In addition to “the land of the rising sun”, “the land of cherry blossoms”, Japan is also known as “the land of the Tang Dynasty”, but few people know the meaning of these names.
Japan is a famous destination in the world with its rich culture and unique cuisine. This country has three different names that are still widely used, but not everyone knows what they mean.
For a long time, “the land of Phu Tang” has automatically become a word that Vietnamese people use to refer to Japan.
According to the Japanese-Vietnamese bilingual dictionary compiled and published by Onochi Seiji in 1979, “Phu Tang” is explained with three meanings: the tree of the sun (mythology); the east and the land of the rising sun (Japan).
According to ancient Eastern legend, the hollow mulberry tree is called Phu Tang or Khong Tang. When the sun god rode a train across the sky from east to west, he stopped under a funeral tree. In ancient literature, Fu Tang was also used to refer to the place where the sun rose.
Ancient Chinese documents only mention Fu Tang as the god of wood; Phu Tang is a country in the East of China in general without defaulting to the mulberry tree or the country of Japan.
Japan’s majestic Mount Fuji. (Photo: Pinterest).
Pham Thu Giang of Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities once encountered doubts from the Japanese when translating “Phu Tang” into Fusō (扶桑) . She conducted a small survey with 50 Vietnamese and 50 Japanese, with the desire to shed light on this.
The results showed that most of the Vietnamese when asked confirmed that ” Phu Tang” is Japan or a region of Japan. While the Japanese people who participated in the survey were confused when they had to choose multiple-choice answers, one of which was their country.
The research results also show that the Chinese historical books have inconsistent records about the Phu Tang tree as well as the country that bears the name of this plant. Phu Tang can be used as a beautiful word, a conceptual and imaginary concept, but sometimes refers to a country or land of real existence.
Therefore, the land of Phu Tang may be a name accepted by many Vietnamese with the meaning of Japan, but it is not really accurate and popular with the Japanese.
According to many people’s understanding, Japan is located in the easternmost part of Asia, so it will be the place to welcome the first dawn of the continent . Therefore, it is not difficult to understand when “the land of the rising sun” is the most common other name for this country.
In fact, the kanji in Japan’s national name means “origin of the sun” , and the people of this country have long attached great importance to the image of the sun. According to the ancient Nihon Shoki, the emperors of Japan were also considered descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu.
Japan is the first country to welcome dawn in Asia. (Photo: Fit News).
To the Japanese, cherry blossoms represent beauty, fragility and purity. As a flower that “blooms and fades”, cherry blossoms represent the “dead path” of Japanese samurai – samurai live and die like cherry blossoms.
Although not officially recognized as the national flower, cherry blossoms still hold a special place for the Japanese. Images of cherry blossoms appear in traditional costumes, cuisine, decorative motifs, or 100 yen coins and 1,000 yen banknotes. Also for these reasons, Japan is also known as the land of cherry blossoms.
This delicate flower appears everywhere in Japan. Flowers usually bloom in the spring around March, April, sooner or later depending on the place. In warmer southern Japan, the flowers can bloom from the end of January, while in the northern Hokkaido region, the flowers can bloom in May.
Therefore, cherry blossom lovers can view the flowers along the journey from south to north for many months, although cherry blossoms usually only last for about 1-2 weeks when in bloom.