Names of Japan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The word Japan is an exonym, and is used (in one form or another) by many languages. The Japanese names for Japan are Nihon (にほん) and Nippon (にっぽん). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji 日本.

During the third-century CE

Malay and Indonesian the names Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun.[6] In 1577 it was first recorded in English, spelled Giapan.[6] At the end of the 16th century, Portuguese missionaries came to Japan and created grammars and dictionaries of Middle Japanese. The 1603–1604 dictionary Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam has 2 entries: nifon[7] and iippon.[8]
Since then many derived names of Japan appeared on early-modern European maps.

History

Cipangu (cited as ixola de cimpagu on the center-left) on the 1453 Fra Mauro map, the first known Western depiction of the island

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin", that is, where the sun originates,

Kanto region on Honshu
.

Although the etymological origins of "Wa" remain uncertain, Chinese historical texts recorded an ancient people residing in the Japanese archipelago (perhaps Kyūshū), named something like *ˀWâ or *ˀWər . Carr (1992:9–10) surveys prevalent proposals for Wa's etymology ranging from feasible (transcribing Japanese first-person pronouns waga 我が "my; our" and ware "I; oneself; thou") to shameful (writing Japanese Wa as implying "dwarf"), and summarizes interpretations for *ˀWâ "Japanese" into variations on two etymologies: "behaviorally 'submissive' or physically 'short'." The first "submissive; obedient" explanation began with the (121 CE)

Shijing poem. "Conceivably, when Chinese first met Japanese," Carr (1992:9) suggests "they transcribed Wa as *ˀWâ 'bent back' signifying 'compliant' bowing/obeisance. Bowing is noted in early historical references to Japan." Examples include "Respect is shown by squatting" (Hou Han Shu, tr. Tsunoda 1951:2), and "they either squat or kneel, with both hands on the ground. This is the way they show respect." (Wei Zhi, tr. Tsunoda 1951:13). Koji Nakayama interprets wēi "winding" as "very far away" and euphemistically translates as "separated from the continent." The second etymology of meaning "dwarf, pygmy" has possible cognates in ǎi "low, short (of stature)", "strain; sprain; bent legs", and "lie down; crouch; sit (animals and birds)". Early Chinese dynastic histories refer to a Zhūrúguó 侏儒國 "pygmy/dwarf country" located south of Japan, associated with possibly Okinawa Island or the Ryukyu Islands. Carr cites the historical precedence of construing Wa as "submissive people" and the "Country of Dwarfs" legend as evidence that the "little people" etymology was a secondary development.[citation needed
]

Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it due to its

Sino-Japanese readings
, first Nippon and later Nihon, although the two names are interchangeable to this day.

Nippon appeared in history only at the end of the 7th century. The

descent from the chief deity of the predominant Shinto religion. The name of the country reflects this central importance of the sun. The association of the country with the sun was indicated in a letter sent in 607 and recorded in the official history of the Sui dynasty. Prince Shōtoku, the Regent of Japan, sent a mission to China with a letter in which he called the emperor of Japan (actually an empress at the time) "the Son of Heaven of the Land where the Sun rises" (日出處天子). The message said: "The Son of Heaven, on the Land of the Rising Sun, sends this letter to the Son of Heaven of the Land, where the Sun sets, and wishes him well".[15][16]

Cipangu described on the 1492 Martin Behaim globe

The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early

Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun were borrowed from non-Mandarin Chinese languages, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan.[6]

In English, the modern official title of the country is simply "Japan", one of the few countries to have no "long form" name. The official Japanese-language name is Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku (日本国), literally "State of Japan".[17] As an adjective, the term "Dai-Nippon" remains popular with Japanese governmental, commercial, or social organizations whose reach extend beyond Japan's geographic borders (e.g., Dai Nippon Printing, Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, etc.).

Though Nippon or Nihon are still by far the most popular names for Japan from within the country, recently the foreign words Japan and even Jipangu (from Cipangu, see below) have been used in Japanese mostly for the purpose of foreign branding.

