Tokai
/toʊˈkaɪ/noun
A region of central Japan along the Pacific coast, or the adjacent Tōkai Sea, depending on context.
Did you know?Tōkai is written 東海, the same Chinese characters used historically for the “Eastern Sea” beyond China; in Japan, the name became associated with a major Pacific-facing region.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
東海 (Dōnghǎi)
“Eastern Sea; the sea to the east”
6th–8th Century
Middle Chinese
東海
“Eastern Sea, pronounced approximately tung xoj in reconstructed readings”
8th Century
Old Japanese
Tōkai
“The Japanese Sino-reading of 東海, meaning Eastern Sea”
8th Century
Japanese
Tōkaidō (東海道)
“Eastern Sea Route, the historic road along Japan’s Pacific coast”
Modern Japanese
Japanese
Tōkai (東海)
“The Tōkai region of central Japan or the Tōkai Sea”
Modern English
English
Tokai
“An English rendering of Japanese Tōkai, especially in geographic and cultural references”