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天聴 (てんちょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

天てん聴ちょう

て

ん

ちょ

う

Meanings

1

noun

the emperor's hearing; imperial knowledge

Archaic or highly formal literary term. Used in historical or ceremonial contexts to refer to the emperor being informed of something.

その事じ件けんは天てん聴ちょうに達たっした。
The incident came to the emperor's attention.

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
聴listen, headstrong, naughty

Similar words

叡えい聞ぶん
Also means 'imperial hearing', similarly archaic and literary. 天聴 emphasizes the emperor's listening, while 叡聞 emphasizes the emperor's knowledge or hearing with a nuance of wisdom.

Etymology

From 天 (heaven, imperial) and 聴 (listen). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the emperor's hearing.