竜田川

竜田川

See also: 龍田川

Japanese

Kanji in this term
竜	田	川
たつ Grade: S	た Grade: 1	かわ > がわ Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
龍田川 (kyūjitai) 立田川

Etymology

From 竜田 (Tatsuta, a geographic region in northwestern Nara Prefecture) + 川 (kawa, “river”).

“pattern of scattering autumn leaves”

From the 283rd poem of the Kokin Wakashu:[1]

たつた川(がは)もみぢ乱(みだ)れてながるめりわたらば錦(にしき)中(なか)やたえなむ

Tatsuta-gawa momiji midarete nagarumeri wataraba nishiki naka ya taenan

Tatsuta River is floating with scattered autumn leaves; if I go across, the brocade stops halfway.

“bleeding”

From the 294th poem of the Kokin Wakashu (also Hyakunin Isshu, poem 17):[2]

ちはやぶる神(かみ)世(よ)も聞(き)かずたつた川(がは)から紅(くれなゐ)に水(みづ)くくるとは

chihayaburu kamiyo mo kikazu Tatsuta-gawa Kara-kurenai ni mizu kukuru to wa

Unheard even in the age of the mighty gods―the Tatsuta River tie-dying in Chinese crimson!

Proper noun

竜(たつ)田(た)川(がわ) • (Tatsuta-gawa) ^{←たつたがは (tatutagafa)?} (kyūjitai 龍田川)

1. a river in northwestern Nara Prefecture, a tributary of the 大和川 (Yamato-gawa, “Yamato River”)
2. Synonym of 千早振る (Chihayaburu): the title of a rakugo shaggy dog story

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:竜田川.

Noun

竜(たつ)田(た)川(がわ) • (Tatsuta-gawa) ^{←たつたがは (tatutagafa)?} (kyūjitai 龍田川)

1. a pattern of scattering autumn leaves in a flowing river

   Synonym: 竜田 (Tatsuta)

2. (figuratively) bleeding like a blood-red river flowing

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:竜田川.

References

1. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan