indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from location & ornamental)
Usage Japanese
Scripts 皇(Japanese Kanji) すめらぎ(Japanese Hiragana)
Meaning & History
From Japanese 皇 (sumeragi), script-changed from 皇木 (sumeragi), from 皇 (sumera), a sound-changed clipping of 皇華山 (Kōkasan) meaning "Kōka Mountain", a mountain in the area of Kitahanazawa in the city of Higashiōmi in the prefecture of Shiga in Japan, and 木 (gi), the joining form of 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood". It is a reference to the story of Prince Shōtoku in the Asuka Period who visited the temple of Jōgan in what is still Kōka Mountain. The prince offered food for Buddhist prosperity and punctured it with chopsticks made of acer pycnanthum wood.