Japanese addressing system

"Chōme" redirects here. Not to be confused withChrome.

TheJapanese addressing systemis used to identify a specific location inJapan.

When written inJapanese characters,addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. The Japanese system is complex andidiosyncratic,the product of the natural growth of urban areas, as opposed to the systems used in cities that are laid out as grids and divided into quadrants or districts.

When written inLatin characters,addresses follow the convention used by mostWestern addressesand start with the smallest geographic entity (typically a house number) and proceed to the largest. However, even when translated using Latin characters,Japan Postrequires that the address also is written in Japanese to ensure correct delivery.

Address parts

A town block indicator plate(Khu phố tỏ vẻ bản,gaiku-hyōjiban)displaying the address Nakamura-ku,Meieki4-chōme, 5-banchi (inNagoya).

Japanese addresses begin with the largest division of the country, theprefecture.Most of these are calledken( huyện ), but there are also three other special prefecture designations:to( đều ) forTokyo,dō( nói ) forHokkaidōandfu( phủ ) for the two urban prefectures ofOsakaandKyoto.

Following the prefecture is themunicipality.For a large municipality this is thecity(shi,Thị ). Cities that have a large enough population (greater than 500,000 residents) and are regarded as such by order of theCabinet of Japanare calleddesignated cities,and are subdivided intowards(ku,Khu ), where in the prefecture ofTokyo,23 of them are designated as thespecial ward(Đặc biệt khu,tokubetsu-ku)with added authority to the mayors. For smaller municipalities, the address includes thedistrict(gun,Quận ) followed by thetown(chōormachi,Đinh ) orvillage(muraorson,Thôn ). In Japan, a city is separate from districts, which contain towns and villages.

For addressing purposes, municipalities may be divided intochōormachi(two different readings of the character đinh, depending on the particular case) and/oraza( tự ). Despite using the same character as town, themachihere is purely a unit of address, not administration; likewise, there are alsokuaddress divisions that are not administrative special wards. There are two common schemes:

1. Municipality is divided first intomachiand then into city districts ( đinh mụcchōme). Example: Đài đông khu [ bụi cỏ bốn đinh mục ] (Taito-ku,[Asakusa, 4-chōme])
2. Municipality is divided intoō-aza( chữ to ), which may be divided intoaza( tự ), which may in turn be divided intoko-aza( chữ nhỏ ). Example: Thanh sâm thị [ chữ to lung trạch tự trụ cát ] (Aomori-shi,[ō-azaTakizawa,azaSumiyoshi])

However, exceptions abound, and the line between the schemes is often blurry as there are no clear delimiters formachi,aza,etc. There are also some municipalities likeRyūgasaki, Ibarakiwhich do not use any subdivisions.

Below this level, two styles of addressing are possible.

1. In the newerjūkyo hyōji(Cư trú tỏ vẻ)style, enacted into law by the 1962 Act on Indication of Residential Address(Cư trú tỏ vẻ に quan する pháp luật)and used by the majority of the country, the next level is the city block ( khu phốgaiku), always followed by the building number ( phiên hiệubangō). Building 10 in block 5 would be formally written as 5 phiên 10 hào (5-ban10-gō). For apartment buildings, the apartment number ( bộ phòng phiên hiệuheya bangō) may be appended to the building with a hyphen, so apartment 103 in the aforementioned building would be 5 phiên 10-103 hào.
2. In the olderchiban(Mà phiên)style, still used in some rural and older city areas, the next level is the area/block name ( khu vựcchiku,often abbreviated as khuku), the next smaller level is the lot number ( phiên màbanchi), optionally followed by a lot number extension (formallyshigō(Chi hào),more oftenedaban(Chi phiên)). The lot number designates a plot of land registered in theland registry,and a lot number extension is assigned when a piece of land is divided into two or more pieces in the registry. This can be written as any of 3 phiên mà 5 (3-banchi5), 3 phiên mà の 5 (3-banchi-no5) or 3 phiên 5 (3-ban5). Land not designated by the registry is known asmubanchi(Vô phiên mà),with any dwellings there beingbangaichi(Phiên ngoại mà).

In both styles, since all address elements fromchōmedown are numeric, in casual use it is common to form them into a string separated by hyphens or the possessive suffix の (no), resulting in Asakusa 4-5-10 or Asakusa 4 の 5 の 10. This renders the two styles indistinguishable, but since each municipality adopts one style or the other, there is no risk of ambiguity. The apartment number may also be appended, resulting in 4-5-10-103.

