Traditional Japanese star names, season by season: Subaru, the "four-three star" and the local names of the night sky

Traditional Japanese star names, or wamei (和名), are the names people in Japan gave to stars in everyday life. The best known are Subaru for the Pleiades and Shiso no hoshi, the "four-three star", for the Big Dipper.

Most of these names were working names, used as markers for fishing and farm work. That is why the same star was called different things in different places.

In this article we list the Japanese names of bright stars, constellations and star clusters by season. Where our sources say where a name was used, we give the place too.

In this article you will find:

• Lists of Japanese star names for winter, spring, summer and autumn, with origins and places
• Local names for the Pleiades, the Big Dipper and Canopus
• The patterns behind the names: shape, colour, time, direction and place
• How one star was named differently from region to region
• How Japanese names differ from Chinese names
• The work of Nojiri Hoei, who collected the names

The key point is this: before they were "beautiful words", Japanese star names were tools for daily life.

In short, what are Japanese star names?

Japanese star names are the names used in Japan for stars since long ago. Bright stars and eye-catching groups had names that varied from place to place.

Broadly, the names fall into two kinds:

• Names born in daily life: Subaru, Shiso no hoshi, Ao-boshi, Mera-boshi and others
• Names created in modern times: Shinju-boshi (pearl star), Minami no hitotsu-boshi and others

The first kind was handed down from parents to children in farming and fishing villages. The second kind was coined by writers on the stars and by astronomers.

Nojiri Hoei, who collected Japanese star names, set out about 900 of them in his "Nihon Seimei Jiten" (Dictionary of Japanese Star Names). Below we go through the main names season by season.

Japanese star names for winter

Source (7)

• Saitama City Youth Space Science Museum, "The January sky" (2024, in Japanese)
• Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 14 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese)
• Kitao Koichi, "Report on astronomical folklore surveys (2009)", Bulletin of the Osaka Science Museum 20 (in Japanese)
• Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 2 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese)
• Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 3 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese)
• Toyama star names (from Masuda Masayuki, "Etchu no Hoshi Monogatari", in Japanese)
• Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 13 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese)

As the list shows, winter has many Japanese star names, and Subaru, Ao-boshi and Heike-boshi are among the best known. Winter has many bright stars, and fishers often used them as markers.

The drum-star name for Orion and the local names of its belt are covered in detail in the myth of Orion.

What is the Japanese name for the Pleiades? What do Subaru and Mutsura-boshi mean?

The Japanese name for the Pleiades is Subaru (昴). In some regions it was also called Mutsura-boshi (六連星, six linked stars) or Hagoita-boshi (羽子板星, battledore star).

The Saitama City Youth Space Science Museum explains that Subaru comes from subaru (統ばる), meaning "to be gathered into one".

In the Heian period, Sei Shonagon wrote in "The Pillow Book" that among stars, Subaru is the finest. It shows how long the name has been loved.

Many more local names for the Pleiades have been recorded. The names used by fishers in Hokkaido and on Sado Island are compared in the regional table further down.

What are the Japanese names for the Winter Triangle? What are Ao-boshi and Shiro-boshi?

In the Winter Triangle, Sirius was called Ao-boshi (青星, blue star) and Procyon Shiro-boshi (白星, white star). Betelgeuse was Heike-boshi (平家星).

According to a column by Watanabe Junichi of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Sirius was called Ao-boshi or O-boshi (大星, big star), because it looks bright, large and blue-white.

In Ikuji, Kurobe City, Toyama, Sirius was Aomi no Hossama (アオミノホッサマ), and Antares was Akami no Hossama (アカミノホッサマ).

Masuda Masayuki, who surveyed star names in Toyama, drew attention to this pair. Look closely, he noted, and the red star shows a flash of green, while the blue star shows a flash of red.

What is the Japanese name for Canopus? What are Mera-boshi and Ochaku-boshi?

Japanese names for Canopus include Mera-boshi (布良星) and Ochaku-boshi (横着星, lazy star). It is a star seen just above the southern horizon.

From Japan, Canopus shows itself briefly low in the south and soon sets. The way it appears gave rise to a different name in each place.

Watanabe Junichi's column "Jusei" (the star of long life) introduces the names used in each region:

The same single star was named after the land across the sea. From Okayama it rises toward Sanuki, and from Onomichi toward Iyo.

