China

China (disambiguation)
Zhengzhang Shangfang
zh:鄭張尚芳

According to the town of China, if all students commuting by motorcycles switched to electric ones, carbon emissions could be reduced to under one-fourth of the current amount.

2022 December 24, “School on Japan island lends electric scooters to students for eco-friendly, cheap commute”, in The Mainich:

The two towns on the island, China (pronounced chee-nah) and Wadomari, along with neighboring Tokunoshima island, each have different dialects.

2024 August 21, “Linguists rush to preserve rare dialect on remote Kagoshima isle”, in The Asahi Shinbun:


Tokyo

Borrowed from Japanese 東(とう)京(きょう) (Tōkyō, literally “eastern capital”), as opposed to Kyoto in the west, from Middle Chinese 東 (tuwng, “east”) + 京 (kjaeng, “capital”).

ja-r

Tokio (alternative obsolete)
Tōkyō (alternative Japanese alt-of romanization)
Tôkyô (alternative Japanese alt-of romanization)

A prefecture, the capital city of Japan.


Okinawa

/ˌɒkiːˈnɑːwə/

/ˌəʊkiːˈnɑːwə/

Borrowed from Japanese 沖縄(おきなわ) (Okinawa).

Okinawa City
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Islands
Okinawa Prefecture

Anyone who knew our military installation in Okinawa knew it was a room full of gasoline waiting for someone to strike a match. We had forty-two bases on the island with more than twenty thousand personnel. All of them were living and conducting exercises right up against Okinawan civilian neighborhoods.

2010, Walter Mondale, David Hage, The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics, Scribner, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 323:

The main island of the Okinawa and Ryukyu Islands, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

The second-largest city on Okinawa Island, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.


Saku

A town and city in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.


Nagasaki

Borrowed from Japanese 長崎(ながさき) (Nagasaki).

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Nangasaki (alternative)
Nangasacq (alternative)
Nangasac (alternative)

VINCENT: Tens of thousands killed before sundown; nobody's killed people that fast since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

2004, Stuart Beattie, Collateral, DreamWorks Pictures:

This slab is where the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago were put together. It’s the assembly point for the dawning of the atomic age.

2020 August 6, Brad Lendon, “Hiroshima after 75 years: Walking the path of the atomic bomb”, in CNN:

A port city, the capital and largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture, in southwestern Kyushu, Japan, famous as the country's early modern entrepot and for its nuclear bombing on 9 August 1945 at the end of World War II.


Akihabara

Borrowed from Japanese 秋(あき)葉(は)原(ばら) (Akihabara).

Akihabara means Field of Autumn Leaves, but the fields and leaves have all been replaced by electronics stores, and these days people call it Akiba or Electricity Town.

2013, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, Canongate Books (2019), page 311:

A neighborhood of Chiyoda, Tokyo prefecture, Japan, known primarily for its shopping and the mass availability of electronics, manga, anime, and other goods.


Narita

Narita City spread out below her, a vast, sprawling patchwork of densely packed residential neighborhoods and industrial farmlands, threaded through by freeways and broken up by small, rectilinear forests.

2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness, Canongate Books (2022), page 473:


Nagoya

Borrowed from Japanese 名古屋(なごや) (Nagoya). The Indonesian district was nicknamed "Nagoya" by Japanese workers from Taisei Corporation who were working on a construction project in Batam in the 1970s.

The capital city of Aichi Prefecture, in central Honshu, Japan.


Kawasaki

en-proper noun

Kawasaki (countable and uncountable, plural Kawasakis)

Transliteration of Japanese 川崎 (Kawasaki).

translit

A major city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.


Edo

From Japanese 江戸 (えど, Edo, literally “cove entrance”).

bor

Jeddo (alternative)
Yeddo (alternative)
Yedo (alternative)
Jendo (alternative)
Yendo (alternative)

(historical) The former name of Tokyo, the capital city of Japan.


Saga

Saga Prefecture (a prefecture in western Kyushu, Japan)

The capital city of Saga Prefecture, Japan.


Yokohama

/ˌjəʊkəˈhɑːmə/

Borrowed from Japanese 横浜(よこはま) (Yokohama).

The capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo.


Hiroshima

/hɪ(ə)ˈɹɒʃɪmə/

/hɪ(ə)ɹəˈʃiːmə/

/hɪˈɹoʊʃɪmə/

/hɪɹoʊˈʃiːmə/

Borrowed from Japanese 広(ひろ)島(しま) (Hiroshima).

A prefecture in southwestern Honshu, Japan.

A short time ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy.

1945 August 6, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in VT2008-9-2 President Truman Announces Bombing of Hiroshima, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 23630, archived from the original on 2021-11-02:

Kishida told the executives, including those from Micron Technology Inc (MU), Intel Corp (INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM) (TSMC), that stabilizing supply chains would be a topic of discussion at the G7 talks in the western city of Hiroshima.

