Cipangu
From Free net encyclopedia
- This article is about the medieval European name of Japan, for the manga series, see Zipang (manga).
Template:Mergeto Cipangu, or variations thereof (Cipango, Zipangu, etc...), was the name used for Japan in Europe during the Middle Ages.
The name derives from the Chinese pronunciation for Japan (Chinese: 日本国; Pinyin: Ribenguo), "sun origin". "Guo" is Chinese for 'realm', 'kingdom', thus "Japan-guo".
Cipangu was first mentioned in Europe in the accounts of the travels of Marco Polo. It appears for the first time on a European map with the Fra Mauro map in 1457, although it appears much earlier on Chinese and Korean maps such as the Kangnido.
Following the accounts of Marco Polo, Cipangu was thought to be fabulously rich in silver and gold, which in Medieval times was largely correct, owing to the volcanism of the islands and the possibility to access precious ores without resorting to (unavailable) deep-mining technologies.