Japanese names (人名, jinmei^?) in modern times usually consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name. A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name. This naming order is common in countries that have long been part of the Chinese cultural sphere, including among the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures. Sinosphere, also known as Chinese world, Chinese cultural sphere or Chinese-character cultural sphere ( a term coined by linguist James Matisoff The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the People's Republic of China (including Hong The Korean people are an East Asian Ethnic group. Most Koreans speak the Korean language. The Vietnamese people (người Việt or vi ''người Kinh'' are an Ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern China. "Middle names" are not generally used.

Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are Chinese characters in Japanese pronunciation. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese ( The kanji for a name may have a variety of possible Japanese pronunciations, but usually parents might use hiragana or katakana when giving a birth name to their new-born child. is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with Katakana and Kanji; the Latin alphabet is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with Hiragana, Kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet Names written in hiragana or katakana don't really bear a meaning, then given names in kanji. is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with Katakana and Kanji; the Latin alphabet is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with Hiragana, Kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana

Japanese family names are extremely varied: according to estimates, there are over 100,000 different surnames in use today in Japan. This is due to the recent origin of family names in Japan (1870s), hence there have been few generations in which family names could become extinct. ^[1] Common family names in Japan include Satō (佐藤) (most common), Suzuki (鈴木) (second most common), Takahashi (高橋) (third most common), and Katō (加藤) (tenth most common). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ^[2] Surnames occur with varying frequency in different regions; for example, the names Chinen (知念), Higa (比嘉), and Shimabukuro (島袋) are common in Okinawa but not in other parts of Japan. is one of Japan 's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1000 km long which extends southwest from Kyūshū Many Japanese family names derive from features of the rural landscape; for example, Ishikawa (石川) means "stone river," Yamamoto (山本) means "the base of the mountain," and Inoue (井上) means "above the well. Inoue (井上 "above the well" is the 17th most common Japanese Surname. "

Given names are much more diverse in pronunciation and character usage. Male names often end in -rō (郎 "son", but also 朗 "clear, bright") or -ta (太 "great, thick"), or contain ichi (一 "first [son]"), kazu (also written with 一 "first [son]", along with several other possible characters), ji (二 "second [son]" or 次 "next"), or dai (大 "great, large") while female names often end in -ko (子 "child") or -mi (美 "beauty"). Other popular endings for female names include -ka (香 "scent, perfume" or 花 "flower") and -na (奈, or 菜, meaning greens).

Contents 1 Structure 2 Characters 2.1 Difficulty of reading names 2.2 Regulations 3 Customs 3.1 Speaking to and of others 3.2 Nicknames 4 Names from other ethnic groups in Japan 5 Imperial names 6 Historical names 7 Professional names 8 Japanese names in English 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

Structure

All Japanese people have one surname and one given name with no middle name, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members bear no surname. The are the dominant Ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent of these approximately 127 million are residents of Japan The Imperial House of Japan (also referred to as the Imperial Family or kōshitsu, 皇室 comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of The surname is called myōji (苗字 or 名字), uji (氏) or sei (姓), and the given name is called the "name" (名前 namae) or "lower name" (下の名前 shita no namae). The family name precedes the given name.

Historically, myōji, uji and sei had different meanings. Sei was originally the matrilineal surname. Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Later it became granted only by the emperor. There were relatively few sei, and most of the medieval noble clans trace their lineage either directly to these sei or to the courtiers of these sei. Uji was first used to designate patrilineal descent, but later merged with myōji around the same time sei lost its matrilineal significance. Patrilineality (aka agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage it generally involves the Inheritance of property names or titles Myōji was, simply, what a family chooses to call itself, as opposed to the sei granted by the emperor. While it was passed on patrilineally, one had a certain degree of freedom in changing one's myōji. See also Kabane. were hereditary titles used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing

There are a few names that can be used as either surnames or given names (for example Mayumi 真弓, Kaneko 金子, Masuko 益子, or Arata 新). In addition, to those familiar with Japanese names, which name is the surname and which is the given name is usually apparent, no matter which order the names are presented in. This thus makes it unlikely that the two names will be confused, for example when writing in English using the order family name, given name. However, when romanized, some common surnames and given names may coincide: e. g. , Shoji (昌司, 昭次, or 正二, Shoji^?) (given name) and Shoji (庄司, 庄子, 東海林, or 小路, Shoji^?) (surname).

