rja@osk2.3web.ne.jp (Ron Andrews) wrote in message news:<7594b59c.0309140900.258bd6f7@posting.google.com>...
> Does anyone know the etymology or history behind the traditional
> orders of compass directions stated in different languages?

Interesting question! I imagine that the Japanese ordering comes from
the Chinese one, which actually is dong-xi-nan-bei (or at least that's
how we learned it -- where did you find the dong nan xi bei
ordering?). As for the reasoning, my speculations would be no better
than yours, and even if you did manage to unearth some ancient text
the purported to explain the reasoning, it would probably just be an
after-the-fact attempt to give meaning to a custom that was already
prevalent. But it's fun to think about!

VT