2023 May 18, Reuters, “Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow”, in CNN Business:

The capital city of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan; the target of the first atomic bomb dropped in warfare on August 6, 1945.


Kyoto

Borrowed from Japanese 京(きょう)都(と) (Kyōto, literally “capital city”), from Middle Chinese 京都 (kjæng-tu, “capital (of a country)”).

der

The capital city of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, and the country's former capital.


Honshu

From Japanese 本(ほん)州(しゅう) (Honshū, “main island”), from Middle Chinese 本 (pwón, “main”) + 州 (t͡ʃjuw, “province”).

com

A fascination with Hokkaido's wild country first drew the veterinarian to Abashiri, and he is a leading expert on the Ezo red fox. Like much of Hokkaido's wildlife, this fox is not found on Honshu.

1980, National Geographic Society (U.S.), National geographic, →OCLC:

In the past, the Ainu (their selfname meaning 'person'), traditionally huntergatherers, occupied not only Hokkaido but also a considerable part of the island of Honshu until the middle the eighteenth century, […]

2009, Nicolas Tranter, The Languages of Japan and Korea:

The main island of the archipelago of Japan.

هُونْشُو

the main island of the Japanese Archipelago


Kobe

The capital and largest city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.


Aizu

A region in western Fukushima Prefecture. Primary city is Aizu Wakamatsu (会津若松).


Shizuoka

From Japanese 静 (shizu, “calm”) and 岡 (oka, “hill”).

The capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.


Nara

The capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan.


Kyushu

From Japanese 九(きゅう)州(しゅう) (Kyūshū, literally “Nine States”), from Middle Chinese 九 (kjúw, “nine”) + 州 (t͡ʃjuw, “province, prefecture”).

com

The third-largest of Japan's islands and the southwesternmost of its four main islands.


Ibaraki

茨城: A prefecture of Japan. Capital: Mito.


Kyōto

Alternative spelling of Kyoto, a prefecture of Japan.

The shogunate was overthrown in 1867 by supporters of Emperor Meiji. The following year, the emperor moved his court from Kyōto to Edo and renamed it Tōkyō: the Eastern Capital.

2007, Alexis C. Kelly with Deborah Kaufman, Fodor's Tōkyō, Fodor's Travel (Random House), →ISBN:

Alternative spelling of Kyoto, the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, and the country's former capital.


Seto Inland Sea

A body of water that separates three of the main islands of Japan, i.e. Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.

瀨戶內海 /濑户内海

body of water between Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu


Mount Fuji

From Japanese 富士山 (ふじさん, Fuji-san), from 富士 (ふじ, Fuji, the name of the mountain; see there for more) + 山 (-さん, -san, suffix for mountains, which has been translated).


Miyako

A city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded in February of 1941.


Nagano

Borrowed from Japanese 長(なが)野(の) (Nagano).

The capital city of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.


Wakkanai

From Japanese 稚内 (Wakkanai), ultimately from Ainu ヤㇺ ワッカ ナイ (yam wakka nay, “cold water river”).

der

A city in Sōya subprefecture, on the north coast of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Kagoshima

From Japanese 鹿(か)児(ご)島(しま) (Kagoshima).

A prefecture in southwestern Japan, on the south coast of the island of Kyushu.

The capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.


Kumamoto

Borrowed from Japanese 熊本(くまもと) (Kumamoto).

In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (FUJIF).

A prefecture in southwestern Japan, on the island of Kyushu.

The capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.


Aichi

Borrowed from Japanese 愛(あい)知(ち) (Aichi).

آيْتْشِي

Aichi prefecture, in Southern central of Japan


Osaka

From Japanese 大(おお)阪(さか) (Ōsaka, literally “large hill”) — the slope up to the Uemachi Plateau, where Osaka Castle sits.

ja-r

The capital city of Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

A prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan.


Fukui

Borrowed from Japanese 福(ふく)井(い) (Fukui).


Kanazawa

/ˌkɑnəˈzɑwə/

From Japanese 金沢(かなざわ) (Kanazawa, literally “golden marsh”).

The capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Honshū, Japan.

A ward of the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kantō region, Japan.


Aomori

Borrowed from Japanese 青(あお)森(もり) (Aomori).

A city in Aomori Prefecture; the capital city.


Chūō

Borrowed from Japanese 中央 (ちゅうおう, Chūō).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Taitō, Sumida, Kōtō, Minato and Chiyoda special wards as well as Tokyo Bay.


Naruto

From Japanese なると and ナルト (“Naruto”)
* (Naruto, Tokushima): From 鳴門市 (鳴門)

en:Naruto (disambiguation)
en:Naruto, Tokushima

A city in Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan.


