畿 means “capital region”

き · ki

Also: capital, suburbs of capital

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

みやこ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

A field (田) tucked inside 幾, threads (幺幺) and a halberd (戈) on guard: the oldest dictionary calls 畿 the emperor's own land around the capital. 近畿, Kinki, is the region around Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, and 畿内 the old home provinces.

Used in 近畿 (kinki, the Kinki region) and 畿内 (kinai, the home provinces around the old capital)

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.