Answer:
The word "Japan" has its origin in the term Nippon, whose literal translation is "the origin of the sun." Therefore, the official and original name of the Japanese nation is Nippon-koku, that is, "the country of the sun's origin," Nippon was as Japan was previously called.
For the past 1400 years, the world has referred to Japan as Nippon, the land or country of the rising sun.
However, Japan and China share in their writing characters called kanji, which usually have the same meaning in both languages but not necessarily reads the same. The Kanipis of Nippon, are read "Yihpun" or "Xipon" in Chinese, and that is the name with which Marco Polo heard that they referred to those islands beyond the Chinese sea, when he began his famous journey along the Silk Road. He called them "Chipangu" in his writings, and the name derived from "Jipan" and "Japan", which remained since then.