Characters

Japanese names are usually written in kanji (Chinese characters), although some names use hiragana or even katakana, or a mixture of kanji and kana. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with Katakana and Kanji; the Latin alphabet is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with Hiragana, Kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet Kana is a general term for the syllabic Japanese scripts Hiragana (ひらがな and Katakana (カタカナ as well as the old system While most "traditional" names use kun'yomi (native Japanese) kanji readings, a large number of given names and surnames use on'yomi (Chinese-based) kanji readings as well. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana Many others use readings which are only used in names (nanori), such as the female name Nozomi (希). are Kanji character readings (pronunciations found almost only in Japanese names. The majority of surnames comprise one, two or three kanji characters. There are also a small number of four or five kanji surnames, such as Teshigawara (勅使河原) and Kutaragi (久夛良木), Kadenokoji(勘解由小路), but these are extremely rare.

As mentioned above, female given names often end in the syllable ko, written with the kanji meaning "child" (子). This was much more common up to about the 1980s, but the practice does continue today. Male names occasionally end with the syllable ko, but very rarely using the kanji 子 (most often, if a male name ends in ko, it ends in hiko, using the kanji 彦). Common male name endings are -shi and -o; names ending with -shi are often adjectives, e. g. , Atsushi which might mean, for example, "(to be) faithful. " In the past (before World War II), names written with katakana were common for women, but this trend seems to have lost favour. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Hiragana names for women are not unusual. Kana names for boys, particularly those written in hiragana, have historically been very rare. This may be in part because the hiragana script is seen as feminine; in medieval Japan, women generally were not taught kanji and wrote exclusively in hiragana.

Names, like other Japanese words, cannot begin with the syllable n (ん, ン). Some names end in n: the male names Ken, Shin, and Jun are examples. The syllable n should not be confused with the consonant "n," which names can begin with (provided the "n" sound is paired with a vowel); for example, the female name Naoko (尚子) or the male Naoya (直哉).

One large category of family names can be categorized as "-tō" names. The kanji 藤, meaning wisteria, has the on'yomi tō (or, with rendaku, dō). Wisteria is a Genus of about ten species of woody climbing Vines native to the eastern United States and the East Asian states of China is a phenomenon in Japanese Morphophonology which governs the voicing of the initial Consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word Many Japanese people have surnames that include this kanji as the second character. This is because the Fujiwara clan (藤原家) gave their samurai surnames ending with the first character of their name, to denote their status in an era when commoners were not allowed surnames. The Fujiwara clan (藤原氏 Fujiwara-shi) descending from the Nakatomi clan, was a powerful family of Regents in Japan that monopolized the regent positions is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial Japan. Examples include Atō, Andō, Itō (although a different final kanji is also common), Udō, Etō, Endō, Gotō, Jitō, Katō, Kitō, Kudō, Kondō, Saitō, Satō, Shindō, Sudō, Naitō, Bitō, and Mutō. Andō (安藤 is the surname of Ando Kunitake, Japanese businessman Masanobu Ando, Japanese actor and film director Itō (伊藤 is the sixth most common Japanese family name. Other Japanese surnames exist (e GOTO is a statement found in many computer Programming languages It is a combination of the English words go and to Jito (地頭 Jitō were medieval land stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates Appointed by the The Kito' s are a prominent family of Long Island's North Shore (Long Island. NEWSTALK 1080am KUDO is a commercial radio station in Anchorage Alaska The sudo ( super user do; officially ˈsuːduː though /ˈsuːdoʊ/ is also common command is a program for Unix-like computer Operating systems As already noted, some of the most common family names are in this list.

