Как пишется нихон

Японский язык сам по себе довольно красив и сложен, конечно, для коренных японцев, он понятен и его изучение дается им легко, но у иностранцев изучающий этот язык возникает множество сложностей и недопониманий, как например, с правильным использованием слов Nihon и Nippon.

В японском языке существует два варианта названия страны, поэтому есть два способа сказать «Япония» по-японски: Нихон и Ниппон. Сами японцы, когда называют свою страну, чаще используют слово «Ниппон», например, это делают журналисты и ведущие на центральных каналах. Стоит заметить, что на японском языке Нихон и Ниппон пишутся совершенно одинаково.

Нихон или Ниппон (Nihon или Nippon). Как правильно называть Японию?

Несмотря на разницу в частоте использования, Nihon, и Nippon одинаково действительны и равны между собой, в отличие, от «Соединенных Штатов Америки» и «Америка», где первое является официальным названием страны, а другое его сокращенной версией. В официальных японских документах и правительственных названиях, можно встретить как употребление Нихон, так и Ниппон.

Но если эти слова одинаковы по своему статусу, то почему японцы чаще употребляют слово Ниппон? Все довольно просто, японцы любят это слово за его более старомодное, патриотическое звучание, по их мнению, это слово лучше звучит на слух чем Ниппон. И так как оно звучит более жестче, то его любят и политики, которые любят упоминать традиционные японские ценностям в своих выступлениях.

Что лучше использовать иностранцу? «Нихон» или «Ниппон»?

Несмотря на предпочтение японцев, многие рекомендуют использовать слово «Нихон», т.к. оно носит менее агрессивный характер, и не придаст ненужный оттенок вашей речи. В то время как слово «Ниппон» может придать вашей речи дополнительный агрессивный оттенок. Проще говоря, в глазах японца это может выглядеть, как будто вы пытаетесь выкрикнуть название его страны.

Дата публикации: 27.07.2021

Интересный факт – большинство названий на политической карте мира (будь-то на русском, английском или любом другом языке) не соответствуют тем наименованиям, которые используются жителями обозначенных территорий. В материале ниже мы собрали самые интересные разбежности в общепринятых и настоящих названиях государств.

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Действительно, большинство из нас не уделяет особого внимания правильности используемых топонимов. Мы все еще покупаем настоящий цейлонский чай, хотя остров, как и страна, уже полвека называется Шри-Ланкой, не признаем уже 30 лет использующееся название государства Мьянма и продолжаем упорно называть его Бирмой, лингвистически сокращаем Королевство Нидерландов до двух голландских областей и т.д. Тем не менее, узнать правильные наименования некоторых государств не только полезно для общего развития, но и довольно любопытно.

💚 ПО ТЕМЕ: Самые глубокие ямы в мире.

Дойчланд (Германия)

Как известно, объединение германских земель произошло совсем недавно в исторической перспективе, а потому соседи до сих пор называют это государство в соответствии с прозвищами тех племен, с которыми больше контактировали их предки. Так, французы называют страну Аллеманией, россияне – Германией, финны – Саксой, датчане – Тискландом, украинцы – Нимеччиной, поляки – просто Немцами, а исландцы и вовсе именуют как Пискалэнд. В международном обращении употребляется английское название Germany, однако сами граждане именуют свое государство не иначе как Дойчланд (Deutschland).

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Эллада (Греция)

Называть государство Грецией в присутствии правоверного эллина почти так же оскорбительно, как называть город Одэссой в присутствии коренного одессита. Хотя, на самом деле, в той самой древности, о которой грезят все жители страны, никаких эллинов-то и не было. Жители Коринфа считали себя корфинянами, а в Афинах жили афиняне. Впрочем, впоследствии все освоенные греками территории с легкой руки Геродота действительно стали называть Элладой, а жителей – эллинами. Но затем были римляне, которым было глубоко плевать на все заслуги создателей древней цивилизации. Именно они ввели в оборот название Греция, которое в разных вариантах используется сегодня всем миром, кроме самих греков, которые по-прежнему называют свою страну – Эллада (Ελλάδα).

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Эль-Магриб (Марокко)

История появления общепринятого названия этого государства примечательна тем, что является типичным примером наплевательства европейских колонизаторов в отношении местных наименований. Сокращенное самоназвание страны – Эль-Магриб или Королевство Магрибия, что примерно переводится как «запад» и легко объясняется географическим расположением государства на северо-западном побережье африканского континента. Французы же, колонизировав данную территорию, назвали ее просто по названию одного из крупнейших городов – Марракеш.

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Аястан (Армения)

Происхождение общепринятого наименования «Армения» во многом схоже с голландской историей и связано с названием области Armi, тогда как сами армяне именуют страну Аястан (Հայաստան) в честь Айка – полководца, согласно легенде, в 2492 году до н.э. разбившего вавилонян.

