1.
barren land; wasteland; an area where vegetation cannot grow
A geographical region — desert, frozen tundra, or rocky terrain — where the soil and climate make farming or natural plant growth impossible. Used in physical geography and travel writing.
2.
(figuratively) area or field devoid of activity, talent, or productivity
Used metaphorically to describe a domain where something expected is missing — a field with no notable talent, a market with no products, a region with no industry, etc. Common in journalism and commentary, often paired with the area in question (e.g., 政治の不毛地帯 'political wasteland'). Famously the title of a popular novel and TV drama by Yamasaki Toyoko.
Compound of 不毛 ('barren; sterile; fruitless') and 地帯 ('zone; belt; region'). Used both literally for barren physical terrain and figuratively for fields lacking productivity, talent, or substance.
Usage
- In its literal sense, common in geography textbooks, news about climate and agriculture, and travel writing.
- In its figurative sense, common in journalism, commentary, and book/article titles. Often takes the form X の不毛地帯 ('a wasteland of X').
- The novel and TV drama 「不毛地帯」 by Yamasaki Toyoko (山崎豊子) made the word familiar to a wide Japanese audience.
Common collocations
- 政治の不毛地帯: political wasteland
- 議論の不毛地帯: a wasteland of debate
- 才能の不毛地帯: a wasteland of talent
- 不毛地帯を緑化する: to green a barren area
- 不毛地帯と化す: to turn into a wasteland
Similar words
- 荒野: wilderness; wasteland — focuses on uncultivated, wild land; more poetic and less technical.
- 砂漠: desert — a specific type of barren land defined by aridity.
- 不毛: barren; fruitless — the underlying na-adjective; can apply to land or to abstract things like discussions.
- 未開地: undeveloped land — focuses on lack of human development rather than infertility.
- 空白地帯: blank zone; vacuum — figurative term for an area where something is absent (e.g., a legal 空白地帯).