The word japan came from

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 Three Kingdoms period, Japan was inhabited by the Yayoi people who lived in Kyushu up to the Kanto region. They were called Wa in Chinese, and the kanji for their name 倭 can be translated as «dwarf» or «submissive».^[1] Japanese scribes found fault with its offensive connotation, and officially changed the characters they used to spell the native name for Japan, Yamato, replacing the 倭 («dwarf») character for Wa with the homophone 和 («peaceful, harmonious»). Wa 和 was often combined with 大 («great») to form the name 大和, which is read as Yamato^[2][3] (see also Jukujikun for a discussion of this type of spelling where the kanji and pronunciations are not directly related). The earliest record of 日本 appears in the Chinese Old Book of Tang, which notes the change in 703 when Japanese envoys requested that its name be changed. It is believed that the name change within Japan itself took place sometime between 665 and 703.^[4] During the Heian period, 大和 was gradually replaced by 日本, which was first pronounced with the Chinese reading (on’yomi) Nippon and later as Nifon, and then in modern usage Nihon, reflecting shifts in phonology in Early Modern Japanese.^[1] Marco Polo called Japan ‘Cipangu’ around 1300, based on the Chinese name,^[5] probably 日本國; ‘sun source country’ (compare modern Min Nan pronunciation ji̍t pún kok). In the 16th century in Malacca, Portuguese traders first heard from 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[edit]

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean «the sun’s origin», that is, where the sun originates,^[9] and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Imperial correspondence with the Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan’s eastern position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭) or Wakoku (倭国).^[10] Wa was a name early China used to refer to an ethnic group living in Japan around the time of the Three Kingdoms Period. The Yayoi people primarily lived on the island of Kyushu to the 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 倭. 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 我 «I; oneself; thou») to shameful (writing Japanese Wa as 倭 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) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary. It defines 倭 as shùnmào 順皃 «obedient/submissive/docile appearance», graphically explains the «person; human» radical 亻 with a wěi 委 «bent» phonetic, and quotes the above 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 逶 «winding» as «very far away» and euphemistically translates Wō 倭 as «separated from the continent.» The second etymology of wō 倭 meaning «dwarf, pygmy» has possible cognates in ǎi 矮 «low, short (of stature)», wō 踒 «strain; sprain; bent legs», and wò 臥 «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.

Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato «Japan» with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it due to its offensive connotation, replacing it with 和 «harmony, peace, balance». Retroactively, this character was adopted in Japan to refer to the country itself, often combined with the character 大 (literally meaning «Great»), so as to write the name as Yamato (大和) (Great Wa, in a manner similar to e.g. 大清帝國 Great Qing Empire, 大英帝國 Empire of Great Britain). However, the pronunciation Yamato cannot be formed from the sounds of its constituent characters; it refers to a place in Japan and, based on the specific spellings used in ancient documents (see also Man’yōgana and Old Japanese#Vowels), this may have originally meant «Mountain Place» (山処).^{[11]
[12]
[13]} Such words which use certain kanji to name a certain Japanese word solely for the purpose of representing the word’s meaning regardless of the given kanji’s on’yomi or kun’yomi, a.k.a. jukujikun, is not uncommon in Japanese. Other original names in Chinese texts include Yamatai country (邪馬台国), where a Queen Himiko lived. When hi no moto, the indigenous Japanese way of saying «sun’s origin», was written in kanji, it was given the characters 日本. In time, these characters began to be read using 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 Old Book of Tang (舊唐書), one of the Twenty-Four Histories, stated that the Japanese envoy disliked his country’s name Woguo (Chinese) (倭國), and changed it to Nippon (Japanese; Mandarin Chinese: Rìběn, Toisan Cantonese: Ngìp Bāwn) (日本), or «Origin of the Sun». Another 8th-century chronicle, True Meaning of Shiji (史記正義), however, states that the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian ordered a Japanese envoy to change the country’s name to Nippon. It has been suggested that the name change in Japan may have taken place sometime between 665 and 703, and Wu Zetian then acceded to the name change in China following a request from a delegation from Japan in 703.^[14] The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the emperor is said to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the legitimacy of the ruling house rested on this divine appointment and 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, in 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]

