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▶ In this video, we will explore the names of each prefecture in Japanese, their English translations, and the origins or etymology behind these names. We will proceed alphabetically, starting with Aichi and ending with Yamanashi. Each prefecture's name has a unique meaning and historical background, often reflecting geographical features, local legends, or significant historical events. Japan's territory is divided into 47 prefectures, consisting of 43 regular prefectures, two urban prefectures (Osaka and Kyoto), one special region (Hokkaido), and one metropolis (Tokyo). This system was established in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, replacing the old provinces dating back to 600 AD.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Japanese Prefectures & Their Meiji Restoration Origin
01:08 I Don't Know Japanese Disclaimer
01:34 Aichi (愛知)
02:06 Akita (秋田)
02:18 Aomori (青森)
02:42 Chiba (千葉)
03:09 Ehime (愛媛)
03:28 Fukui (福井)
03:49 Fukuoka (福岡)
04:06 Fukushima (福島)
04:30 Gifu (岐阜)
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Japan's territory today is divided into 47 areas called prefectures. These are the main regions
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and essentially represent the borders of local governments. They include 43 regular prefectures
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two urban prefectures, which are Osaka and Kyoto, one special region called a circuit
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which is Hokkaido, and one large city area called a metropolis, which is the capital of Tokyo
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This system was established in 1868 to replace the old provinces which had actually been in use since the year 600
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The change took place in that year of 1868 in the context of the Meiji Restoration
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which was a major political change in Japan that restored power to the emperor opening up the country to outside trade
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and causing huge changes in Japan's political and social structures, namely the regional organization
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Each of those prefectures has a name, and in this video we're going to try and learn
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what they are in Japanese, what the translation and meaning is in English, and what the origin
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slash etymology of the name might be. Quick disclaimer and apology for the numerous mispronunciations of Japanese that I will make
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in this video. Also, in many cases these direct translations make little sense, and the origin of them
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is disputed or uncertain. take all of these as factual and do your own research to complement it as well
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Let's start alphabetically. First, Aichi. Aichi kind of means love knowledge. It comes from the
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original word Ayuchi, which in turn comes from the name of a region known as the Ayuchi Flats
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It's first mentioned in a poem by Takeshi Kurohito published in the Manyoshu, the oldest
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collection of Japanese poems, which is from around 759 AD. The poem which mentions it goes, the cry of the crane calling to Sakurada, it sounds
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like the tide draining from the Ayuchi flats, hearing the crane cry
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Next, Akita. Akita means something like autumn rice paddy. It comes from Aita or Akita meaning wetland or good place for a rice crop
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So the two meanings being connected. Aomori's meaning is also pretty interesting
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It means blue forest. During the Edo period, there was a seaport built where Aomori city today is
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There was a forest nearby called Aoi Matsu no Kimori meaning forest of blue pines
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which were used as landmarks for the ships that sailed into the port
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This name was then shortened to Aomori, meaning Blue Forest. Then Chiba
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Chiba gets its name from two kanji characters, Chi which means thousand and Ba which means leaves
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The name was originally used for a regional command office in ancient times known as Chiba
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Kuni no Miyatsuku. A little later a powerful family moved there and adopted the name becoming the Chiba clan
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They held significant power in the region which was eventually renamed after them
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being translated to as a thousand leaves. Eime comes from the Kojiki, an early Japanese chronicle of myths
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specifically from a tale where two deities create the island of Shikoku
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Eime is one of the prefectures and so takes its name from this
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It means beautiful maiden, referring to the goddess that the island was supposed to embody or represent
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Fukui means good luck well. The area was supposedly named in honor of Matsudaira Ideyasu, a samurai who was the damyo of the region in 1601
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I believe a damyo is some sort of local governor. Initially, it was called Fukugairu, meaning luck staying here
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It was later changed to Fukui. Fukuoka was named after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600
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when Kuroda Nagamasa, another local leader, came from Okayama and built a castle named after a shrine in his hometown
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which was called the same name, meaning Good Luck Hill. The name Fukushima is derived from two kanji characters, Fuku and Shima, or Jima
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Fuku means something like fortune or blessing, and Shima means island. Together it comes to mean Island of Good Fortune
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The name has historical roots and has been used locally for a long time, even predating
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the establishment of the prefecture system, so when it was established it kind of just
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stuck around Gifu is composed of two kanji characters Gi and Fu Gi means branch or fork often referring to a branching road or a path while Fu means hill or mound together meaning something like branching hill likely referring to the geographical features of the area
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The name Gifu has historical significance and was chosen by a famous daimyo in 1567
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who combined the Kanjiji from the legendary Mount Ji in China, symbolizing a place where a great person can rise
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and Fu, which is another sacred mountain in Chinese mythology, associated with the founding of a new era
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This name was intended to signify his ambitions for the region and of bringing about a new era of peace and prosperity
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Gunma means herd of horses. ancient Gunma was a center of horse trading and breeding as well as the official stables for the
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emperor and so it kept its name. This one is a good example of one that has a pretty straightforward
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etymology that we can be almost certain is correct while some of the others are again a little
