南北銀行 (North-South Bank) meaning


I was watching an anime called Ganbare Goemon and there was this sign that I
found a bit strange:

![南北銀行](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ar6AO.png)

How exactly are you supposed to understand it? I mean, north and south are in
opposite directions so isn't it contradictory? Or does it mean that it covers
all areas from north to south? Or is it perhaps just a name that doesn't
really have any special meaning?

Oh, and I want to mention that English is my second language (I'm from Russia)
so maybe there is some sort of language barrier that makes it sound weird for
me.




**_It means nothing, trust me._**

In manga/anime, authors customarily create weird, non-sense or parodic proper
nouns for companies, schools, newspapers, etc. They do so because they are
legally not allowed to use real existing proper nouns.

There often are, however, "funny" similarities between some of those fictional
proper nouns and the real proper nouns that they are named after.

**_Among the most famous and often used are:_**

> 「 **毎朝** 新聞」← The most famous Japanese newspaper that does **_not_** exist!

I have been seeing this imaginary newspaper name in manga, dramas, etc. all of
my life. It is so obviously taken from both 「 **毎日** 新聞」 and 「 **朝日** 新聞」,
both of which are existing major newspapers.

> 「[帝都大学]{ていとだいがく}」、「帝都[銀行]{ぎんこう}」, etc.

You will see those often as well. Upon seeing/hearing the 「[帝都]{ていと}」 part,
most Japanese-speakers will think of 「[東京]{とうきょう}」.

> 「 **ワ** クドナルド」 with 「ワ」instead of 「マ」.

The imaginary hamburger chain.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5aazg.jpg)

Likewise, 「[南北銀行]{なんぼくぎんこう}」 is just an imaginary bank. It would be pretty
useless analyzing the 「南北」 part. It just means "south and north" and , even
though this bank does not exist, it looks "normal" for a business name and
that is all that matters. Looking "kind of normal" is the key here. Unless it
is important to the story, you do not spend much time thinking of a unique and
great-sounding proper name. It simply will not serve its purpose.




**_It means nothing, trust me._**

In manga/anime, authors customarily create weird, non-sense or parodic proper
nouns for companies, schools, newspapers, etc. They do so because they are
legally not allowed to use real existing proper nouns.

There often are, however, "funny" similarities between some of those fictional
proper nouns and the real proper nouns that they are named after.

**_Among the most famous and often used are:_**

> 「 **毎朝** 新聞」← The most famous Japanese newspaper that does **_not_** exist!

I have been seeing this imaginary newspaper name in manga, dramas, etc. all of
my life. It is so obviously taken from both 「 **毎日** 新聞」 and 「 **朝日** 新聞」,
both of which are existing major newspapers.

> 「[帝都大学]{ていとだいがく}」、「帝都[銀行]{ぎんこう}」, etc.

You will see those often as well. Upon seeing/hearing the 「[帝都]{ていと}」 part,
most Japanese-speakers will think of 「[東京]{とうきょう}」.

> 「 **ワ** クドナルド」 with 「ワ」instead of 「マ」.

The imaginary hamburger chain.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5aazg.jpg)

Likewise, 「[南北銀行]{なんぼくぎんこう}」 is just an imaginary bank. It would be pretty
useless analyzing the 「南北」 part. It just means "south and north" and , even
though this bank does not exist, it looks "normal" for a business name and
that is all that matters. Looking "kind of normal" is the key here. Unless it
is important to the story, you do not spend much time thinking of a unique and
great-sounding proper name. It simply will not serve its purpose.

