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Updated 1/29/04

A quick guide for understanding Tokyo place names

Ted Bestor

Harvard University

Foreign Cultures 84, Tokyo

Place names give clues to Tokyo’s historical origins and geographical features that may no longer be clearly visible in the modern cityscape.  Here are a couple of dozen terms that frequently appear in Tokyo’s place names (followed by examples from Tokyo’s rail and subway stations, major districts, and other prominent landmarks).

ba – a term simply meaning “place” – Kiba (Lumber Place)

-chō –– a suffix meaning district or neighborhood; in pre-industrial Edo, neighborhoods were often semi-autonomous communities organized around types of business or occupations  -- Ningyō-chō (The Doll District)

-chōme –– a modern suffix for a municipal sub-district, often a sub-division of a chō or machi -- Ginza 4-chōme (Ginza 4^th district)

dai – an elevation or plateau (Takanawadai, Takanawa Heights)

ike – a pond or lake – Shinobazu-ike (Shinobazu Pond)

hashi (or bashi) – bridge -- Nihonbashi (Japan Bridge), Kyōbashi (Capital Bridge) 

higashi – east – Higashi Ginza

hori (or bori) – a moat or canal, dozens of which were dug to protect Edo Castle in the 17^th century -- Sotobori (Outer Moat), Hatchōbori (Hatchō Moat)

-ji  -- suffix for a Buddhist temple

jinja (also jingu, sometimes just gu) – terms for Shintō shrines -- Jingu Mae (In front of the Shrine), Suitengu (Water God Shrine)

juku – “post-towns” or “stations” where travelers could find lodgings on the old highways linking Edo to other parts of the country, such as the famous Tōkaidō (The Eastern Ocean Road) linking Edo to Kyoto -- Shinjuku (New Station), Harajuku (Field Station)

kami – upper -- Kamishakuji

kawa (or gawa) – river or canal -- Shinagawa, Edogawa

kita – north – Kita-ku (North Ward)

ku – major municipal subdivisions of the city: wards or boroughs; today Tokyo includes 23 ku -- Minato-ku, Meguro-ku, etc.

machi – a synonym for –chō, a district or neighborhood -- Tamachi (Field District) 

-mae – “in front of,” a suffix often attached to the name of a prominent landmark (e.g., the Mitsukoshi Department Store) to create a station name -- Mitsukoshimae (In front of Mitsukoshi)

maru – (literally, “circle”) the walls or enclosed fortifications of a castle – Marunouchi (Inside the Walls), Kita-no-maru (Northern Compound)

minami – south – Minami Shinagawa

mitsuke – watchtowers guarding Edo castle -- Akasaka Mitsuke (Akasaka Watchtower)

mon – gates, particularly of palaces, shrines or temples -- Toranomon (Tiger Gate), Daimon (Great Gate), Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) 

nishi – west – Nishi Azabu

oka (sometimes gaoka) – a hill or elevation -- Jiyūgaoka

saka (or zaka) – a slope or hill -- Akasaka (Red Hill), Dōgenzaka (Dōgen’s Hill) 

sawa (or zawa) – a marsh or swamp --  Tokorozawa

seki – checkpoints guarding protected access to the city -- Kasumigaseki (Misty Barrier) 

shima (or jima) – island -- Tsukudajima (Tsukuda Island)

shimo – lower – Shimokitazawa

soto – outer or external -- Sotobori (Outer Moat)

tani (or dani) – valley -- Uguisudani (Nightingale Valley)

tera (or dera) – a term for a Buddhist temple

uchi – inside or inner -- Uchibori (Inner Moat), Uchisaiwai-chō (Inner Saiwai District)

ya – valley -- Yotsuya (Four Valleys)