海驢

First attested in a section of the Nihon Kōki dated to 810, with the spelling 葦鹿 (literally “reed + deer”).^[1] Also attested with the spelling 海馬,^[2] which spelling is now reserved for the word todo referring to the Steller sea lion, a specific type of sea lion. The modern kanji spelling 海驢 appears to be relatively recent.^[2]

Ultimately the derivation is uncertain. Various theories exist:

• May be a borrowing from Ainu.^[3]
  • There is an Ainu word ashika. However, this word refers to thread in a piece of cloth.^[4] The Ainu words for sea lion are instead toda / toto,^[5] etaspe,^[6] or uretaro.^[7]
• May be a shift from ama shika, as a compound of 海 (ama, “sea, ocean”) +‎ 鹿 (shika, “deer”).^[3][8]
  • This would fit the apparent semantics of this term. However, the elision of the -ma from ama is phonologically unlikely, with no other examples of this shift. A contraction or fusion might be expected to produce voiced ajika instead, and while this is attested^[1] as a form of this word ashika, it appears later than unvoiced ashika.
• May be a shift from ashi shika, as a compound of 葦 (ashi, “reed”) +‎ 鹿 (shika, “deer”), referring to the shallows along the shore where a sea lion might be found.^[3][8]
  • This would fit the earliest attested spelling of this term. While reeds only tolerate temporary exposure to saltwater, and are found along muddy or sandy shores, sea lions do often establish rookeries on sandy beaches. At least one source rules out this derivation in consideration of the apparent unlikelihood that sea lions would be active in areas where reeds grow.^[8]

  References that discuss derivation appear to agree that the final -shika element is from 鹿 (shika, “deer”).^[3][8] However, the older form of that word is attested as simply ka, which form is also found in compounds such as kanoshishi ("venison", literally "dear meat"), Kagoshima (place name; literally "deer-fawn island"), and Suzuka (place name; literally "bell-deer"). As such, this ashika could just as well be a compound of ashi ("reed") plus this ka ("deer").

If none of the above, this could be a borrowing in toto from some as-yet-unidentified language.

The "young prostitute" sense arose during the Edo period from the way that sea lions were thought to sleep a lot, and the way that new prostitutes were often not yet accustomed to sleep deprivation, and were thus prone to falling asleep.^[1]

• (Tokyo) あしか [àshíká] (Heiban – [0])^[9][2][10]
• IPA^(key): [a̠ɕi̥ka̠]

海驢(あしか) • (ashika) 

1. [from 810] a sea lion

   Synonyms: 海禿 (umi-kaburo), 海獺 (umiuso)

2. [1780–??] (archaic, historical) a young prostitute just starting out in the trade

   Synonym: 新造 (shinzō)

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as アシカ (ashika).
• This is distinct from the 海馬 (todo, “Steller sea lion”): the todo is a type of ashika. This is also distinct from the 海豹 (azarashi, “earless seal”): while earless seals have no externally visible ears, the sea lions do.

Ultimately from Middle Chinese 海驢 (MC xojX ljo). First attested in Japanese in 1310.^[1]

This reading appears to be obsolete, and is not listed in various resources covering modern usage.^{[9][2][10][11]}

• IPA^(key): [ka̠iɾo̞]

海(かい)驢(ろ) • (kairo) 

1. [1310–??] (archaic, possibly obsolete) a sea lion

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Kojiki of 712 with the phonetic spelling 美智 (mi₁ti).

While older than the kairo reading, this is still included in some more general-use Japanese monolingual dictionaries.^[9]

• IPA^(key): [mʲit͡ɕi]

海驢(みち) • (michi) 

1. [712–??] a sea lion

• “〈海^▲驢〉”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[7] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026