Sapporo

Borrowed from Japanese 札幌 (Sapporo), from Ainu サッ・ポロ・ペッ (sat poro pet, literally “dry, great river”).

der

The capital and largest city of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Ryukyu

From Japanese 琉球 (Ryūkyū), from Middle Chinese 流求 (MC ljuw gjuw), a Chinese exonym for the island kingdom, of unclear origin. Doublet of Liuqiu.

Ryūkyū (alternative)
Riukiu (alternative)

White Butterflies in Japan.[...]Shortly after this I left Yokohama for the Ryukyu Islands, and next had my attention attracted by the "White" in the Bay of Kagoshima.

1888 April, H. T. Stainton, “Nepticula Serella, N. SP.”, in Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 261:

About 140 people live on Kuchinoerabu island in the Ryukyu archipelago, which is approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the main southern island of Kyushu.

2015 May 29, “Volcano erupts on remote southern Japanese island”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2015-10-23, Japan:

A chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan.

琉球

るーちゅー, Rūchū, どぅーちゅー, Dūchū


Obama

A city in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. See Wikipedia:Obama, Fukui.


Hirado

A city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, on its own island.


Hirakata

A city in northeastern Osaka Prefecture, founded in 1947.


Hiratsuka

A city in Kanagawa Prefecture, on the island of Honshu, Japan.


Kuril Islands

the Kuril Islands (canonical plural)
Kurile Islands (alternative)
Kurils (alternative)

Borrowed from Russian Кури́лы (Kuríly). One theory suggests that the islands' name was ultimately from Ainu クㇽ (“a person”).

An archipelago between Japan and Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean.


Ōsaka

Alternative spelling of Osaka, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Osaka

Alternative spelling of Osaka, a prefecture on the island of Honshu, Japan.


Kōbe

A city and capital of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan


Fukuoka

Borrowed from Japanese 福(ふく)岡(おか) (Fukuoka).

The capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.


Saitama

Borrowed from Japanese 埼玉(さいたま) (Saitama).

The capital city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan.


Sendai

Borrowed from Japanese 仙台(せんだい) (Sendai).

The capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, in northern Honshu, Japan.


Chiba

Borrowed from Japanese 千(ち)葉(ば) (Chiba).

The capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan.


Niigata

Borrowed from Japanese 新潟(にいがた) (Nīgata).

The capital city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan.


Okayama

Borrowed from Japanese 岡山(おかやま) (Okayama).

The capital city of Okayama Prefecture, Japan.


Utsunomiya

Borrowed from Japanese 宇都宮 (うつのみや, Utsunomiya).

The capital city of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.


Matsuyama

Borrowed from Japanese 松山(まつやま) (Matsuyama).

The capital city of Ehime Prefecture, Japan.


Oita

Borrowed from Japanese 大(おおい)分(た) (Ōita).

The capital city of Ōita Prefecture, Japan.


Toyama

Borrowed from Japanese 富(と)山(やま) (Toyama).

The capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan


Wakayama

Borrowed from Japanese 和(わ)歌(か)山(やま) (Wakayama).


Miyazaki

Borrowed from Japanese 宮崎(みやざき) (Miyazaki).

The capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.


Saka

Borrowed from Japanese 坂(さか) (Saka); sometimes used as a topographic surname for someone who lived on a slope.


Sakai

Borrowed from Japanese 堺 (Sakai), Japanese 酒井 (Sakai), Japanese 坂井 (Sakai) or Japanese 境 (Sakai).

A large city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

A former town in Sawa district, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, amalgamated in 2005 into the city of Isesaki.

A former village in Higashichikuma district, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, amalgamated in 2005 into the village of Chikuhoku.


Akita

Borrowed from Japanese 秋(あき)田(た) (Akita).

The capital city of Akita Prefecture, Japan.


Yamagata

Borrowed from Japanese 山県 (Yamagata), 山方 (Yamagata), 山形 (Yamagata) or 山像 (Yamagata).


Fukushima

Borrowed from Japanese 福島(ふくしま) (Fukushima).

The capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Fukushima prefecture, located just south of Miyagi, was also part of the ancestral lands of the Emishi.

2013, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, Canongate Books (2019), page 151:


Yamaguchi

Borrowed from Japanese 山口(やまぐち) (Yamaguchi).


Tokushima

Borrowed from Japanese 徳(とく)島(しま) (Tokushima).

The capital city of Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.


Kochi

Borrowed from Japanese 高(こう)知(ち) (Kōchi).

The capital city of Kōchi Prefecture, Japan.


Tottori

Borrowed from Japanese 鳥取(とっとり) (Tottori).


Morioka

A city in Japan, capital of Iwate prefecture.


Hyogo

Borrowed from Japanese 兵(ひょう)庫(ご) (Hyōgo).


Tsu

The capital city of Mie Prefecture, Japan.


