草薙剣

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

• 草薙の剣

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

• 天 (あまの)叢 (むら)雲 (くもの)剣 (つるぎ) (Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi)
• 草 (くさ)那 (な)芸 (ぎ)之 (の)大 (た)刀 (ち) (Kusanagi no Tachi)

See also

• 八 (や)咫 (たの)鏡 (かがみ) (Yata no Kagami)
• 八 (や)尺 (さか)瓊 (にの)勾 (まが)玉 (たま) (Yasakani no Magatama)

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