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Нихон или Ниппон (Япония)

Восток – дело тонкое, и разобраться в этимологии названий азиатских стран бывает довольно сложно. Впрочем, в случае с «местом, где восходит Солнце» все более-менее ясно. На самом деле, это привычное русскоязычному человеку словосочетание и является настоящим наименованием Государства Япония, которое записывается иероглифами кандзи и произносится как «Нихон коку» или «Ниппон коку». Именно так называли островное государство представители китайской династии Сунь, для которых восход солнца географически начинался именно с Японии, а дальше простиралась тихоокеанская пустыня. Название Нихон японцы используют по большей части в быту, тогда как Ниппон можно увидеть в официальных документах.

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Калааллит Нунаат (Гренландия)

Пусть самый большой в мире остров и не является самостоятельным государством, его присутствие в данном списке оправдывается довольно оригинальным общепринятым названием. Согласно одной из версий, назвать суровую холодную местность «зеленой землей» (Greenland или по-датски Grønland) придумал норвежский викинг Эрик Рыжий, организовавший здесь первые поселения и желавший заманить в свои владения как можно больше соотечественников. Самоназвание же острова Kalaallit Nunaat, что можно перевести как «Земля калаалитов» (калаалиты – племя местных эскимосов).

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Соединенное Королевство (Великобритания)

Наиболее сложная ситуация с названиями сложилась на британских островах, где не особо интересующийся географией человек может запутаться окончательно. Здесь и Англия, и Великобритания, и Соединенное Королевство, и две Ирландии, одна из которых Северная, а вторая почему-то не Южная, а ежели добавить сюда еще Австралию, Канаду и множество мелких государственных образований, жители которых так или иначе являются подданными британской короны, то уложить в голове все административное деление становится довольно трудно.

Начать, пожалуй, стоит с Великобритании. Именно так большинство людей во всем мире, включая русскоязычных, именует государство, в состав которого входят четыре основных территории: Англия, Шотландия, Уэльс и Северная Ирландия. Однако, если быть уж совсем точными, то Великобритания является скорее названием географическим, обозначающим самый большой остров страны, но на нем расположены только Англия, Шотландия и Уэльс, тогда как Северная Ирландия находится на другом острове вместе со своей соседкой – обычной Ирландией.

Политическое же название, которое должно использоваться (но используется довольно редко) в международном обращении – Соединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии или, сокращенно, Соединенное Королевство. Помимо прочего, проблему усугубляют сами британцы. Например, на Олимпийских играх они выступают под названием Великобритания, при этом включая в команду спортсменов из Северной Ирландии. В то же время, Англия, Шотландия, Уэльс и Северная Ирландия имеют собственные национальные сборные по футболу, выступающие под своими флагами под аккомпанемент разных гимнов на международных соревнованиях FIFA и UEFA.

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Нидерланды (Голландия)

Еще одно довольно сложное государственное образование, основой которого является Королевство Нидерландов со входящими в него тремя островами: Аруба, Кюрасао и Синт-Мартен, а также непосредственно Нидерландами. Сами Нидерланды при этом также имеют в составе три карибских острова: Бонэйр, Синт-Эстатиус и Саба, а также основную европейскую часть, в которой среди прочих имеются провинции Южная и Северная Голландия. Однако во всем мире это многонациональное, сложносоставное государство по-прежнему регулярно называют Голландией, именуя голландцами всех его граждан, включая тех, кто никогда не покидал своего острова в Карибском море и саму Голландию в глаза не видел.

Как и в случае с британцами, правительство Нидерландов особой активности в данном вопросе не проявляло – страна обозначалась как Holland на международных саммитах, спортивных состязаниях, экономических форумах и т.д. Однако в начале 2020 года было решено покончить с лингвистической путаницей на законодательном уровне, и Нидерланды окончательно отказались от бренда Голландия.

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Сакартвело (Грузия)

Здесь ситуация строго противоположная той, что сложилась в Нидерландах. Сами грузины называют страну Сакартвело лишь по одной из областей Картли, которая играла решающую роль в экономическом и культурном развитии государство. Англоязычное международное сообщество именуют страну Georgia, что, вероятнее всего, связано со святым Георгием, в честь которого грузины воздвигли несколько сотен храмов и считают его своим покровителем.

Русскоязычное же название Грузия, предположительно, имеет корни в персидских источниках, где данные территории именуются «земля волков» – Гурджистаном. А по-армянски страна звучит как Врастан, что можно перевести на русский как «Верхняя страна» (Грузия находится строго на север от Армении).

