Animal-related Toponymy

EXPLORING ANIMAL-RELATED TOPONYMS

This essay was granted permission to publish on July 13, 2022

Author: Asahi

First-year student at the University of Tsukuba

I read the passage about place-names and was interested in the origins of other place-names. Thus, I did some research on the origin of toponyms which include the Chinese characters thatwhich represent animals. Through my research, I thought that they could be roughly classified into three patterns. The first pattern is related to a particular animal, the second pattern is completely unrelated to animals, and the third pattern is a metaphor for the dangers of the area in Chinese characters. I will explain these three patterns with examples and finally give my thoughts on them.

First, place-names consisting of Chinese characters for animals are classified into those that are deeply related to a specific animal. If there is an episode about a specific animal, or if there are many animals living there, the Chinese characters for that animal are likely to be included in the place- name. A Ggood example is a place called “Mitaka” (三鷹), which is located in Tokyo. “三” stands for three, and “鷹” means stands for hawk. As Mitaka city indicated, the place-name is said to be derived from the fact that there were three places to falconry there (Mitaka City Hall, 2019). In this way, such place-names are often found in areas closely related to an animal.

In contrast, the second pattern is that place- names happened to match animal names. Even if the background of the place- name is not related to animals, the Chinese characters of the animal may be used for the place name due to other factors. The city called “Meguro” (目黒), located in Tokyo, is a common example. Meguro is a Japanese word that means Bonin honeyeater, a bird with black eyes and a green body. (Figure 1. Bonin honeyeater). However, it has nothing to do with the bird. Rather, it is thought that the place-name is derived from Buddhism. According to the official website of Meguro Ward, it is said that the place was named name became “Meguro” because there is a Meguro-Fudoson (Acala) there (Meguro Ward Office, 2020). 

Finally, the third pattern is a pattern that expresses the danger of disaster in Chinese characters of animals. In areas where floods and sediment disasters occur frequently, place-names may include the names of certain animals, especially dangerous animals. For example, The origin of “Jahou” (蛇崩) in Nagano prefecture, where many floods occur, belongs to this pattern. “蛇” means snake, and “崩” is defined as means collapse. As stated on the homepage of Nagano prefecture, people of former days likened the slow collapse of the ground due to landslides to snakes (Nagano Prefectural Government, 2018). By doing this, they informed posterity of the danger there.

As explained above, I found that there are three patterns in the origin of place names composed of Chinese characters that represent animals. Of these three categories, I think that we should especially focus on the third pattern. This is because it is interesting that even place names are used to protect people from disasters in Japan, where many disasters occur. From the perspective of disaster prevention, it would be useful to know the origin of place names that include Chinese characters for animals. Therefore, if you see such a place name in your life, I think you should investigate its origin. 

(512 words)

Works Cited:

• Meguro Ward Office. “Place Name of Meguro.“ Meguro Ward Official Homepage, 11 Dec 2020, https://www.city.meguro.tokyo.jp/smph/gyosei/shokai_rekishi/konnamachi/michi/chimei/tobu/meguro.html. Accessed 22 July 2022.

• Mitaka City Hall. “History of Mitaka City: Meiji Era, Birth of Mitaka City.“ Mitaka City Homepage, 26 June 2019, https://www.city.mitaka.lg.jp/c_service/011/011725.html. Accessed 22 July 2022.

• Nagano Prefectural Government. “Place Names Related to Disasters.“ Nagano Prefecture Official Homepage, 6 Mar 2018, https://www.pref.nagano.lg.jp/sabo/manabu/chizu-yomitoku-4.html. Accessed 22 July 2022.