Hard-to-read place names in the Kansai region

So, you think you've figured out how to read Japanese? Are you proud you've memorized 1,000 kanji? I've got something fun for you -- here are some place names in the Kansai region that are difficult even for us Japanese.

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Think hard, make your guesses, and then go to the Answers page.

Kyoto Prefecture

1. 祇園 -- Kyoto's traditional entertainment quarter.
2. 蹴上 -- To go from Kyoto to Otsu, you go through here.
3. 黄檗 -- A town near Uji, home of the eponymous Buddhist sect.
4. 鞍馬 -- Famous for its tengu legend and the Fire Festival.
5. 烏丸 -- A major thoroughfare in central Kyoto.
6. 太秦 -- Home of the Toei movie studios.
7. 糺の森 -- Part of the Kamigamo Shrine's sacred grounds.
8. 壬生 -- Famous as the headquarters of the Shinsengumi, a pro-shogunate band of warriors during the Meiji Restoration.
9. 先斗町 -- The north end of the 祇園 quarter. Its name comes from Portuguese.

Answers

Osaka Prefecture

1. 浪速 -- The archaic name for the northern half of Osaka prefecture, literally "fast waves".
2. 十三 -- A major junction of the Hankyu railway system.
3. 船場 -- Formerly the center of the city of Osaka, so named because cargo was offloaded from ships here.
4. 内代 -- A town in the north of Osaka.
5. 門真 -- Home of Matsushita, makers of the Panasonic line of electric appliances.
6. 水走 -- A town in Higashi-Osaka.
7. 住道 -- A town to the east of Osaka.

Answers

Hyogo Prefecture

1. 青木 -- A port in the east of Kobe, with ferrys to Shikoku and Kyushu.
2. 逆瀬川 -- A river near the city of Takarazuka.
3. 鵯越 -- If you know your Heike Monogatari (The Tale of Heike), this is the cliff that the Genji army climbed down to surprise the Heike at Ichinotani.
4. 垂水 -- A town in the west of Kobe.
5. 赤穂 -- Home of the 47 samurai who avenged their lord, remembered in the popular tale Chushingura.
6. 英賀保 -- A town to the west of Himeji, close to 赤穂.
7. 有年 -- Another town in the vicinity.
8. 相生 -- Yet another town in the vicinity.

Answers

Nara Prefecture

1. 大和 -- The archaic name for what is now Nara prefecture. Later one of the names for Japan, and also the name of a Japanese battleship (the world's biggest, sunk off Okinawa in 1945).
2. 天香久山 -- One of the fabled Three Mountains of 大和.
3. 畝傍山 -- Ditto.
4. 耳成山 -- Ditto.

Answers

Shiga Prefecture

1. 信楽 -- Famous for its ceramics, in particular the tanuki figurines.
2. 和迩 -- Named after an ancient family of artisans who came from China.
3. 愛知川 -- The name of this river is not Aichigawa.

Answers