A sign displaying the town address Kamimeguro 2 chōme; block (gaiku) 21, building (bangō) 9 identifies the residential address. The upper plaque is the district name plate ( đinh danh bản,chōmei ban) and the lower, the residential number plate ( cư trú phiên hiệu bản,jūkyo bangō ban).

Street namesare seldom used in postal addresses (except inKyotoand some Hokkaidō cities such asSapporo).

Banchiblocks often have an irregular shape, asbanchinumbers were assigned by order of registration in the older system, meaning that especially in older areas of the city they will not run in a linear order. For this reason, when giving directions to a location, people will often offer cross streets, visual landmarks andsubwaystations, such as "at Chūō-dori and Matsuya-dori across the street fromMatsuyaand Ginza station "for a store in Tokyo. Many businesses feature maps on their literature and business cards. Signs attached to utility poles often specify the city district name and block number, and detailed block maps of the immediate area are sometimes posted near bus stops and train stations in larger cities.

In addition to the address itself, all locations in Japan have apostal code.After the reform of 1998, this begins with a three-digit number, a hyphen, and a four-digit number, for example 123-4567. Apostal mark,〒, may precede the code to indicate that the number following is a postal code.

Address order

In Japanese, the address is written in order from largest unit to smallest, with the addressee's name last of all. For example, the address of the Tokyo Central Post Office is

〒100-8994
Đông Kinh đều ngàn đại điền khu hoàn ノ nội nhị đinh mục 7 phiên 2 hào
Đông Kinh trung ương bưu liền cục

〒100-8994
Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Marunouchi 2-Chōme 7-ban 2-gō
Tōkyō Chūō Yūbin-kyoku

or

〒100-8994
Đông Kinh đều ngàn đại điền khu hoàn ノ nội 2-7-2
Đông Kinh trung ương bưu liền cục

〒100-8994
Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Marunouchi 2-7-2
Tōkyō Chūō Yūbin-kyoku

The order is reversed when writing inrōmaji.The format recommended byJapan Postis:

Tokyo Central Post Office
7-2, Marunouchi 2-Chome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8994

In this address, Tokyo is the prefecture;Chiyoda-kuis one of the special wards;Marunouchi2-Chome is the name of the city district; and 7-2 is the city block and building number. In practiceit is common for thechōmeto be prefixed, as in Japanese, resulting in the somewhat shorter:

Tokyo Central Post Office
2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-8994

While almost all elements of the address are reversed when written inrōmaji,connected strings of numbers are treated as units and not reversed. Firstly, the "city block and building number" is a unit, and its digits are not reversed – in this example it is "7-2" in both Japanese and roman, though the Japanese (literallyMarunouchi 2-Chōme 7-2) is partly reversed to "7-2, Marunouchi 2-Chōme" in roman ifchōmeis separate. Similarly, if thechōmeis included, these also form a unit, so in this example the string is 2-7-2 in both Japanese and Western Alpha bet.

Special cases

As mentioned above, there are certain areas of Japan that use somewhat unusual address systems. Sometimes the differing system has been incorporated into the official system, as inSapporo,while inKyotothe system is completely different from, but used alongside the official system. Kyoto and Sapporo have addresses based on their streets being laid out in agrid plan,unlike most Japanese cities.

Kyoto

Heian-kyōwas laid out on a grid in AD 794, and grid-based addresses continue to be used in today's Kyoto.

Although the official national addressing system is in use in Kyoto – inChibanstyle, with ward(Khu,ku),district(Đinh mục,chōme),and land number(Phiên mà,banchi),thechōdivisions are very small, numerous, and there is often more than onechōwith the same name within a single ward, making the system extremely confusing. As a result, most residents of Kyoto use an unofficial system based instead on street names, a form ofvernacular geography.This system is, however, recognized by the post office and by government agencies.

For added precision, the street-based address can be given, followed by the chō and land number. Sometimes multiple houses share a given land number, in which case the name (either just family name, or full name of resident) must also be specified; this name is generally displayed in front of the house on ahyōsatsu(Biểu trát,name plate),often decoratively presented, as are house numbers in other countries.

The system works by naming the intersection of two streets and then indicating if the address is north(Thượng ル,agaru,"above" ),south(Hạ ル,sagaru,"below" ),east(Đông nhập ル,higashi-iru,"enter east" ),or west(Tây nhập ル,nishi-iru,"enter west" )of the intersection. More precisely, the two streets of the intersection are not treated symmetrically: one names the street that the address is on, then gives a nearby cross street, and then specifies the address relative to the cross street. What this means is that a building can have more than one address depending on which cross street intersection is chosen.

