竜りゅう宮ぐう城じょう

りゅ

う

ぐ

う

じょ

う

Meanings

noun

Palace of the Dragon King; Ryūgū-jō

Mythical undersea palace from the Urashima Tarō legend and other Japanese folklore. Often depicted as a beautiful, otherworldly place at the bottom of the sea.

Kanji

竜dragon, imperial
宮Shinto shrine, constellations, palace
城castle
龍dragon, imperial

Related words

竜りゅう宮ぐう
竜宮 is a shorter form referring to the Dragon Palace itself, often used in the same mythological context, while 竜宮城 explicitly adds 城 (castle) for emphasis.
浦うら島しま太た郎ろう
Urashima Tarō is the protagonist of the famous Japanese folktale in which he visits 竜宮城.

Written forms

竜りゅう宮ぐう城じょう
Standard modern spelling using the simplified character 竜.
龍りゅう宮ぐう城じょう
Traditional spelling using 龍; seen in older texts or stylistic contexts.

Etymology

Compound of 竜宮 (ryūgū, 'Dragon Palace') + 城 (jō, 'castle'). The term originates from Chinese mythology and was adopted into Japanese folklore, most famously in the Urashima Tarō story.