In Funagata, Tateyama City, Chiba, the name Mera-boshi was still recorded in interviews in 2009. It was said to be visible on clear days with a north wind.

Do Capella and Gemini have Japanese names?

Yes. Japanese names for Capella and for the two bright stars of Gemini were recorded in Toyama and on Sado Island.

In Kyoden, Uozu City, Toyama, Capella was called Sado-boshi (サドボシ), because it rises from the direction of Sado Island to the north-east.

When Sado-boshi appeared in the evening, it marked the time for squid fishing. When it was seen at dawn, it was the signal to head home.

Castor and Pollux in Gemini were called Futatsu-boshi (フタツボシ, two stars) in Yokata and Shinminato in Toyama.

For their gold-and-silver names and their myth, see the myth of Gemini.

Japanese star names for spring

Source: Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 4 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese) / Toyama star names (from Masuda Masayuki, "Etchu no Hoshi Monogatari", in Japanese) / Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 16 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese)

The typical spring names are Shiso no hoshi and Kaji-boshi for the Big Dipper, and Mugi-boshi (wheat star) for Arcturus.

What is the Japanese name for the Big Dipper? What do "four-three star" and "rudder star" mean?

The Big Dipper's Japanese names include Shiso no hoshi (四三の星, four-three star) and Kaji-boshi (舵星, rudder star). It was also called Nanatsu-boshi (七つ星, seven stars).

In Watanabe Junichi's column, Shiso no hoshi likens the stars to two dice, one showing three and the other four.

The four stars of the bowl and the three of the handle were probably seen as the spots on the dice. Kaji-boshi likens the shape to a ship's rudder.

In Toyama, several Japanese names for the Big Dipper were collected along the coast:

• Kaji-boshi (カジボシ): Uozu City
• Kazu-boshi (カズボシ): Asahi town
• Kita no Kaji-boshi (キタノカジボシ): Himi City
• Sushaku Hossama (スシャクホッサマ): Kurobe City

In Sugari, Owase City, Mie, the name Nanatsu-boshi was recorded in 2009.

Are Mugi-boshi and Shinju-boshi old names?

Mugi-boshi for Arcturus was used across Japan. Shinju-boshi (真珠星, pearl star) for Spica, on the other hand, was coined in modern times by Nojiri Hoei.

The Toyama source describes Mugi-boshi as a name used nationwide. Why "wheat" (or barley), though, is not explained in our sources.

According to Watanabe Junichi's column, it was Nojiri Hoei who named Spica the pearl star. Sango-boshi (珊瑚星, coral star) for Arcturus was given by the astronomer Yamamoto Issei.

The pearl star and the coral star are modern coinages, not folklore. Both are lovely names that compare the colour of a star to a treasure of the sea.

There are older local names too. In Yatsuo, Toyama City, Arcturus was Ansama-boshi (アンサマボシ) and Spica was Anesama-boshi (アネサマボシ).

What is the Japanese name for Corona Borealis?

In Toyama, Corona Borealis was called Hettsui-boshi (ヘッツイボシ) or Okudo-san (オクドサン). Both words mean a kitchen stove.

Hettsui-boshi was used in Midoricho, Toyama City, and Okudo-san in Fukumitsu, Nanto City. The semicircle of stars was probably seen as a cooking stove.

Japanese star names for summer

Source (4)

• Yachiyo City Local History Museum, "Yachihaku Library" no. 2 (2020, in Japanese)
• Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE column vol. 67 (in Japanese)
• Dainippon Tosho, "Uotsuri-boshi" (in Japanese)
• Toyama star names (from Masuda Masayuki, "Etchu no Hoshi Monogatari", in Japanese)

The best-known summer names are Orihime-boshi and Hiko-boshi from Tanabata, and Uotsuri-boshi (fishing star) for Scorpius.

The fishhook names for Scorpius and the local names for Antares are gathered in the myth of Scorpius.

Are Orihime-boshi and Hiko-boshi Japanese names? What is Men-tanabata?

Orihime-boshi (Vega) and Hiko-boshi (Altair) are names widely used in Japan. They come from the Chinese story of the weaving girl and the cowherd.

According to the Yachiyo City Local History Museum, in China the cowherd star was a star that told farmers when to work, and the weaving girl star was the star of silkworms and weaving.

From the Later Han dynasty (AD 30 to 220) the two stars came to be seen as lovers. This story and its festival reached Japan and became Tanabata.