The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu.^[5] In modern Toisanese (a language in the Yue Chinese subgroup), 日本 is pronounced as Ngìp Bāwn [ŋip˦˨ bɔn˥], which sounds nearly identical to Nippon.^[17] The 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«.^[18] From the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II, the full title of Japan was the «Empire of Great Japan» (大日本帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku). A more poetic rendering of the name of Japan during this period was «Empire of the Sun.» The official name of the nation was changed after the adoption of the post-war constitution; the title «State of Japan» is sometimes used as a colloquial modern-day equivalent. 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[edit]

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^[19] and iippon.^[20]
The title of the dictionary (Vocabulary of the Language of Japan) illustrates that the Portuguese word for Japan was by that time Iapam.

Nifon[edit]

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[edit]

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 日 may also be read as /ziti/ or /zitu/. Compounded with /hoɴ/ (本), this regularly becomes Jippon.

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

Nihon and Nippon[edit]

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

Meaning[edit]

日 (nichi) means «sun» or «day»; 本 (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 日 plus kō 光 (light) is written and pronounced nikkō, meaning sunlight.

Evolution[edit]

Japanese 日 and 本 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).

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 本 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[edit]

While both pronunciations are correct, Nippon is frequently preferred for official purposes,^[22] including money, stamps, and international 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]

• Nippon Yūbin, Nippon Yūsei (Japan Post Group)
• Ganbare Nippon! (A sporting cheer used at international sporting events, roughly, ‘do your best, Japan!’)
• Nipponbashi (日本橋) (a shopping district in Osaka)
• All Nippon Airways (Zen Nippon Kūyu)
• Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (Nippon Denshin Denwa)
• Nikon (Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō)
• Nippon Yusen
• Nippon Steel (Nippon Seitetsu)
• Nippon Professional Baseball (Nippon Yakyū Kikō)
• Nippon Animation
• Nippon Life Insurance

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

• JR Higashi-Nihon (East Japan Railway, JR Group)
• Nihonbashi (日本橋) (a bridge in Tokyo)
• Nihon Daigaku (Nihon University)^[27]
• Nihon-go (Japanese language)
• Nihon-jin (日本人) (Japanese people)^[24]
• Nihon-kai (Sea of Japan)^[28]
• Nihon Kōkū (Japan Airlines)
• Nihon-shoki (an old history book, never Nippon shoki)^[29]
• Nihonshu (日本酒; meaning ‘Japanese wine’)
• Zen Nihon Kendō Renmei (全日本剣道連盟, abbreviated 全剣連 Zen Ken Ren), the Japanese Kendo Federation referred in English as All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF)
• The Nippon TV network is called Nihon Terebi in Japanese.

In 2016, element 113 on the periodic table was named nihonium to honor its discovery in 2004 by Japanese scientists at RIKEN.^[30]

Jipangu[edit]

As mentioned above, the English word Japan has a circuitous derivation; but linguists believe it derives in part from the Portuguese recording of 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[edit]

Classical[edit]

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,^[32] Awaji, Iyo (later Shikoku), Oki, Tsukushi (later Kyūshū), Iki, Tsushima, Sado, and Yamato (later Honshū); note that Hokkaidō, Karafuto, Chishima, and 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), «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. Note that 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.

Dōngyáng (東洋) and Dōngyíng (東瀛) – both literally, «Eastern Ocean» – are Chinese terms sometimes used to refer to Japan exotically when contrasting it with other countries or regions in eastern Eurasia; however, these same terms may also be used to refer to all of East Asia when contrasting «the East» with «the West». The first term, Dōngyáng, has been considered to be a pejorative term when used to mean «Japan», while the second, Dōngyíng, has remained a positive poetic name. They can be contrasted with 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 China, Japan is called Rìběn, which is the Mandarin pronunciation for the characters 日本. The Cantonese pronunciation is Yahtbún [jɐt˨ pun˧˥], the Shanghainese pronunciation is Zeppen [zəʔpən], and the Hokkien pronunciation is Ji̍tpún / Li̍t-pún. This has influenced the Malay name for Japan, Jepun, and the Thai word Yipun (ญี่ปุ่น). The terms Jepang and Jipang, ultimately derived from Chinese, were previously used in both Malay and Indonesian, but are today confined primarily to the Indonesian language. The Japanese introduced Nippon and Dai Nippon into Indonesia during the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) but the native Jepang remains more common. In Korean, Japan is called Ilbon (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[edit]

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

Emoji[edit]

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 non-CJK names[edit]

These are the contemporary non-CJKV names for Japan in different languages.

