天蚕

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	蚕
てん Grade: 1	さん Grade: 6
kan’on

Alternative spelling
天蠶 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɰ̃sã̠ɴ]

Noun

天(てん)蚕(さん) • (tensan) 

1. Japanese oak silkmoth, Antheraea yamamai

   Synonyms: ヤママユ (yamamayu), ヤママユガ (yamamayuga)

   • 2014 January 31, “Tensan no shokai [Introduction to tensan]”, in Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University‎^[1]:

     天(てん)蚕(さん)は、日(に)本(ほん)原(げん)産(さん)のカイコガの一(いっ)種(しゅ)です。天(てん)蚕(さん)の繭(まゆ)からとれた絹(きぬ)は美(うつく)しい緑(みどり)色(いろ)をした希(き)少(しょう)価(か)値(ち)の高(たか)い絹(きぬ)でした。

     Tensan wa, Nihon gensan no kaikoga no isshu desu. Tensan no mayu kara toreta kinu wa utsukushī midorīro o shita kishō kachi no takai kinu deshita.

     Tensan is one species of silkworm endemic to Japan. Silk from the cocoon of tensan is a beautiful green, rare and highly valued silk.

2. silk derived from this moth, tensan silk

   Synonyms: やまこ (yamako), 天蚕糸 (tegusu), 山繭糸 (yamamayu ito)

   • 2012, “Tensan, yamako”, in Nishijin no itoya‎^[2]:

     絹(きぬ)糸(いと)の原(げん)料(りょう)には大(おお)きく分(わ)けて家(か)蚕(さん)(室(しつ)内(ない)産(さん))と野(や)蚕(さん)(野(や)生(せい)種(しゅ))の2(に)種(しゅ)類(るい)に分(わ)けられますが野(や)蚕(さん)の中(なか)でもひときわ綺(き)麗(れい)な淡(あわ)い緑(みどり)色(いろ)の繭(まゆ)だまを作(つく)る山(ヤマ)繭(マユ)蛾(ガ)（やままゆが）がいます。品(ひん)種(しゅ)は、「天(テン)蚕(サン)(てんさん)」またの名(な)を「やまこ」と呼(よ)びます。

     Kinuito no genryō ni wa ōkiku wakete kasan (shitsunai san) to yasan (yaseishu) no ni shurui ni wakeraremasu ga yasan no naka de mo hitokiwa kirei na awai midorīro no mayudama o tsukuru yamamayuga (yamamayuga) ga imasu. Hinshu wa, “tensan (tensan)” mata no na o “yamako” to yobimasu.

     The sources from which silk thread is derived can be broadly divided into two groups, domesticated silkworms (grown indoors) and wild silkworms (undomesticated species), and one remarkable wild species is the yamamayuga, which produces lovely pale green cocoons. This thread is called “tensan”, also known as “yamako”.