Difficulty of reading names

A name written in kanji may have more than one common pronunciation, only one of which is correct for a given individual. For example, the surname written in kanji as 東海林 may be read either Tōkairin or Shōji. Conversely, any one name may have several possible written forms, and again, only one will be correct for a given individual. The character 一 when used as a male given name may be used as the written form for "Hajime," "Hitoshi," "Ichi- / -ichi" "Kazu- / -kazu," and many others. The name "Hajime" may be written with any of the following: 始, 治, 初, 一, 元, 肇, 創, 甫, 基, 哉, 啓, 本, 源, 東, 大, 孟, or 祝. This many-to-many correspondence between names and the ways they are written is much more common with male given names than with surnames or female given names, but can be observed in all these categories. This can make the collation, pronunciation, and romanization of a Japanese name a very difficult problem. In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or For this reason, business cards often include the pronunciation of the name as furigana, and forms and documents always have spaces to write the reading of the name in kana (usually katakana). is a Japanese reading aid consisting of smaller Kana printed next to a Kanji or other character to indicate its Pronunciation. At restaurants in Japan it is common to wait to be seated by writing one's name on a list and waiting to be called, and at the top of the list there is usually a request to write one's name in katakana, rather than kanji.

A few Japanese names, particularly family names, include old-fashioned versions of characters. For example the very common character shima, island, may be written as 嶋 or 嶌 instead of the usual 島. Some names also feature very uncommon kanji, or even kanji which no longer exist in modern Japanese. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana Japanese people who have such names are likely to compromise by substituting similar or simplified characters.

An example of such a name is Saitō. There are two common kanji for sai here. The two sai characters have different meanings: 斉 means "together" or "parallel", but 斎 means "to purify". These names can also exist written in old-fashioned characters, as 齊藤 and 齋藤 respectively.

Family names are sometimes written with idiosyncratic characters, called ateji, that relate indirectly to the name as spoken. In modern Japanese, are Kanji used phonetically to represent native or borrowed words For example, 四月一日 would normally be read as shigatsu tsuitachi ("April 1st"), but as a family name it is read watanuki ("unpadded clothes"), because April 1st is the traditional date to switch from winter to summer clothes.

Most Japanese people and agencies have adopted customs to deal with these issues. Address books, for instance, often contain furigana or ruby characters to clarify the pronunciation of the name. is a Japanese reading aid consisting of smaller Kana printed next to a Kanji or other character to indicate its Pronunciation. Ruby characters are small annotative Glosses that can be placed above or to the right of a Chinese character when writing logographic languages such as Japanese nationals are also required to give a romanized name for their passport. In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or A passport is a document issued by a national government which certifies for the purpose of international travel the identity and nationality of its holder The recent use of Japanese media using katakana when referring to Japanese celebrities who have gained international fame has started a fad among young socialites attempting to invoke a cosmopolitan flair who use katakana names as a badge of honor. A socialite is a person who is known to be a part of fashionable Society because of his or her regular participation in social activities and fondness for spending a significant All of these complications are also found in Japanese place names. Japanese place names include names for geographic features present and former administrative divisions transportation facilities such as railroad stations and historic sites

Not all names are complicated. Some common names are summarized by the phrase tanakamura ("the village in the middle of the rice fields"): the three kanji: 田 (ta, rice field), 中 (naka, middle) and 村 (mura, village), together in any pair, form a simple, reasonably common surname: Tanaka, Nakamura, Murata, Nakata (Nakada), Muranaka, Tamura. Muranaka (村中 village center is a Japanese surname People Rika Muranaka, Japanese composer Tamura (usually written 田村 is a Japanese surname and may refer to Akihide Tamura (born 1947 Japanese photographer Atsushi Tamura

Despite these difficulties, there are enough patterns and recurring names that most native Japanese will be able to read virtually all family names they encounter and the majority of personal names.