See also[edit]

• Japanese name (names of Japanese people)
• Japanese place names
• Little China (ideology)
• List of country-name etymologies

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Doi, Tadao (1980) [1603]. Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-080021-3.
• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric; Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301

Across the globe, few country names carry as much immediate recognition as “Japan.” Hear it, and one’s mind immediately jumps to any number of associated concepts; samurai, robotics, cuisine, anime, and much more. And the association between the phonetics that make up the English word “Japan” and such concepts is itself a cross-border phenomenon. Indeed, a majority of Western languages share a similar variation of the English name. For example, In French, it’s “Japon”; In Italian, “Giappone.”

But it’s not only European languages that share this similarity. Many countries all over the world seem to use some variation of this spelling and pronunciation. The exception, of course, is Japan itself – it goes by ‘Nihon (日本)’! What is the reason for this dissimilarity? Read on to learn the etymology of Japan and Nihon, and how the European version ended up taking hold in the Western world.

The Etymology of Japan: Pre-Text Japanese

In general, the history of spoken language goes back much further than written language, and Japanese is no different. As such, it’s nearly impossible to pin down the exact origin of the pretext etymology of Japan. It also remains unclear what the earliest inhabitants of Japan called themselves or their land.

The oldest existing Japanese text is the Kojiki (古事記, one of the first collections of myths and histories of Japan, 711-712 CE). According to this text, scholars believe written Japanese first appeared somewhere between the 3rd and 4th centuries. Written in classical Japanese, the Kojiki tells Japan’s creation myth as a land called ‘Oyashima’ (the ‘Eight Great Islands’, referring to modern-day Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu). But it remains unclear if Japanese people ever called their country by that name, or if it’s simply a thing of legend, as by the time the Kojiki came about, Japan was already going by a different name: ‘Wakoku (倭国)’. [2]

However, before we go into details about the meaning and origin of Wakoku, let’s take a closer look at how the adoption of the Chinese writing system influenced the various evolutions of the name, Japan.

Introducing Kanji into the Japanese Language

Japan adopted the Chinese writing system, known in Japanese as kanji, between the 3rd-4th century. But because Japanese was an already-existing language, they had to make several changes to compensate for the differences in structure and pronunciation.

Kanji are ideographs, which means that each character has its own meaning as well as pronunciation. After a series of evolutions, they settled on the current system, which combines on’yomi (音読み/the original Chinese pronunciation), with kun’yomi (訓読み/the Japanese pronunciation). This is why, in Japanese, a single kanji can have multiple readings, despite having one basic meaning. This method of writing was called manyōgana due to its extensive use in the Manyōshū, a historical Japanese poetry anthology. Manyogana would eventually become the hiragana and katakana systems of modern Japanese. 

The People of ‘Wa’

Although the Kojiki is the earliest known document of written Japanese, the earliest reference to Japan as a country comes from Chinese historical texts and court documents penned hundreds of years earlier in a history book of the Later Han Dynasty (25-220). In these documents, Japan was referred to as ‘Wa (倭)’, a name that likely came from the first Chinese envoys they encountered. [6][9]

Several theories exist for the usage of ‘Wa’. One theory suggests it comes from the traditional Japanese words for ‘I’ and ‘we’ (‘waga/我が’and ‘ware/我’). The Chinese envoys probably thought ‘Wa’ was what the people of Japan called themselves: the ‘Wa’, or the people of ‘Wa’. In accordance with this, they referred to Japan as ‘Wakoku (倭国)’, or the ‘Land of Wa’. [2]

This was the first time another nation recognized Japan as a country. However, at this time, Japan itself consisted of several provinces, rather than being one individual country. The most prominent was the Yamato (current Nara region). Several theories exist about the origin of the name ‘Yamato’. One suggests it came from the meaning ‘mountain gate’, as the area was surrounded by mountains. This word also came to represent Japan and traditionally Japanese things over time. [7]

The Yamato people adopted the ‘Wa (倭)’ character to write their own name during the Kofun Period (250-538). However, rather than use the original on’yomi reading, ‘wa’, they attached their own name to it, giving 倭 the kun’yomi reading, ‘yamato’. At first, Yamato was written simply as 倭 (Wa). But during the Asuka Period (538-710), Japanese underwent another change, standardizing most place names into two-character compounds. Following suit, the Yamato people affixed the character for ‘great (大)’ as a prefix, resulting in a new spelling of Yamato, 大倭, which remained throughout the Asuka Period. [1][2] 

A Country By Any Other Name?