Iwate

Borrowed from Japanese 岩(いわ)手(て) (Iwate).

A prefecture of Japan. Capital: Morioka.


Miyagi

Borrowed from Japanese 宮(みや)城(ぎ) (Miyagi).

Miyagi prefecture is located in the Tōhoku region, in the northeastern part of Japan.


Tochigi

Borrowed from Japanese 栃(とち)木(ぎ) (Tochigi).

A prefecture of Japan. Capital: Utsunomiya.


Gunma

Borrowed from Japanese 群(ぐん)馬(ま) (Gunma).

A prefecture of Japan. Capital: Maebashi.


Kanagawa

Borrowed from Japanese 神奈(かな)川(がわ) (Kanagawa).

A ward of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan


Yamanashi

Borrowed from Japanese 山梨(やまなし) (Yamanashi).


Shimane

Borrowed from Japanese 島(しま)根(ね) (Shimane).


Kagawa

Borrowed from Japanese 香(か)川(がわ) (Kagawa).

A prefecture of Japan. Its capital is Takamatsu.


Ehime

A prefecture of Japan. Capital: Matsuyama.


Senkaku Islands

Partial calque from Japanese 尖閣諸島(せんかくしょとう) (senkakushotō) / 尖閣群島(せんかくぐんとう) (senkakuguntō) / 尖閣列島(せんかくれっとう) (senkakurettō).

There are, however, localities where small skipjack are caught throughout the year such as in the Senkaku Islands off Miyako.

1950 [1940 December 4], Masamitsu Ōshima, “A symposium on the investigation of tuna and skipjack spawning grounds”, in Spawning Grounds of Tuna and Skipjack, Fish and Wildlife Service, →OCLC, page 5:

Japanese geologists reported that huge oil deposits had been discovered in the area of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea during a survey conducted June 4 to July 13.

1970, 1969 News Dictionary, Facts on File, →ISBN, page 233:

Although the problem of who owned some small islands between Taiwan and Okinawa (the Senkaku Islands) was easily disposed of, Japan’s continued de facto connections with Taiwan were more difficult to reconcile with the Peking relationship.

1975, J.A.A. Stockwin, “Issues of Foreign Policy and Defense”, in Japan: Divided Politics in a Growth Economy, 2nd American edition, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, published 1982, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 265:

At the same press conference, King also reiterated the nation's sovereignty over Tiaoyutai, or Senkaku islands, as the Japanese call them.
"The Republic of China's sovereignty over the island group shall not be affected by any measure taken by any party," he said.
King condemned the Peiping regime for offering to prospect for resources around the islands in cooperation with Japan.

1979 July 8, “ROC keeps watch on situation of Nicaragua”, in Free China Weekly, volume XX, number 26, Taipei, page 1:

On September 11, Japan announced it had nationalised three of the Senkaku islands, generating outrage in China, where a Communist Party Congress opened last week to put in place new leaders who will face the challenge of re-engaging with Japan.

2012 November 11, Antoni Slodkowski, Junko Fukita, Kimiteru Tsuruta, Kevin Krolicki, “How debts and double-dealing sparked Japan-China islets row”, in Ron Popeski, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2016-03-06, World:

It is absurd to suggest that the Japanese government “dismisses as partial the terms of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty.” The Senkaku Islands were not included in the territories which Japan renounced under the treaty. They were placed under the administration of the United States as part of the Japanese Nansei Islands. The article’s suggestion that resources might be the reason behind Japan’s claim ignores the fact that it was China that suddenly began to make its territorial claims on the Senkaku Islands in the 1970s, only after a United Nations report indicated the potential existence of oil reserves in the area. Until then, China had not contested Japan’s sovereignty for over 70 years.

2015 February 1, Sumio Kusaka, “Japan and Its Territorial Claims”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-03-03, Opinion Letters:

Japan sees China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the East and South China seas as a threat in some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu.

2022 April 25, Mari Yamaguchi, “Japan to send envoy to Solomons amid worry over China pact”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-04-25:

A chain of islands in the Sakishima islands of Ishigaki, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, in the East China Sea (claimed by China and Toucheng Township, Yilan County, Taiwan (ROC)).


Kitakyushu

A large city in Fukuoka Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, Japan.


Nakano

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Nerima, Toshima, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Suginami special wards.


Eternal City

(historical) Former nickname for Kyoto, a major city in Japan, during the period when it was named Heian-kyō and served as the capital of Japan; c. 800–1000 C.E..


Kii

(historical) A former province of Japan, in the part of Honshu that is today Wakayama Prefecture.


Shiba

An area of Minato, Tokyo prefecture, Japan


Kikai

An island in the Amami archipelago, Japan.