Regulations

Kanji names in Japan are governed by the government's rules on kanji use. As of October 2004 there are 2,232 "name kanji" (the jinmeiyō kanji) and "commonly used characters" (the jōyō kanji) used in personal names, and the government plans to increase this list by 578 kanji in the near future. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The jinmeiyō kanji (ja 人名用漢字 Chinese characters for use in personal names) are a set of 983 Chinese characters known as the "name kanji" in The is the Kanji characters as a guide announced officially by the Japanese Ministry of Education. This would be the largest increase since World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Only kanji which appear on the official list may be used in given names. This is to ensure that names can be written and read by those literate in Japanese. Rules also govern names considered to be inappropriate; for example, in 1993 two parents who tried to name their child Akuma, which literally means "devil," were prohibited from doing so. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) ^[3]

Though there are regulations on the naming of children, many old characters can still be found in adults' names. Because these restrictions have been confusing to say the least, many recent changes have been made to increase rather than to reduce the number of kanji allowed for use in names. Moreover, the Sapporo High Court held that it was unlawful for the government to deny registration of a child's name because it contained a kanji character that was relatively common but not included in the official list of name characters compiled by the Ministry of Justice. Subsequently, the Japanese government promulgated plans to increase the number of "permitted" kanji.

The use of a space in given names (to separate first and middle names) is not allowed, because technically, a space is not an allowed character.

The plan to increase the number of name kanji has been controversial, largely because Chinese characters meaning "cancer" (癌 gan), "hemorrhoids" (痔 ji), "corpse" (骸 gai) and "excrement" (糞 fun / kuso), as well as those used in jukugo (words which are compounds of two or more kanji) meaning "curse" (呪 ju / noro[i]), "prostitute" (娼 shō) and "rape" (姦 kan), are among the proposed additions to the list. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana This is because no measures were taken to determine the appropriateness of the kanji proposed. The government will seek input from the public before approving the list.

Customs

In ancient times, people in Japan were considered the property of the Emperor and their surname reflected the role in the government they served. An example is Ōtomo (おおとも 'great attendant, companion'). The Ōtomo clan (大伴氏 was a Japanese clan whose power stretched from the Yamato period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 1100 years Names would also be given in the recognition of a great achievement and contribution.

Until the Meiji restoration, Japanese common people (people other than kuge and samurai) had no surnames, and when necessary, used a substitute such as the name of their birthplace. The, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan 's political and social structure The kuge (公家 was a Japanese Aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial Japan. For example, Ichirō born in Asahi mura (Asahi village) in the province of Musashi would say "Ichirō from Asahi-mura of Musashi". was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture, mainly Merchants were named after their brands (for example, Denbei, the owner of Sagamiya, would be Sagamiya Denbei), and farmers were named after their fathers (for example, Isuke, whose father was Genbei, would be "Isuke, son of Genbei"). After the Meiji restoration, the government ordered all commoners to assume surnames in addition to their given names: many people adopted historical names, while others simply made names up or had a local sage make up a surname. This explains, in part, the large number of surnames in Japan, as well as their great diversity of spellings and pronunciations.

During the period when typical parents had several children, it was a common practice to name sons by numbers suffixed with rō (郎, "son"). The first son would be known as "Ichirō", the second as "Jirō", and so on. Girls were often named with ko (子, "child") at the end of the given name; this should not be confused with the less common male suffix hiko (彦). Both practices have become less common, although many children still have names along these lines.

