三方

Japanese

Kanji in this term
三	方
さん Grade: 1	ほう > ぼう Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
三宝

三方, 三宝 (sanbō): cedar stands with decorative cutouts, used for votive offerings.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese *三方 (MC sam pjang, literally “three + side; direction”). The stand sense likely arose from the way that three sides have decorative cutouts.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) さんぼ​ー [sàńbóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [3]) for the “three directions” sense
• (Tokyo) さんぼー [sàńbóó] (Heiban – [0]) for the “stand” sense
• IPA^(key): [sã̠mbo̞ː]

Noun

三(さん)方(ぼう) or 三方(さんぽう) • (sanbō or sanpō) ^{←さんばう (sanbau)?}

1. three directions
2. 三宝: a four-sided stand, usually made of cedar, on which a tray can be placed, with decorative holes on the front, left, and right sides of the stand; formerly used as a kind of one-person table at mealtimes, and now used mainly for votive offerings and other ceremonial purposes
3. (dated) in traditional Japanese mathematics, synonym for 正三角形 (sei sankakukei, “equilateral triangle”)