幌筵島 ぱらむしるとう Paramushir
Northern Kuril Islands
Ainu spellings: Paramoshiri, Poro-moshiri, Uréshi, Nuben-moshiri, Sesebumoshiri
Torii's list of places on this island (pp. 48–53) is the longest in his chapter; his informant ニキハル knew its east, south and north but not the west (p. 40).
Location
50.3840, 155.8322 · Coordinates: OpenStreetMap Nominatim, 2026-09-11, on 幌筵島. Open in OpenStreetMap
Referents
- island The largest of the northern Kurils, south of Shumshu; one of the three islands with permanent Kuril Ainu villages
Analyses
Poro-moshiri
ポロモシリ ‘big island’ received readingProponent: 鳥居龍藏 (Torii Ryūzō)
The Kuril Ainu form as Torii heard it; his word list has Poro 'big' and Moshiri 'island'.
Both parts are ordinary words, recorded by Torii himself, and the island is the largest of the group. The a of Paramushir, 幌筵 and Парамушир against the o of the Ainu form is a separate, open question.
Uréshi
ウレシ ‘the place that rears many people’ proposed- uréshi ‘(Torii: 'rear many people')’
Proponent: 鳥居龍藏 (Torii Ryūzō)
A second name recorded with its gloss; Torii does not segment it.
No dictionary word is identified for the form here; the gloss rests on the informants alone.
Attestations
- Paramoshiri oral record 1903 鳥居龍藏『千島アイヌ』第二章「千島地名解」
土人は Poro-moshiri（大島）と云ふ、又 Uréshi（人を多く育てる所）Nuben-moshiri, Sesebumoshiri とも稱せり
Torii writes the heading form Paramoshiri (波羅牟志利島) and gives the Kuril Ainu form Poro-moshiri 'big island', with three further names Uréshi 'place that rears many people', Nuben-moshiri and Sesebumoshiri.
鳥居1903 p. 42