Word.ws English Dictionary

higashi

higashi noun: the (more prestigious) right-hand side of the banzuke.

higashi: the (more prestigious) right-hand side of the banzuke
Image: iwaryo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

higashi (plural higashi)

  1. The (more prestigious) right-hand side of the banzuke.
  2. A rikishi listed on the right side of the banzuke.
  3. The eastern side of the ring.

Noun (2)

higashi (plural higashi)

  1. A type of wagashi that contains very little moisture and thus keeps relatively longer than other kinds.
    • kigata. Wooden forms used for making higashi[1963], “List of Illustrations: Wood”, in Katachi: Japanese Pattern and Design in Wood, Paper, and Clay, New York, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., →LCCN, →OCLC, page xviii, column 1
    • There are hundreds of distinct variations within the main types of wagashi: namagashi, monaka, yokan, manju, and higashi. […] higashi are dried sweets made from rice flour, sugar, and starch pressed into molds that give them a textured and decorative surface.2007 winter, Elisa Herr, “A Sweet Tradition”, in Japan Info, volume 9, New York, N.Y.: Japan Information Center, Consolate General of Japan, →OCLC, page 8, columns 1–2

Proper noun capitalized: Higashi

Higashi (plural Higashis)

  1. A surname from Japanese.

Forms of higashi

Noun
pluralhigashi
Proper noun
pluralHigashis

Origin of higashi

From Japanese 東 (higashi, “east”), from the way the eastern or right side of the sumo ranking list is considered more prestigious, by analogy with the rising sun as opposed to the setting sun.

From Japanese 干菓子 /乾菓子 (higashi, literally “dry confectionery”).

Borrowed from Japanese 東 (Higashi).

Words formed from higashi

Questions about higashi

What does higashi mean?
Higashi means the (more prestigious) right-hand side of the banzuke.
What part of speech is higashi?
Higashi can be a noun or a proper noun.
What is the plural of higashi?
The plural of higashi is higashi.

Words near higashi in the dictionary

  1. higabs
  2. Higaonon
  3. Higareda
  4. Higaredas
  5. Higas
  6. higashi
  7. Higashichichibu
  8. Higashihiroshima
  9. Higashikagawa
  10. Higashimurayama
  11. Higashiosaka

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: higashi (page history and authors); Higashi (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “higashi.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/higashi. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.