Around the 7th century, Japanese underwent another change, this time being to the name they called themselves. The Yamato people came to understand that the original kanji, 倭, had some undesirable connotations, including subservient, kneeling, and dwarf. [1] 

They decided to switch to a different ‘wa’, opting for the kanji we recognize today, 和, a homonym meaning ‘peace/harmony’. In accordance with the change, the new spelling for Yamato became 大和 (literally, ‘great harmony’). This is the same ‘wa’ you’ll see frequently nowadays in reference to traditional Japanese things, including washoku (和食/Japanese food), wagyu (和牛/Japanese beef), and washitsu (和室/Japanese-style room). [2][9]

The Etymology of Japan as ‘Nihon’ (日本)

Japan continued to go by 大和/Yamato until around 700CE, when another name change took place: 日本 (Nihon/Nippon). The earliest record of 日本 appears in the Old Book of Tang, a collection of historical Chinese records from the Tang Dynasty.

This name came from Prince Shotoku Taishi, who famously addressed himself as the ‘Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun’ (日出ずる国/’hi izuru kuni’) to the Emperor of China’s Sui Dynasty, in reference to Japan’s geographical position to the east of China. 日本 was an abbreviation of the expression 日が出てくる本 (hi ga dete-kuru moto), or ‘the place from which the sun rises’. The kanji compound ‘日本’ literally means ‘origin of the sun’, in which 日 (nichi/hi) means ‘sun/day’ and 本 (‘hon‘) means ‘base/origin’. [3]

The switch from 大和 to 日本 took place gradually throughout the Heian Period, with the Yamato people continuing to use the ‘yamato’ reading with the new spelling. It’s unclear exactly when Japan settled on ‘日本/nihon’ as the official spelling and pronunciation, but it began as ‘nippon’, which was closer to the original Chinese reading. 

But even this pronunciation evolved in accordance with the phonological shifts of Early Modern Japanese, going from ‘nifon’ to its current reading, ‘nihon’. (For the linguists, the shift in question is that of the Japanese f/h, which began as [p], eventually softening into [ɸ] until settling on the [h] sound of today). [3]

Nihon or Nippon?

Somewhere along the lines, the pronunciation of 日本 became a subject of debate. Was it ‘Nihon’ or ‘Nippon’? One theory states that the latter pronunciation also came from Chinese diplomats, who pronounced the characters as ‘nyet pan’ (ニエット・プァン). And although the Japanese government made several attempts to determine an official reading, they ultimately rejected the movement, declaring both to be correct. However, you’ll see ‘nippon’ more often in official/formal settings. [3]

(Read more about the difference between ‘nihon’ and ‘nippon’ HERE!)

The Etymology of Japan in English

Now we know where Japan’s name for itself came from. However, ‘Nihon’ is still quite different from what people in the Western world call it: ‘Japan’. How did this happen? Let’s look at the etymology of Japan, in English!

The English word ‘Japan’ is an exonym, a name given to an ethnic group or geographical entity by a different ethnic group. This means that the name ‘Japan’ did not come from Japan itself. Rather it came to the West from early trade routes. Linguists believe it derives in part from Marco Polo’s interpretation of the Chinese name (‘Cipan’ or ‘Zeppen’). Since Polo never actually visited Japan himself nor interacted with its people, all his knowledge of Japan came indirectly through the countries of mainland Asia. [2][6]

The modern Shanghainese pronunciation of 日本 is ‘Zeppen’, while northern China used ‘Cipan’, and southern China used ‘Yatbun/Yatpun’. Polo introduced Japan to Europe as ‘Cipangu/Zipangu’, which modern Japanese transliterates as チパング/ジパング, and English transliterates as any of the following: Chipangu, Jipangu, Zipangu, Jipang, or Zipang. Many variations of ‘Japan’ in other Western languages show a clear similarity, as well (such as Japan, Japon, Giappone, Yaponiya, etc). [3][9]

