Names of Japan

The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon and Nihon. They are both written the same in Japanese. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including money, postage stamps, and international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term used in Japan. See Nippon and Nihon for more of this.

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "sun origin", i.e., where the sun originates, and is often translated as the "Land of the Rising Sun". This nomenclature comes from imperial correspondence with China and refers to Japan's eastward position relative to the Asian continent. Before Japan had relations with China, it was known as Yamato (大和). Wa (倭) was a name early China used to refer to Japan, around the time of the Three Kingdoms Period. Although originally pejorative--the character used means "dwarf"--a different character, with positive connotations, came to be used. Dongyang (東洋), literally "Eastern Ocean", is another term used to refer to Japan. It is contrasted with Nanyang (Southern Ocean), which refers to Southeast Asia, and Xiyang (Western Ocean), which refers to the Western world.

The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. The Malay word for Japan, Japang, was borrowed from a Chinese language (possibly an earlier version of the modern Cantonese word yahtbun), and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan.

In English, the official title of the country is simply "Japan", one of the few countries to have no "long form" name. Previously, the full title had been the "Empire of Japan" but this was changed after the adoption of the post-war constitution; the title "State of Japan" is sometimes used as a colloquial modern-day equivalent. The official Japanese title is Nipponkoku or Nihonkoku (日本国), literally "State of Japan".

Though Nippon or Nihon are still by far the most popular names from Japan within the country, recently the words Japan and even Jipangu (from Cipangu) have been used in Japanese mostly for the purpose of foreign branding.

Former names include "Empire of Japan" and, in a film, "Empire of the Sun".