Phonology

Portuguese missionaries arrived in Japan at the end of the 16th century. In the course of learning Japanese, they created several grammars and dictionaries of Middle Japanese. The 1603–1604 dictionary Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam contains two entries for Japan: nifon[18] and iippon.[19] The title of the dictionary (Vocabulary of the Language of Japan) illustrates that the Portuguese word for Japan was by that time Iapam.

Nifon

Historically, Japanese /h/ has undergone a number of phonological changes. Originally *[p], this weakened into [ɸ] and eventually became the modern [h]. Modern /h/ is still pronounced [ɸ] when followed by /ɯ/.

Middle Japanese nifon becomes Modern Japanese nihon via regular phonological changes.[citation needed]

Jippon

Before modern styles of romanization, the Portuguese devised their own. In it, /zi/ is written as either ii or ji. In modern Hepburn style, iippon would be rendered as Jippon. There are no historical phonological changes to take into account here.

Etymologically, Jippon is similar to Nippon in that it is an alternative reading of 日本. The initial character may also be read as /ziti/ or /zitu/. Compounded with /hoɴ/ (), this regularly becomes Jippon.

Unlike the Nihon/Nippon doublet, there is no evidence for a *Jihon.

Nihon and Nippon

The Japanese name for Japan, 日本, can be pronounced either Nihon or Nippon. Both readings come from the on'yomi.

Meaning

(nichi) means "sun" or "day"; (hon) means "base" or "origin". The compound means "origin of the sun" or "where the sun rises" (from a Chinese point of view, the sun rises from Japan); it is a source for the popular Western description of Japan as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Nichi, in compounds, often loses the final chi and creates a slight pause between the first and second syllables of the compound. When romanised, this pause is represented by a doubling of the first consonant of the second syllable; thus nichi plus (light) is written and pronounced nikkō, meaning sunlight.

Evolution

Japanese and were historically pronounced niti (or jitu, reflecting a Late Middle Chinese pronunciation) and pon, respectively. In compounds, however, final voiceless stops (i.e. p, t, k) of the first word were unreleased in Middle Chinese, and the pronunciation of 日本 was thus Nippon or Jippon (with the adjacent consonants assimilating).

Fuzhounese Nĭk-buōng. In modern Toisanese, a Yue Chinese language, 日本 is pronounced as Ngìp Bāwn [ŋip˦˨ bɔn˥]. [20]

Historical sound change in Japanese has led to the modern pronunciations of the individual characters as nichi and hon. The pronunciation Nihon originated, possibly in the Kantō region, as a reintroduction of this independent pronunciation of into the compound. This must have taken place during the Edo period, after another sound change occurred which would have resulted in this form becoming Niwon and later Nion.[citation needed]

Several attempts to choose a definitive official reading were rejected by the Japanese government, which declared both to be correct.[21]

Modern

While both pronunciations are correct, Nippon is frequently preferred for official purposes,

sporting events
, as well as the Nippon-koku, literally the "State of Japan" (日本国).

Other than this, there seem to be no fixed rules for choosing one pronunciation over the other, but in some cases, one form is simply more common. For example, Japanese-speakers generally call their language Nihongo; Nippongo, while possible,[23] is rarely used. In other cases, uses are variable. The name for the Bank of Japan (日本銀行), for example, is given as NIPPON GINKO on banknotes but is often referred to, such as in the media, as Nihon Ginkō.[24]

Nippon is the form that is used usually or exclusively in the following constructions:[25]

Nihon is used always or most often in the following constructions:[26]

In 2016, element 113 on the

RIKEN.[30]

Jipangu

Another spelling, "Zipangri" (upper left), was used on a 1561 map by Sebastian Münster.[31]

As mentioned above, the

Early Mandarin Chinese or Wu Chinese word for Japan: Cipan (日本), which is rendered in pinyin as Rìběn (IPA: ʐʅ˥˩pən˨˩˦), and literally translates to "sun origin". Guó (IPA
: kuo˨˦) is Chinese for "realm" or "kingdom", so it could alternatively be rendered as Cipan-guo. The word was likely introduced to Portuguese through the Malay: Jipan.

