MEANING OF “MARU”
DIFFERENT OPINIONS IN JAPAN. An article on ships' names in the March number of The P.L.A. Monthly contains some interesting notes about the origin of the word “Maru” in the names of Japanese ships. “Most people are struck by the fact that all Japanese merchant ships are called 'Maru,' and probably wonder what the word means. Different scholars have different opinions about this time-honoured custom. An old legend gives the name of a messenger sent from heaven to teach the Emperor Kotei shipbuilding as HakudoMaru, and this is thought by some to have been the origin of the use. of ’Maru’ in ships' names. Another story attributes the custom to a form of homage to a sea god named Azumino-soro-Maru. "Other authorities connect it with the word meaning ‘circular,’ ’all-em-bracing,’ or ’complete,’ from which derives the idea of perfection, and thence veneration applied to articles or possessions of great value and esteem. Ships being greatly prized by a maritime nation, the name may have become attached to them. This last theory seems to be the one most commonly accepted.”
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 April 1938, Page 2
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182MEANING OF “MARU” Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 April 1938, Page 2
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