Speaking to and of others

Main articles: Japanese titles and Japanese pronouns

The way in which a name is used in conversation depends on the circumstances and the speaker's relationships with the listener and the bearer of the name. Japanese, like other languages uses a broad array of Honorifics for addressing or referring to people with respect Pronouns in the Japanese language are used less frequently than they would be in many other languages mainly because there is no grammatical requirement to explicitly mention Typically the family name is used, with given names largely restricted to informal situations and cases where the speaker is older than, superior to, or very familiar with the named individual. When addressing someone, or referring to a member of one's out-group, a title such as さん -san is typically added. Uchi-soto in the Japanese language is the distinction between in-groups ( uchi, 内 "inside" and out-groups ( soto, 外 "outside"

Japanese people avoid often referring to their seniors or superiors by name at all, using just a title: within a family this might be a kinship relation such as お母さん okāsan ("mother"), in a school it could be 先生 sensei ("teacher"), while a company president would be addressed as 社長 shachō ("company president").

On the other hand, pronominals meaning "you" ( あなた anata, きみ kimi, お前 omae ) are used rather little in Japanese. Using such words sometimes sounds disrespectful, and people will commonly address each other by name, title and honorific even in face-to-face conversations.

Calling someone's name without any title or honorific is called yobisute (呼び捨て), and may be considered rude even in the most informal and friendly occasions. This faux pas, however, is readily excused for foreigners.

Nicknames

Main article: Japanese abbreviated and contracted words

The common Japanese practice of forming abbreviations by concatenating the first two morae of two words is sometimes applied to names (usually those of celebrities). Abbreviated and contracted words are a common feature of Japanese. Mora (plural moras or morae) is a unit of sound used in Phonology that determines Syllable weight (which in turn determines stress For example, Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉, Kimura Takuya^?), a famous Japanese actor and singer, becomes Kimutaku (キムタク, Kimutaku^?). is an Actor and a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Many of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan This is sometimes applied even to non-Japanese celebrities: Brad Pitt, whose full name in Japanese is Buraddo Pitto (ブラッド ピット, Buraddo Pitto^?) is commonly known as Burapi (ブラピ, Burapi^?), and Jimi Hendrix is abbreviated as Jimihen (ジミヘン, Jimihen^?). William Bradley "Brad" Pitt Pitt received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter Some Japanese celebrities have also taken names combining kanji and katakana, such as Terry Itō (テリー伊藤). is a Japanese rendering ( Wasei-eigo) of the English word " Talent " and is used as a catch-all term for Mass media personalities who regularly

Corresponding to any given name there are one or more hypocoristics, affectionate nicknames. A hypocoristic, hypocorism, or hypochorisma (from Greek el ὑποκορίζεσθαι el-Latn hypokorizesthai, "to use child-talk" These are formed by adding the suffix -chan ちゃん to a stem. There are two types of stem. One consists of the full given name. Examples of this type are Tarō-chan from Tarō, Kimiko-chan from Kimiko, and Yasunari-chan from Yasunari. The other type of stem is a modified stem derived from the full given name. Examples of such names are: Taro-chan from Tarō, Kii-chan from Kimiko, and Yā-chan from Yasunari. Hypochoristics with modified stems are more intimate than those based on the full given name.

Hypocoristics with modified stems are derived by adding -chan to a stem consisting of an integral number, usually one but occasionally two, of feet, where a foot consists of two moras. In verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem A mora 音節 is the unit of which a light syllable contains one and a heavy syllable two. For example, the stems that may be derived from Tarō are /taro/, consisting of two light syllables, and /taa/, consisting of a single syllable with a long vowel, resulting in Taro-chan and Tā-chan. The stems that may be derived from Hanako are /hana/, with two light syllables, /han/, with one syllable closed by a consonant, and /haa/, with one syllable with a long vowel, resulting in Hanachan, Hanchan, and Hāchan. The segmental content is usually a left substring of that of the given name. However, in some cases it is obtained by other means, including the use of another reading of the Chinese characters used to write the name. For example, a girl named Keiko may be called Meguchan because the character used to write the /kei/ of Keiko, 恵, can also be read /megu/.

In general, one may use a hypochoristic only if he or she has known the person since he or she was a child. Thus, they may be used for children or for adults whom one has known since they were children.