‘Zipangu’, Land of Gold

In his book, ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’, Polo writes that “Zipangu was an independent island country… It produced a large quantity of gold, so that palaces and private houses were made in gold, being abundant in treasure”. Polo’s book spread word through Europe about ‘Zipangu, land of gold’ throughout the 13th century (although the nickname ‘land of gold’ may have been an exaggeration). [4] 

However, Portuguese missionaries wouldn’t reach Japan until the end of the 16th century. At this time, they encountered the Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun, which also derive from Chinese dialects. Through these traders, and the use of Polo’s book as a reference, variations of ‘Zipangu’ soon spread throughout Europe, shifting spelling and pronunciation in accordance with the native language of each country. 

Japan appeared for the first time on a European map as Cipangu in 1457, and was first recorded in English in 1577 as Giapan. [3][9]

A Long , Strange Etymological Journey

So, a long linguistic journey was taken to arrive at the name so many of us now know this archipelago nation by. These days, while Nihon/Nippon remains the local endonym, “Japan” is quite popular within the country itself. When the country looks inward, it’s “Nihon” – when it reflects on its place on the world stage, it’s often “Japan/ジャパン.” Look no further than “Samurai Japan” (侍ジャパン), the official nickname of the Japanese national baseball team, or “Cool Japan” (クールジャパン), the somewhat ill-fated Japanese government policy of promoting its culture abroad.

Japan is far from the only country with a widespread exonym that’s radically different from its own endonym; China got the ball rolling on calling Japan something very different from what Japan called itself, but it also suffers the same fate: “China” is quite different from what that country calls itself, “Zhōngguó.”

Like all identities, there’s the inward vision of oneself and how one is perceived by others. Nihon thinks of itself mainly as Nihon, but to much of the rest of the world, it’s truly Japan.

Resources

[1] How to Say Japan in Different Languages. In Different Languages  

[2] Where Does Japan’s Name Come From? Culture Trip

[3] Names of Japan. Wikipedia

[4] ジパング (Zipangu). Japanese Wiki Corpus

[5] “じっぽん”と読まれていたことも…日本はどうして国際的な場面で「Japan」と呼ばれるようになったの？. Livedoor News

[6] 日本はなぜJapan？ジャパンの語源・由来とは？いつから国号「日本」なの？日本の起源は神話？ Learn Japanese

[7] 大和 (Yamato). Japanese Wiki Corpus

[8] 大和. Wiktionary

[9] Etymology of ‘Wa’, ‘Yamatai’ and ‘Nippon’. Heritage of Japan

Japanese use the names “Nihon” or “Nippon” to call their country. The rest of the world knows it as “Japan” or other similar derivatives. How come these two names sound so different?

Japan is called “Japan” because of Marco Polo, the great Venetian explorer from the thirteenth century. He introduced this country to the western world as “Zipangu” or “Cipangu”. Other sources claim it to be a derivation from the Malaysian word “Jih-pun”‘ (origin of the sun) which had its origin in the southern Chinese dialect reading of Nippon.

The Origins of the Name “Japan”

As Japanese people call their country “Nihon” or “Nippon”, it makes sense for others to follow the suit. Also, these words don’t even remotely sound like “Japan”. So, what’s the story behind the journey from Nihon/Nippon to Japan?

The kanji (Chinese characters for writing Japanese) word for “Japan” is “日本” (the origin of the sun). This name has actually come from the Chinese people since Japan lies towards the east of China, the direction of the rising sun.

In Japanese, the word “日本” is pronounced “Nihon”, or “Nippon” if you need to sound formal or put more emphasis. You can read the letter “日” as “jitsu” or “nichi” (the latter is more preferable in this regard), and “本” as “hon”.

When these two letters make a single word, the “chi” or “tsu” of the first letter gets dropped and the “h-” of the next letter is replaced with a “p-” with a double consonant. Thus you get the word “Nippon”.

It’s argued that people at some point might have read “日” as “jitsu”, pronouncing “日本” as “Jippon”. It makes sense that all it needed was a linguistic jump to come to “Japan” from “Jippon”.

However, the word’s journey to the Western world still needs some explanations.