Sakurajima

From Japanese 桜島 (sakurajima, “Cherry Island”), from 桜 (sakura, “cherry tree, cherry blossom”) + 島 (shima, “island”). From its appearance like a cherry tree in bloom, when from a volcanic eruption, hot rock rains down onto the slopes, lighting up the island volcano.

bor

(placename) A volcano in Kagoshima Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, one of the IAVCEI's 17 Decade Volcanoes.

(placename) A former island and peninsula in Kagoshima Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. The volcano's surrounding area, an island prior to the 1914 explosion and now a peninsula.

(placename) A neighbourhood and former town in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan


Harajuku

/ˌhɑɹəˈd͡ʒuːku/

Borrowed from Japanese 原宿 (Harajuku, literally “lodging in the prairie”).

A district of Shibuya ward, Tokyo, Japan.


Shibuya

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Shibuya.wav

Borrowed from Japanese 渋谷 (しぶや, Shibuya, literally “harsh valley”).

The neighborhood we lived in wasn’t like the image most people have of Tokyo, all slick and modern like Shinjuku or Shibuya, with skyscrapers made of concrete and glass.

2013, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, Canongate Books (2019), page 139:

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Shinjuku, Minato, Shinagawa, Meguro, Setagaya, Suginami, and Nakano special wards.

شِيبُويَا

one of the special wards that form Tokyo


Ota

Transliteration of Japanese 大田 (Ōta). The name of the ward of Tokyo comes from the first and last characters of 大森 (Ōmori) and 蒲田 (Kamata), respectively.

One of the 23 special wards of Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Okazaki

/ˌəʊkəˈzɑːkɪ/

/ˌɒkəˈzɑːkɪ/

Borrowed from Japanese 岡崎 (おかざき, Okazaki).


Fukuyama

en-proper noun

Fukuyama (countable and uncountable, plural Fukuyamas)

Borrowed from Japanese 福山 (ふくやま, Fukuyama, literally “blessing mountain”).


Bunkyō

Borrowed from Japanese 文京 (ぶんきょう, Bunkyō).

ぶんきょう, Bunkyō

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Kita, Arakawa, Taitō, Chiyoda, Shinjuku, and Toshima special wards.


Suginami

Borrowed from Japanese 杉並 (すぎなみ, Suginami).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Saitama Prefecture, Nerima, Nakano, Shibuya, Setagaya special wards, and two cities in Western Tokyo (Mitaka and Musashino).


Minato

Minato, Tokyo
Minato-ku, Nagoya
Minato-ku, Osaka

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Chiyoda, Shinagawa, Shibuya, and Shinjuku special wards as well as Tokyo Bay.


Chiyoda

Borrowed from Japanese 千(ち)代(よ)田(だ) (Chiyoda).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Bunkyō, Taitō, Chūō, Minato, and Shinjuku special wards, and also the location of national-level government institutions.


Kita

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Saitama Prefecture, Adachi, Arakawa, Bunkyō, Toshima, and Itabashi special wards.


Adachi

en-proper noun

Adachi (countable and uncountable, plural Adachis)

Borrowed from Japanese 足立(あだち) (Adachi).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Saitama Prefecture, Katsushika, Sumida, Arakawa, and Kita special wards.


Arakawa

Borrowed from Japanese 荒川 (あらかわ, Arakawa).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Adachi, Sumida, Taitō, Bunkyō and Kita special wards.


Edogawa

Borrowed from Japanese 江戸川 (えどがわ, Edogawa).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Katsushika special ward, Chiba Prefecture, Kōtō, and Sumida special wards.


Shinjuku

Borrowed from Japanese 新(しん)宿(じゅく) (Shinjuku).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by the (clockwise from north) Toshima, Bunkyō, Chiyoda, Minato, Shibuya, and Nakano special wards; it is also the location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.


Sumida

Borrowed from Japanese 墨田 (すみだ, Sumida).

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan that is surrounded by (clockwise from north) Adachi, Katsushika, Edogawa, Kōtō, Chūō, Taitō, and Arakawa special wards.


Furano

A city in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, located in the southern reaches of Kamikawa Subprefecture.


Yoron

An island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.


Iga

An ancient province of Japan, in modern Mie Prefecture


Bonin

From French Bonin in an 1817 monograph on the islands by the French scholar Rémusat, misunderstanding Japanese 無人島 (mujintō, “desert island”) as a proper name for the Ogasawaras, misreading the kanji as the related pronunciation buninjima, and then mistranscribing the vowel into French.

Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc
Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc

An archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean, part of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc administered as Ogasawara (a subprefecture of Tokyo prefecture, Japan).

小笠原

archipelago in the Western Pacific, part of Japan

Ogasawara Subprefecture

the prefecture includes the nearby Volano Islands


Kojima

Borrowed from Japanese 小島 (Kojima) or 児島 (Kojima).

A place in Japan, any of several so named

An island in Japan, any of several so named


Hondo

A former city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, merged into the city of Amakusa in 2006.