Names from other ethnic groups in Japan

Many ethnic minorities, mostly Korean and Chinese, living in Japan adopt Japanese names. The roots of this custom go back to the colonial-era policy of sōshi-kaimei, which in theory permitted and in practice compelled many Koreans to change their names to Japanese names. Sōshi-kaimei ( Japanese: 創氏改名) was a policy created by Jiro Minami, Governor-General of Korea under the Empire of Japan Nowadays, ethnic minorities take on Japanese names, sometimes called pass names, to ease communication and, more importantly, to avoid discrimination. Unlike most discrimination policies discrimination between, which is the discernment of qualities and recognition of the differences focused here discrimination against is A few of them (e. g. , Chang Woo Han, founder and chairman of Maruhan Corp. ) still keep their native names.

Japanese citizenship used to require adopting a Japanese name. In recent decades, the government has allowed individuals to simply adopt katakana versions of their native names when applying for citizenship: Parliament member "Tsurunen Marutei" (ツルネン マルテイ), originally Martti Turunen, is a famous example. is the first European and only Foreign-born Japanese member of the Diet of Japan (a Korean had previously served in the Diet but presented himself as Japanese Others transliterate their names into phonetically similar kanji compounds, such as immigrant's-rights activist David Aldwinckle, who became "Arudou Debito" (有道 出人). is a Japanese author and an activist against Racial discrimination in Japan. Still others have abandoned their native names entirely in favor of traditional Japanese names, such as Lafcadio Hearn, who used the name "Koizumi Yakumo" (小泉 八雲). Patrick Lafcadio Hearn ( June 27, 1850 - September 26, 1904) also known as after gaining Japanese citizenship was an author best known At the time, to gain Japanese citizenship, it was necessary to be adopted by a Japanese family (in Hearn's case, it was his wife's family) and take their name.

Ethnic Chinese and Koreans in Japan sometimes have to change the characters in their names to apply for citizenship, because of the restrictions on which kanji can be used.

Individuals born overseas with Western given names and Japanese surnames are usually given a katakana name in Western order when referred to in Japanese. Eric Shinseki, for instance, is referred to as エリック シンセキ (Erikku Shinseki). General Eric Ken Shinseki (born November 28, 1942) was the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1999 - 2003 But sometimes this doesn't happen, for example Mirai Nagasu uses her name in Kanji and in Japanese order even though she was born in the United States. Mirai Aileen Nagasu (born April 16 1993 is an American figure skater. Sometimes Japanese parents decide to use Japanese order when mentioning their name in Japanese language. Also, Japanese parents tend to give their children a name in kanji, hiragana or katakana, especially if it's a Japanese name.

There is a restriction (as of 2001) on the use of the "v" character in a name unless at least one of the parent is of foreign origin. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The closest corresponding katakana is ヴ, which can be romanized as v or b. This affects issuing of Japanese passports or other documentation where a romaji representation of the name is given; the letter v is replaced with b. A passport is a document issued by a national government which certifies for the purpose of international travel the identity and nationality of its holder This affects names such as Kevin (ケヴィン), which would be written as Kebin.

Imperial names

See also: Imperial Household of Japan

The Japanese emperor and his families have no surname for historical reasons, only a given name such as Hirohito (裕仁), which is rarely used in Japan: Japanese prefer to say "the Emperor" or "the Crown Prince", out of respect and as a measure of politeness. is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. Early life and education The prince was born 30 November 1965 at the Aoyama Detached Palace in Tokyo The Imperial House of Japan (also referred to as the Imperial Family or kōshitsu, 皇室 comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of The of Japan is the country's Monarch. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. also known as, (April 29 1901 – January 7 1989 was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order reigning from December 25 1926 until his death

When children are born into the Imperial family, they are given a standard given name, as well as a special title. For instance, title of Akihito (current Emperor, Tsugu-no-miya Akihito (継宮明仁)) is Tsugu-no-miya (継宮 "Prince Tsugu"), and was referred to as "Prince Tsugu" during his childhood. This title is generally used until the individual becomes heir to the throne or inherits one of the historical princely family names (常陸宮 Hitachi-no-miya, 三笠宮 Mikasa-no-miya, 秋篠宮 Akishino-no-miya, etc. ).

