Sea of Japan
3
2.4
- proper noun
:
Mar de Japón
- On our duty station off Wonson, Korea, we carried a helicopter and pilot aboard to pick up downed jet pilots forced to ditch in the cold waters of the Sea of Japan.
Or they launch into the Sea of Japan.
- Or they launch into the Sea of Japan.
Examples
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The Sea of Japan plays a crucial role in the local economy for fishing communities.
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The island is geographically separated from the mainland by the Sea of Japan.
Academic text (2006) -
I'll be somewhere in the Sea of Japan.
Fiction book (1991) -
Relations across the Sea of Japan may already be improving.
Academic text (1998) -
To its west is the Yellow Sea, and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan.
Blog text (11) -
An Amur tiger has left tracks in the Sikhote-Alin Reserve; the Sea of Japan is visible in the background.
Academic text (2011) -
Japan NET will emerge, and in the Sea of Japan, closer ties are forming between the Siberian ports of Vladivostok and Nakhodka and regions such as Niigata in west Japan.
Academic text (1991) -
Many fish species can be found in the warm waters of the Sea of Japan.
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Fishermen from both Korea and Japan work together in the Sea of Japan.
Synonyms
A sea between Japan and the eastern coasts of Korea and Russia, often called the Sea of Japan
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'sea' + 'of' + 'Japan': a sea associated with or located by Japan, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would infer it refers to the body of water near Japan. The 'noun + of + place' naming pattern is regular in English (and common cross-linguistically), making the expression immediately comprehensible from its parts.
Etymology
Sea of Japan may come from old maps and sailors who used this sea to reach Japan. Because the sea sits beside Japan and many ships sailed to Japanese ports, map makers called it the sea 'of Japan', and that name has stayed in use today.