounty.
  • -shi( thị ), acity
  • -ku( khu ), a ward of a city;e.g.,Naka-kuinHiroshima.The23 special wardsof Tokyo are separate local governments nearly equivalent to cities.
  • -machior-chō( đinh ), atown;e.g.Fujikawaguchiko-machi - this can be a local government or a non-governmental division of a larger city
  • -muraor-son( thôn ), avillage;e.g.,Kamikuishiki-mura - this can also be a local government or a nongovernmental division of a larger city or town

These smaller administrative units are collectively referred to asshikuchōson( thị khu đinh thôn ).

Direction

edit

Some names contain a word indicating a direction:

  • chūō( trung ương ) ornaka-( trung ) - central; e.g.,YokosukaChūō; Naka-Okachimachi
  • higashi( đông ) - east; e.g.,Higashi, Shibuya
  • kita( bắc ) - north; e.g., Kita-ku, literally meaning North Ward
  • minami( nam ) - south
  • nishi( tây ) - west
  • u( hữu ) ( "right" ) andsa( tả ) ( "left" ), directions relative to theKyōto Imperial Palace(and from the viewpoint of theEmperor,who faces south, so thatsais east anduis west):Sakyō-ku,Ukyō-ku
  • kamiorue( thượng ) ( "upper" ) andshimoorshita( hạ ) ( "lower" ); e.g,Shitamachi

Relationship

edit

Other names contain a word indicating the relationship of a settlement to another of the same or a similar name:

  • honormoto( bổn ) - the original; e.g.,FuchuHonmachi; MotoHachiōji
  • shin( tân ) - new

Geographic features

edit

Geographic features figure prominently in Japanese place names. Some examples are[1]

Natural world

edit

Other words that express the natural world or agriculture often appear in place names:

Former provinces

edit

Names and parts of names of formerprovincesappear in many modern place names:

Types of towns

edit

Medieval Japan had many towns that fell into three categories: castle towns, post towns, harbor towns. In addition, the rise of commerce contributed to some place names. Here are some parts of names connected with medieval Japan:

  • ichi( thị ), a market; e.g.,Yokkaichi:"fourth-day market"
  • -jō( thành ), a castle. Place names giving directions relative to a castle, such as Jōhoku (North of the Castle), Jōsai (West of the Castle) or Jōnan (South of the Castle), are common throughout Japan.
  • minato( cảng ) ortsu( tân ) for aharbor;e.g.,Minato, TokyoandTsu, Mie
  • shukuor-juku( túc ), a post or station town on a traditional highway; e.g.,Shinjuku

Hokkaido

edit
See also:List of municipalities of Hokkaido

Many names inHokkaidooriginated from words in theAinu language.As people frommainland Japanconquered and colonized Hokkaido in theEdo periodand theMeiji period,they transcribed Ainu placenames into Japanese usingkanji chosen solely for their pronunciation.For example, the nameEsashicomes from the Ainu wordes a us i,meaning "cape".[2]Some common Ainu elements in Hokkaido place names include:

Ainu original Japanese transcription Example placenames Sources
Term Meaning Romaji Kanji Meaning of kanji Japanese name Ainu origin Original meaning
pet river betsu Biệt separate Memanbetsu meman pet Cool river [3][4]
Monbetsu mo pet Quiet river [5]
ota sand uta Ca song Utanobori ota nupuri Sandy mountain [6][7]
Utashinai ota us nay River with a sandy beach [8]
nay river nai Nội inside Wakkanai yam wakka nay Cold-water river [9][10]
Horokanai horka nay River that goes back [11]
poro large, many, much horo,-poro Hoảng canopy,horo(cloak) Sapporo sat poro pet Dry, great river [12][13]
Bihoro pe poro Much water [14]
sir place, island, mountain shiri Khào buttocks Okushiri i kus un sir Island over there [15][16]
Rishiri ri sir Tall island [17]

Some other names come from places in other parts of Japan because in the past people migrated as a group to Hokkaido, and they give the new settlement a name reminiscent of their old home. Examples includeHiroshimaandDate.