When a member of Imperial family becomes a noble or a commoner, the emperor gives him or her a family name. In medieval era, a family name "Minamoto" was often used. In modern era, princely family names are used. For example, many members of the extended Imperial family became commoners after World War II, and adopted their Imperial surnames as regular surnames. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Conversely, at the time that a noble or commoner become a member of Imperial family such as marriage, his or her family name is lost. An example is Empress Michiko, whose name was Michiko Shōda before she married prince Akihito. Michiko Empress of Japan, (born October 20, 1934) formerly and later the Crown Princess of Japan ( April 10, 1959 to January is the current of Japan, and the 125th Emperor according to Japan's traditional order of succession.

Historical names

The current structure (family name + given name) did not materialize until the 1870s when the government made the new family registration system. Events and Trends Technology The invention of the prototype telephone by Alexander G

In feudal Japan, names reflected a person's social status. They also reflect a person's affiliation to Buddhist, Shintō, feudatory-military, Confucian-scholarly, mercantile, peasant, slave and imperial orders.

Before feudal times, Japanese clan names figured prominently in history: names with no fall into this category. This is a list of Japanese Clans The ancient clans ( Gōzoku) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political (No means of, although the association is in the opposite order in Japanese, and is not generally explicitly written in this style of name. ) Thus, Minamoto no Yoritomo (源 頼朝) was Yoritomo (頼朝) of the Minamoto (源) clan. was the founder and the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period ( 794 – 1185 AD on those of their sons and grandsons who were not Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足), Ki no Tsurayuki (紀 貫之), and Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛) are additional examples. Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原鎌足 614&ndash669 AD was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan was a Japanese author, Poet and courtier of the Heian period. was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first Samurai -dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.

Historically, a Japanese person could maintain several names to use in different occasions. Among those that were common are Azana, Imina or Okurina (either translate to posthumous name) and Gō (号) (a pen name, Haigō or Haimei for Haiku poet, Kagō for Waka poet). A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty nobles and sometimes others in some cultures after the person's death See Waka and Tanka (disambiguation for other usages Waka (和歌 or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry It was not uncommon for one to have more than 10 names. [2] Imina is the same as one's real name and the real name would be called Imina posthumously. A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person. It is called so because after one's death, he would be referred by his Okurina while the pronunciation of Imina is being avoided. Azana (字), which is given at Genpuku (元服), is used by others and one himself uses his real name to refer to him. also called, was a historical Japanese Coming-of-age ceremony Gō is commonly named after places or houses; e. g. , Basho, as in the Haiku poet Matsuo Basho (松尾 芭蕉), is named after his house, Basho-an (芭蕉庵). was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan During his lifetime Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form today

In the late shogunate period, many anti-government activists used several false names to hide their activities from the shogunate. are the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" Examples are Saitani Umetarō (才谷 梅太郎) for Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本 龍馬), Niibori Matsusuke (新堀 松輔) for Kido Takayoshi (木戸 孝允) and Tani Umenosuke (谷 梅之助) for Takasugi Shinsaku (高杉 晋作). ( 15 November 1835 &ndash 10 December 1867) was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu during the Bakumatsu also referred as Kido Kōin was a Japanese statesman during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. ( 12 September 1839 - 17 May 1867) was a Samurai from the Chōshū domain of Japan who contributed significantly The famous writer Kyokutei Bakin (曲亭 馬琴) is known to have had as many as 33 names. was a late Edo period Gesaku author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden and Chinsetsu

