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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