YAMANASHI – Mountain Pear 山梨県
Japan’s only fruity prefectural name! There are multiple theories regarding the origin of the name “Yamanashi.”
・Theory 1: According to the prefecture’s website, one theory is that the locality had a lot of wild Japanese pears called yamanashi (literally mountain pears or Pyrus pyrifolia).
Such pears are served raw with the skin peeled. Expensive fruit, often gifted. However, Yamanashi Prefecture’s official tree is the kaede maple, not the pear tree. How disappointing for pear growers!
・Theory 2: It might have come from the expression Yama narashi (山ならし) meaning to flatten the mountain. The mountain that got flattened or reduced in size into a hill might have been Mt. Daizokyoji-yama (大蔵経山) near Kofu. At the foot was the original Yamanashi Village. This low mountain (715 m) indeed has a flat top.
・Theory 3: Yamanashi can also mean “no mountain” (山無し), so it refers to flat land, namely next to the foot of the mountain.
・In 1871, the prefecture was named after Yamanashi District, one of the prefecture’s four districts (山梨、八代、巨摩、都留) where the prefectural capital was located (Kofu).
Old province name: Kai-no-Kuni (甲斐国)
*The AI-generated image is for illustrative purposes only and may not accurately depict any particular place in the prefecture.
*Major reference sources: Official prefectural website, Japanese Wikipedia, other websites.
Origin of other prefectural names (etymologies)
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