Randy's Japan Page
Getaway Table of Contents
This is just a list of many of the place names used in this book, and their literal meanings, in English. The translated words are listed in the order the characters appear, and I don't attempt to make up more poetic meanings. I took these from a character dictionary, so I don't guarantee their historical accuracy. Where a character has many (many) meanings, I chose one associated with the same sound and that seemed reasonable. Hyphenated words represent the meaning of a single character. Note that you may find several other towns in Japan whose names are pronounced the same, but are written with different characters, and therefore have different meanings. The names here apply to the towns and other geographical locations specifically mentioned above.
Symbols:
* = ancient places whose characters have no relation to the sound
$ = early places whose names are of dubious or obscure meaning
# = Hokkaido place names from the Ainu language. Listed are the
meanings of the Japanese characters used. The Ainu meaning is
usually completely different, and I don't have an Ainu dictionary.
Place Meaning Place Meaning Aikawa mutual river
Akishima clear island
Akita autumn rice-field
Ama no Hashidate Heaven bridge standing
Anto safe island
Aomori green forest
Arashiyama storm mountain
Asahikawa morning-sun river
Asakusa morning grass
Aso $ flattery revived
Asuka * flying bird
Atsuta hot-feeling rice-field
Awara reed plain
Azusa catalpa-tree
Baijoga-dake plum-tree 10-feet peak
Bandai mine-wall ladder
Beppu separate city
Biwa (Japanese) lute
Bizen $ furnished before
Chiba thousand leaves
Chichibu $ ordered father
Chino miscanthus-reed field
Chishima thousand islands
Chitose # thousand year
Chubu central district
Chugoku central country
Dai Bosatsu Toge big Bodhisattva pass
Dainohana platform of nose
Daisen big mountain
Daisetsuzan big snow mountain
Daiura big bay
Echigo surpass behind
Edo inlet (bay) door
Ehime love princess
Eigei-kai 'Aegean Sea'
Eniwa mercy garden
Enzan salt mountain
Fuji wealth warrior
Fukuchiyama good-fortune wisdom mountain
Fukuda good-fortune rice-field
Fukui good-fortune well
Fukuoka good-fortune hill
Fukushima good-fortune island
Furukawa old river
Futami two view
Futatsu-game two turtles
Gembikei strict beauty valley
Gifu forking-road mound
Ginza golden seat
Gojo-zaka fifth street hill
Gumma herd horses
Hachinohe eight door
Hagi bush-clover
Hakodate box mansion
Hakata acclaim abundant
Hakone box root
Hakuba white horse
Hanazono flower garden
Harajuku field lodging
Hatake rice-field
Hattori clothing district
Hegura prow storehouse
Hibiya sun match valley
Hida $ flying station
Hikawa ice river
Himeji princess route
Himesaki princess point
Hiraizumi level spring
Hirano level field
Hirase level rapids
Hiroshima wide island
Hokkaido north sea road
Hokuriku north land
Hongu home shrine
Honshu main province
Horikawa moat river
Hotaka grain-head high
Ibaraki thorn castle
Ichinomiya first shrine
Ichinoseki first barrier
Idzumo leaving clouds
Ikebukuro pond sack
Ikuta alive rice-field
Ise # there-is strength
Ishikawa stone river
Itoh there-is east
Itoigawa springs fish river
Itsukushima strict island
Iwate boulder hand
Iwaobetsu # boulder tail separate
Izu there-is soy-beans
Izushi leaving stone
Kamakura scythe storehouse
Kameyama turtle mountain
Kamogawa (Kyoto north) congratulation luxurient river
Kamogawa (Kyoto south) duck river
Kamikochi upper river inside
Kanagawa god what river
Kanazawa gold marsh
Kanda god rice-field
Kansai barrier west
Kanto barrier east
Kappabashi gnome bridge
Karuizawa slight marsh
Kasashima hat island
Kashiwara oak plain
Kasumizawa mist swamp
Katabira-no-Tsugi light-kimono crossroads
Katsura (Kii) win harbor
Katsura (Kyoto) Judas-tree
Kawaguchi river mouth
Kawasaki river point
Kawaura river inlet
Kawayu river hot-water
Kichijo-ji luck happiness temple
Kii chronicle there-is
Kiku-ga-hama chrysanthemum beach
Kikuya chrysanthemum house
Kimpu gold mine
Kinki near capital
Kinosaki castle point
Kirigamine misty peak
