Japanese

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Kanji in this term

Grade: 5
さし
Grade: 6
jūbakoyomi
Alternative spelling
武藏 (kyūjitai)

Etymology 1

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/muzasi//musaɕi/

From Old Japanese. Attested in the Kojiki spelled phonetically in man'yōgana as 无耶志 (​Muzashi).

Ultimate derivation unknown. One theory is based on an earlier placename, 身狭 (Musa), which was apparently divided into upper 身狭 (Musa-gami) and lower 身狭 (Musa-shimo) portions, roughly corresponding to the later provinces of 相模 (Sagami) and 武蔵 (Musashi). The modern name Sagami then arose as a corruption of Musa-gami, while Musashi derived from Musa-shimo. However, this may be only a folk etymology.

A separate theory suggests that Musashi derives from an old Ainu borrowing.[1] Linguist Alexander Vovin derives this from ムンサリ (mun-sar-i) or ムンサリヒ (mun-sar-ihi, weed-marsh-[possessive suffix]), hypothetical Ainu forms that would mean "marsh/wetland of (i.e. belonging to) weeds/inedible or otherwise useless plants," and Musashi sits in the middle of the Kantō Plain.[2] However, John Batchelor's 1905 Ainu dictionary and grammar includes no mention of a possessive suffix -i or -ihi.[3] Another possible Ainu source could be ムンシㇼ (mun sa shir, nettle plain land).[3]

The kanji spelling 武藏 probably first appeared in the Wamyō Ruijushō of 938 CE, but that origin is also unknown.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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()(さし) (Musashi

  1. Musashi Province: a region of old Japan consisting of modern-day Tokyo, Saitama, and Kanagawa prefectures.
  2. a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II (see   Japanese battleship Musashi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia ) (Should we delete(+) this sense?)
  3. a place name
  4. a surname
  5. a female given name
Synonyms
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Etymology 2

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Various nanori readings.

Proper noun

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武蔵(たけくら) (Takekura

  1. a surname

武蔵(たけぞう) (Takezō

  1. a surname
  2. a male given name (Can we verify(+) this sense?)

武蔵(ぶぞう) (Buzō

  1. a male given name (Can we verify(+) this sense?)

武蔵(むぞう) (Muzō

  1. a surname

References

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  1. ^ Alexander Vovin (2009) "Strange words in the Man'yoshū and the Fudoki and the distribution of the Ainu language in the Japanese islands in prehistory"
  2. ^ Alexander Vovin (2008). "Man'yōshū to Fudoki ni Mirareru Fushigina Kotoba to Jōdai Nihon Retto ni Okeru Ainu-go no Bunpu". Kokusai Nihon Bunka Kenkyū Sentā.
  3. 3.0 3.1 John Batchelor (1905) An Ainu-English-Japanese dictionary (including a grammar of the Ainu language)[1], Tokyo, London: Methodist Publishing House; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner Co.