Cipangu was first mentioned in Europe in the accounts of Marco Polo.[5] It appears for the first time on a European map with the Fra Mauro map in 1457, although it appears much earlier on Chinese and Korean maps such as the Gangnido. Following the accounts of Marco Polo, Cipangu was thought to be fabulously rich in silver and gold, which in Medieval times was largely correct, owing to the volcanism of the islands and the possibility to access precious ores without resorting to (unavailable) deep-mining technologies.

The modern

Shanghainese pronunciation of Japan is Zeppen [zəʔpən]. In modern Japanese, Cipangu is transliterated as チパング which in turn can be transliterated into English as Chipangu, Jipangu, Zipangu, Jipang, or Zipang. Jipangu (ジパング (Zipangu)) as an obfuscated name for Japan has recently come into vogue for Japanese films, anime, video games
, etc.

Other names

Classical

These names were invented after the introduction of Chinese into the language, and they show up in historical texts for prehistoric legendary dates and also in names of gods and

Japanese emperors
:

  • Ōyashima (大八洲) meaning the Great Country of Eight (or Many) Islands,
    Okinawa were not part of Japan in ancient times, as Aynu Mosir (the northern part of the archipelago) was inhabited by a non-Japanese group, the Ainu. The eight islands refers to the creation of the main eight islands of Japan by the gods Izanami and Izanagi in Japanese mythology
    as well as the fact that eight was a synonym for "many".
  • Yashima (八島 or 八洲), "Eight (or Many) Islands"
  • Fusō (扶桑), a mythical tree or a mysterious land located to the East of China. The term later became a poetic name of Japan.[33]
  • Mizuho (瑞穂) refers to ears of grain, e.g. 瑞穗國 Mizuho-no-kuni "Country of Lush Ears (of Rice)". From Old Japanese midu > Japanese mizu ("water; lushness, freshness, juiciness") + Old Japanese fo > Japanese ho ("ear (of grain, especially rice)").
  • Shikishima (敷島) is written with Chinese characters that suggest a meaning "islands that one has spread/laid out", but this name of Japan supposedly originates in the name of an area in Shiki District of Yamato Province in which some emperors of ancient Japan resided. The name of Shikishima (i.e. Shiki District) came to be used in Japanese poetry as an epithet for the province of Yamato (i.e. the ancient predecessor of Nara Prefecture), and was metonymically extended to refer to the entire island of Yamato (i.e. Honshū) and, eventually, to the entire territory of Japan. The word shima, though generally meaning only "island" in Japanese, also means "area, zone, territory" in many languages of the Ryūkyū Islands.
  • Akitsukuni (秋津國), Akitsushima (秋津島), Toyo-akitsushima (豐秋津島). According to the literal meanings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe these names of Japan, toyo means "abundant", aki means "autumn", tsu means "harbor", shima means "island", and kuni means "country, land". In this context, -tsu may be interpreted to be a fossilized genitive case suffix, as in matsuge "eyelash" (< Japanese me "eye" + -tsu + Japanese ke "hair") or tokitsukaze "a timely wind, a favorable wind" (< Japanese toki "time" + -tsu + Japanese kaze "wind"). However, akitu or akidu are also archaic or dialectal Japanese words for "dragonfly", so "Akitsushima" may be interpreted to mean 秋津島 (Dragonfly Island).[34] Another possible interpretation would take akitsu- to be identical with the akitsu- of akitsukami or akitsumikami ("god incarnate, a manifest deity", often used as an honorific epithet for the Emperor of Japan), perhaps with the sense of "the present land, the island(s) where we are at present".
  • Toyoashihara no mizuho no kuni (豐葦原の瑞穗の國). "Country of Lush Ears of Bountiful Reed Plain(s)", Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, "Central Land of Reed Plains", "Country Amidst Reed Plain(s)" (葦原中國).
  • Hinomoto (日の本). Simple
    kun reading
    of 日本.

The katakana transcription ジャパン (Japan) of the English word Japan is sometimes encountered in Japanese, for example in the names of organizations seeking to project an international image. Examples include ジャパンネット銀行 (Japan Netto Ginkō) (Japan Net Bank), ジャパンカップ (Japan Kappu) (Japan Cup), ワイヤレスジャパン (Waiyaresu Japan) (Wireless Japan), etc.

