種子島

Japanese

Kanji in this term
種	子	島
たね		しま Grade: 3
Grade: 4	Grade: 1
jukujikun		kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
種が島 (“matchlock”) 多禰島 (“Tanegashima island”, rare, historical) 多禰嶋 (“Tanegashima island”, rare, historical)

種子島 (Tanegashima): the island of Tanegashima.

種子島 (Tanegashima): a Tanegashima gun, or matchlock.

Etymology

Analyzable as a compound of 種 (tane, “seed”) +‎ が (ga, ancient genitive or possessive particle) +‎ 島 (shima, “island”).

The 種子 spelling for the tane portion is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓), using the spelling from a Chinese-derived synonym.

First mentioned in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE with the spelling 多禰嶋, where 多禰 (tane) appears to be a phonetic spelling of 種 (tane, “seed”), and 嶋 is an alternative form of 島 (shima, “island”).

The matchlock sense arose as an abbreviation of either 種子島銃 (Tanegashima jū, literally “Tanegashima gun”) or 種子島鉄砲 (Tanegashima teppō, literally “Tanegashima cannon”), which names arose due to matchlocks first being imported to Japan by the Portuguese in 1543, via the island of Tanegashima.

This sense is first cited to a text from 1607, but it was likely in use before this date.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) たねが​しま [tànégáꜜshìmà] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ta̠ne̞ɡa̠ɕima̠]

Noun

種子島(たねがしま) • (tanegashima) 

1. [from 1607] 種が島: matchlock

   Synonyms: 火縄銃 (hinawa jū, literally “fire-rope gun”), 種子島銃 (Tanegashima jū, literally “Tanegashima gun”), 種子島鉄砲 (Tanegashima teppō, literally “Tanegashima cannon”)

2. [from 1573] a kind of fragrant aloeswood used for incense
3. [from 1700s] (slang, archaic) fugu (so named for the way that poorly-prepared fugu is deadly, like a matchlock)

   Synonyms: 河豚 (fugu), 鉄砲 (teppō, literally “cannon”)

Proper noun

種子島(たねがしま) • (Tanegashima) 

1. [from 720] 多禰島, 多禰嶋: Tanegashima (an island in Kagoshima Prefecture)
2. [from 1300s] a surname