Iwo Jima Name Change

[Dagwood]

Japan Changes Name of Island of Iwo Jima:

Japan has changed the name of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima to the original name of Iwo To given by locals, who have become disenchanted with the popularization of its modern-day moniker by such movies as Clint Eastwood's recently released "Letters from Iwo Jima."

 

[LaMedicine]

I didn't think this would draw attention outside of Japan.
FYI, "To" actually should be spelled "Tou", the pronunciation close to "tow" in English.

 

[Twitch]

Balderdash! Since all but 30 of the 22,000 Japanese defenders perished on Iwo it seems a dishonor to those men to rename it. Sounds like a continuation of the post-war Japanese national amnesia relating to anything about the conflict. Those warriors sacrificed their lives for their nation and that island. It is sad that today's inhabitants seems to forget that.

 

[LaMedicine]

Well, actually, it's likely that the Japanese military called the island Iwo Tou rather than Iwo Jima, since that was the name it was called by, by the original residents. The kanji--Chinese character-- for shima, island, is pronounced either way. It's quite possible that it's the Americans who actually popularized Iwo Jima, because someone who translated the name of the island thought that the pronunciation was "shima" ("ji" is a variation of "shi") rather than "tou". In fact, Dad used to call the memorial in Arlington "Iwo Tou Memorial" rather than Iwo Jima memorial, when we were living in DC.
Oh, and Iwo should actually be spelled "Iou" by the Japanese system for spelling with English letters. So, Iou Tou rhymes, which makes more sense in the pronunciation to us.

 

[PADDY]

LaMedicine, my fav 'Doc' on this board

You missed a great career with the Diplomatic Service you know!! Thanks so much for explaining that.

There does seem to be an ongoing trend for naming and renaming places. The old BOMBAY is now Mumbai, and Petrograd became Leningrad, then Stalingrad..etc.

Mmmm, I wonder what/where will be next? London reverts to Londinium?[huh] New York to New Amsterdam...[huh]

 

[Miss Neecerie]

You missed a great career with the Diplomatic Service you know!! Thanks so much for explaining that.

There does seem to be an ongoing trend for naming and renaming places. The old BOMBAY is now Mumbai, and Petrograd became Leningrad, then Stalingrad..etc.

Mmmm, I wonder what/where will be next? London reverts to Londinium?[huh] New York to New Amsterdam...[huh]

ahh but -most- of the renaming....is actually re-verting to either a 'native' name from a 'colonizer given name' or a previously used name prior to other regimes...

Its been going on forever.....as long as humans called pieces of land by a name...


D....who does the Istambul, not Constantinople now

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Petrograd became Leningrad, then Stalingrad..etc.

Leningrad and Stalingrad are actually two different cities.

Leningrad was originally St. Petersburg, then Petrograd, then Leningrad, now St. Petersburg.

Stalingrad was originally Tsaritsyn, then Stalingrad, now Volgograd.

 

[LaMedicine]

Getting fftopic: but

You missed a great career with the Diplomatic Service you know!! Thanks so much for explaining that.

Thank you for the compliment, PADDY.
I grew up an embassy brat so...I think I'd prefer to have the pompous people we sometimes run into, off my back.lol
Besides, it's far more interesting talking about the weather and quirks of daily life with my patients than sitting in a stuffy chair and discussing...something you don't even have direct contact with.
And, it's more ingratiating, interacting on the level people do here, it's more personal and informal. Easier to explain than have to say something official, then say, but, well, ah, the story behind that is...and get a glare from the powers that be. Much better to have the freedom of not having to answer to them.lol

D....who does the Istambul, not Constantinople now

Ooooh, Istanbul!! We lived in Turkey from '55 to '59. Though we lived in Ankara, we spent 2 weeks each summer in Istanbul. I sooo want to visit again, but so far, my work schedule hasn't allowed me to take of the length of time off I'd like to have to re-discover the city and the rest of the country.
Oh, well, one day.....

 

[Twitch]

The AP news we're getting out here mentions that the Japanese military did actually call it Iwo Jima = sulphur island instead of Iwo To which allegedly has the same basic meaning. This is tantamount to English where an island is named Strengthened Island and It became known as Fortified Island. Same definition. Since only some 1,000 people lived there before the war it is quite unlikely that any are alive now and worry about the name change. And since no civilians were allowed to live there after the war for decades it isn't them.

Every place had a previous name. Going back to use them anywhere is just wrong.

 

[Haversack]

The fact that different countries have different names for the same piece of real estate or history shouldn't get anyone's knickers in a twist. For example: Munich/Muenchen; World War II/Great Patriotic War; Bull Run/Manassas; China/Zhonghua/Middle Kingdom. Names most often get changed for locally political reasons. The rest of the world dosen't have to follow suit.

Haversack.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

A British lady on a train told me an amusing story. She and her hubby made sure they took a photograph of the city limits sign for each city they entered. Theny missed Vienna, though. WIEN!

 

[Story]

Team Closer to Finding Iwo Jima Marine

By ERIC TALMADGE
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 27, 2007; 5:26 AM

IWO JIMA, Japan -- A team of U.S. searchers looking for the remains of the Marine who filmed the famous flag raising over Iwo Jima say they've located two possible sites and recommend a larger group excavate them, officials said Wednesday.

"Our investigation has been very successful," U.S. Army Major Sean Stinchion told The Associated Press, the only civilian media with the search team that had been surveying and digging on the island for 10 days.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700229.html