飛生 とびう Tobiu
Tobiu, Shiraoi, Iburi region, Hokkaidō
Ainu spellings: Topioi
One of the Shiraoi names the article leaves with the received reading, supported by the stand of Kuril bamboo along the river and by the neighbouring Topushinai.
Location
42.5318, 141.2120 · Coordinates: OpenStreetMap Nominatim, 2026-09-10, on 飛生川. Open in OpenStreetMap
Referents
- river The Tobiu River, the western tributary of the Shikiu River, with the Topushinai as its own tributary
- settlement Tobiu in Shiraoi; the translated name Takeura 竹浦 is in use as an administrative name
Analyses
topi-o-i
トピオイ ‘place where bamboo grows’ received reading- topi ‘Kuril bamboo (long form of top)’
- o ‘have many of’
- i ‘place’
Proponent: 定説
topi is the long form of top 'Kuril bamboo'. The author supports the reading: the Topushinai, a tributary of the Tobiu, is top-us-nay 'stream where Kuril bamboo grows', and Kuril bamboo, which lacks the white leaf margin of kumazasa, grows in stands along the Tobiu.
top 'bamboo' is a dictionary word in the sense used, the shape follows the ordinary o-i pattern, the plant grows along the river, and a neighbouring tributary carries the same element. The article gives topi as the long form of top and the final i as a formal noun without citing a dictionary for either.