露西亜

Japanese
Kanji in this term
露 西 亜
ろ
Grade: S
(ateji)		 し
Grade: 2
(ateji)		 あ
Grade: S
(ateji)
kan’on irregular kan’on
Alternative spelling
露西亞 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Borrowing from Russian Росси́я (Rossíja).[1][2][3]

The spelling is ateji (当て字), adopted in 1877 after diplomatic pressure from Russia to change from the previous 魯西亜 spelling, out of concern that the initial 魯 (ro) character expressed a sense of foolish. However, the 露 (ro) character was chosen for its sense of dew, from the political metaphor that the morning dew will disappear as the sun rises, wherein "sun" refers to Japan.[4]

The use of 西亜 for the latter portion is likely influenced by Chinese phonetics, and historical use of these characters to spell out the -siya portion of Rossiya in sources such as a bible translated into Chinese in 1864.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

露西亜(ロシア) • (Roshia) 

  1. Dated spelling of ロシア (“Russia”).

Derived terms

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  3. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 渡辺雅司 (Masaji Watanabe) (2003), ユーラシア研究所ブックレット編集委員会 (Yūrashia Kenkyūjo Bukkuretto Henshū Iinkai, Institute of Eurasian Studies, Booklet Editing Committee), editor, 明治日本とロシアの影 [Meiji Japan and the Shadow of Russia] (in Japanese), 東洋書店 (Tōyō Shoten), →ISBN, pages 4-5
  5. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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