Hi everyone!
I am a worldbuilder currently creating a fictional nation based on the japanese language (which I have a rudimentary understanding of – I am learning a bit!) and have decided to name the capital of this nation “white city”.
After some research, I have come to a bit of a standstill not sure which kanji would be more accurate or appropriate, if at all, namely between 白都 for (white capital) and 白京 (also… white capital?)!
From what I can tell, 京 would perhaps be more appropriate as it means quite literally capital (?) such as in Tokyo – 東京 or Kyoto – 京都 but also the japanese word for capital city seems to be 首都 and many other sites i’ve visited refer to “都” as capital rather than say, city?
I wouldn’t phrase this as a translation request, i’m just not understanding what the difference between the two is?
4 comments
It would be up to you, ultimately, but in Japanese literature many words had an associated accompanying phrase or substitute.
You might want to consider something like The Marble Walled Capital or something. Maybe in later years the phrase became something of a name itself.
Typically the presence of 京 would indicate a city was or is the capital city of a country.
都 would indicate that a city is a large city or metropolis, usually of importance that would rival a capital city if it wasn’t already one.
But they do have interchangeable usages
How about thinking about how to read 都as Miyako? Then, I think that a different idea may come to my mind. I interpret 都to mean the place where the emperor lives.
Personally, I’d go for Hakushu, or white state as 白州.
This has the benefit of also being the name of a [famous Japanese whiskey.](https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1080132&utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=Retail&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu-KiBhCsARIsAPztUF1JKg6DXPxTBtSyo1DDZP48lRL5KrMaBrOmZswhsUzA2WcsGlRbmm4aAmB5EALw_wcB)