Names of Japan

The word Japan (or Japon) is an exonym, and is used (in one form or another) by a large number of languages. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん  listen ) and Nihon (にほん  listen ). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji 日本.

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin", that is, where the sun originates, and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Imperial correspondence with the Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan's eastern position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭^?) or Wakoku (倭国^?).Wa was a name early China used to refer to an ethnic group living in Japan around the time of the Three Kingdoms Period.

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