Kurosawa
/kɯɾo̞saɰa/noun
A Japanese surname, most famously associated with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
Did you know?Kurosawa is usually written 黒沢 or 黒澤: 黒 means “black,” while 沢 means “marsh,” “swamp,” or “wetland”; the surname therefore describes a dark or shadowed wetland landscape.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Japanese
Japanese
kuro
“Black or dark-colored”
Ancient Japanese
Japanese
sawa
“A marsh, swamp, wetland, or watery valley”
Medieval Japan
Japanese
黒沢 / 黒澤
“A place-name or surname meaning “black marsh” or “dark wetland””
19th Century
Japanese
Kurosawa
“Established Japanese family name, written in kanji as 黒沢 or 黒澤”
20th Century
English
Kurosawa
“A Japanese surname adopted unchanged in English, especially through international references to Akira Kurosawa”