蝦夷

		shrimp; prawn	safe; to raze; to exterminate safe; to raze; to exterminate; barbarian
trad. (蝦夷)		蝦	夷
simp. (虾夷)		虾	夷
alternative forms		蝦蛦／虾蛦

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 蝦夷 (Emishi, Ezo).

蝦夷

1. Emishi (ancient ethnic group living in eastern Japan)

Kanji in this term
蝦	夷
えぞ
Jinmeiyō	Jinmeiyō
jukujikun

First cited in the 久安百首 (Kyūan Hyaku Shu, “Hundred Songs of the Kyūan Era”) of 1153.^[1]

There are conflicting theories regarding the derivation of the term Ezo. The Daijirin, Shinmeikai, and Gakken dictionaries all suggest that Ezo may be a borrowing from Ainu エンチウ, enciw (“person; people, humanity”),^[2][3][4] presumably via a phonological shift somewhat like the below:

/ent͡siw/ → */ent͡ʃiu/ → */ent͡ʃu/ → */end͡ʑu/ → /ezo/

The Kokugo Dai Jiten dictionary instead derives synonymous reading Emishi from enciw,^[1] but the phonological shifts required for such a derivation seem unlikely.

• (Tokyo) えぞ [éꜜzò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [e̞zo̞]

蝦夷(えぞ) • (Ezo) 

1. [from 1153] (historical) those people living in the northeast of Japan, regardless of ethnicity, with customs and culture and government that differ from the central Japanese imperial state
2. [from 1485] (historical) an ancient ethnic group that once lived in what is now the 関東 (Kantō), 北陸 (Hokuriku) and 東北 (Tōhoku) regions, likely as far as Hokkaido; likely related to the Ainu people
   • 1153, Kyūan Hyakushu (poem 34 by Fujiwara no Chikataka)

     えぞが住(す)む津(つ)軽(がろ)の野辺(のべ)の萩盛(はぎさか)りこや錦(にしき)木(ぎ)の立(た)てるなるらん

     Ezo ga sumu Tsugaro-no-nobe no hagi sakari koya nishikigi no taterunaruran

     In Tsugaro^[sic] where the Ezo live, the fields are abloom with clover; by now they will be setting up wooden trees, brocaded with desire.^[5]

   Synonyms: 蝦夷 (Emishi), 夷 (Ebisu)

3. (regional) short for 蝦夷松 (Ezo matsu): Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis)

• 蝦夷(えぞ)地(ち) (Ezochi, broadly, Hokkaidō, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, literally “Ezo Land”)
• 赤(あか)蝦夷(えぞ) (Akaezo, Japanese term for Russians in the Kuril Islands, literally “red Ezo”)

蝦夷(えぞ) • (Ezo) 

1. (historical) short for 蝦夷地 (Ezochi): collective name for Hokkaido (mostly), the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin before the Meiji period

• → English: Ezo, Yezo

• 樺太(からふと) (Karafuto, “Sakhalin”)
• 千(ち)島(しま) (Chishima, “Kuril Islands”)
• えびすめ

Kanji in this term
蝦	夷
えみし
Jinmeiyō	Jinmeiyō
jukujikun

⟨emi₁si⟩ → */emʲisɨ/ → /emiɕi/

From Old Japanese 蝦夷 (Emi₁si). First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720, where the word is also found with the phonetic man'yōgana spelling 愛瀰詩 (Emi₁si).^[6] Further derivation unclear. Possibly from Ainu emush or emus (“sword”) via metonymous use to refer to a warrior.

According to the Kojiki-den, the kanji spelling 蝦 (“shrimp”) + 夷 (“barbarian”) is in reference to their hairiness and savagery.^[7]

• (Tokyo) えみし [éꜜmìshì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[7][2][8]
• IPA^(key): [e̞mʲiɕi]

蝦夷(えみし) • (Emishi) 

1. [from 720] (historical, archaic) an ancient ethnic group that once lived on what is now the 関東 (Kantō), 北陸 (Hokuriku) and 東北 (Tōhoku) regions, likely as far as Hokkaido; likely related to the Ainu people

This term is considered as an insult to modern Ainu people.

• → English: Emishi, Yemishi

蝦夷(えみし) • (Emishi) 

1. short for 蘇我蝦夷 (Soga no Emishi): Asuka-period statesman of the Yamato court, son of Soga no Umako and father of Soga no Iruka

Kanji in this term
蝦	夷
えびす
Jinmeiyō	Jinmeiyō
jukujikun

⟨emi₁si⟩ → */emʲisɨ/ → /emisʉ/ → /emisu/ → /ebisu/

Either a shift from Emishi or directly from Emisu, with the nasal /m/ becoming a plosive /b/. This reading is traditionally ascribed to the 蝦夷 spelling in the 肥前国風土記 (Hizen no Kuni no Fudoki) of the 730s,^[6] but the first unambiguous instance of this reading appears in the 宇津保物語 (Utsubo Monogatari) of the late 900s.^[6]

• (Tokyo) えびす [éꜜbìsù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][8]
• IPA^(key): [e̞bʲisɨ]

蝦夷(えびす) • (Ebisu) 

1. [from 730s, or from late 900s] (historical, archaic) an ancient ethnic group that once lived on what is now the 関東 (Kantō), 北陸 (Hokuriku) and 東北 (Tōhoku) regions, likely as far as Hokkaido; likely related to the Ainu people

• 夷(えびす), 戎(えびす) (ebisu, “barbarian; foreigner”)
• 東(あずま)蝦夷(えびす) (azuma ebisu, “eastern Emishi or barbarians”)

Kanji in this term
蝦	夷
えみす
Jinmeiyō	Jinmeiyō
jukujikun

⟨emi₁si⟩ → */emʲisɨ/ → /emisʉ/ → /emisu/

Shift from Emishi. This reading appears in the Heian-period Nihon Shoki Shiki, a lectural interpretation of the Nihon Shoki compiled in different editions, from the years 721 through 967.

• (Tokyo) えみす [éꜜmìsù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [e̞mʲisɨ]

蝦夷(えみす) • (Emisu) 

1. (historical, rare) an ancient ethnic group that once lived on what is now the 関東 (Kantō), 北陸 (Hokuriku) and 東北 (Tōhoku) regions, likely as far as Hokkaido; likely related to the Ainu people

• 陸奥(みちのく) (Michinoku)

Borrowed from Ainu, either from エンジュ (*enzyu) or エㇺチウ (*emchiu), both meaning “man, person”.^[1][2]

According to the Kojiki-den, the kanji spelling 蝦 (“shrimp”) + 夷 (“barbarian”) is in reference to their hairiness and savagery.^[3]

蝦夷 (Emi₁si) (kana えみし)

1. an ancient ethnic group that once lived on eastern and northeastern Japan and was possibly related to the Ainu people
   • 720, Nihon Shoki (poem 11)^[4]

     愛瀰詩烏毗儾利毛毛那比苔比苔破易陪廼毛多牟伽毗毛勢儒

     Emi₁si wo pi₁dari momo na pi₁to₂ pi₁to₂ pa ipe₂do₂ mo tamukapi₁ mo sezu

     A single Emishi is worth a hundred men, so they say, yet they did not resist.

     For more quotations using this term, see Citations:蝦夷.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:蝦夷.

• 荒蝦夷 (ara-Emi₁si, “rough Emishi opposed to the Yamato court”)
• 熟蝦夷 (niki₁-Emi₁si, “gentle Emishi allied with the Yamato court”)

• Japanese: 蝦夷 (Emishi, Emisu, Ebisu, Ezo)

• “Emisi” at Oxford-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese