桃とう源げん郷きょう

と

う

げ

ん

きょ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

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.

Kanji

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

Related words

秘ひ境きょう
桃源郷 evokes an idyllic, almost utopian hidden paradise, while 秘境 simply refers to any remote, hard-to-reach place regardless of its beauty.
アルカディア
桃源郷 is a Chinese-derived image of a hidden paradise, while アルカディア draws on the Western/Greek pastoral ideal.

Built from

桃とう源げん+郷きょう

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.

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.