Kuroshio

Proper noun

Kuroshio

1. (usually) The oceanic current forming the swift, warm, northward-flowing western quarter of the North Pacific Gyre.
   • Between Fatsisio and Mikura a current to the eastward is marked, called the Kuro Siwo Stream.1851, Alexander G. Findlay, A directory for the navigation of the Pacific Ocean; with description of its coasts, islands, etc., from the Strait of Magalhaens to the Arctic Sea, and those of Asia and...
   • Still less must we forget the mighty river in the sea—the Kuroshio, or “Black Current”—which, flowing northwards from the direction of Formosa and the Philippine Islands, warms the southern and south-eastern coasts of Japan much as the Gulf Stream warms the coasts of western Europe.1890, Basil Hall Chamberlain, Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., page 134

   Synonyms:

   Japan Current, Black Current, Black Stream