The Marco Polo Theory

Explorer Marco Polo was the first person to introduce Japan to the Westerners. There are arguments over whether or not he actually visited Japan. However, in his famous diaries, he mentioned the country as “Zipangu”.

Polo traveled to the southern part of China, where the word “日本” was pronounced as “Ji-pang” or “Zu-pang”. He heard from the locals about this country of the rising sun and mentioned it in his diaries. He added the word “-gu” in the end, as guo/guó in Chinese means “country”.

According to some other accounts, Polo introduced the word “Jipangu” or “Zipangu” as an attempt to write the Chinese pronunciation in Italian. In Mandarin, the letter “日” sounds like a simultaneous pronunciation of “j” and “r”. On the other hand, “本” sounded similar to “pun”. So, the word might have sounded like “jrpun” to Polo, which he wrote as “Zipangu”.

The Portuguese Explorers

Portuguese travelers used to travel to the northern part of China where the word “日本” was pronounced as “Cipan”, which they interpreted as “Jipan”.

The Various Names of Japan

During the course of its history, Japan has been known in various names. Let’s take a look at those names and the history behind them.

Oyashima (大八洲)

Japanese was an oral language for many years before the invention of Hiragana (the Japanese Alphabet). So, there is no documentation regarding what the earliest inhabitants used to call the country and themselves.

The oldest Japanese text that has been found so far is the Kojiki (An Account of Ancient Matters). Written by 711-712 CE in classical Japanese (using Chinese characters with Japanese sounds), the text chronicled songs, legends, and many other things including the mythical creation story of Japan.

The chronicle referred to a land called Oyashima (the Eight Great Islands). It’s debatable whether or not the prehistoric people used this name since Japan was already known as Wakoku when the Kojiki was written.

Wakoku (倭国)

Before the official name “Nihon”, China used to call Japan as the “Land of Wa” or Wakoku (dwarf or submissive). Being first used during the third-century “Three Kingdoms” period, the reference to these people was found in Chinese court records.

The first incident of a Japanese ambassador visiting China took place in 57 CE. Emperor Guangwu (from the Han Dynasty) gave him a seal made of gold as a token of friendship and good relations. Since then, the Japanese have been treating the seal as a national treasure. It has texts that loosely translate to:

King of Na, Land of Wa, vassal to the Han Dynasty.

Due to the derogatory connotation of Wa and Wakoku, Japanese envoys requested the Chinese emperor to change the name to “Nihon”, and the Chinese court agreed to use them new name in 703. In Japan, the name change took place sometime between 665 and 703.

Yamato (大和)

Japan used to be a land of several provinces before becoming one country. The Na Kingdom was not the only kingdom in the country.

Yamato people were the largest group of native Japanese who used to live in the modern-day Honshu. They built an imperial court in Nara in the 6th century.

The Japanese people never called the country Yamato, but the Chinese used the names “Wa” and “Yamato” until the 7th century.

Nihon (日本)

The word “日本” in kanji refers to the name Nihon/Nippon. The name was first recorded in the Old Book of Tang that chronicled the history of the Tang Dynasty.

Japanese changed the name of their country from “Wakoku” to “Nihon” around the 7th century. At the beginning of the 7th century, a Japanese delegation visited China on behalf of Prince Shotoku, an Asuka ruler. Those delegates requested the Chinese Emperor to change their country’s name to “Nihon”.

The Prince sent a letter with those delegates. Its message, which is recorded in the Sui Dynasty’s official history book, loosely translates to:

The Emperor of the land where the sun rises sends a letter to the Emperor of the land where the sun sets. Are you healthy?

According to some other records, the name was changed because of the order of the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian, who was the empress regnant of the Zhou dynasty.

Either way, Nihon became the official name of Japan.

Fusō (扶桑)

This word means “hibiscus”. Hibiscus was a plant found in a Pacific island where the sun was believed to rise from.

The name “Fusō” was first mentioned in a Song Dynasty (from 960 to 1279 A.D.) history book. Its meaning was changed to refer to Japan at a later period.

An example of the word used in Japan is found in the title Fusō Ryakuki, a Japanese history book. It was written between 794 and 1185, during the Heian Era, which means the name came to Japan no later than the twelfth century.

From the time frame, it’s obvious that the name “Nihon” came earlier than “Fusō”. Scholars assume that the Chinese people might have used the word as an artistic alternative to “Nihon”.

