This fascinating divide is between endonyms (the name used by the locals) and exonyms (the name used by foreigners). The story of why we call it Japan is a perfect entry point into this world, a journey that involves Marco Polo, Portuguese traders, and a series of historical mishearings.

The Long Journey from Nippon to Japan

To understand the name “Japan”, we first have to look at its endonym: 日本. These two Japanese characters, or kanji, mean “sun’s origin.” It’s a poetic and evocative name, giving us the popular moniker “The Land of the Rising Sun.” In Japanese, these characters can be pronounced in two primary ways: Nippon (にっぽん) and Nihon (にほん).

• Nippon is considered more formal and official. You’ll find it on postage stamps, currency (the yen), and used in international sporting events like the Olympics.
• Nihon is more common in everyday speech and is the more contemporary pronunciation.

So, if the Japanese call their country Nippon or Nihon, where did “Japan” come from? The answer, ironically, comes from China, by way of Europe.

The famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo is often credited with introducing Japan to the West in his 13th-century writings. However, he never actually set foot in Japan. He learned of its existence while in China during the Yuan Dynasty. The Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 日本 at the time sounded something like Rìběn. But Polo likely didn’t hear it from court officials in the capital. Instead, he probably heard a southern Chinese dialect version, perhaps from Shanghainese or Min Nan speakers, where the pronunciation was closer to Jat-bun or Zeppen.

Marco Polo transcribed this sound into Italian as Cipangu or Zipangu. This name, “Cipangu”, fired the imaginations of Europeans, conjuring images of a fabled land of gold.

Fast forward a couple of centuries to the Age of Discovery. When Portuguese traders finally reached the region in the 16th century, they also encountered the name through Malay or Chinese intermediaries. The Portuguese language rendered the sound as Japão. From there, the name spread through European trade networks. The Dutch adopted it as Japan (pronounced with a “Y” sound), and it was this version that English speakers borrowed and anglicized into the pronunciation we use today. “Japan” is essentially a third-hand, Europeanized version of a Chinese dialectal pronunciation of the country’s native name.

Why Endonyms and Exonyms Exist: A Global Pattern

The story of Japan is not unique. This endonym/exonym split happens for several key reasons, and understanding them helps us read the hidden history on our maps.

1. Historical Mishearing and Transliteration

Like Japan, many exonyms are simply the result of one language trying to approximate the sounds of another. The name gets passed along like a message in the game of telephone, changing slightly with each new language it encounters until it settles into a form that bears little resemblance to the original.

2. Naming a Country After a Part of It

This is famously the case with Germany (Deutschland). The endonym, Deutschland, comes from the Old High German word diutisc, meaning “of the people.” It’s a name that signifies a unified identity.

The exonyms, however, come from how different neighbors perceived the region.

• The English “Germany” and Italian “Germania” come from the Latin Germania, a name the Romans gave the region after encountering a specific tribe, the Germani.
• The French “Allemagne” and Spanish “Alemania” come from another tribe, the Alemanni.
• The Finnish “Saksa” comes from yet another tribe, the Saxons.

They were all naming the whole forest after a single tree they saw first.

3. The Legacy of Colonialism and Ancient Empires

The name India is an exonym with ancient roots. It derives from the Indus River. The Persians, who lived west of the river, called the region “Hind.” The ancient Greeks picked up this name, dropped the “H”, and called it “India.” This name was then passed down through Latin and into English. The primary endonym, Bharat, has deep cultural and religious significance, tracing back to the mythological King Bharata from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The modern Republic of India uses both names in its constitution, acknowledging both its international identity and its ancient heritage.

4. Simple Phonetic Difference

Sometimes, a name is just easier for outsiders to say. Take Finland. The Finnish people call their home Suomi. The origins of “Suomi” are debated, but it’s a Finno-Ugric word with deep roots. “Finland”, on the other hand, is a Germanic name, likely from Old Norse, meaning “land of the Finns.” For speakers of Indo-European languages, “Finland” was simply easier to adopt and has stuck for centuries.

A Wider World of Names

Once you start looking, you see this pattern everywhere:

• China: The endonym is Zhongguo (中国), meaning “Middle Kingdom.” The exonym “China” likely comes from the Qin (pronounced “chin”) Dynasty.
• Greece: The endonym is Hellas. “Greece” comes from the Latin Graecia.
• Egypt: The endonym is Misr. “Egypt” comes from the Greek Aigyptos.
• Hungary: The endonym is Magyarország (“Land of the Magyars”). “Hungary” likely refers to the Onogur, a confederation of tribes.

Does It Matter? The Politics of Naming

In our post-colonial, interconnected world, names carry weight. A name can be a relic of a colonial past or a banner of national pride. Because of this, some countries have made official requests to the world to use their endonym instead of the common exonym.

We’ve seen this with Türkiye (formerly Turkey), Czechia (the short-form of the Czech Republic), and Côte d’Ivoire (which officially requested to stop being called Ivory Coast). These changes are about reclaiming identity, shedding colonial baggage, and asserting how a nation sees itself on the world stage.

As for Japan, there is no major international push to change its English name. “Japan” is a globally recognized brand. But within the country, the dual identity of Nippon and Nihon reflects its own complex history—a formal, proud identity coexisting with a softer, everyday one.

So, the next time you hear “Japan”, remember the long, winding road that name took—from Chinese boat docks to Marco Polo’s journals to Portuguese ships and finally into our modern vocabulary. The names on our maps aren’t just labels; they are artifacts, each telling a rich story of culture, conflict, and connection.