Kanto Prefectures
7 entries — explore the kanji meanings and true etymologies.
茨城
Prefecture
Kanto
Ibaraki
茨城 (いばらき)
Literal: "Bramble/Thorn Castle"
The name derives from a fortress (城, ki/gi) surrounded by thorny bramble bushes (茨, ibara) used as a natural defensive b…
栃木
Prefecture
Kanto
Tochigi
栃木 (とちぎ)
Literal: "Horse Chestnut Tree"
The name refers to the tochi tree (栃, Aesculus turbinata, the Japanese horse chestnut). The area had abundant tochi tree…
群馬
Prefecture
Kanto
Gunma
群馬 (ぐんま)
Literal: "Group of Horses"
The name evokes a gathering or herd of horses. The Kanto plain of Gunma was historically renowned for horse breeding, an…
埼玉
Prefecture
Kanto
Saitama
埼玉 (さいたま)
Literal: "Cape of Jewels"
The original form was 'Sakitama' (前玉 or 埼玉), meaning 'cape of jewels' or 'foreland of jewels.' The 'saki' (埼) refers to …
千葉
Prefecture
Kanto
Chiba
千葉 (ちば)
Literal: "Thousand Leaves"
The name combines 'chi' (千, thousand) and 'ha/ba' (葉, leaf/blade). The most accepted theory holds that the Chiba clan, p…
東京
Prefecture
Kanto
Tokyo
東京 (とうきょう)
Literal: "Eastern Capital"
The name was given in September 1868, when the Meiji government renamed Edo (江戸) to Tokyo. The characters mean 'eastern …
神奈川
Prefecture
Kanto
Kanagawa
神奈川 (かながわ)
Literal: "Divine River or Gold River"
The origin is debated. One theory reads the characters literally as 'divine' (神) + 'river' (川), suggesting a sacred rive…