麻布

麻布

1. linen cloth; hemp cloth

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

麻織物 (Hemp textiles)

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Hemp

Wikipedia

Compound of Old Japanese elements 麻 (asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 布 (nuno, “woven cloth other than silk”).^[1][2]

• (Tokyo) あさぬの (Heiban – )^[2]
• IPA^(key):

麻(あさ)布(ぬの) • (asanuno) 

1. cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

This appears to be the most common term for hempen cloth.

Compound of 麻 (asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 布 (fu, “woven cloth”).^[1] This uses the on'yomi of fu for 布, deriving from Middle Chinese 布 (pu^H); compare modern Mandarin reading bù.

• IPA^(key):

麻(あさ)布(ふ) • (asafu) 

1. (obsolete) cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

This term appears to be used in modern Japanese. It is not included in the Shinmeikai monolingual Japanese dictionary,^[3] nor in the Daijirin monolingual Japanese dictionary.^[2]

Most likely a compound of Old Japanese elements 麻 (asa, “hemp, ramie”) +‎ 生 (fu, “place where things grow”), given that the Azabu area was known in ancient times as a place for growing hemp or ramie.^[1]

This fu element also appears in terms such as 粟生 (awafu, “a field for growing millet”)^[1][2] and 豆生, 豆田 (mamefu, “a field for growing beans”).^[1] The use of 布 to spell the fu portion would be an example of ateji, probably influenced by the way that hemp is used to make cloth (布).

The reasons for the shift in pronunciation from asafu to azabu remain unclear.

• IPA^(key):

麻(あざ)布(ぶ) • (Azabu) 

1. Azabu (an area in Minato, Tokyo)

麻(あざ)布(ぶ) • (azabu) -na (adnominal 麻(あざ)布(ぶ)な (azabu na), adverbial 麻(あざ)布(ぶ)に (azabu ni))

1. (dated) of unknown intent

   This usage developed from the idiom. See Idioms below for details.

   • 何事も麻布にて、様々どうらくをなし給ふ^[4]

     なにごともあざぶにて、さまざまどうらくをなしたまふ

     Nanigoto mo azabu ni te, samazama dōraku o nashitamau...

     Everything of real intentions is unknown, and amuses himself with various diversions...

• 麻布(あざぶ)で気(き)が知(し)れぬ (azabu de ki ga shirenu): “you can't figure out the feeling in Azabu” → based on a pun on the phrase “you can't figure out the trees in Azabu”, substituting 気 (ki, “sense, intent, feeling”) for 木 (ki, “tree”), appearing in print in 1763. This derives from the way that the Azabu area includes the Roppongi neighborhood. Although Roppongi is spelled as 六本木 (“six trees”), there have not been any trees in the area that would match this description for quite some time.^[1][2]

From Middle Chinese compound 麻布 (mæ pu^H). Compare modern Mandarin reading mábù.

• (Tokyo) まふ (Atamadaka – )^[2]
• IPA^(key):

麻(ま)布(ふ) • (mafu) 

1. (rare) cloth woven of hemp or ramie, similar to linen

This term appears to be less commonly used. It is not included in the Shinmeikai monolingual Japanese dictionary.^[3]