Sanindo Circuit Provinces
8 entries — explore the kanji meanings and true etymologies.
丹波
Province
Sanindo
Tamba Province
丹波国 (たんば)
Literal: "Red/Cinnabar Wave"
The characters mean 'red/cinnabar' (丹) and 'wave' (波), but these are phonetic. 'Tamba' may derive from a pre-Yamato word…
丹後
Province
Sanindo
Tango Province
丹後国 (たんご)
Literal: "Behind the Red/Cinnabar"
Like Tamba (丹波, 'front red'), Tango (丹後) means 'behind Tan,' the rear portion of the original Tamba Province when it was…
但馬
Province
Sanindo
Tajima Province
但馬国 (たじま)
Literal: "However/Exception Horse"
The characters mean 'however/but' (但) and 'horse' (馬), but these are phonetic. 'Tajima' likely derives from a pre-Yamato…
因幡
Province
Sanindo
Inaba Province
因幡国 (いなば)
Literal: "Because of Feathers"
The characters mean 'because/reason' (因) and 'feathers' (幡, actually 'banner'). The name is phonetic for 'Inaba,' which …
伯耆
Province
Sanindo
Hoki Province
伯耆国 (ほうき)
Literal: "Elder Uncle's Sickle"
The characters mean 'elder/chief uncle' (伯) and 'sickle' (耆, actually an archaic character meaning 'old/elder'). These a…
出雲
Province
Sanindo
Izumo Province
出雲国 (いずも)
Literal: "Emerging Clouds"
The characters mean 'emerging' (出) and 'cloud' (雲). The name likely refers to the characteristic clouds rising from the …
石見
Province
Sanindo
Iwami Province
石見国 (いわみ)
Literal: "Stone Seeing"
The characters mean 'stone' (石) and 'to see/look' (見). The name may describe a prominent rock formation or clifftop used…
隠岐
Province
Sanindo
Oki Province
隠岐国 (おき)
Literal: "Hidden Island"
The characters mean 'hidden' (隠) and 'island cape' (岐). The island group in the Sea of Japan was considered remote and h…