In Japanese, Japan is called "Nihon" (日本), and the language is called "Nihongo" (日本語) (-go means "language"). Sometimes, the words "Nippon" and "Nippongo" are also used, but both words are now thought of as more nationalist, and "Nihon" is a more neutral word. The kanji of the word mean "sun-origin." Since Japan is at the eastern edge of Asia, to observers in China, the sun rose from the direction of Japan. That is why Japan is called "The Land of Rising Sun."