Countries and cultures - Countries and capitals - Country nicknames - East Asia - Japan
Why is Japan called the Land of the Rising Sun?
Correct!
The Japanese country name 日本, pronounced Nihon or Nippon, is made up of the characters 日 for “sun” and 本 for “origin” or “source”. The name can therefore be understood as “origin of the sun” or “the place where the sun rises”. The expression is closely linked to the historical view from China: Japan lies east of the Chinese mainland, in the direction from which the sun rises. A notable diplomatic episode dates from 607, when a Japanese mission delivered a letter to the Chinese emperor that described the Japanese ruler as ruler of the “land of the rising sun”, while China was addressed as the “land of the setting sun”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents this as the first known use of the expression and connects it directly with the later country name 日本. Japan’s famous flag also uses sun symbolism. Its official Japanese name Nisshōki refers to the sun disc, and Hinomaru is also widely used. The flag, however, is not the original reason why Japan is called the Land of the Rising Sun.
The name refers to the meaning of Nihon or Nippon and to Japan’s position east of China.