Okinawa

edit

Place names inOkinawa Prefectureare drawn from the traditionalRyukyuan languages.Many place names use the unique languages names, while other place names have both a method of reading the name in Japanese and a way to read the name in the traditional local language. The capital cityNahaisNaafain theOkinawan language.Uruma,which was incorporated in 2005, comes from an old name for the Okinawa Island meaning "coral island" and its name is written inhiraganarather than kanji. In Okinawan,nishimeant "north" rather than "west" as it does in standard Japanese, soNishiharameans "northern field" in respect to its position from the oldRyūkyū Kingdomcapital atShuri;in contrast, the Okinawan word for "west" isiri,which appears in the name ofIriomote-jima.Gusuku( thành ) meaning "castle" is also common in place names in Okinawa, found inTomigusuku,Nakagusuku,andKitanakagusuku,among others. BothChatanandYomitanturntani( cốc, "valley" ) intotan;Chatan also turnskita( bắc ) into "cha" through the Okinawan language.

Encyclopedias for Japanese place names

edit

The following encyclopedias and dictionaries are major research tools for reading and understanding Japanese place names and histories.

Reading placenames

edit

Shin Nihon chimei sakuin( tân nhật bổn địa danh tác dẫn, 1993 New Index Gazetteer of Japan) Abokkusha. This is the most comprehensive dictionary for reading place names. Each entry simply lists the reading of place name, its kanji, location, and longitude-latitude coordinate.

Encyclopedias of Place Names

edit

Dai Nihon Chimei Jisho( đại nhật bổn địa danh từ thư ) is one of oldest, in 1907–1910,reprintand update version by 1971, published byBuzanbō(Phú sơn phòng). The main editor wasTōgo Yoshida(Cát điền đông ngũ,1864-1918) written invernacularexpression inMeiji periodwith each entry includes the history andfolklorefor name.

Kadokawa Nihon chimei daijiten( giác xuyên nhật bổn địa danh đại từ điển )Kadokawa Shoten,published in the 1970s-1980s. This is the major encyclopedia for Japanese geographic reference. Each entry includes the history of the place, its population, major happenings, and major buildings such as schools, temples, and churches.

Konpakutoban Nihon chimei hyakka jiten(コンパクト bản nhật bổn địa danh bách khoa sự điển, Compact Land Japonica)Shogakukanin June 1998. This is the desktop dictionary for geographic reference. It is designed to be easily comprehensible. It includes color maps of Japan and detailed maps of major Japanese cities; Tokyo, Kyoto-shi, Nara-shi, Osaka-shi, and Nagoya-shi. The index for hard-to-read place names is included at the back of the dictionary.

Place Names in History

edit

Kodai chimei daijiten( cổ đại địa danh đại từ điển )Kadokawa Shoten.This work lists ingojuonorder the place names of ancient Japanese history. The periods range from theAsuka period( phi điểu thời đại,Asuka-jidai,538–710),Nara period( nại lương thời đại,Nara-jidai,710–794), andHeian period( bình an thời đại,Heian-jidai,710–1185). It especially focuses on the place names from theMan'yōshū( vạn diệp tập ) and theFudoki( phong thổ ký ).

Origins of Place Names

edit

Nihon chimei gogen jiten( nhật bổn địa danh ngữ nguyên sự điển ) Shinjinbutsu oraisha. Based on the studies of geography and Japanese ancient words, each entry lists a few sentences about the origin and history of place names ingojuonorder.

See also

edit

Citations

edit
  1. ^Frédéric & Roth 2002,p. 695.
  2. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 19
  3. ^Satō 1977,p. 13
  4. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 129
  5. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 133
  6. ^Satō 1977,p. 13
  7. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 15
  8. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 15
  9. ^Satō 1977,p. 12
  10. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 144
  11. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 120
  12. ^Satō 1977,p. 16
  13. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 53
  14. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 110
  15. ^Satō 1977,p. 14
  16. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 24
  17. ^Ainu Language Place Name List 2014,p. 140

References

edit
  • Frédéric, Louis; Roth, Käthe (2002),Japan Encyclopedia,Harvard University Press Reference Library, Belknap,ISBN9780674017535
  • Tá đằng điển ngạn [Satō Norihiko] (1977),Bắc hải đạo のアイヌ ngữ địa danh における tần dụng ngữ,“Địa đồ”,vol. 15,retrieved30 April2021
  • アイヌ ngữ địa danh リスト[Ainu Language Place Name List] (in Japanese), Office of Ainu Measures Promotion, Department of Environment and Lifestyle, Hokkaido Government, 2014,retrieved30 April2021
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Place_names_in_Japan&oldid=1253709404"