For instance, the address ofKyoto Toweris listed on their website as:

〒600-8216

Kinh đô thị hạ kinh khu ô hoàn thông bảy điều hạ ル đông diêm đường nhỏ đinh 721-1

Following the postcode, this contains the city and ward, followed by the unofficial address, a space, and then the official address:

Kinh đô thị hạ kinh khuKyōto-shi, Shimogyō-ku

Ô hoàn bảy điều hạ ルKarasuma-Shichijō-sagaru

Đông diêm đường nhỏ đinh 721-1Higashi-Shiokōji 721-1

This address means "south of the intersection ofKarasumaand Shichijō streets "– more precisely," on Karasuma, below (south of) Shichijō "(Karasuma runs north–south, while Shichijō is an east–west cross street). The street address may alternatively be given as ô hoàn thông bảy điều hạ ル (with street(Thông,dōri)inserted), indicating clearly that the address isonKarasuma street.

However, the system is flexible and allows for various alternatives, such as:

Kinh đô phủ kinh đô thị hạ kinh khu ô hoàn diêm đường nhỏ thượng ル

Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Shimogyō-ku, Karasuma-Shiokōji-agaru

"(On) Karasuma (street), above (north of) Shiokōji (street)"

For less well known buildings, the official address is often given after the informal one, as in the address for the ShinatoraRamenrestaurant:

Kinh đô phủ kinh đô thị hạ kinh khu ô hoàn thông năm điều hạ ル đại bản đinh 384

Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Shimogyō-ku, Karasuma-dōri-Gojō-sagaru, Ōsakachō 384

"Ōsakachō 384, (on) Karasuma street, below (south of) Gojō"

As the initial part of the address is familiar, it is often abbreviated – for example,Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi(Kinh đô phủ kinh đô thị,"Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City" )can be abbreviated toKyōto-shi(Kinh đô thị,"Kyoto City" ),as in the Kyoto Tower listing. More informally, particularly on return addresses for in-town mail, the city and ward can be abbreviated to the initial character, with a dot or comma to indicate abbreviation – there are only 11wards of Kyoto,so this is easily understood. For example, kinh đô thịKyōto-shiis abbreviated to kinh,Kyō–and hạ kinh khuShimogyō-kuis abbreviated to hạ,Shimo–.Combining these (and droppingokurigana), one may abbreviate the address of Kyoto Tower to:

〒600-8216

Kinh, hạ, ô hoàn bảy điều hạ

Karasuma-Shichijō-sagaru, Shimo–, Kyō–, 600-8216

Sapporo

Sapporo's system, though official, differs in structure from regular Japanese addresses. The city-center is divided into quadrants by two intersecting roads, Kita-Ichijo and Soseigawa; blocks are then named based on their distance from this point, and farther from the city center, multiple blocks are included in each. The east–west distance is indicated bychōme(a slightly unorthodox usage ofchōme), while the north–south distance is indicated byjō,which has been incorporated into thechōname.

The address toSapporo JR Toweris:

Sapporo khu phố ương khu bắc 5 điều tây 2 đinh mục 5 phiên mà

Sapporo-shi, Chūō-ku, kita-5-jō-nishi 2-chōme 5-banchi

This address indicates that it is the fifth building on a block located on 5jōnorth and 2chōmewest of the center, named with the actual cardinal names ofkita(north),minami(south),nishi(west), andhigashi(east). The directional names forjōextend for about 7 kilometers to the north–south along the main Soseigawa Dori, but only about 3 kilometers at the most to the east and west; outside of that area,jōhave other names, though the starting point of each is still the corner in the direction of the city center, often using landmarks such as theHakodate Main Lineor large roads to mark the new numbering.

For example, far in the outskirts is the Sapporo Tachibana Hospital, at:

〒006-0841 Sapporo thị tay đạo khu thự 11 điều 2 đinh mục 3 phiên 12 hào

Sapporo-shi, Teine-ku, Akebono-11-jō, 2-chōme-3-ban-12-gō

Building 12 on block 3 of achōmemeasuring 11jōnorth and 2chōmewest of where the Hakodate Main Line meets Tarukawa Street. Or Toyohira Ward office, at:

〒062-0934 Sapporo thị phong bình khu bình ngạn 6 điều 10 đinh mục 1-1

Sapporo, Toyohira-ku, Hiragishi-6-jō, 10-chōme-1-ban-1-gō

Building 1 on block 1 of achōmemeasuring 6jōsouth and 10chōmeeast of where a small street meets theToyohira River.The direction is understood based on the quadrant of the city thejōis considered to be in, which may be off from the actual direction to the city center, depending on the landmark used.

Far-flung and less crowded parts of the city may instead use a standardchōname, rather than a numberedjō,such asMakomanai.

