JAPANESE ADDRESSING SYSTEM
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The 'Japanese addressing system' is used to identify a specific location in Japan.
The system, based on areas, starts from the largest division, prefectures. They are suffixed with ''to'' (都, 'capital'), for Tokyo, ''fu'' (府, 'urban prefecture') for Osaka and Kyoto, ''dÅ'' (é“, 'circuit') for HokkaidÅ and ''ken'' (県, 'prefecture') for the rest. Conventionally, the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are almost always referenced without ''to'' or ''fu'', while HokkaidÅ is always with ''do''; without it, ''Hokkai'' means simply 'North Sea'.
Prefectures are then divided into ''shi'' (市, 'city') and ''gun'' (郡, 'district'), analogous to counties in the United States. Unlike U.S. cities, ''shi'' belong directly to prefectures (analogous to U.S. states), without a county level in between. Big cities are usually divided into ''ku'' (区, 'ward'), which in turn are divided into ''machi'' and ''chÅ'' (both written 町, 'town'). In particular, Tokyo is divided into the 23 special wards, each of which is equivalent to a big city. Rural districts are subdivided into ''machi'' (町, 'town') and ''mura'' (æ‘, 'village'). Subdivision under those rural municipalities are called ''chÅ'' or ''aza'' (å—, 'letter'). It is customary to include the district name when writing the address, unlike counties in the US. See also Municipalities of Japan.
The final three elements of the address are the city district (''chÅme'' ä¸ç›®), the city block (''banchi'' 番地) and finally the house number (''ban'' 番). ''ChÅme'' and ''banchi'' numbers are usually assigned by order of proximity to the center of the municipality. ''Ban'' numbers are usually assigned by clockwise order around the ''banchi'' city block. As these are all numbers, they are usually simply written as a string, 1-2-3, starting with the ''chÅme'' and ending in the ''ban''. In urban apartment buildings it is not unusual to add the apartment number as a fourth element. This three-element system is relatively new introduction, and is not completed in some areas such as older area of the cities or sparsely populated rural areas, where only the ''banchi'' is written after ''machi'' or ''aza''.
Street names are not used in postal addresses (except for Kyoto and some HokkaidÅ cities such as Sapporo), and most Japanese streets do not have names. ''Banchi'' blocks often have irregular shape, or ''banchi'' numbers were assigned by order of registration in older system, meaning that especially in older areas of the city they will not run in linear order. It is for this reason when giving directions to a location, most people will offer cross streets, visual landmarks and subway stations such as "at ChÅ«Å-dori and Matsuya-dori across the street from Matsuya and Ginza station", for the Apple Store in Tokyo. In fact, many small businesses have maps on their literature and business cards. In addition, signs attached to utility poles often specify the city district name and block number, and detailed block maps of the immediate area are sometimes posted near bus stops and train station exits.
In addition to the address itself, all locations in Japan have a postal code. After the reform of 1998, this is a seven-digit number written in the format 〒 ''DDD-DDDD'', where the symbol 〒 (''yūbin'') means 'post code'.
In Japanese, the address is written in order from largest unit to smallest, with the addressee's name last of all. For example, the address of the Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo [1] is:
:〒104-0061
æ±äº¬éƒ½ä¸å¤®åŒºéŠ€åº§3-5-12
サヱグサビル本館
''Apple Store''
However, the order is usually reversed when writing in Roman letters, to better suit Western conventions. The format recommended by Japan Post is:
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
5-12, Ginza 3-Chome,
ChÅ«Å-ku, Tokyo 104-0061''
where Tokyo is a prefecture, ChÅ«Å-ku is a special ward, 3-Chome Ginza is the name of a city district, 5-12 is the city block and building number, and Sayegusa Honkan is the name of the building at which the store resides. In practice it is common for the ''chÅme'' to be prefixed, as in Japanese, resulting in the somewhat shorter
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
Ginza 3-5-12, ChÅ«Å-ku,
Tokyo 104-0061''
or
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
3-5-12 Ginza, ChÅ«Å-ku,
Tokyo 104-0061''
The current addressing system was established after World War II as a slight modification of the scheme used since the Meiji era.
For historical reasons, names quite frequently conflict. In HokkaidŠmany place names are identical to names found in the rest of Japan; this is largely the result of past immigration into HokkaidŠof people from mainland Japan. Historians note that there is also a significant similarity between place names in Kansai region and those in northern Kyūshū. See Japanese place names for more.