Kiso tree pioneer
Kitano northern field
Kitakami north upper
Kitayama north mountain
Kobe * god door
Kokura small storehouse
Kochi high knowledge
Kofu armor city
Kojima child island
Komaba pony place
Koromogawa robe river
Koya high field
Kumamoto bear home
Kumano bear plain
Kumihama endure beauty beach
Kumotori cloud seize
Kunashiri # nation behind
Kurashiki storehouse spread-out
Kurayoshi storehouse luck
Kushimoto skewer home
Kushiro # bracelet route
Kyoto capital city
Kyushu nine province
Madaro spotted tail
Maizuru dancing crane (bird)
Maezawa front-of swamp
Magome horse crowded
Maibara rice field
Mano truth field
Marugame round turtle
Masutomi increase wealth
Matsue pine upper
Matsumoto pine home
Matsuyama pine mountain
Matsuzaka pine slope
Mie three nested-boxes
Mikata three directions
Mikuni three countries
Mineyama peak mountain
Misen increasing mountain
Mitsumine three peaks
Miyajima shrine island
Miyazu shrine port
Morioka forest hill
Mukkuchi six mouthfuls
Muroran # greenhouse orchid
Mutsu land innermost
Nachi what wisdom
Nagano long plain
Nagaoko long hill
Nagatani long valley
Nagato long gateway
Nagiso South Kiso
Nagoya fame old house
Naha what supremacy
Nakano inner field
Nakanoyu middle hot-water
Nakatsugawa middle port river
Namba disaster wave = shipwreck
Nanaura seven bays
Naoetsu repair inlet port
Nara # what good
Nihon sun origin
Niigata new lagoon
Nikko sun shining
Nirasaki leek point
Noboribetsu # climbing separate
Nokogiri saw (the tool)
Notto skill climbing
Obama big beach
Ogawa big river
Ogi small tree
Ohara big field
Oita big port
Okayama hill mountain
Okinawa open-sea rope
Okubo big enduring preserve
Okutama inner many beckon
Omiwa big god
Omiya big shrine
Osaka big slope
Otaru small barrel
Rausu # silk mill
Rokugo six village
Roppyaku six-hundred
Ryotsu old-coin port
Ryujin dragon god
Sado(-ga)-shima help ford island
Saidai-ji west big temple
Sakai boundary
Sakate hill hand
Sakiishi split rock
Sakurai cherry-tree well
Sapporo # paper-money awning
Seki-ga-hara stony field
Sekigane barrier gold
Sendai hermit platform
Seseki rapids stone
Seto-Nai-Kai strait between sea
Shari # slanting village
Shibuya astringent valley
Shiga(-kogen) record congratulations
Shikoku four countries
Shikotsu(-ko) # branch scepter (lake)
Shimabara island plain
Shimane island root
Shimazaki island point
Shimizu-no-taki clear water waterfall
Shimoda lower rice-field
Shimonoseki lower barrier
Shimotsui lower port well
Shingu new shrine
Shinjuku new lodging
Shiojiri salt posterior
Shiono Misaki tidewater cape
Shirahama white beach
Shirahone white bone
Shirakawa white river
Shiraoi # white age
Shirayama white mountain
Shiretoko # white floor
Shiwaku salt tired-of
Shizuoka quiet hill
Soun-kyo stratus cloud gorge
Sumiyoshi dwelling luck
Suwa consult visit
Tachikawa standing river
Tagano-o hemlock slope
Takamatsu high pine
Takao (Kyoto) high male
Takao (Tokyo) high tail
Takaoka high hill
Takasaki high point
Takayama high mountain
Tanabe rice-field boundary
Tango red behind
Tanzawa red marsh
Tarumae(-zan) # barrel before (mtn.)
Tochigi horse-chestnut tree
Tohoku east north
Tojimbo east inquire priest
Tokaido east sea road
Tokushima virtue island
Tokyo east capital
Tomakomai # thatch small pasture
Tomiyama far view mountain
Tottori bird seize
Toyama wealth mountain
Tsukiji build land
Tsumago-Juku wife crowded lodging
Tsunegami ordinary god
Tsuruga kind congratulations
Ueno upper field
Umeda plum-tree rice-field
Unebi meander twice(?)
Unzen cloud hermit
Uragawa harbor river
Ushimado cow window
Utoro # heaven climb backbone
Utsukushi-ga-hara beautiful plain
Uzumasa fat foreigner
Wajima circle island
Wakasa young cherry-tree
Wakayama peace song mountain
Wakkanai # young inside
Washu-zan eagle wing mountain
Yagi eight trees
Yamagata mountain direction
Yamaguchi mountain entrance
Yamanashi mountain pear
Yamanote mountain hand
Yamato * big peace
Yanagisawa willow pond
Yokohama side beach
Yoshino luck field
Yunomine hot-water peak
Happy Trails,
-- Randy
Randy's Japan Page
Getaway Table of Contents