Yonaguni

From Japanese 与那国島(よなぐにじま) (yonagunijima).

Yonaguni, with three tiny villages and a small airport, is Japan’s westernmost point, a place from which Taiwan is visible on a clear day. It is also the closest spot of inhabited land to the Senkakus, a small group of uninhabited islets controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan, which call them the Diaoyu Islands.
This put Yonaguni and its 1,600 mostly aging residents uncomfortably close to a bruising diplomatic showdown with Beijing last September over a Chinese trawler detained near the Senkakus, which resulted in Tokyo’s backing down. The government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has since vowed to beef up defenses for Japan’s “outlying islands,” and it appears close to a decision on the small Yonaguni garrison, a plan that has been under discussion for years.

2011 February 10, Martin Fackler, “Japanese Isle in Sea of Contention Weighs Fist Versus Open Hand”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-01-21, Asia Pacific:

The quake had a depth of 27.5 km (17.1 miles) with its epicentre 89.5 km (55.6 miles) off Taiwan's east coast, roughly halfway between the coast of Hualien county and the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni, the weather bureau said.

2022 May 9, Ben Blanchard, “Taiwan rattled by 6.1 magnitude quake, no immediate damage reported”, in Kim Coghill, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-05-09, Asia Pacific:

For years it was known as the "Two Gun" island – one gun for each of the two policemen stationed here.
Yonaguni, Japan's most westerly island, can feel like a peaceful paradise — it is covered in tropical forests and hammerhead sharks glide through its azure waters.
But there is trouble on the horizon. Almost 70 miles away lies the island of Taiwan — the self-governing democracy which once again finds itself in the headlines.
On Thursday, six Chinese ballistic missiles landed in water near Japan's southwestern islands, one of them near Yonaguni and five others within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the Japanese authorities.

2022 August 5, Anthony Kuhn, “On Japan's Yonaguni island, fears of being on the front line of a Taiwan conflict”, in NPR, archived from the original on 2022-08-05, World:

A town and island in Yaeyama district, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan; the westmost inhabited island of Japan.


Otaru

A port city in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Nasu

A town and district of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.


Sekigahara

Borrowed from Japanese 関(せき)ヶ(が)原(はら) (Sekigahara).

Low, dark clouds shifted ominously across the sky. The night before, sometime between midnight and dawn, a blinding rain had drenched the plain of Sekigahara.

1981 [1935-1939], Eiji Yoshikawa, translated by Charles S. Terry, Musashi, Harper & Row/Kodansha International, translation of 宮本武蔵 [Miyamoto Musashi] (in Japanese), →ISBN, page 2:


Watari

A town in the district of Watari, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.


Kabukicho

From Japanese 歌舞伎町 (Kabuki-chō, literally “Kabuki Town”), from being a district developed around what was to be a kabuki theatre (the theatre was never built).

bor

Kabuki-cho (alternative)
Kabuki-chō (alternative)
Kabuki-Cho (alternative)
Kabuki Cho (alternative)

A district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kantō, Japan; an entertainment, gambling, and red light district.


Gion

A district of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.


Yoro

en-proper-noun

Yoro (countable and uncountable, plural Yoros)

* (Honduras): Spanish Yoro
* (Japan): Japanese 養老 (“ようろう”) (Yōrō (Yōrō))

gloss

<i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">Yōrō</i> (Yōrō)

A town in Yoro district, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

A district of Gifu Prefecture, Japan; in full, Yoro District.

Ellipsis of the Yoro Mountains, a mountain range in Japan.

A mountain in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, in the Yoro Mountains; in full, Mount Yoro.

Ellipsis of Yoro Falls, a waterfall in Yoro district, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

Yoro Falls

A river in Chiba Prefecture, Japan; in full, Yoro River.


Yazu

A town and district of Tottori Prefecture, Japan.


Kawagoe

A city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, known as "Koedo"（小江戸）


Ishikari

A city in Ishikari Subprefecture, Japan.


Ebetsu

A city in Ishikari subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Tsushima

Romanized from Japanese 対馬 (Tsushima). Unrelated to the Japanese word 島 (shima, “island”). When the primary island is specifically described in Japanese, 対馬島 takes on the separate pronunciations Tsushimajima or Tsushimatō.

Battle of Tsushima
Tsushima
Tsushima Strait

An island in Nagasaki, Japan, between the Home Islands and Korea, now divided by early modern canals.

A city in Nagasaki, Japan, coterminous with the main island of Tsushima.

An archipelago in Nagasaki, Japan, surrounding the main island of Tsushima.

In 1905, the Russo-Japanese war fought itself to a standstill, and with the destruction of Rozhiestvensky's fleet at Tsushima, the Japanese, for financial reasons, had to put out feelers for peace.

1952 July, the late H. Carew, “By Special Train in the Far East”, in Railway Magazine, page 488:

A strait in Japan, between Tsushima Island and the Home Islands, the location of a major 1905 battle in the Russo-Japanese War.


