Kyushu Prefectures
7 entries — explore the kanji meanings and true etymologies.
福岡
Prefecture
Kyushu
Fukuoka
福岡 (ふくおか)
Literal: "Fortunate Hill"
The name combines 'fuku' (福, fortune/blessing) and 'oka' (岡, hill). It was chosen by Kuroda Nagamasa in 1601 when he bui…
佐賀
Prefecture
Kyushu
Saga
佐賀 (さが)
Literal: "Help and Celebration"
The literal reading gives 'help/assist' (佐) and 'auspicious/celebrate' (賀), but these are likely phonetic characters. Th…
長崎
Prefecture
Kyushu
Nagasaki
長崎 (ながさき)
Literal: "Long Cape"
The name literally means 'long cape' (長 = long, 崎 = cape/promontory). The Nagasaki Peninsula extends as a long, narrow f…
熊本
Prefecture
Kyushu
Kumamoto
熊本 (くまもと)
Literal: "Bear Origin"
The current characters mean 'bear' (熊) and 'origin/base' (本), but these are ateji. The original name was 'Kumamoto' (隈本)…
大分
Prefecture
Kyushu
Oita
大分 (おおいた)
Literal: "Great Division"
The current characters mean 'great' (大) and 'division/portion' (分), but these are ateji. The original name was likely 'Ō…
宮崎
Prefecture
Kyushu
Miyazaki
宮崎 (みやざき)
Literal: "Shrine Cape"
The name combines 'miya' (宮, shrine or palace) and 'saki/zaki' (崎, cape/promontory). The Miyazaki region is home to the …
鹿児島
Prefecture
Kyushu
Kagoshima
鹿児島 (かごしま)
Literal: "Deer Child Island"
The name means 'deer' (鹿) + 'child' (児) + 'island' (島). The origin is debated. One theory holds that the name derives fr…