With thousands of kanji available, many having multiple readings, it’s no surprise that even native Japanese speakers sometimes struggle to read them. One area where this difficulty frequently crops up is in people’s names, especially so-called “kira-kira” names.
Another is place names. The people who originally named cities and towns hundreds of years ago may have utilized kanji readings no longer common in the modern day. Other names are derived from non-Japanese languages, such as Ainu or Central Okinawan.
In Japanese, the term “難読” (なんどく), which can also be translated as “obfuscated,” refers to a difficult-to-read kanji. 難読地名 (nandoku chimei) are place names that are hard to read due to their kanji.
Several organizations have carried out surveys asking Japanese natives which cities and towns have names they struggle with. There have been many top answers over the years – here are just a few.
Nirasaki City, Yamanashi Prefecture
In July 2025, All About Japan conducted a survey of the most difficult-to-read names in Yamanashi Prefecture specifically. The winner was Nirasaki City (韮崎市). Survey respondents cited the fact that the kanji nira (韮) is not one they commonly see used in day-to-day life.
“Nira” means “garlic chive,” a strongly flavored herb also known as the Chinese leek. The city was named because the shape of the nearby Shichiriiwa Plateau resembles a growing garlic chive.
Recently, the Nirasaki City government has been spreading awareness of their city’s difficult-to-read kanji. They do this by promoting locally made nira dumplings, soba, and other dishes.
Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture
Seikatsu Guide’s 2019 ranking of difficult-to-read place names featured a surprising winner: Nagano’s Tomi City (東御市). The “to” reading of 東 is common – it appears in “Tokyo,” after all – but 御 is more commonly read as “go,” “o,” or “gyo.”
Tomi City was formed when Tobu Town merged with Kitamimaki Village. The name comes from “To” from Tobu and “mi” from Kitamimaki. According to Seikatsu Guide, Tomi City’s government was happy with the honor and encouraged tourists to visit the city to learn how to read and pronounce its name.
Bin, Tomigusuku City, Okinawa Prefecture
Okinawa’s Bin, written as “保栄茂,” has been the subject of multiple articles and linguistic studies. This set of kanji would more commonly be read as “Hoeishige” or “Hoemo,” but is instead read “Bin,” pronounced like the Japanese word for “bottle.”
Notably, Tomigusuku City (豊見城市), which Bin is a part of, was ranked the #4 hardest-to-read city in Seikatsu Guide’s 2024 poll. Surveyed individuals cited the fact that “gusuku” is an exclusively Okinawan reading of “城.” This kanji, which means “castle,” is most frequently read as “shiro.”
There are many local legends and theories about how the Bin ward of Tomigusuku City got its name. The most common is that it was named Hoemo or Boemo in the Okinawan language, with 保栄茂 a phonetic rendering of the name in kanji. “Bin” is believed to be a nickname based on the Okinawan tendency to shorten “mu” or “mo” to “n” and use “h” and “b” sounds interchangeably in some words.
Soo City, Kagoshima Prefecture
Another ranking-topper, Soo City (曽於市) placed #1 in the 2024 version of the Seikatsu Guide survey. Although the area has been called the Soo District for hundreds of years, Soo City itself was only officially named in 2005. The district’s name was originally written 囎唹, and the name change to 曽於 was done out of a desire to simplify its kanji. Historians believe that this name change occurred sometime in the 1800s.
Despite the simplification, 曽, meaning “former” or “preceding,” is not a commonly seen kanji today. It is mostly used to refer to 曽祖父母, great-grandparents. Speaking to Forbes Japan, officials from Soo City revealed that, in addition to misreading its name, people often mispronounce the city’s name as “So,” without the long vowel.
Sosa City, Chiba Prefecture
Sosa City (匝瑳市) placed second in both the 2019 and 2024 Seikatsu Guide surveys. It was the only city to maintain its place after five years. Located in Chiba Prefecture, this city was officially formed in 2006. Both kanji in its name are considered to be fairly uncommon and difficult to read.
“匝” means “to go around,” and “瑳” means polish or luster. It’s a kanji more commonly associated with dentistry than city names, as it’s a somewhat out-of-fashion way of writing “磨く,” or “to brush one’s teeth.” Like Tomi City, the government of Sosa expressed pride that their city performed so well in these surveys, and expressed their intent to use it to drive tourism.
In 2019, officials from Sosa and Hyogo Prefecture’s Shiso City (宍粟市) declared that their cities would be friends due to both having difficult-to-read names. They stated that Sosa was the most difficult-to-read city in Eastern Japan and Shiso in Western Japan. Shiso City placed third in the 2019 survey because “粟”, which means millet, is most commonly read as “awa.”
Ogi City, Saga Prefecture
Just barely losing out on second place in 2024 is Ogi City (小城市) in Saga Prefecture.
The name is deceptively simple. Both kanji are common, and “o” as a reading for “小” is rather standard, although “ko” and “shou” are more frequently used.
The difficulty comes once again from “城,” the same kanji seen in Tomigusuku City’s name. It’s almost always read as “shiro” or “jou.” “Gi” is almost never seen. Ogi City is often mispronounced as “Oshiro City” or “Ojiro City,” as both Oshiro and Ojiro are common surnames in Japan.
Like Soo City, Ogi City was named for the historical area surrounding it – in this case, the Ogi Domain. The Ogi Domain was established in 1642 and existed until the late 1800s. The origin of the name “Ogi” for the Ogi Domain is not known, although it may reference the domain’s relatively small size.
The city was founded in 2005 when several smaller towns in the area merged. The largest town was called Ogi, so Ogi remained the name of the city. Today, Ogi City is known for the sacred Kiyomizu Falls, its yokan sweets, and rare koi sashimi.
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Sources
山梨県の13市で「初見で漢字が読みにくい」市ランキング！ 2位「都留市」、1位は？【2025年調査】https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/9e0fcbb71ed02441ef401b1f98b37c4cd392f4e1
全国難読市ランキングhttps://www.seikatsu-guide.com/rank_minna/result/4/
保栄茂・勢理客… 読み方難しい地名、沖縄になぜ？https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO96908810U6A200C1000000/
難易度高すぎ 漢字で書けない「難読市」ランキングhttps://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/77409
（漢字で）書けそうで書けない市ランキング https://www.seikatsu-guide.com/rank_minna/result/53/
