Uncovering the origins of neglected place-names 


Author: Mao

First year student at the University of Tsukuba

Permission for publication granted in August 2023



In Japan, numerous place-names are used to indicate specific districts. Surprisingly, some of these names have been in use for more than 2000 years. Many aspects of people’s lives, such as clothing, scenery, and lifestyles, are far different from those in the past. Therefore, it is incredible that certain place-names which were created in ancient times remain in use today. Despite their familiarity, place-names are often neglected by people. In this essay, I would like to pick out some place-names and uncover their hidden backgrounds.


Firstly, I will focus on “Dazaifu.” It is now the name of a city in Fukuoka and can even be found in documents written during the Nara period. Originally, “Dazaifu” referred to a public office that played an important role in local politics and diplomacy with neighboring countries(Dazaifu-shi). The place-name was derived from the organization that was established there. A lot of similar examples are found throughout the country, and I think they help us remember the history of the places.


Secondly, I will examine the place-name “Gunma.” “Gun” means herd, and “ma” means horse, so “Gunma” can be interpreted as “herd of horses.” According to explanations such as "Gunma Chiiki Bunka Mappu," horses were offered in stock forms to the emperor. In fact, there were no horses in Japan in the past. However, Gunma was a powerful region then, which allowed for the importation of horses from the Korean Peninsula. Horses were very valuable as a means of transportation in those days, so the demand was significant (Gunma Chiiki bunka mappu). This clear reason for the name satisfied my curiosity.


However, I have a question about the origin of “Kumamoto.” “Kuma” means bear and “moto” usually means books, so its origin is not as apparent as that of Gunma. What is more, to my knowledge, there are no bears in Kumamoto, so I wonder why the Chinese character which means bear is used in the place-name. According to my findings on the Internet, “Kumamoto” was originally represented by another Chinese character meaning “curved river.” Later, the Chinese character was changed during the Warring States period, and the reason for this change was that the region’s leader believed the character of bear made a stronger image (Gogen yurai ziten). Like this example, there are a lot of cases where original place-names were changed while preserving their pronunciation. In Japanese, we use three types of characters (Chinese characters, hiragana, and katakana), which sometimes leads to different interpretations of place-names based on their writing styles. The Japanese language’s characteristics make it more interesting to explore the origins of toponyms.


As described above, place-names provide valuable insights into history. While some place-names have emerged recently due to municipal mergers, they still have specific origins that reflect what the place is like or the thoughts of people who live there. Not only from place-names with a long history but also from relatively new ones, valuable insights are obtained. Therefore, paying attention to place-names, regardless of age, can broaden our perspectives and understanding of various locations.


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