In other Eastern Asian languages

Dōngyáng (東洋) and Dōngyíng (東瀛) – both literally, "Eastern Ocean" – are

Nányáng (Southern Ocean), which refers to Southeast Asia, and Xīyáng (Western Ocean), which refers to the Western world. In Japanese and Korean, the Chinese word for "Eastern Ocean" (pronounced as tōyō in Japanese and as dongyang (동양) in Korean) is used only to refer to the Far East
(including both East Asia and Southeast Asia) in general, and it is not used in the more specific Chinese sense of "Japan".

In

Hangeul: 일본, Hanja: 日本), which is the Korean pronunciation of the Sino-Korean name, and in Sino-Vietnamese, Japan is called Nhật Bản (also rendered as Nhựt Bổn). In Mongolian
, Japan is called Yapon (Япон).

Ue-kok (倭國) is recorded for older Hokkien speakers.[35] In the past, Korea also used 倭國, pronounced Waeguk (왜국).

Notation on old European maps

These are historic names of Japan that were noted on old maps issued in Europe.

  • CIPANGU, circa 1300[36]
  • 「IAPAM」, circa 1560[37]
  • ZIPANGNI, 1561[38]
  • 「IAPAN」, circa 1567[39]
  • 「JAPAN」, unknown first year.[40]
  • IAPONIA, 1595[41]
  • 「IAPAO」, 1628[42]
  • 「IAPON」, unknown first year.[43]
  • 「NIPHON」, circa 1694[44][1 1]
  • 「JAPAM」, 1628[45]
  • 「YAPAN」, 1628[46]
  • HET KONINKRYK JAPAN, circa 1730[47]
  • JAPANIÆ REGNVM, 1739[48]

Emoji

Unicode includes several character sequences that have been used to represent Japan graphically:

  • U+1F5FE 🗾 SILHOUETTE OF JAPAN. Japan is the only country with a map representation in Unicode.
  • 🇯🇵, a sequence of regional indicator symbols corresponding to JP that are often displayed as a flag of Japan.

Contemporary names

These are some of the contemporary names for Japan in different languages.

Language Contemporary name for Japan (romanization)
Albanian Japonia
Amharic ጃፓን (japani)
Arabic اليابان (al-yābān)
Armenian ճապոնիա (Chaponia)
Azerbaijani Yaponiya
Bengali জাপান (Jāpān)
Basque Japonia
Belarusian Японія (Japonija)
Bulgarian Япония (Yaponiya)
Catalan Japó
Cornish Nihon
Croatian Japan
Czech Japonsko
Danish Japan
Dutch Japan
English Japan
Filipino Hapón (from Spanish, Japón)
Finnish Japani
French Japon
Galician O Xapón
Georgian იაპონია (iaponia)
German Japan
Greek Ιαπωνία (Iaponía)
Hawaiian Iapana
Hebrew יפן (Yapan)
Hindi जापान (jāpān)
Hungarian Japán
Icelandic Japan
Indonesian Jepang
Irish An tSeapáin
Italian Giappone
Kannada ಜಪಾನ್ (jāpān)
Kazakh Жапония (Japoniya)
Khmer ជប៉ុន (japon)
Laotian ຍີ່ປຸ່ນ (nyipun)
Lithuanian Japonija
Malay Jepun (جڤون)
Malayalam ജപ്പാൻ (jappān)
Maltese Ġappun
Manx Yn çhapaan
Marathi जपान (japān)
Mongolian Япон (Yapon)
Persian ژاپن (žāpon) in Iran and جاپان (jāpān) in Afghanistan
Polish Japonia
Portuguese Japão
Quechua Nihun
Romanian Japonia
Russian Япония (Yaponiya)
Scottish Gaelic Iapan
Serbian Јапан (Japan)
Sinhala ජපානය (Japanaya)
Slovak Japonsko
Slovenian Japonska
Spanish Japón
Swedish Japan
Tamil ஜப்பான் (Jappaan)
Thai ญี่ปุ่น (yîi-bpùn)
Turkish Japonya
Ukrainian Японія (Yaponiya)
Urdu جاپان (jāpān)
Vietnamese Nhật Bản
Welsh Japan (sometimes spelt Siapan)
Xhosa Japhan

