露西亜

Japanese
Kanji in this term
露 西 亜
ろ
Grade: S		 し
Grade: 2		 あ
Grade: S
Irregular

Etymology

This 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.[1]

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
  • (Irregular reading)

Proper noun

露西亜 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 露西亞, katakana ロシア, rōmaji Roshia)

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

Derived terms

References
  1. 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 978-4885954450, pages 4-5
  2. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
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