★
★ Japanese telephone directory
★ Lookup Japanese addresses in English
| Contents |
| Address elements |
| Address order |
| History |
| References |
Address elements
The system, based on areas, starts from the largest division, prefectures. They are suffixed with ''to'' (都, 'capital'), for Tokyo, ''fu'' (府, 'urban prefecture') for Osaka and Kyoto, ''dÅ'' (é“, 'circuit') for HokkaidÅ and ''ken'' (県, 'prefecture') for the rest. Conventionally, the cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are almost always referenced without ''to'' or ''fu'', while HokkaidÅ is always with ''do''; without it, ''Hokkai'' means simply 'North Sea'.
Prefectures are then divided into ''shi'' (市, 'city') and ''gun'' (郡, 'district'), analogous to counties in the United States. Unlike U.S. cities, ''shi'' belong directly to prefectures (analogous to U.S. states), without a county level in between. Big cities are usually divided into ''ku'' (区, 'ward'), which in turn are divided into ''machi'' and ''chÅ'' (both written 町, 'town'). In particular, Tokyo is divided into the 23 special wards, each of which is equivalent to a big city. Rural districts are subdivided into ''machi'' (町, 'town') and ''mura'' (æ‘, 'village'). Subdivision under those rural municipalities are called ''chÅ'' or ''aza'' (å—, 'letter'). It is customary to include the district name when writing the address, unlike counties in the US. See also Municipalities of Japan.
The final three elements of the address are the city district (''chÅme'' ä¸ç›®), the city block (''banchi'' 番地) and finally the house number (''ban'' 番). ''ChÅme'' and ''banchi'' numbers are usually assigned by order of proximity to the center of the municipality. ''Ban'' numbers are usually assigned by clockwise order around the ''banchi'' city block. As these are all numbers, they are usually simply written as a string, 1-2-3, starting with the ''chÅme'' and ending in the ''ban''. In urban apartment buildings it is not unusual to add the apartment number as a fourth element. This three-element system is relatively new introduction, and is not completed in some areas such as older area of the cities or sparsely populated rural areas, where only the ''banchi'' is written after ''machi'' or ''aza''.
Street names are not used in postal addresses (except for Kyoto and some HokkaidÅ cities such as Sapporo), and most Japanese streets do not have names. ''Banchi'' blocks often have irregular shape, or ''banchi'' numbers were assigned by order of registration in older system, meaning that especially in older areas of the city they will not run in linear order. It is for this reason when giving directions to a location, most people will offer cross streets, visual landmarks and subway stations such as "at ChÅ«Å-dori and Matsuya-dori across the street from Matsuya and Ginza station", for the Apple Store in Tokyo. In fact, many small businesses have maps on their literature and business cards. In addition, signs attached to utility poles often specify the city district name and block number, and detailed block maps of the immediate area are sometimes posted near bus stops and train station exits.
In addition to the address itself, all locations in Japan have a postal code. After the reform of 1998, this is a seven-digit number written in the format 〒 ''DDD-DDDD'', where the symbol 〒 (''yūbin'') means 'post code'.
Address order
Example of the Japanese Addressing System
In Japanese, the address is written in order from largest unit to smallest, with the addressee's name last of all. For example, the address of the Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo [1] is:
:〒104-0061
æ±äº¬éƒ½ä¸å¤®åŒºéŠ€åº§3-5-12
サヱグサビル本館
''Apple Store''
However, the order is usually reversed when writing in Roman letters, to better suit Western conventions. The format recommended by Japan Post is:
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
5-12, Ginza 3-Chome,
ChÅ«Å-ku, Tokyo 104-0061''
where Tokyo is a prefecture, ChÅ«Å-ku is a special ward, 3-Chome Ginza is the name of a city district, 5-12 is the city block and building number, and Sayegusa Honkan is the name of the building at which the store resides. In practice it is common for the ''chÅme'' to be prefixed, as in Japanese, resulting in the somewhat shorter
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
Ginza 3-5-12, ChÅ«Å-ku,
Tokyo 104-0061''
or
:''Apple Store
Sayegusa Honkan
3-5-12 Ginza, ChÅ«Å-ku,
Tokyo 104-0061''
History
The current addressing system was established after World War II as a slight modification of the scheme used since the Meiji era.
For historical reasons, names quite frequently conflict. In HokkaidŠmany place names are identical to names found in the rest of Japan; this is largely the result of past immigration into HokkaidŠof people from mainland Japan. Historians note that there is also a significant similarity between place names in Kansai region and those in northern Kyūshū. See Japanese place names for more.
References
★
★ Japanese telephone directory
★ Lookup Japanese addresses in English
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