noun
land of the gods; Japan; China
Poetic, literary name for a country seen as divinely favored. Historically used for both Japan and China, but in modern contexts usually refers to Japan. The China sense is archaic and rare.
古い詩に「神州」と詠まれているのは、日本のことだ。
In old poetry, 'Shinshū' refers to Japan.
一部の文献では
In some texts, Shinshū can refer to China.
From Chinese 神州 (shénzhōu), literally 'divine province/land'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term has been used poetically in both Chinese and Japanese traditions to refer to a sacred or divinely protected land.