蛮ばん国こく

noun

barbarian country; uncivilized country

Archaic term used in historical contexts to refer to lands perceived as uncivilized or barbaric, often from a Sino-centric or pre-modern Japanese viewpoint.

• 昔むかしの文ぶん献けんでは、周しゅう辺へん地ち域いきを蛮ばん国こくと呼よぶことがあった。

  In old documents, surrounding regions were sometimes called barbarian countries.

noun

foreign country

Archaic, neutral term for a foreign country, without the pejorative nuance of sense 1. Rarely used in modern Japanese.

• 江え戸ど時じ代だいの書しょ物もつには、異い国こくを蕃ばん国こくと記しるす例れいが見みられる。

  In Edo-period writings, one can find examples where foreign countries are written as 蕃国.