# Japanese name origin: Kinkisharyo (rail vehicles manufacturer) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618 "2018-02-26T18:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/1 "2018-02-26T18:52:03Z")
Call-out to those who speak Japanese: What does the name ‘[Kinkisharyo](http://www.kinkisharyo.co.jp)’ mean? This is the manufacturer of rail rolling stock, including [light rail vehicles used in Los Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkisharyo_P3010). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinki_Sharyo) gives the Japanese script for their full name as “近畿車輛株式会社”, and some fiddling with Google Translate suggests this is the ‘Kinki Vehicles Company’. I can’t get a clear meaning on what ‘Kinki’ is, though. A proper name? There’s a hint it might mean ‘Capital Region’, but that’s not clear. [The company’s history website](http://www.kinkisharyo.co.jp/eng/e_aboutus/history.htm) doesn’t explain where the name came from either, despite listing that they adopted the name in 1945. Note that they seem to use ‘Kinki Sharyo’ in Japan, and ‘Kinkisharyo’ in the US. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/2 "2018-02-26T19:07:48Z")
My wild guess is that the name refers to the Kinki/Kansai region, something like “neighbourhood of the capital.” ETA if the name were, say, “California Vehicles Company,” I would not expect an explanation on the web site, either. ---
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/3 "2018-02-26T19:09:02Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > Call-out to those who speak Japanese: What does the name ‘[Kinkisharyo](http://www.kinkisharyo.co.jp)’ mean? > > This is the manufacturer of rail rolling stock, including [light rail vehicles used in Los Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkisharyo_P3010). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinki_Sharyo) gives the Japanese script for their full name as “近畿車輛æªå¼ä¼šç¤¾”, and some fiddling with Google Translate suggests this is the ‘Kinki Vehicles Company’. I can’t get a clear meaning on what ‘Kinki’ is, though. A proper name? There’s a hint it might mean ‘Capital Region’, but that’s not clear. > > [The company’s history website](http://www.kinkisharyo.co.jp/eng/e_aboutus/history.htm) doesn’t explain where the name came from either, despite listing that they adopted the name in 1945. Note that they seem to use ‘Kinki Sharyo’ in Japan, and ‘Kinkisharyo’ in the US. It is the name of the region: > **[Kansai Region](https://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1105.html)** > > Travel guide for Japan's Kansai Region around Osaka and Kyoto. Just means the company is from Osaka, not Tokyo. ---
**Author:** ![prongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@prongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prongo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/4 "2018-02-26T19:16:29Z")
Dad’s a native speaker. He confirms that Kinki refers to a region that encompasses Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and others. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/5 "2018-02-26T19:37:21Z")
Just to add, it does mean capital region - where “capital” is the location of the emperor’s palace, not necessarily the center of political power. The actual ruling government moved to Edo (now Tokyo) in the 17th century, but the Emperor (a figurehead by that time) remained in the Kyoto area until the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/6 "2018-02-26T21:33:47Z")
Thanks, all! Seems pretty clear 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/7 "2018-02-27T01:14:27Z")
There’s also a University in the area that used to go by Kinki University. For academic seriousness reasons in English, they changed their preferred English name recently to Kindai, short for Kinki Daigaku (Daigaku meaning university or college), the full Japanese name. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-name-origin-kinkisharyo-rail-vehicles-manufacturer/809618/8 "2018-02-27T02:32:01Z")
And we cannot forget those [Kinki Kids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KinKi_Kids).