Name of volcanoes in Japanese
These comments are cited from "Volcanoes of Japan (Third Edition)" issued by Geological Survey of Japan in 2013. In Japanese, volcano names basically comprise "name of a mountain or island + volcano (in Japanese)", for example, Fuji Volcano (Fuji Kazan). Kazan means volcano in Japanese. The "name" used in this database is the officially accepted name although there are some exceptions.
< Mountains>
In Japanese, locality names ending with “...-yama”, “...-san”, “...-zan”, “...-take”, “...-dake”, “...-sen”, “...-zen” and “...-mine” mean “mountain”. The spelling is not consistent, however, and some such names are written with a space between words. For example, “Asama”, “Asama-yama”, “Asama Yama”, “Asamayama” and “Asama-Yama” are all synonymous. It is also correct to say “Mt. Asama” or “Mt. Asamayama”. In the case of mountains that are also volcanoes, terms such as “Asama Volcano”, “Asama-yama Volcano”, or “Asamayama Volcano” are used. In some case, both “... yama” and “...-san” are used for the same mountain (volcano).
< Islands>
In Japanese, locality names ending with “...shima”, “...-jima”, “...Shima” and “...Jima” mean “island”. "Miyake Jima" can also be spelled “Miyake-Jima”, “Miyake-jima” and “Miyakejima”. When an island is a volcano, it is called “Miyakejima Volcano” or “Miyake Volcano”.
< Exceptions>
1. In some cases, endings for “mountain” or “island” cannot be separated from the place name. An example is “Nii-jima” which is never written as “Nii” or “Nii Volcano”. Similarly “Dai-sen” is never written “Dai” or “Dai Volcano”.
2. Due to the limited number of Japanese syllables, “Fuji Volcano” can also sometimes be spelled “Huzi Volcano”, which is pronounced identically in Japanese but appears at different places in an alphabetical list. There are several similar cases.
3. Prolonged vowels are part of the Japanese language but are unknown in English. Some localities can thus be spelled in different ways, e.g. “Oshima”, “Ooshima” and “Ohshima”, all used for the same locality.
4. When the letters “m” or “n” appear before the letters “p”, “b” or “m”, as in “Sambe” and “Sanbe”, both can be used for the same locality. These letters should be unified as “n” in this database.