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山

On'yomi
サン・セン
SAN / SEN
Kun'yomi
やま
yama

mountain

Details

Strokes3
Frequency#131
Radical山mountain(3)

Description

Mountain - three peaks in a row. In Japan mountains are not scenery but sacred ground and places of training.

Stroke Order

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Strokes3

Cultural Context

Etymology

Pictograph depicting three connected mountain peaks.

Symbolism

Nature, sacred, place of training. Deeply rooted in Japanese culture as objects of mountain worship.

Spiritual Meaning

Sacred dwelling place of gods in Shinto. Mountain worship forms the basis of Shugendō; the spirituality of "mountains as sacred grounds" is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

Related Culture & Scenes

  • — Aiming for the mountain peak

Component Breakdown

山=
山

Mountain (base form)

Words & Expressions

Words written with 山

沢山たくさんlot
小山こやまknoll
山形やまがたcone
山葵わさびwasabi
山賊さんぞくbandit

Four-Character Compounds

海千山千

うみせんやません

cunning and experienced in the ways of the world; crafty and worldly-wise; sly old (fox)

山紫水明

さんしすいめい

scenic beauty

物見遊山

ものみゆさん

going on a pleasure jaunt

深山幽谷

しんざんゆうこく

deep mountain valleys

泰山北斗

たいざんほくと

great authority; eminent person; luminary

風林火山

ふうりんかざん

as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain

山川草木

さんせんそうもく

nature; natural scenery

大山鳴動

たいざんめいどう

big fuss over nothing; much cry and little wool; much ado about nothing

千山万水

せんざんばんすい

many mountains and rivers; a great distance to travel

雲雨巫山

うんうふざん

sexual liaison

高山流水

こうざんりゅうすい

high mountains and running water; the beauty of nature; beautifully (skillfully) played music

山容水態

さんようすいたい

scenic beauty of mountains and streams; fresh and clear beauty of nature's splendor

屍山血河

しざんけつが

heaps of bodies and streams of blood; fierce battle

抜山蓋世

ばつざんがいせい

great strength and energy (of a mighty hero); Herculean strength and vitality

巫山雲雨

ふざんうんう

sexual liaison

泰山圧卵

たいざんあつらん

the strong overwhelming the weak; completing various things without difficulty; Mt. Tai crushes an egg

Proverbs & Idioms

山あり谷あり

やまありたにあり

Mountains and valleys

Life has its ups and downs

塵も積もれば山となる

ちりもつもればやまとなる

Even dust piles up to make a mountain

Small efforts accumulate to great results

Poetry

和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

春すぎて 夏来にけらし 白妙の 衣ほすてふ 天の香具山

Spring has gone and summer seems to have come — white robes are spread to dry, they say, on Mount Amanokagu.

持統天皇Empress Jitō
7th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

あしびきの 山鳥の尾の しだり尾の ながながし夜を ひとりかも寝む

Long as the trailing tail of the mountain pheasant is this long, long night. Must I sleep through it alone?

柿本人麻呂Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
7th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

奥山に もみぢ踏み分け 鳴く鹿の 声聞く時ぞ 秋は悲しき

Deep in the hills a stag treads through fallen maple leaves and cries. Hearing it, autumn is saddest of all.

猿丸大夫Sarumaru Dayū
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

天の原 ふりさけ見れば 春日なる 三笠の山に 出でし月かも

Gazing far across the plain of heaven — is this the same moon that rose over Mount Mikasa at Kasuga?

安倍仲麿Abe no Nakamaro
8th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

わが庵は 都のたつみ しかぞすむ 世をうぢ山と 人はいふなり

My hut lies southeast of the capital and here I live content, yet people call it Mount Uji, the hill of gloom.

喜撰法師Kisen Hōshi
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

立ち別れ いなばの山の 峰に生ふる まつとし聞かば 今帰り来む

Though I leave for Mount Inaba, if I hear that you are waiting, like the pines on its peak, I will come straight back.

中納言行平Chūnagon Yukihira
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

吹くからに 秋の草木の しをるれば むべ山風を 嵐といふらむ

No sooner does it blow than the autumn grasses wither — no wonder they write the mountain wind as 'storm'.

文屋康秀Fun'ya no Yasuhide
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

このたびは ぬさもとりあへず 手向山 紅葉のにしき 神のまにまに

This journey left no time to prepare offerings. Take instead, O gods, the brocade of maple leaves on Mount Tamuke.

菅家Sugawara no Michizane
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

名にしおはば 逢坂山の さねかづら 人に知られで くるよしもがな

If it lives up to its name — the vine of Mount Osaka, the hill of meeting — let it bring you to me unseen.

三条右大臣Sanjō no Udaijin
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

小倉山 峰のもみぢ葉 心あらば 今ひとたびの みゆき待たなむ

Maple leaves on the peak of Ogura, if you have any heart, wait for one more imperial visit before you fall.

