ABSTRACT
Name.— By Marco Polo, tlie Empire is named Zipangu; and by the Chinese, Gipuanque : or, “ The Empire proceeding from the Sun” . Japon or Japan, appears to be a corrupt form of the Chinese term, introduced probably by the Portu guese or Italians. By the inhabitants, the empire, after the principal island, is designated Nipon, or euphoniously Nifon, which has the same signification as the Chinese term. Tenka is another name by which the empire is recognized : which signifies, “ The sub-celestial realm” . From this designation, the sovereign originally derived one of his titles : that of Tenka Sama, i. e., “ The Lord of Tenka” , or of the sub-celestial-empire.