Toyama has names even more rooted in the land. Vega was Men-tanabata (メンタナバタ, female Tanabata) and Altair On-tanabata (オンタナバタ, male Tanabata).

In Ikuji, Kurobe City, the pair together were also called Tanabata Hossama (タナバタホッサマ).

What is the Japanese name for the Teapot's ladle in Sagittarius?

The six-star ladle in Sagittarius was called Minami no Kaji-boshi (ミナミノカジボシ, southern rudder star) in Himi City, Toyama. The name suggests a pair with Kaji-boshi, the Big Dipper.

In China too, these stars of Sagittarius were called Nandou (南斗), the Southern Dipper, as a pair with Beidou (北斗) in the north. Both traditions see two dippers, one north and one south.

Japanese star names for autumn and the northern sky

Source: Toyama star names (from Masuda Masayuki, "Etchu no Hoshi Monogatari", in Japanese) / Watanabe Junichi, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 22 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese) / Kitao Koichi, "Report on astronomical folklore surveys (2009)", Bulletin of the Osaka Science Museum 20 (in Japanese)

Autumn names include Ikari-boshi (anchor star) for Cassiopeia and Masu-boshi (measuring box star) for the Great Square of Pegasus.

Autumn has few bright stars. Perhaps for that reason, names that see star patterns as tools stand out.

What is the Japanese name for Cassiopeia? What are Yamagata-boshi and Ikari-boshi?

The Japanese name for Cassiopeia that we could confirm is Ikari-boshi (イカリボシ, anchor star), found in Nyuzen, Toyama.

The Toyama source says this name has also been found in fishing villages all over Japan. The W was probably seen as a ship's anchor.

Yamagata-boshi (山形星, mountain-shape star) is also often quoted. We could not confirm it in a source that names a region, so we leave it out of the list.

What is the Japanese name for Fomalhaut?

Fomalhaut is called Aki-boshi (あきぼし, autumn star) and Minami no hitotsu-boshi (みなみのひとつ星, lone star of the south). Both names were given by Nojiri Hoei.

It is the only first-magnitude star in the southern autumn sky. The way it shines alone became its name.

Watanabe Junichi's column adds another detail. Some regions used Minami no hitotsu-boshi as a name for Canopus.

What is the Japanese name for Polaris? What is Ne no hoshi?

The best-known Japanese name for Polaris is Ne no hoshi (子の星). Ne (子) is the zodiac sign used for north, so the name means "the north star".

Polaris barely moves, so fishers used it to find their bearings at sea at night.

In a bulletin of the Osaka Science Museum, Kitao Koichi recorded interviews made in 2009:

• Ne no hoshi (ネノホシ): Katahara, Gamagori City, Aichi. Used together with mountains to find directions
• Kita no hoshi (キタノホシ, northern star): Kira town, Aichi. The youngest person interviewed, born in 1949, still used it as a marker

In Toyama, too, many names were collected, mostly along the coast:

• Ne no hoshi (ネノホシ): Asahi town
• Mejirushi-boshi (メジルシボシ, landmark star): Toyama City
• Oya-boshi (オヤボシ, parent star): Shimomura, Imizu City
• Meate-boshi (メアテボシ, target star): Funami, Nyuzen town
• Hitotsu-boshi (ヒトツボシ, single star) and Kita no Hashi-boshi (キタノハシボシ): Unazuki

How were Japanese star names given?

The origins of Japanese star names fall mainly into five patterns: shape, colour, time, direction and place.

Here are the names so far, sorted by pattern:

Japanese star names come from two questions: what does it look like, and what is it good for? The names in this list hardly ever mention figures from myth.

Why did fishers use star names as a clock?

Fishers used the order in which stars rose as a clock. The stars they watched while squid fishing were called yaku-boshi (役星, working stars).

According to Kitao Koichi's report, squid fishers in Hokkaido watched the stars rise one after another from the east: the Pleiades, then Orion's belt, then Sirius.

Fishers in Himetsu, Sado City, Niigata, counted the risings in even more detail:

Squid were said to start biting about 15 minutes before a star rose. The stars from Wa-boshi to Karasuki were called yaku-boshi.

A fisher in Ofune, Hakodate, Hokkaido, said that in the old days most of them did not own a watch.

Did star names work as a farming calendar?