The Land of the Rising Sun

Just like the USA is “Uncle Sam” and Egypt is the “Gift of Nile”, Japan is known as the “Land of the Rising Sun”.

The secret behind this name lies in the name of the country. Both Nihon and Nippon are written as “日本” in kanji. The word means “origin of the sun” or the “land of the rising sun”.

This name came from the Chinese since Japan is in the east of China. From the perspective of Chinese people, it’s the place where the sun comes out every day. The Japanese naming their country based on the consideration of the Chinese shows their esteem and admiration for the Chinese rulers in ancient times.

Due to this tie to the sun, the Japanese highly revere the goddess Amaterasu. They consider her as an incarnation of the rising sun and Japan itself. She is also the Queen of Heaven and the goddess of creation.

In fact, the official name of Japan’s national flag is Nisshōki (日章旗), which means the “flag of the sun”. Its original design featured a yellow sun on a red background. The national flag is another thing that represents the country’s moniker — the Land of the Rising Sun.

What Do Japanese People Call Their Country: Nihon or Nippon?

Asking Japanese people about the name of their country will draw mixed responses. Some people will call it “Nippon” while others may refer to it as “Nihon”. Which one is the official name?

The Japanese government solved the dilemma in 2009. A cabinet council announced both as the official names of the country.

So, why keeping both names instead of just one? It would be less confusing, right?

Here’s a video explaining the differences:

It can be explained from a phonetics angle too. Uttering the letter “h” is difficult in some languages. For instance, the French don’t pronounce it normally and native English speakers scrap it altogether in some sentences.

In the past, Japanese people too used to struggle with making the “h” sound and sometimes substitute it with “p” because it’s easier to pronounce. So, it’s now clear how “Nihon” has turned into “Nippon”.

While modern Japanese people know the difference between “h” and “p” sounds, many of them still use the name “Nippon” instead of “Nihon”. It’s either because they think “Nippon” is the right word or they cannot pronounce “h”.

However, after the government declaration, Japan now uses both names for official purposes. You will see Japanese banknotes using the name “Nippon”. Many Japanese also deliberately call their country “Nippon” instead of “Nihon”.

r/AskHistorians

January 6, 2012
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What country did they live in?[edit | edit source]

Japan, which they call ‘日本’ (Nihon), which means «source of the sun», since the sun rises in the east and Japan is east of Asia; this is why Japan is sometimes called «Land of the Rising Sun». The word «Japan» comes from a western mistranslation of the Mandarin word «Ze-pan,» which was how the symbols of the name (which were originally Chinese symbols) were pronounced by the Chinese during the Middle Ages.

Japan is an archipelago, or a group of islands, east of China and Korea. It is made up of many different islands, but the four main islands are Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido. Japan is a country with a lot of mountains, and because there is so little space in the centre of the islands to build, most Japanese cities and towns are built close to the sea. The nearby Ryukyu Islands — and the biggest of the islands, Okinawa — were a group of islands near to Japan, but they were taken over by the Japanese in the 1800s, and are now considered by some to be part of Japan.

What did their buildings look like?[edit | edit source]

The earliest Japanese people lived in wooden buildings elevated above the ground. The Japanese quickly adopted Chinese style architecture, with curved roofs to resemble the wings of a bird and multiple tiers of roofs, and set about building larger and more impressive buildings similar to the Chinese. Japanese buildings often featured sliding doors and thin walls, and later the Japanese built large castles with many small gardens and towers.

What did they eat?[edit | edit source]

The main foods in Japan were mostly rice, since it was easy to plant lots of rice in flooded fields, and fish, because most of Japan’s cities and towns have to be built close to the shore, since further in land, the mountains make building difficult. The Japanese also ate other types of vegetables, such as algae or soy beans, and they could grow buckwheat to make noodles. The Japanese used chopsticks to eat most of their foods. Tea was, and still is, a very popular drink in Japan, and the steps of making, serving and drinking tea were parts of a very important and celebrated ritual to the Japanese.

