桃とう源げん郷きょう

と

う

げ

ん

きょ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

earthly paradise; Shangri-La; utopia

Refers to an ideal, hidden paradise on earth, often used metaphorically for a place of perfect peace and beauty. Derived from the Chinese legend of the Peach Blossom Spring.

Written forms

桃とう源げん郷きょう
Standard kanji spelling for the earthly paradise concept.
桃とう源げん境きょう
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 郷 is the usual character.

Kanji

桃peach
源source, origin
郷home town, village, native place
境boundary, border, region

Similar words

桃とう源げん
桃源 is a shorter form referring to the same concept, often used in compounds like 桃源郷 or 桃源境. 桃源郷 is the full, more common term.
楽らく園えん
楽園 is a general term for 'paradise' or 'pleasure garden', while 桃源郷 specifically evokes the Chinese legend of a hidden utopia.
ユートピア
ユートピア is a Western loanword for an ideal society, often with political or social connotations. 桃源郷 is more poetic and nature-oriented.

Etymology

From the Chinese legend of the Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源), where a fisherman discovers a hidden paradise. The Japanese reading とうげんきょう is the on'yomi of the kanji 桃源郷.