In farming villages, the way a star appeared helped people know when snow would come or when to sow. Sayings about the Pleiades survive in Toyama:

• Senkoku, Kamiichi town: when Subaru is in the western sky, snow will fall
• Gokayama: sow buckwheat when Subaru is overhead and the crop will be good
• Miyazaki, Asahi town: when Subaru touches the mountains, the sea will be rough

In some regions, Orion's belt and sword were seen as a karasuki (からすき), a plough for tilling fields. Star names also served as a calendar for daily life.

How do Japanese star names differ by region?

Japanese star names for the same star vary from region to region. The Pleiades have many local names, from Hokkaido in the north to the Tokara Islands in the south.

From Kitao Koichi's report and sources from Toyama and Nagano, here are names for the Pleiades by place:

Kitao confirmed that the Tokara Islands are the southern limit of the Subaru family of names.

Ujira and Muzuna-boshi in Hokkaido are also corrupted forms of Mutsura-boshi. The words changed, but names for the cluster were handed down from north to south.

Can the same name mean a different star?

Yes. The same Japanese name can point to a different star depending on the region, probably because a name only needed to work within its own community.

The Toyama source suggests that Kaji-boshi in Yokata and Shinminato may be a corrupted form of Kazu-boshi.

How do Japanese star names differ from Chinese names?

Japanese star names were names from daily life, while Chinese names were used in calendar-making and astronomy. In Japan the two layers existed side by side.

As Kakazu Tsuguto of the Osaka Science Museum explains, the Chinese system of constellations was used in Japan until the end of the Edo period.

While there were native names like Subaru, astronomers used the Chinese names in their work. The same star had names in two languages.

Within this table, the Chinese names belong to the science of the sky, while the Japanese names belong to everyday life.

Canopus was called Jusei (寿星), the star of long life; seeing it was said to lengthen your life. Jurojin, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, is said to be this star in human form.

On the Boso Peninsula, by contrast, Mera-boshi was the star of people lost at sea. The same star took on opposite meanings depending on how people lived.

The Chinese view of the sky is also covered in the section on the Shen mansion in the myth of Orion.

What did Nojiri Hoei do for Japanese star names?

Nojiri Hoei collected Japanese star names from all over the country and put them into books. He is also known for proposing Meiosei (冥王星), the Japanese name for Pluto.

Nojiri Hoei (1885 to 1977) was a scholar of English literature who wrote widely about the stars. According to a presentation at the Astronomical Society of Japan, the number of names he collected grew with each book:

This work relied on letters from amateur astronomers around the country. The presentation calls it a forerunner of citizen science, carried out about 100 years ago.

His research began with a report from the Suwa region of Nagano. It said that people there called the Pleiades Issho-boshi and the Hyades Tsurigane-boshi.

Did Nojiri Hoei name any stars himself?

Yes. Nojiri Hoei named Spica Shinju-boshi, the pearl star. Aki-boshi and Minami no hitotsu-boshi for Fomalhaut are also his names.

These are not old local names. Nojiri Hoei created them from the way the stars look.

Lists of Japanese star names often mix the two kinds. Separating old folk names from modern coinages shows you the history of the names.

Are star names still being collected after Nojiri Hoei?

Yes. Interviews about star names have continued since Nojiri Hoei, and new names were still being recorded in 2009.

Kitao Koichi began his interviews on Sado Island, Niigata, in 1978. In 2009 alone he recorded star names in 54 places.

Among them were names recorded for the first time, such as Hokusan-boshi (ホクサンボシ) from Ogi on Sado, a star that rises from the direction of Mount Kinpoku.

Kitao writes that star names are not a thing of the past but a living relationship between people and the stars.

Which Japanese star names sound cool?

Popular choices for a cool Japanese star name include Subaru, Ao-boshi, Jusei, Shinju-boshi and Minami no hitotsu-boshi.

If you choose a name for its sound, it helps to know its origin too:

• Subaru (昴): the Pleiades. "Gathered into one". An old name that appears in "The Pillow Book"
• Mutsura-boshi (六連星): also the Pleiades. Stars linked in a row
• Ao-boshi (青星): Sirius, the brightest star in the winter night
• Jusei (寿星): Canopus. A name from China, the star of long life
• Tsurigane-boshi (釣鐘星): the Hyades. The V seen as a temple bell
• Shinju-boshi (真珠星): Spica. Named by Nojiri Hoei
• Minami no hitotsu-boshi (みなみのひとつ星): Fomalhaut. Named by Nojiri Hoei

If you plan to use one as a personal name, check whether it is an old local name or a modern coinage. It makes the origin easier to explain.

