Zipangu: the golden country

The origins of some country names are unclear. For example, before World War II, the Japanese name for China was Shina. While these two names are clearly related, the origin of the name China is unclear. There are many theories as to why China was called China; a notable one is the corruption of the Qin, China’s first dynasty. The Chinese name for China is Zhongguo. It sounds similar to China and means central country in Chinese.

The Japanese name for Japan is Nihon or Nippon. It means the country of the rising sun. The name comes from an old letter sent by the Japanese government to China: the opening words of the letter said that this is the letter from the country of the rising sun to the country of the setting sun. This comes from the relative location of Japan, which is to the east of China. So how did the English name come about? Many Japanese believe that it came from the book, Marco Polo’s travels, of Marco Polo, the 13th century merchant who traveled to the Orient. He did not visit Japan, but he mentions in his book that there is a country full of gold and silver called Zipangu.

This book made European adventurers travel to the Far East to find the land of gold and silver. Later, it resulted in the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Japan today is far from the country of gold and silver presented in Marco Polo’s book. Why was Japan seen as a golden utopia by European explorers?

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Fujiwara clan of the Tohoku district built a golden utopia. The clan was related to the aristocrats of the central government of Kyoto. While the clan had a close relationship with the central government in Kyoto, it maintained its independence due to its distance from Kyoto. Kyoto allowed this independence on the condition that the clan remain loyal to the central government.

Hidehira Fujiwara was the clan leader at the height of his influence. Taking advantage of the gold produced in the region, the clan built a golden Buddhist temple, Chuson-ji. The main hall of the temple, called Konjiki-do, was filled with golden decoration. The name means golden hall. People at that time talked about the room looking like a building in the sky. Clearly, this golden utopia attracted the attention of Marco Polo, along with other adventurers later in the 15th century, including Christopher Columbus.

Recently, the Tohoku district was hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Fortunately, none of the buildings in this utopia were damaged. The author hopes that the Tohoku district will quickly recover from the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami and that tourists will return to admire the buildings.