Etymology

Sakurajima

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Today it means: Its eponymous giant white radish (“桜島大根”), cultivated nearby since at least the 18th century. Full definition →

Japanese 桜島
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The story

  1. Japanese · borrowed from桜島“Cherry Island”
  2. English todaySakurajima

From Japanese 桜島 (sakurajima, “Cherry Island”), from 桜 (sakura, “cherry tree, cherry blossom”) + 島 (shima, “island”). From its appearance like a cherry tree in bloom, when from a volcanic eruption, hot rock rains down onto the slopes, lighting up the island volcano.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.