Atami

Transliteration from Japanese 熱海(あたみ) (Atami).


Shimonoseki

A city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.


Tokuyama

A merged city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, now part of Shūnan.


Ninomiya

A merged town in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, now part of Mooka.


Ise

Former name: Ujiyamada


Setagaya

Borrowed from Japanese 世(せ)田(た)谷(がや) (Setagaya).

One of 23 special wards in Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Hateruma

Five of the missiles fired by China landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone off Hateruma, an island far south of Japan’s main islands, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said. He said Japan protested the missile landings to China as “serious threats to Japan’s national security and the safety of the Japanese people.”

2022 August 4, Huizhong Wu, Johnson Lai, “China claims ‘precision missile strikes’ in Taiwan Strait”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-08-04:

An island in the Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa, Japan. This is the southernmost inhabited island in Japan.


Kunashir

From Japanese 国後, or Russian Кунаши́р (Kunašír). Ultimately from Ainu クンネ シㇼ (kunne sir), meaning "black island"; or Ainu キナ シㇼ (kina sir), meaning "grass island".

The southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, disputed between Japan and Russia.


Misato

A town and city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.


Kure

A port city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.


Kyôto

Alternative spelling of Kyoto, a prefecture of Japan.

Alternative spelling of Kyoto, the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, and the country's former capital.


Oga

A peninsula in Akita Prefecture, Honshu, Japan, projecting into the Sea of Japan; in full, Oga Peninsula.

A city in Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture, Honshu, Japan; in full, Oga City.

Oga Quasi-National Park
Oga Quasi-National Park#English

Ellipsis of Oga Quasi-National Park, a park in Oga City, Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.


Ginza

A district of Chūō, Tokyo prefecture, Japan, known for its upscale shops and restaurants.


Mitaka

Borrowed from Japanese 三(み)鷹(たか) (Mitaka, literally “Three Hawks”).


Uotsuri Island

/ˌuːoʊˈtsʊəɹi/

From Japanese 魚釣島(うおつりしま) (uotsurishima).

A rescue ship headed toward Formosa today with the 13 persons who lived through the wrecking of a Japanese airways land plane in a forced landing on Uotsuri Island.
The stranded crew of four and nine passengers were sighted by the ship along the beach, 110 miles north of Formosa.

1940 February 6, “13 Rescued from Wrecked Plane”, in Victoria Daily Times, volume 96, number 31, Victoria, B.C., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14, column 1:

Japan sent home the first of a group of Chinese activists and reporters late on Friday, two days after arresting them on the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
Five were detained on the Uotsuri Island for violating immigration laws, while the other nine were picked up by the Japanese Coast Guard.

2012 August 17, “Japan deports pro-China activists”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2022-08-13, News:

Japanese activists raised flags early Sunday on Uotsuri Island, part of the small archipelago known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu.[…]
Even as the protests began unfolding Sunday morning, a group of conservative Japanese activists might have planted the seeds for further anger in China. About 10 of the activists, including local assembly members from Tokyo, swam ashore to the disputed island, Uotsuri. While Japan controls the island chain, the Tokyo government restricts access to avoid inflaming regional tensions. The 10 who landed Sunday did so without permission, and were later questioned by the Japanese Coast Guard.

2012 August 19, Keith Bradsher, Martin Fackler, “Chinese Take to Streets as Dispute With Japan Escalates”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2012-08-19, Asia Pacific:

Meanwhile, Japanese media reported at the weekend that a Coast Guard Administration vessel was seen operating in waters near the Diaoyutais, coming within 39km off Uotsuri Island, the largest islet in the chain, known as the Senkakus by the Japanese.

2013 January 28, J. Michael Cole, “Patch reaffirms sovereignty over Diaoyutais”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-02-04, Front Page, page 1:

On the day Xu, identified as a native of Hebei province, was fished out of the water 22 km (14 miles) south of Uotsuri island, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his commitment to a stronger military and to revising the pacifist constitution.

2014 January 2, Junko Fujita, Ben Blanchard, “Chinese balloonist lands in midst of isle dispute with Japan”, in William Mallard, Robert Birsel, editors, Reuters, archived from the original on 2016-12-02, World News:

Xu Shuaijun, who identified himself as a cook, ditched in the East China Sea on Wednesday after experiencing problems during a 223-mile (360km) crossing from the Chinese province of Fujian to Uotsuri Island, known in China as Diaoyu Dao. It is 1.6sq miles (4.3sq km) and is the largest of the Senkaku islands, which are administered by Japan but claimed by China under the name of the Diaoyus.[…]
In 2012, a group of Hong Kong-based activists were arrested and swiftly deported after briefly landing on Uotsuri island. A few days later, a group of Japanese nationalists did the same, although the Japanese Government restricts landings even by its own citizens to minimise offence to Beijing.

