<P> Nippon appeared in history only at the end of the 7th century . The Old Book of Tang (舊 唐 書), one of the Twenty - Four Histories, stated that the Japanese envoy disliked his country's name Woguo (Chinese) (倭 國), and changed it to Nippon (Japanese; in Chinese, Riben) (日本), or "Origin of the Sun". Another 8th - century chronicle, True Meaning of Shiji (史記 正義), however, states that the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian ordered a Japanese envoy to change the country's name to Nippon . The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the emperor is said to be the direct descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the legitimacy of the ruling house rested on this divine appointment and descent from the chief deity of the predominant Shinto religion . The name of the country reflects this central importance of the sun . </P> <P> The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes . The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu . In modern Shanghainese (a language of the Wu Chinese subgroup), the formal pronunciation of the characters 日本 (Japan) is still Zeppen (zəʔpən). The colloquial pronunciation of the character 日 is (ɲəʔ), which is closer to Nippon . The Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun were borrowed from non-Mandarin Chinese languages, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century . It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe . It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan . </P> <P> In English, the modern official title of the country is simply "Japan", one of the few nation - states to have no "long form" name . The official Japanese - language name is Nippon - koku or Nihon - koku (日本 国), literally "State of Japan". From the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II, the full title of Japan was the "Empire of Greater Japan" (大 日本 帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku). A more poetic rendering of the name of Japan during this period was "Empire of the Sun ." The official name of the nation was changed after the adoption of the post-war constitution; the title "State of Japan" is sometimes used as a colloquial modern - day equivalent . As an adjective, the term "Dai - Nippon" remains popular with Japanese governmental, commercial, or social organizations whose reach extend beyond Japan's geographic borders (e.g., Dai Nippon Printing, Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, etc .). </P> <P> Though Nippon or Nihon are still by far the most popular names for Japan from within the country, recently the foreign words Japan and even Jipangu (from Cipangu, see below) have been used in Japanese mostly for the purpose of foreign branding . </P>

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