What did they wear?[edit | edit source]

• Kimono — meaning clothing or things to wear, is the basic Japanese clothing
• Yukata — the summer kimono
• Nagajugan — undergarments
• Clothing Accessories — obi, shoes, socks. Obi: a shash to hold together a kimono.
• Haori — short silk jackets
• Michiyuki — Overcoats
• Hakama — Japanese pants
• Uchikake — most formal kimono
• Shiro-maku — wedding kimono

Customarily, woven patterns, dyed clothing and repetitive patterns are considered informal Japanese clothing. Examples of traditional informal Japanese clothing are; cotton yukata, woven cotton haori and dyed ikat kimono. These types of Japanese clothes would be used as daily wear, for traveling to and from bath houses or for informal friend and family visits.

Formal Japanese clothing normally takes on either of two characteristics; very elaborate designs or a simple elegant designs. A few examples of elaborate designed Japanese clothes worn for an event are uchikake wedding kimono and festive happi coats. The more elegant designs, subdued colors or solid pattern formal Japanese clothes would be worn for paying formal visits, funerals or by married women for weddings or formal functions.

The Japanese wore clogs for shoes, they are called getas. Japanese women did not wear jewelry. But wore lipstick made of crushed flower petals and white rice powder on their faces. Both men and women slept with their heads on padded wooden headrests to protect their hair styles, which took a long time to create. They often wore hair combs and sticks. ^[1]

What did their writing look like?[edit | edit source]

The Japanese handwriting works the same way as cuneiform and hieroglyphics. A type of writing the Japanese do is Haiku. Haiku is a type of poetry that’s purpose is to be simple. Books were printed from wooden writing blocks. It didn’t cost much to print books. The finest piece of Japanese literature was called the Tale of Genii Witch was written in 1010 by a lady named Murasaki Sikibu. It was the first novel written in the Japanese language. Most of the Japanese words are shaped like what they mean. The art of Japanese handwriting was popular during the time period of Heeians. The Japanese also used fancy paint brushes to write their words. Japanese isn’t just a language its a form of art.^[2]

Before the fifth century, aristocrats and samurai and men used Chinese characters to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language, called «manyogana.» Writing forms similar to Chinese writing is still used today, even though the modern kanji is more developed than what they used a long time ago. The simpler words in the old version resemble symbols of real-life items. In the fifth century, the simpler hiragana was developed from the shosho form of Chinese calligraphy and became much more widely used, becoming mixed with Chinese characters, or kanji. In the seventh century, an even more simplified form of writing, katakana, was created by Buddhist monks as a shorthand. Each katakana represented a Chinese character and the sound the Chinese character represented in manyogana. Japanese language became a mix of kanji, hiragana, and katakana, with katakana being used more to transcribe sounds and foreign words.

What did they believe?[edit | edit source]

The native religion of Japanese is Shinto, which means «the way of the Gods «. Shinto has existed in Japan since prehistoric times. Shinto involves the worship of gods, or «kami» that are related to nature or other spiritual presences. The sun, water, mountains, trees and stones play an important part in Shinto worship. Shinto mythology said that Japan’s emperors were direct descendants of the supreme Kami, the sun goddess.

In Shinto rituals and ceremonies, offerings are made to the Kami, along with prayers. To celebrate special occasions, festivals called matsuri are held in order to honor a particular god.

Around A.D. 552, Buddhism was brought into Japan from Korean and China. During this period, Japan was highly influenced by Chinese ideas. Buddhism involves the belief that people can achieve peace and be free from suffering by letting go of attachments to material things.

Prior to the government mandated separation of the Shintoism and Buddhism in 1868 (Shinbutsu buri, «Separation of Kami and Buddhas), Shintoism and Buddhism coexisted in many temples and shrines with artifacts of both religions present in the same temple or shrine and shrine priests would teach Buddhist doctrines. Even today, though the two religions are to be separate, many Japanese will visit both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples when appropriate.

What is Left of Them Today?[edit | edit source]

Archaeologically, the famous burial mounds of the Yamato civilization are dotted all around Southern and Western Japan. This civilization existed around 1700 years ago, and ruled much of Southern Japan. They were once a band of tribes fighting amongst themselves, but they got together and conquered other civilizations at the time, such as the Izumo.

Today, Japan is a thriving nation. They make some of the things that we use everyday. Like cars, video games, electronics, table lamps, flower pots, and many other things. They have also created many cartoons that we watch, including Pokémon, Digimon and Card Captor.

References[edit | edit source]