Do planets such as Venus have Japanese names?

Yes. Venus at dawn in particular has many recorded names tied to fishing and to morning life.

The Toyama source notes that many names refer to Venus as the morning star, and suggests this shows how early people used to get up.

For Jupiter, the name Yonaga-boshi (ヨナガボシ) was recorded in Nakata, Himi City, Toyama.

How are the same stars named in different regions?

As the table shows, the same star went by completely different names from Hokkaido to Shikoku.

"No record confirmed" marks places where we could not check a source while writing this article. It does not mean there was no name.

Many of the names we gathered come from coastal places. People at sea at night needed to know the time and the direction.

Another reason is that many of our sources are interviews with fishers. Names from farming villages also survive in regional sources.

How can you enjoy Japanese star names in the night sky?

The easiest way to enjoy Japanese star names is to find one bright star or group each season.

• Winter: Subaru (Mutsura-boshi) near the zenith; Sirius (Ao-boshi) in the south
• Spring: the Big Dipper (Shiso no hoshi) high in the north; Mugi-boshi at the end of the handle's arc
• Summer: Orihime-boshi and Hiko-boshi in the east; the fishing star of Scorpius low in the south
• Autumn: Cassiopeia (Ikari-boshi) in the north; Minami no hitotsu-boshi low in the south
• All year: follow the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia to Ne no hoshi (Polaris) in the north

Frequently asked questions about Japanese star names

Where can I find a list of Japanese star names?

The seasonal tables in this article list the Japanese names of the main stars and clusters. For a deeper look, Nojiri Hoei's "Nihon Seimei Jiten" contains about 900 names.

What is the Japanese name for the Pleiades?

Subaru (昴). It was also called Mutsura-boshi and Hagoita-boshi, and names such as Muzuna-boshi were recorded in Hokkaido.

What is the Japanese name for the Big Dipper?

Shiso no hoshi, Kaji-boshi and Nanatsu-boshi, among others. Shiso no hoshi likens it to two dice showing three and four.

What is the Japanese name for Sirius?

Ao-boshi (blue star) and O-boshi (big star). The names come from its bright, blue-white look.

What are the Japanese names for Vega and Altair?

Vega is Orihime-boshi and Altair is Hiko-boshi. In Toyama they were also Men-tanabata and On-tanabata, and together Tanabata Hossama.

How do Japanese star names differ from Chinese names?

Japanese names grew out of life in farming and fishing villages. Chinese names were used in calendars and astronomy, and Japanese astronomers also used them until the Edo period.

Sources

• Watanabe Junichi (NAOJ), "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vols. 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 14, 16 and 22 (Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, in Japanese: Orion, Sirius, the Big Dipper, Tanabata, Canopus, the Pleiades and Hyades, the Spring Arc, Fomalhaut)
• Kitao Koichi, "Report on astronomical folklore surveys (2009)", Bulletin of the Osaka Science Museum 20, 2010 (in Japanese)
• Toyama star names, from Masuda Masayuki, "Etchu no Hoshi Monogatari" (a Toyama science-education resource, in Japanese)
• Saitama City Youth Space Science Museum, "The January sky" (Subaru, Mutsura-boshi, Hagoita-boshi, the meaning of subaru, The Pillow Book; in Japanese)
• Astronomical Society of Japan, Spring Meeting 2026, Z108a: on Nojiri Hoei's star-name collection notebooks (numbers of names and the report from Suwa; in Japanese)
• Kakazu Tsuguto, "Star names in Chinese constellations", Osaka Science Museum monthly "Uchu", February 2021 (in Japanese)
• Yachiyo City Local History Museum, "Yachihaku Library" no. 2, 2020 (Tanabata and the cowherd and weaver stars; in Japanese)
• Mitsubishi Electric DSPACE, "Hoshizora no Sanpomichi" vol. 67 (Japanese names for Antares; in Japanese)
• Dainippon Tosho, "Uotsuri-boshi" (in Japanese)
• Ian Ridpath, "Star Tales": Taurus, Ursa Major, Lyra, Aquila and Cassiopeia (Mao, Bi, Beidou, Nandou, Zhinü, Hegu, Wangliang)