武蔵

/muzasi/ → /musaɕi/

From Old Japanese. Attested in the Kojiki spelled phonetically in man'yōgana as 无耶志 (​Muzashi).

Ultimate derivation unknown. One theory is based on an earlier placename, 身狭 (Musa), which was apparently divided into upper 身狭上 (Musa-gami) and lower 身狭下 (Musa-shimo) portions, roughly corresponding to the later provinces of 相模 (Sagami) and 武蔵 (Musashi). The modern name Sagami then arose as a corruption of Musa-gami, while Musashi derived from Musa-shimo. However, this may be only a folk etymology.

A separate theory suggests that Musashi derives from an old Ainu borrowing.^[1] Linguist Alexander Vovin derives this from ムンサリ (mun-sar-i) or ムンサリヒ (mun-sar-ihi, “weed-marsh-”), hypothetical Ainu forms that would mean "marsh/wetland of (i.e. belonging to) weeds/inedible or otherwise useless plants," and Musashi sits in the middle of the Kantō Plain.^[2] However, John Batchelor's 1905 Ainu dictionary and grammar includes no mention of a possessive suffix -i or -ihi.^[3] Another possible Ainu source could be ムンサシㇼ (mun sa shir, “nettle plain land”).^[3]

The kanji spelling 武藏 probably first appeared in the Wamyō Ruijushō of 938 CE, but that origin is also unknown.

• IPA^(key):

武(む)蔵(さし) • (Musashi) 

1. Musashi Province: a region of old Japan consisting of modern-day Tokyo, Saitama, and Kanagawa prefectures.
2. a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II (see Japanese battleship Musashi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia ) (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
3. a place name
4. a surname
5. a female given name

• 武(ぶ)州(しゅう) (Bushū)

Various nanori readings.

武蔵(たけくら) • (Takekura) 

1. a surname

武蔵(たけぞう) • (Takezō) 

1. a surname
2. a male given name (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

武蔵(ぶぞう) • (Buzō) 

1. a male given name (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

武蔵(むぞう) • (Muzō) 

1. a surname