Beautiful Japanese Word of the Day #7
天の川 (Amanogawa)
"Amanogawa refers to the Milky Way"
If you know your Japanese, 天 (ten) means heaven, and 川 (kawa) means river. Together, it makes heavenly river or heaven’s river. Ama is another way to read the kanji 天, and Kawa turns to Gawa because of Rendaku, also known as, sequential voicing in the Japanese language. Another way to say the Milky Way is 銀湾 (Ginwan), however, Amanogawa tends to be the more popular choice of the two.
Writer’s note: 織姫と彦星 (Orihime to Hikoboshi) is a famous story in Japan about a princess named Orihime and a man named Hikoboshi, and they would eventually become separated by the Amanogawa. I would check out the story if you have any interest in Japanese folklore. On a personal note, probably the best view of the star I ever had was in California, Bear Bear. Super nice at night and would recommend going to anyone who ever visits Cali.