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Чосон и Хангук (Северная и Южная Корея)

Как и в случае с большинством другим государств, всему остальному миру нет никакого интереса до внутренней корейской политической кухни и полуостров легко делится по 38-й параллели на Северную Корею (КНДР) и Южную. Проблема только в том, что сами корейцы никакого деления не признают и обе половины считают вторую половину временно анексированной проклятыми капиталистами или не менее проклятыми коммунистами. Собственно, само название Корея, произошедшее от названия империи Корё (объединяла полуостров до 1392 года), самими корейцами также не используется.

Самоназвание Северной Кореи – Чосон, что можно перевести как «Страна утренней свежести». В свою очередь, на юге Корею называют Хангук или Тэханмингук, а деление на южную и северную часть происходит по тому же принципу, что и в КНДР: на севере Пукхан (Северный Хан), на юге, соответственно, Намхан (Южный Хан).

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Аотеароа (Новая Зеландия)

Несмотря на то, что активное освоение новозеландских островов европейцами началось всего пару веков назад, единого оригинального названия для этого государства не существует в природе, хотя его и пытаются всячески отыскать. Дело в том, что проживавшие здесь до пришествия колонизаторов маори не имели, естественно, никаких политических границ и политических карт, а территории их ограничивались берегами островов, каждый из которых имел собственное название (причем оно могло в корне отличаться от того наименования, которое использовали для данной территории соседи).

Тем не менее, нынешнее международное название страны Новая Зеландия самих новозеландцев не очень устраивает – получается, что самое крупное государство Океании названо в честь не самой процветающей, мягко говоря, юго-западной провинции Нидерландов, причиной чему стала национальность голландского мореплавателя Абеля Тасмана, по имени которого, к слову, названа и соседняя Тасмания.

Наиболее приемлемым вариантом для восстановления исторической справедливости считают название Аотеароа, что примерно переводится как «Земля длинного белого облака», однако противники переименования отмечают, что до середины XX века сами маори называли так исключительно Северный (один из двух главных) остров Новой Зеландии.

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There are no strict rules for how a word written in kanji translates to reading. There are rule of thumbs, but they do not give a strict indication. At best, they will give you a 40% chance to correctly guess a word’s reading from its kanji. Which isn’t trivial, but far from reliable.

Most of the stuff you’ve learned about onyomi or kunyomi is basically useless in practice, as words that actually follow those rules in a predictable way are actually in the minority. If you try to look at words that «don’t follow the rules», or where the rules are ambiguous, as exceptions, you’ll find that most of the Japanese language is made of exceptions.

Words like 今日, 昨日, 相応しい, or 大人しい, are great examples for having no clear relation between the kanji and reading. Even when a single kanji is used, you have examples like 全う, 全て, and 全く, all having completely different readings.

Even when a kanji has the same reading in multiple words, it can still have multiple options. For instance, in 男性, 可能性, 性質, 事件性, and 個性, 性 would be read as «sei». While in 本性, 性分, 相性, and 性根, 性 would be read as «shou». So even when it seems to «follow the rules», you’re still getting a 50:50 guess on the reading.

日本 is actually closer to the latter case. 本 is quite often read as «hon» (while occasionally also being «moto»). 日 is most often «hi», «jitsu», or «nichi». The latter lends itself to both the reading «nippon», as in «nichi» with «chi» shortened to a small «tsu», followed by «hon» with «ho» upgraded to «po», similar to in 一本. «nihon» can be seen as farther shortening «nichi», or as doing something that is between «nichi» and «hi».

But really, if you’re hoping to read any given word, you should learn the reading of the whole word, not try to divide it into kanji. After learning enough words, you will sometimes be able to spot kanji which are read the same in multiple words, and be able to use that to guess the reading of new words. But even then, it’s anywhere between a 50:50 to 1 in 5 guess, and if you don’t know the word, you’ll have to look up its correct reading anyway. Kanji reading will serve, at best, as a hint or mnemonic.

There are no strict rules for how a word written in kanji translates to reading. There are rule of thumbs, but they do not give a strict indication. At best, they will give you a 40% chance to correctly guess a word’s reading from its kanji. Which isn’t trivial, but far from reliable.

Most of the stuff you’ve learned about onyomi or kunyomi is basically useless in practice, as words that actually follow those rules in a predictable way are actually in the minority. If you try to look at words that «don’t follow the rules», or where the rules are ambiguous, as exceptions, you’ll find that most of the Japanese language is made of exceptions.

Words like 今日, 昨日, 相応しい, or 大人しい, are great examples for having no clear relation between the kanji and reading. Even when a single kanji is used, you have examples like 全う, 全て, and 全く, all having completely different readings.

Even when a kanji has the same reading in multiple words, it can still have multiple options. For instance, in 男性, 可能性, 性質, 事件性, and 個性, 性 would be read as «sei». While in 本性, 性分, 相性, and 性根, 性 would be read as «shou». So even when it seems to «follow the rules», you’re still getting a 50:50 guess on the reading.

