異国

From Sinitic 異國.

異国 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 異國, hiragana いこく, rōmaji ikoku)

1. A foreign country; a foreign land; a country external to Japan.
   • 1603-1604: Nippo Jisho (page 329)

     Icocu. イコク Cotonaru cuni. (異なる国) 他の国、あるいは、外国人の国.

   • 1617: Gennabon Kagakushū (page 7)

     異國 (イコク)

While synonymous with 外国 (gaikoku), this latter term is more common, while 異国 is a more formal term, suggesting “foreign lands, the exotic”.

• 外国 (がいこく) (gaikoku)

• 異国人 (いこくじん) (ikokujin): a foreigner

From Old Japanese 異 (koto, “different, other”) +‎ 国 (kuni, “country, land”).

異国 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 異國, hiragana ことくに, rōmaji kotokuni)

1. A different land, a strange land.
2. A foreign country.

Archaic.

• (different land):
  • 異 (い)郷 (きょう) (ikyō)
  • 他国 (たこく) (takoku), 他国 (ひとくに) (hitokuni)
• (foreign country):
  • 外国 (がいこく) (gaikoku)
  • 異 (い)邦 (ほう) (ihō)

• Doi, Tadao (1980) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Fukkoku Nihon Koten Zenshū: Setsuyōshū, Tōkyō: Gendai Shichō Shinsha, 2006, →ISBN