일왕

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 日王, literally “Japanese king”.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [iɾwa̠ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [이뢍]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	irwang
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	il'wang
McCune–Reischauer?	irwang
Yale Romanization?	il.wang

Noun

일왕 • (irwang) (hanja 日王)

1. (non-honorific) mikado (emperor of Japan)

Usage notes

Intentionally lowers the title of “emperor” to “king”. This was initially used in the context of a Sinocentric system that proscribed that the emperor of China was the only true emperor (皇) while the leaders of other states in the Sinosphere were kings (王).

This title is commonly used by the South Korean media; however, official government communication have used 천황 (cheonhwang) (emperor, a direct reading of the Japanese term) since at least 1998.

Synonyms

• 천황 (cheonhwang)
• 왜왕 (waewang)