日本 is actually closer to the latter case. 本 is quite often read as «hon» (while occasionally also being «moto»). 日 is most often «hi», «jitsu», or «nichi». The latter lends itself to both the reading «nippon», as in «nichi» with «chi» shortened to a small «tsu», followed by «hon» with «ho» upgraded to «po», similar to in 一本. «nihon» can be seen as farther shortening «nichi», or as doing something that is between «nichi» and «hi».

But really, if you’re hoping to read any given word, you should learn the reading of the whole word, not try to divide it into kanji. After learning enough words, you will sometimes be able to spot kanji which are read the same in multiple words, and be able to use that to guess the reading of new words. But even then, it’s anywhere between a 50:50 to 1 in 5 guess, and if you don’t know the word, you’ll have to look up its correct reading anyway. Kanji reading will serve, at best, as a hint or mnemonic.

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 ancient 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-CJK names for Japan in different languages.

Language	Contemporary name for Japan (romanization)
Albanian	Japoni
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)
Lithuanian	Japonija
Malay	Jepun (جڤون)
Malayalam	ജപ്പാൻ (jappān)
Maltese	Ġappun
Manx	Yn çhapaan
Marathi	जपान (japān)
Mongolian	Япон (Yapon)
Persian	ژاپن (žāpon)
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)
Welsh	Japan (sometimes spelt Siapan)
Xhosa	Japhan

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

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 ancient 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-CJK names for Japan in different languages.

Language	Contemporary name for Japan (romanization)
Albanian	Japoni
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)
Lithuanian	Japonija
Malay	Jepun (جڤون)
Malayalam	ജപ്പാൻ (jappān)
Maltese	Ġappun
Manx	Yn çhapaan
Marathi	जपान (japān)
Mongolian	Япон (Yapon)
Persian	ژاپن (žāpon)
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)
Welsh	Japan (sometimes spelt Siapan)
Xhosa	Japhan

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

В любом случае в составлении «Сёку нихонги» видна непривычная поспешность: из всех официальных хроник разрыв между годом составления и последним годом описываемого времени наименьший именно для «Сёку нихонги» (для «Нихон секи» это 23 года, для «Нихон ко:ки» — 7 лет, для «Сёку нихон ко:ки» — 19 лет, для «Нихон монтоку тэнно: дзицуроку» — 21 год, для «Нихон сандай дзицуроку» — 24 года).

Итак, перед нами «Записи о стране Японии и чудесах дивных воздаяния прижизненного за добрые и злые дела» («Нихон гэмпо дзэнъаку рёики», или сокращенно, «Нихон рёики», составлены на рубеже VIII—IX вв., 3 свитка, 116 историй)[2]; «Записи о вознесении в Край Вечной Радости» («Одзё гокуракки», конец X в., 1 свиток, 42 истории) и «Записи о чудесах “Сутры лотоса»[3], сотворенных ею в великой стране Японии» («Дайнихонкоку хокэкё кэнки», сер.

Основные работы по мифологии восточноазиатских народов как источнику для исследования их этногенеза.   Соч.: Тонан адзиа тайрику ею миндзоку-но синдзоку сосики (Кровнородственная организация у народов континентальной части Юго-Восточной Азии), Токио, 1955; Нихон синва-но кигэн (Происхождение японских мифов), Токио, 1961; Инасаку-но синва (Рисосеяние в мифологии), Токио, 1973; Нихонго-но кигэн (Происхождение японского языка), Токио, 1973 (совм.

Это «Кодзики» («Записки древности» – 712 г.) и «Нихон секи», или «Нихонги» («Анналы Японии» – 720 г.).

Достаточно вспомнить хроники «Кодзики» (VIII в.) и «Нихонги» (VIII в.), «Японские записи о чудесах и удивительных происшествиях» («Нихон рёики», VIII в.), «Стародавние повести» («Кондзяку моногатари», XII в.) и «Повествования, собранные в Удзи» («Удзисюи моногатари», XIII в.).

Японское индустриальное могущество позволило создать сначала на Земле, а потом и на орбите единое, наиболее мощное в истории человечества государство – Дай Нихон.

Три столетия спустя после падения Запада, благодаря своему контролю над земной банковской системой, кораблестроительной отраслью и нанотехнической инженерией, именно Нихон стал державой, занявшей доминирующее положение в межзвёздных перелетах и завоевании человечеством новых миров.

Они утверждают, что даже наши древние книги «Кодзики» и «Нихон сёки» были созданы позже, чем китайские, и критикуют наши старинные предания и легенды.

С презрением [конфуцианские ученые] относятся к тексту «Нихон сёки», написанному камбуном13, заявляя, что все старинные японские тексты были на самом деле написаны в последующие века.