岬

• Reading: みさき
• Romaji: misaki
• Kanji breakdown: 岬 (misaki) — cape, promontory (kokuji combining 山 and 甲)
• Pronunciation: /mi.sa.ki/

Meaning

Cape; headland; promontory; point. A narrow piece of land projecting into a body of water, typically ending in a sharp tip.

A yamato kotoba noun written with a kokuji character combining 山 and 甲, suggesting a prominent feature projecting from land. Japan's heavily indented coastline features many famous 岬, such as 室戸岬 and 潮岬. The word carries strong literary and poetic associations, frequently appearing in travel writing, verse, and fiction as a symbol of solitude, the horizon, and the boundary between land and sea.

Examples

1. 荒波に削られた岬の先端には、孤独な灯台が静かに立っていた。 At the tip of the cape, worn away by rough waves, a solitary lighthouse stood in quiet vigil.
2. 晴れた日には、あの岬から水平線の彼方まで見渡すことができる。 On a clear day, you can see all the way to the horizon from that cape.
3. 岬の断崖絶壁から飛び込む地元の若者たちの姿が夏の風物詩となっている。 The sight of local young people leaping from the sheer cliffs of the cape has become one of summer's familiar spectacles.

Usage Guide

Context: geography, coastal navigation, literary description

Tone: descriptive

Origin & History

Native Japanese word (yamato kotoba). The kanji 岬 is a kokuji character combining 山 (mountain/land) and 甲 (a prominent protrusion), visually suggesting land pushing out into the sea.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal