Talk:Osanbashi Pier

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Should we rename this article "Ōsanbashi"? Since sanbashi just means "pier," the title Osanbashi Pier is redundant. Fg2 19:27, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I prefer either "Ōsanbashi Pier" or "Osanbashi Pier". If you do a Google search, you will find a lot of results for "Osanbashi Pier". Google Book Search [1] seems to confirm that "Osanbashi Pier" is more appropriate. And the City of Yokohama calls it Osanbashi Pier.--Endroit 19:39, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

It's a difficult decision. Wouldn't want to call it Ō Pier (even though that's what it means). Nor would we rename Mt. Fuji as Fujisan Mountain, although it closely parallels Ōsanbashi Pier. But who knows, maybe Ōsanbashi Pier is best? Fg2 22:08, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I think it's one of those peculiar (undocumented) rules that people follow, for words that are imported from Japanese. For example "shiitake mushroom", "dan rank", "sika deer", "matcha green tea", etc. When the original word is a truly authentic and unrecognizable Japanese word, English speakers turn the word into an adjective (sort of) and an English noun is tacked on for clarification. It only sounds strange for Japanese speakers, but does wonders in English.

Anyways, the City of Yokohama is promoting the "Osanbashi Pier" spelling, so I say that's got to be the official name. A macron may be added for clarification, if it's clearer.--Endroit 22:29, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I just checked out the Japanese Wikipedia. It says Osanbashi (大さん橋) refers to the whole area including the Osanbashi Futo (大さん橋埠頭) and Osanbashi International Passenger Terminal (大さん橋国際客船ターミナル). I would tend to think that the article talks about the pier rather than the area, so it's Osanbashi Futo (大さん橋埠頭), which translates into Osanbashi Pier. Believe me, the redundancy exists in the Japanese name Osanbashi Futo (大さん橋埠頭) as well.--Endroit 22:52, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Good points. Fg2 00:58, 12 June 2006 (UTC)