Origin of Gifu prefectural name
GIFU – Crossroads Hill 岐阜県 The leading theory or popular belief is that warlord Oda Nobunaga, during his unsuccessful quest to conquer and unify Japan, renamed the castle town of…
Origin of Aichi prefectural name
AICHI – Beloved Wisdom 愛知県 “Aichi” is another prefectural name whose origin of the verbal word (pronunciation) and written word (kanji characters) stem from different histories. They don’t match up,…
Origin of Shizuoka prefectural name
SHIZUOKA – Quiet Hill 静岡県 During the samurai era, present-day Shizuoka had a major city and samurai domain named Fuchu (府中). However, the new Meiji government didn’t like the name…
Origin of Kanagawa prefectural name
KANAGAWA – Kana River 神奈川県 Like many prefectural names, Kanagawa has multiple theories as to its origin and meaning. Although Kanagawa sounds like the name of a river, there’s no…
Origin of Yamanashi prefectural name
YAMANASHI – Mountain Pear 山梨県 Japan’s only fruity prefectural name! There are multiple theories regarding the origin of the name “Yamanashi.” ・Theory 1: According to the prefecture’s website, one theory…
Origin of Nagano prefectural name
NAGANO – Long Field 長野県 “Nagano” refers to the long (nagai 長い) or “flowing” (nagareru 流れる), gently sloping field (almost like a delta) on the Nagano Basin (also called Zenkoji-daira)…
Origin of Tokyo prefectural name
TOKYO – East Imperial Capital 東京都 Out of all the 47 prefectural names, Tokyo (東京) and Kyoto (京都) are the easiest to understand in meaning. The 京 (kyo) kanji character…
Origin of Chiba prefectural name
CHIBA – Thousand Leaves 千葉県 As a place name, “Chiba” has been around since the 9th century. The oldest known document in which it appears is the Man’yōshū book of…
Origin of Saitama prefectural name
SAITAMA – Divine Spirit of Happiness 埼玉県 Although it is basically known where the name “Saitama” came from (a village named “Sakitama” in present-day Gyoda city), the actual meaning remains…
Origin of Gunma prefectural name
GUNMA – Herd of Horses 群馬県 “Gunma” is one of only four prefectural names that includes an animal (other three are Tottori, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima). ・”Gunma” likely originated from local…