Kanji
桂 (common “Jōyō” kanji)
- the katsura, the Japanese Judas tree
- the cinnamon or cassia tree
- the sweet osmanthus tree
Readings
Compounds
Compounds
- 桂子 (けいこ, Keiko): a female given name
- 桂飴 (かつらあめ, katsura ame): a type of sweet traditionally sold in villages in the mountains around Kyōto Prefecture
- 桂鮎 (かつらあゆ, katsura ayu): ayu (sweetfish) caught in the Katsura River in Kyōto
- 桂庵 (けいあん, keian): a mediary in an arranged marriage or in a lawsuit; a hiring placement specialist
- 桂園 (けいえん, Keien): pseudonym for 香川景樹 (Kagawa Kageki), a poet during the late Edo Period
- 桂園一枝 (けいえんいっし, Keien Isshi): a private anthology of poetry printed towards the end of the Edo Period
- 桂園派 (けいえんは, Keienha): a style of 和歌 (waka) poetry, founded by 香川景樹 (Kagawa Kageki)
- 桂科 (かつらか, katsuraka): the Cercidiphyllaceae family, containing only the Cercidiphyllum genus, containing only the two species Cercidiphyllum japonicum and Cercidiphyllum magnificum, both commonly called 桂 (katsura)
- 桂花, 桂華 (けいか, keika): (metaphor) the moon, from a Chinese legend of trees growing on the moon
- 桂冠 (けいかん, keikan): a laurel wreath
- 桂冠詩人 (けいかんしじん, keikan shijin): a poet laureate
- 桂巻 (かつらまき, katsura maki): a style of women's head wrapping popular during the Muromachi Period, using a long piece of cloth tied in front above the forehead
- 桂宮 (かつらのみや, Katsura-no-miya): one of the four 親王家 (shinnōke, “branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out”)
- 桂宮院 (けいきゅういん, Keikyūin; けいぐういん, Keigūin): the inner temple building at the Hōryūji Temple in Kyoto
- 桂月 (けいげつ, keigetsu): alternate word for 月 (tsuki, “the moon”); the eighth lunar month
- 桂湖村 (かつらこそん, Katsura Koson): a Japanese author, lived 1868-1934
- 桂江 (けいこう, Keikō): a river in the Chūgoku region of Japan
- 桂三木助 (かつらみきすけ, Katsura Mikisuke): a traditional Japanese comedian (落語 (rakugo) performer); the first by this name lived 1894-1943, the second lived 1902-1961
- 桂枝 (けいし, keishi): a branch from a cassia, katsura, laurel, or cinnamon tree; a branch from the legendary tree that grows on the moon
- 桂芝 (けいし, keishi): alternate word for 万年茸 (mannentake), a type of mushroom
- 桂樹 (けいじゅ, keiju): common name for various trees in family Lauraceae, particularly the cinnamon or cassia trees; a legendary tree growing on the moon; alternate for 浜枇杷 (hamabiwa, “a type of tree in the genus Litsea, related to the laurel”)
- 桂秋 (けいしゅう, keishū): alternate word for 秋 (aki, “autumn”)
- 桂春団治 (かつらはるだんじ, Katsura Harudanji): stage name for 川田藤吉 (Kawada Fujiyoshi), a 落語 (rakugo, “traditional Japanese comedy”) performer in Ōsaka, lived 1881-1937
- 桂女 (かつらめ, katsurame): a type of 巫女 (miko, “shrine maiden”); a woman selling of katsura ayu and katsura ame in areas around old Kyōto; a prostitute from the village of Katsura near Kyōto; a noblewoman's bridesmaid in ancient Japan
- 桂小五郎 (かつらこごろう, Katsura Kogorō): former name of 木戸孝允 (Kido Takayoshi), an important politician in the late Edo Period and early Meiji Period
- 桂昌院 (けいしょういん, Keishōin): concubine of 徳川家光 (Tokugawa Iemitsu), the third Tokugawa shōgun
- 桂心 (けいしん, keishin): cinnamon or cassia bark, as used in cooking; Cinnamomum tenuifolium, Japanese cinnamon; a type of mochi confection coated in cinnamon powder
- 桂仙花 (けいせんか, keisenka): alternate word for 翁草 (okinagusa), Pulsatilla cernua, a type of low-growing anemone
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Etymology 1
From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 香 (ka, “fragrance, good smell”) + 出 (zu, “to come out, to put something out”) + ら (ra, nominalizing suffix): "that which puts out a good smell", from the way the wood smells good.
Pronunciation
Alternative forms
Noun
桂 (hiragana かつら, romaji katsura)
- the katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, also called the Japanese Judas tree
- less commonly, the smaller Cercidiphyllum magnificum tree, more specifically called the 広葉桂 or ヒロハカツラ (hiroha katsura, “broadleaf katsura”).
- a tree on the moon, from a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by Lauraceae trees budding, blossoming, then dropping their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons
- julienned raw daikon, used as a garnish for sashimi
- alternate word for 肉桂 (nikkei, “the cinnamon or cassia tree”) or 桂皮 (keihi, “cinnamon or cassia bark”)
Derived terms
- 桂男 (かつらおとこ, katsura otoko): the katsura man, a character in the Chinese legend who lives on the moon
Proper noun
桂 (hiragana かつら, romaji Katsura)
- A male given name
- the west bank of the Katsura River in Kyōto
Etymology 2
From Old Japanese. Alternate spelling for 女桂 (mekatsura, “female katsura”), an archaic name for the cinnamon tree. Compare 男桂 (okatsura, “male katsura: the katsura tree”). Appears with this reading in the 和名類聚抄 (Wamyō Ruijushō), a Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters completed in 938.
Pronunciation
Alternative forms
Noun
桂 (hiragana めかつら, romaji mekatsura)
- the cinnamon tree, or other closely related trees in genus Cinnamomum
Synonyms
Etymology 3
From Sinitic 桂.
Pronunciation
Noun
桂 (hiragana けい, romaji kei)
- the cinnamon or cassia tree
- common name for various other trees in family Lauraceae
- in China, the 木犀 (mokusei) or sweet osmanthus tree
Synonyms
Etymology 4
From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees, which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons.
Pronunciation
Noun
桂 (hiragana けい, romaji kei)
- (euphemistic) the moon
Synonyms
将棋の桂
Etymology 5
Abbreviation of 桂馬 (keima), the knight in 将棋 (shōgi, “Japanese chess”).
Pronunciation
Noun
桂 (hiragana けい, romaji kei)
- the knight in 将棋 (shōgi, “Japanese chess”)
Synonyms
