「ひがし」 vs. 「あずま」


From what I understand, both 「ひがし」 and 「あずま」 meant "east" and then the latter
became the reading of 東.

Is 「ひがし」 an archaic term and never used, or are both acceptable? If both are
acceptable, what context/how are the two written differently?




Are you sure they aren't the other way round? I have only ever known `東` as
either `ひがし` on it's own `東{ひがし}` or `とう` when used in a compound `東京{とうきょう}`.

The reading `あずま` seems like in comes from the period where the region
encompassing Kyoto and Nara were the political and cultural capitals of Japan
as it basically means Tokyo from the Perspective of Kyoto. My dictionary tells
me that the reading `あずま` is outdated so I would recommend the `ひがし` reading
when reading contemporary words, for example `東口{ひがしぐち}` as opposed to
`東口{あずまぐち}`, unless the name of the person or place expressly uses `あずま` as
it's reading.




Are you sure they aren't the other way round? I have only ever known `東` as
either `ひがし` on it's own `東{ひがし}` or `とう` when used in a compound `東京{とうきょう}`.

The reading `あずま` seems like in comes from the period where the region
encompassing Kyoto and Nara were the political and cultural capitals of Japan
as it basically means Tokyo from the Perspective of Kyoto. My dictionary tells
me that the reading `あずま` is outdated so I would recommend the `ひがし` reading
when reading contemporary words, for example `東口{ひがしぐち}` as opposed to
`東口{あずまぐち}`, unless the name of the person or place expressly uses `あずま` as
it's reading.

