草薙剣

Japanese

草薙の剣 (Kusanagi no Tsurugi): Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan, with Kusanagi no Tsurugi on the left
Kanji in this term
草 薙 剣
くさ
Grade: 1		 なぎ
Jinmeiyō		 つるぎ
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology

Phrase consisting of 草 (kusa, “grass”) +‎ 薙 (nagi, “cutting; mowing”, the continuative or stem form of the verb 薙ぐ (nagu, “to cut; to mow”)) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 剣 (tsurugi, “double-edged sword”).[1]

The name derives from a legend wherein the sword was used to cut grass, thereby saving the wielder from a deliberately-set fire. See the Wikipedia article for details.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) くさなぎのつるぎ​ [kùsánágí nó tsúrúgíꜜ] (Odaka – [o])[2]
  • IPA(key): [kɯ̟̊ᵝsa̠na̠ɡʲi no̞ t͡sɨᵝɾɯ̟ᵝɡʲi]

Proper noun

草薙剣 (hiragana くさなぎのつるぎ, rōmaji Kusanagi no Tsurugi)

  1. the "Grasscutting Longsword", one of the three sacred treasures comprising the Imperial Regalia of Japan

Synonyms

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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