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uncertain. Hiroshima is derived from two kanji characters, Iro and Shima. Iro means wide or
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broad while Shima means island like we saw before. It reflects again the geographical characteristics
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of the region. Hokkaido, being another whole island, has a similar etymology. However
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its origin is unique and according to some theories, it's not formed from kanji characters
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like most Japanese place names. It would instead originate from the Ainu language
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the indigenous language of the region. It is believed to come from the Ainu words
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op meaning big and kai meaning place or land combined with to meaning human. Therefore
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Hokkaido roughly translates to place of the big humans or land of the big people
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in the Ainu language. But another etymology theory exists stating that it means North Sea Road or
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North Sea Circuit in Japanese. Yogo was the location of the government arsenal in the Inada
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period between 710 and 794. Its name therefore roughly means military storehouse with yu meaning
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soldier and ko meaning warehouse. Ibaraki has a really cool origin. It means thorn bush castle
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referring to a local plant or set of flowers which were supposedly used as a defense against invaders in the 8th century
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Ishikawa refers to a local river which apparently contains many stones and boulders inside it
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therefore being called Stone River. Iwate means rock hand and there's a few theories about its origin and meaning
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The most accepted refers to a local volcano erupting and spewing rocks out of it
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threatening the local population as if it was the devil's hand smiting down upon them
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Kagawa is formed from two kanji characters, Ka meaning fragrance and Kawa meaning river
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so it can be translated as fragrant river. It is believed that the name originated from the
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fragrance of the flowers and plants that grew along the waters of the area. Kagoshima's etymology
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is odd and uncertain. If we split its characters, Ka means deer, Go means child or young, and Shima
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means island. One theory suggests that the name may have derived from the legend of a mythical
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deer carrying a young child across the sea to the region, but of course this is just folktale
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speculation. If you have any more details, just let me know in the comments. Kanagawa is formed
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from three kanji characters, Kami meaning god or deity, Na which is a phonetic character with no
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specific meaning in this context, and Kawa which means river, so it can be interpreted as a river
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of gods or divine river, the etymology of Kanagawa isn't entirely clear, but it's believed
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to be associated with the ancient belief that the area was sacred or spiritually significant
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Kochi means high knowledge. Isn't it fascinating that the Ko character means tall and Kodiko
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is a short king? Anyway, legend says the region's name was proposed by a local monk, perhaps
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referring to the elevated status of the area's rulers during ancient times and its importance
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for Japanese culture. Kumamoto has a really strange origin too, the current kanji for it literally means origin
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of the bear. However there are no bears in the area and the name may actually just refer to the castle
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built here by Kato Kiyomasa, a local ruler who liked the strong connotation of bears
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and so named it like this. Next Kyoto for most of its history, from 794-1869, the city of Kyoto was the imperial capital
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of Japan, and its name means precisely that, capital or metropolis. Miya etymology is really odd but then again so are so many historical things that it might just be true The name was supposedly taken from a comment about the region made by Prince Yamato Takeru on his way back from conquering the eastern regions in the 8th century
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He would have complained that his leg hurts, like three layer mochi, I guess a local expression
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which in Japanese would be something like Miya ni Matagai, the Miya meaning threefold
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Two more likely theories are that it may derive from the ancient practice of dividing the land
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into three administrative districts or that it refers to the three important Shinto shrines
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in the region, Isegrand, Tsubaki and Kumano-Sanzan. Miyagi which reminds us of the Kareta Kid character means shrine or palace castle, it
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seems to especially refer to the Taga castle, a fort in Tohoku, the name of the broader
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region which was established in the 8th century, the name seems to be in reference to that same castle
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Miyazaki has a similar etymology, it can be translated as shrine cape, since Miya means
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shrine or palace and Zaki means cape. It seems to be a reference to a specific shrine of the Shinto faith or Jinja built by Emperor
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Jimmu in the area. Nagano means long field, it seems to simply refer to the geographical characteristics of
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the region. Nagasaki was originally named Fukai, it was then renamed after Nagasaki Kotaru, a local
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notable but if you translate the terms directly you would get the meaning of long cape. Cape not
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being the clothing item but the geographical term as Nagasaki does if you look at a map of it in
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fact have a long cape so this might be the actual origin of the name rather than the theory of it
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being named after a local figure. Nara's case is uncertain and many theories exist regarding its
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meaning. Nara does not have a specific meaning on its own but it's often used in names while
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Ra means good. The etymology of Nara dates back to the ancient times when it was the capital of
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Japan, from 710 to 794 AD, known precisely as the Nara period. The term may have originated from
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the name of the local clan or tribe that inhabited the area before it became the capital
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Niigata means new tidal flat. There's no record about the origin of the name, so it's believed