Ōita

Many areas ofŌita Prefectureincluding the cities ofŌitaandUsukicommonly use an unofficial parallel system known as "administrative wards"(Khu hành chính,gyōseiku)or "neighbourhood council names"(Tự trị nổi danh,jichikaimei).While outwardly similar, these addresses end inkumi( tổ ) orku( khu ):

Đại phân huyện đại phân thị vũ phòng 4-1-A tổ

Haneya 4-1-A-kumi, Ōita-shi, Ōita-ken

Đại phân huyện cối xử thị cối xử châu kỳ bốn đinh mục 1 tổ

Suzaki 4-chōme 1-kumi, Usuki-shi, Ōita-ken

As the names indicate, these derive from traditional neighbourhood councils. While they continue to be used locally (e.g. school and electoral districts) and may be accepted for mail delivery, they are not considered official addresses, and individual buildings in eachkumiwill also have a standardōaza-banchiaddress.For example, Usuki City Hall, while within Suzaki 4-chome 1-kumi, has the formal address of Usuki 72–1, which may be prepended withōazafor clarity:

〒875-8501

Đại phân huyện cối xử thị chữ to cối xử 72-1

Ōaza Usuki 72-1, Usuki-shi, Ōita-ken 875-8501

Katakana blocks (bu)

Some cities inIshikawa Prefecture,includingKanazawaandNanao,sometimes usekatakanain theirohaordering (イ・ロ・ハ・ニ... ) instead of numbers for blocks. These are calledbu( bộ ). For example, the address of the Kagaya Hotel in Nanao is:

〒926-0192
Thạch xuyên huyện thất vĩ thị cùng thương đinh ヨ80

Wakuramachi yo 80, Nanao-shi, Ishikawa-ken 926-0192

Jikkaninstead of numberedchōme

Some cities, including parts ofNagaoka, Niigata,usejikkan( giáp ・ Ất ・ Bính... ) prefixed to the block number to indicate traditional divisions. These function similarly tochōmeand are treated as such in addresses. For example,Yoitapolice station in Nagaoka has the address:

〒940-2402
Tân tả huyện trường cương thị cùng bản đinh cùng bản Ất 5881-3

Yoita-otsu 5881-3, Yoita-machi, Nagaoka-shi, Niigata-ken 940-2402

History

The current addressing system was established afterWorld War IIas a slight modification of the scheme used since theMeiji era.

For historical reasons, names quite frequently conflict. It is typical in Hokkaidō where many place names are identical to those found in the rest of Japan, for example Shin-Hiroshima (literally new Hiroshima) to Hiroshima,largely as the result of the systematic group emigration projects since the late 19th century to Hokkaidō; people from villages acrossmainland Japandreamt to become wealthy farmers. Historians note that there is also a significant similarity between place names inKansai regionand those in northernKyūshū.SeeJapanese place namesfor more.

Named roads

Named roads(Thông り,tōri, dōri)are roads or sections deemed noteworthy and given a name. Unlike in other nations, named roads are not used in addresses but merely for logistic purposes; excepting in the above-mentioned Kyoto system.

Gallery

• 
  Two "chōmei-name plates ( đinh danh bản )" are withrōmajifor people unable to read the Japanese. (L) - A plate in standard style in larger cities. The letters on the plate indicates from the top Chuō Ward(Trung ương khu,Chuō-ku)and block 7, 5thchōme(Bạc tòa năm đinh mục 7,Ginza go-chōme nana).At the very bottom, 7-2 stands for block 7, number (banchi) 2. Pictured on the Ginza 4-chōmekobanpolice box at theGinza4-chōme crossing, on Ginza main street facing toWakō.(R) - Pictured is the one without any banchi numbers at the 2nd block inShimbashi(Tân kiều nhị đinh mục,Shimbashi ni-chōme).In Japanese writing at the bottom it reads you are in theunderground cityat the east gate(Đông khẩu ngầm phố,Higashi-guchi chikagai),but the name forShimbashi stationis not indicated.
• 
  In the residential area, this type of green street address or chōmei name plates are applied. Pictured is an old type without roman scripts or city name, at Kuwabara inMatsuyama, Ehime.The address of the city block in Japanese means block 3, 4-chōme, Kuwabara town(Tang nguyên bốn đinh mục 3,Kuwabara yon-chōme san).

See also

• House numbering

External links

• The Japanese address system
• Postal Information for Japan,Japan-guide
• Japanese 2005 census - definition ofshi,ku,&c.
• Japan addressingArchived2020-02-20 at theWayback Machine,Universal Postal Union