貞信公Teishin Kō
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

山里は 冬ぞさびしさ まさりける 人めも草も かれぬと思へば

A mountain village is loneliest in winter, when I think how both the visitors and the grasses have gone.

源宗于朝臣Minamoto no Muneyuki
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

山川に 風のかけたる しがらみは 流れもあへぬ 紅葉なりけり

The weir the wind has thrown across the mountain stream turns out to be maple leaves, unable to flow on.

春道列樹Harumichi no Tsuraki
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

契りきな かたみに袖を しぼりつつ 末の松山 波越さじとは

Did we not promise, wringing out each other's sleeves, that waves would never cross Sue-no-Matsuyama?

清原元輔Kiyohara no Motosuke
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

ありま山 ゐなの笹原 風吹けば いでそよ人を 忘れやはする

When the wind blows through the bamboo grass of Ina, below Mount Arima — well then, could I ever forget you?

大弐三位Daini no Sanmi
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

大江山 いく野の道の 遠ければ まだふみも見ず 天の橋立

Mount Oe and the road through Ikuno are far. I have never set foot there, nor even seen a letter from Amanohashidate.

小式部内侍Koshikibu no Naishi
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

もろともに あはれと思へ 山桜 花よりほかに 知る人もなし

Mountain cherry, feel for me as I feel for you. Here there is no one who knows me but your blossoms.

前大僧正行尊Saki no Daisōjō Gyōson
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

あらし吹く み室の山の もみぢ葉は 竜田の川の 錦なりけり

The maple leaves blown from Mount Mimuro by the storm have become the brocade of the Tatsuta River.

能因法師Nōin Hōshi
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

高砂の をのへの桜 咲きにけり 外山のかすみ 立たずもあらなむ

The cherries on the high slopes of Takasago have bloomed. May the mist on the nearer hills not rise to hide them.

前中納言匡房前中納言匡房
Unknown
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

憂かりける 人を初瀬の 山おろしよ はげしかれとは 祈らぬものを

Wind off the mountains of Hatsuse, I prayed that she might soften toward me, not that you should blow so fiercely.

源俊頼朝臣源俊頼朝臣
Unknown
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

世の中よ 道こそなけれ 思ひ入る 山の奥にも 鹿ぞ鳴くなる

There is no road out of this world. Even deep in the mountains where I fled, a stag is crying.

皇太后宮大夫俊成Kōtaigōgū no Daibu Toshinari
12th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

み吉野の 山の秋風 さ夜ふけて ふるさと寒く 衣うつなり

Autumn wind off the mountains of Yoshino; the night deepens, the old village is cold, and someone is beating cloth.

参議雅経Sangi Masatsune
13th century

Anime & Manga

山田くんとLv999の恋をする

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Anime

A well-known work with 山 in its Japanese title.

山田くんと7人の魔女

Yamada and the Seven Witches

Anime

A well-known work with 山 in its Japanese title.

潔癖男子! 青山くん

Clean Freak! Aoyama kun

Anime

A well-known work with 山 in its Japanese title.

最果てのパラディン 鉄錆の山の王

The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountains

Anime

A well-known work with 山 in its Japanese title.

神々の山嶺

The Summit of the Gods

Manga

A well-known work with 山 in its Japanese title.

Games

登山の達人/風来のシレン

Shiren the Wanderer(1995)

Nintendo/PlayStation

Developer: Spike Chunsoft

Roguelike RPG conquering dungeons (mountains).

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Related Figures & Stories

山縣有朋

Yamagata Aritomo1838–1922

Name contains 山

Prince Yamagata Aritomo was a Japanese statesman and general who twice served as prime minister of Japan, in 1889–1891 and 1898–1900.

Wikipedia

山本権兵衛

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe1852–1933

Name contains 山

Yamamoto Gonbē, also called Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again…

Wikipedia

石橋湛山

Tanzan Ishibashi1884–1973

Name contains 山

Tanzan Ishibashi was a Japanese journalist and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1956 to 1957.

Wikipedia

東山天皇

Higashiyama1675–1710

Name contains 山

Emperor Higashiyama , personal name Asahito, was the 113th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Wikipedia

Other kanji with the same meaning

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 山 mean in Japanese?

山 means mountain. Mountain - three peaks in a row. In Japan mountains are not scenery but sacred ground and places of training.

How do you read 山?

On'yomi: サン、セン (SAN, SEN). Kun'yomi: やま (yama).

How many strokes does 山 have?

山 has 3 strokes. Its radical is 山 (mountain).

Is 山 a good kanji for a tattoo?

山 is one of the kanji most often chosen for tattoos. It means mountain. Read the full meaning and cultural background on this page first — some popular choices are deliberately dark.

Explore by meaning:mountain