2014 January 3, Richard Lloyd Parry, “Chinese balloonist saved after failed bid to claim islands”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-08-10:

At around 5:30 a.m., crewmembers of a JCG patrol boat received an SOS from the 106,726-ton freighter Anangel Courage. The patrol vessel and a JCG plane found the freighter on the high seas about 67 kilometers away from Uotsuri Island, one of the Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China.

2016 August 11, “Chinese fishing boat collides with Greek freighter near Senkakus, 6 rescued”, in The Mainichi, archived from the original on 2016-08-12:

On 13 December 2012, China sent a State Oceanic Administration aircraft (Harbin Y-12) to fly over the territorial space of Uotsuri Island, one of the disputed islands, thereby creating a dangerous situation of contingency and escalation, especially after the Japanese government scrambled its fighter jets to drive it out.

2017, Yongwook Ryu, “The Nationalist Threat to the East Asian Peace”, in Elin Bjarnegård, Joakim Kreutz, editors, Debating the East Asian Peace: What it is. How it came about. Will it last?, NIAS Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 251–252:

Several government sources told Kyodo News that a drill involving the Self-Defence Forces (Japan’s de facto military), coastguard and police took place at an uninhabited island in Nagasaki prefecture with land features resembling Uotsuri Island, one of the islets that make up the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.

2021 December 27, Kyodo, Julian Ryall, “Japan simulated ‘foreign’ invasion of Diaoyu Islands in East China Sea with drill involving Self-Defence Forces, coastguard and police”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-20, This Week in Asia / Politics:

An island in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, in the Senkaku Islands.


Kurashiki

Borrowed from Japanese 倉(くら)敷(しき) (kurashiki).


Hakodate

Borrowed from Japanese 函館 (はこだて, Hakodate), in turn possibly borrowed from Ainu ハㇰ チャシ (hak casi), meaning "shallow fort".

bor+

A port city in Oshima subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Nihonbashi

Borrowed from Japanese 日本橋(にほんばし) (Nihonbashi). Doublet of Nipponbashi.

A business district of Chūō, Tokyo prefecture, Japan, surrounding a famous bridge of the same name


Nipponbashi

Borrowed from Japanese 日本橋(にっぽんばし) (Nipponbashi). Doublet of Nihonbashi.

A shopping district in Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan.


Okhotsk

From Russian Охо́тск (Oxótsk), derived from Even окат (okat, “river”).

A subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Ikebukuro

Borrowed from Japanese 池(いけ)袋(ぶくろ) (Ikebukuro).

A district of Toshima, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Higashimurayama

Borrowed from Japanese 東(ひがし)村(むら)山(やま) (Higashimurayama, literally “East Village Mountain”).

ja-r

A district of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.


Kaga

(historical) A former province of Japan.


Akō

A city and district of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.


Taitō

One of 23 special wards in Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Taketoyo

A city in Chita district, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.


Ogasawara

A village and subprefecture of Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Muroran

A city in Iburi subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Jōnan

(historical) A former town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.


Koto

Kōtō (alternative)
Koto City (alternative)

A special ward in Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Tanegashima

The skulls belonged to individuals from the Hirota people, who lived on the southern Japanese island of Tanegashima from the third century to the seventh century.

2023 August 18, Mindy Weisberger, “Long-standing mystery of modified human skulls in ancient Japan solved by new analysis”, in CNN:

An island belonging to the Ōsumi Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.


Nemuro

A city and subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Kamata

A neighborhood of Ōta, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Toranomon

A neighborhood of Minato, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Hibiya

A neighborhood of Chiyoda, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Aomi

A neighborhood of Kōtō, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Maihama

A neighborhood of Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.


Akabane

A neighborhood of Kita, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Nippori

A district of Arakawa, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Komagome

A neighborhood of Toshima, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Ogikubo

A neighborhood of Suginami, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Yoyogi

A neighborhood of Shibuya, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Tsurumi

A ward of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.


Minatomirai

A district of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.


Koyasu

A neighborhood of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.


Noborito

A neighborhood of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.


Yaesu

A neighborhood of Chuō, Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Katsushika

A special ward of Tokyo prefecture, Japan.


Iburi

A subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.


Iitate

A village in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.


Tokachi

Borrowed from Japanese 十勝 (Tokachi), from Ainu トカㇷ゚チ (tokapci).

A river in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan; in full, Tokachi River.

Tokachi Subprefecture
Tokachi Subprefecture#English

A subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, named after the river; in full, Tokachi Subprefecture.

Tokachi Province
Tokachi Province#English

A former province in modern Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan; in full, Tokachi Province.

Tokachi District
Tokachi District#English

A district of Tokachi subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan; in full, Tokachi District.


Kawanuma

A district of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.


Yahatanishi

A ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.