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that Niigata referred to a lagoon in the mouth of the Shinano River, an inland bay at the river's
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entrance or a village that stood on an island within the estuary
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The origins of the name Oita are documented in a report from the early 8th century which
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described the region as the first rice crop field in Japan. It writes, This is a vast land indeed, it shall be known as Okita Kuni, meaning Land
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of the Great Fields. Later this came to be written as Oita, meaning Big Section
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Okayama can be translated as Hill Mountain or Ridge Mountain. Okahama city has several mountains around it, so it's named after this, with Oka meaning
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hill and Yama meaning mountain. Okinawa means good fishing place, although the direct meaning seems to be open sea rope
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In 754, the Chinese monk Jianzhen reached Japan. His biography, To Daiyajo Tozaidan, makes reference to a similar name as early as this
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Next is Osaka where the direct translation just means big slope, since Saka equals slope
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and O means big. Historically the area around modern day Osaka was characterized by its location on the delta
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of the Yodo river and the presence of natural slopes and hillsides so that is probably why
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Saga seems to get its name from a local river named Sakagawa
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The direct translation is very strange and would be sa meaning assistant or help which
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means ga meaning congratulations or auspicious. Help, congratulations doesn't make much sense but another interpretation can be auspicious
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assistance, perhaps referring to the help in development of the region provided by the river
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However, records point to the etymology of Saga dating back to the Edo period, when the
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area was under the rule of the Nabeshima clan, choosing this name and believing that it signified
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the clan's hope for prosperity and good fortune in their new domain
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Saitama can be interpreted as Sandy Jewel or Coastal Gem, Sai meaning coastal area, and
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Tama meaning jewel. Historically, the area that is now Saitama Prefecture was known for its sandy soil and
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coastal plains. The name Saitama may have been chosen to describe the natural beauty or valuable resources found
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in the area around the Tamagawa River. Shiga means something like prosperous celebration
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In Lake Biwa, near the Emperor's city, there were many rocks and the phrase ishi ga aru
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tokoru was used to the notice, eventually the phrase was shortened to shiga
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It seems the phrase was used to describe the ancient practice of offering prayers for the blessings provided by Lake Biwa over time the name Shiga became associated with the region as a whole Shimana can be translated as island root
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Shima means island and Ne means root. The name likely originated from the belief that the region served as the root or foundational
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area for the islands of Japan. This reflects its location as part of the Japanese archipelago and its historical significance
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as a center of cultural and economic exchange. Chizuoka means quiet hill. The etymology seems to just reflect the tranquil, natural surroundings of the region
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Tochigi is pretty straightforward too and means horse chestnut tree. Tochigi comes from Tōchi no Ki as there were many horse chestnut trees in the area
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Tokushima was named by Adam-yō-2 in 1585. Achisuka Yamasa built this castle in an island of the region and wanted a lucky name for it
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therefore choosing this one meaning virtuous island. Tokyo means East Capital. Tokyo was originally known as Edo which means estuary. Its name
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was changed to Tokyo, To meaning East and Kyo meaning capital, when it became the imperial
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capital in 1868. I saw something recently that made me realize something I had never
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noticed which is that Tokyo is just the invert of Kyoto. With Totori the first kanji, Tori
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means bird and the second, Tori means to catch. They seem to be pronounced the same but written
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differently, legend says the name comes from a prince who visited the region and caught
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a swan to present the Japanese emperor, being rewarded with the title of Totoro no Miyako
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In addition, locals historically made a living by hunting birds in the region
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Toyama means rich mountain, it was originally Sotoyama meaning far away mountain, but later
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they changed it to rich. I guess it makes sense since it isn't far away for the people that live there, plus
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it refers to the important natural resources that it has. Tomi means wealth or abundance, and Yama means mountain
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Wakayama can be translated as mountain of harmony and poetry. Wa means harmony or peace, Ka means song or poetry, and Yama means mountain
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It is believed that the name originated from the poetic and serene landscape of the area
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which was admired by poets and artists throughout history. Yamagata means mountain shape, Yama means mountain, again, and Gata means shape
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the etymology reflects the geographical features of the region, the name likely originated from the
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distinctive shape of the mountain or the overall landscape of the area. And similarly, Yamaguchi's
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is pretty straightforward, it means mountain entrance as the entrance to the Igashi Obanzan
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mountain. And finally, Yamanashi means mountain pair, from the many Yamanashi-noki trees, the name
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was chosen in 1871 in representation of these iconic trees of the region, which I guess must
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also be mountainous. So, that is the translation and etymology of each Japanese prefecture. Did you
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notice any mistakes in my explanations? If so, feel free to correct me in the comments and also
16:40
leave your suggestions of which country's regions I should explain the names of next. Somebody
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suggested the UK region, so let me know if you agree. Thanks for watching this video, subscribe
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if you want to catch future ones, and I will see you next time for more general knowledge
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