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    ISSN 0950-3846
    .
  2. ^ "Wa: The Spirit of Harmony and Japanese Design Today | Concept, Works, and Catalogue". Japan Foundation. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Why Japan is Japan? How Japan became Japan?". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  4. .
  5. ^ a b c "Cipangu's landlocked isles". The Japan Times. 27 July 2008. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c The History of trauayle in the VVest and East Indies : and other countreys lying eyther way towardes the fruitfull and ryche Moluccaes. As Moscouia, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Aegypte, Ethiopia, Guinea, China in Cathayo, and Giapan: VVith a discourse of the Northwest passage. In the hande of our Lorde be all the corners of the earth, Richard Jugge, approximately 1514-1577, page 493
  7. ^ Doi (1980:463)
  8. ^ Doi (1980:363)
  9. ^ Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Nihon" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 707., p. 707, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File Archived 2012-05-24 at archive.today.
  10. .
  11. ISBN 4-09-501211-0; Yamato (大和・倭) entry available online here, yamato (大処) entry available online here
  12. Tōkyō: Shogakukan, Yamato (大和・倭) entry available online here, yamato (山と) entry available online here
  13. .
  14. .
  15. . (cites Bielenstein 2005 page 102)
  16. ^ In Japanese, countries whose "long form" does not contain a designation such as republic or kingdom are generally given a name appended by the character ("country" or "nation"): for example, ドミニカ国 (Dominica), バハマ国 (Bahamas), and クウェート国 (Kuwait).
  17. ^ Doi (1980:463)
  18. ^ Doi (1980:363)
  19. ^ "Taishanese Language Home 台山话资源网". www.stephen-li.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  20. ^ Nippon or Nihon? No consensus on Japanese pronunciation of Japan, Japan Today
  21. ^ Nussbaum, "Nippon" at p. 709., p. 709, at Google Books
  22. ^ Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Henshū Iin Kai, Shōgakukan Kokugo Daijiten Henshūbu (2002) [2000]. Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (2nd ed.). Shōgakukan.
  23. ^ a b Nussbaum, "Nihon Ginkō" at p. 708., p. 708, at Google Books
  24. ^ Nussbaum, "Nippon" passim at pp. 717., p. 717, at Google Books
  25. ^ Nussbaum, "Nihon" passim at pp. 707–711., p. 707, at Google Books
  26. ^ Nussbaum, "Nihon University (Nihon Daigaku)" at pp. 710–711., p. 710, at Google Books
  27. ^ Nussbaum, "Nihonjin" at pp. 708–709., p. 708, at Google Books
  28. ^ Nussbaum, "Nihon shoki" at p. 710., p. 710, at Google Books
  29. ^ Richard Gonzales (2016-06-10). "Hello, Nihonium. Scientists Name 4 New Elements on the Periodic Table". Ww2.kqed.org. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  30. .
  31. ^ Nussbaum, "Ō-ya-shima no Kuni" at p. 768., p. 768, at Google Books
  32. ^ Schafer, Edward H. (1989), "Fusang and Beyond: The Haunted Seas to Japan", Journal of the American Oriental Society 109.3: 379, 394.
  33. ^ Nussbaum, "Akitsushima" at p. 20., p. 20, at Google Books
  34. ^ "www.chineselanguage.org message board". Chinalanguage.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  35. ^ Marco Polo (27 July 2008). "Cipangu's landlocked isles". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  36. ^ "ハンティントン ライブラリー図書館所蔵「HM44」-2". Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  37. .
  38. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-3". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  39. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-4". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  40. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-6". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  41. ^ "カサ・ド・アルバ財団所蔵「1994:201」". Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  42. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-11". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  43. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-22". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  44. ^ "カサ・ド・アルバ財団所蔵「1994:243」". Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  45. ^ "カサ・ド・アルバ財団所蔵「1994:197」". Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  46. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-29". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  47. ^ "九州大学附属図書館所蔵「アジア図2」-31". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.

References

  1. ^ In the novel "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale" published in October 1851, the notation "Niphon" appears when checking nautical charts.