Professional names

Actors and actresses in Western and Japanese dramatic forms, comedians, sumo wrestlers, and practitioners of traditional crafts often use professional names. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. is a competitive Contact sport where two Wrestlers ( rikishi) attempt to force one another out of a circular ring ( Dohyo) or to touch the ground A craft is a Skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a Trade or particular art Kabuki actors take one of the traditional surnames such as Nakamura (中村), Bandō or Onoe. is a form of traditional Japanese theatre. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate Make-up worn by some of its performers Many stage names of television and film actors and actresses are unremarkable, being just like ordinary Japanese personal names, but a few are tongue-in-cheek. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic For example, Kamatari Fujiwara (藤原 釜足) chose the name of the aforementioned founder of the Fujiwara family, while Hino Yōjin (日野 陽仁)'s name sounds like be careful with fire (although written differently). Kamatari Fujiwara (藤原釜足 Fujiwara Kamatari, January 15, 1905 - December 21, 1985) was a Japanese Actor The Fujiwara clan (藤原氏 Fujiwara-shi) descending from the Nakatomi clan, was a powerful family of Regents in Japan that monopolized the regent positions Many stand-up comics like the duo Beat Takeshi and Beat Kiyoshi choose a Western name for the act, and use their own (or stage) given names. is a Japanese Filmmaker, Comedian, Actor, Film editor, Presenter, Screenwriter, Author, Poet Writers also tend to be clever about their names, for example Edogawa Ranpo which is designed to sound like "Edgar Allan Poe". Rampo Edogawa (江戸川 乱歩 Edogawa Ranpo) born Tarō Hirai (平井 太郎 Hirai Tarō, October 21, 1894 - July 28 Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic,

Sumo wrestlers take wrestling names called shikona (醜名 or 四股名). is a competitive Contact sport where two Wrestlers ( rikishi) attempt to force one another out of a circular ring ( Dohyo) or to touch the ground A shikona (Japanese 四股名 or 醜名 is a Sumo wrestler's stage name or more precisely Ring name. While a shikona can be the wrestler's own surname, most upper-division rikishi have a shikona different from their surname. A typical shikona consists of one, two or three kanji. Often, part of the name comes from the wrestler's master, a place name (such as the name of a province, a river, or a sea), the name of a weapon, an item identified with Japanese tradition (like a koto or nishiki), or a term indicating superiority. Before the modern prefecture system was established the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国 countries) usually known in "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there This article is about the body of water For other uses see SEA and Seas. The koto ( 琴 or 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed Musical instrument derived from the Chinese Zither ( Guzheng Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven Fabrics often made in colored Silks and with or without Gold and Silver threads Often, waka indicates a wrestler whose father was also in sumo; in this case, the meaning is junior. Wrestlers can change their shikona, as Takahanada did when he became Takanohana (貴ノ花) and then Takanohana (貴乃花). is a former Sumo wrestler from Suginami Tokyo, Japan. He was the 65th man in history to reach sumo's highest rank of yokozuna, and he Another notable example is the wrestler Sentoryu, which means fighting war dragon but is also homophonous with St. Louis, his city of origin. Henry Armstrong Miller (born July 16, 1969) is a former Sumo wrestler originally from St

Geisha and practitioners of traditional crafts and arts such as pottery, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, irezumi (tattooing) and ikebana (flower arranging) often take professional names. or are traditional female Japanese Entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware A tea ceremony is an Asian ritualised form of making Tea. The term generally refers to the Japanese tea ceremony. Calligraphy (from Greek kallos "beauty" + graphẽ "writing" is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996 17 Irezumi (入れ墨 入墨 紋身 刺花 剳青 黥 or 刺青 is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent usually is the Japanese art of Flower arrangement, also known as. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement In many cases, these come from the master under whom they studied.

Japanese names in English

As is the case for other transliterations, writing Japanese names in English poses several issues, mainly romanization and name order issues. In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person.

As this differs from the ordering used in many other parts of the world, some, particularly academics, adopt the convention of writing the family name in upper case when the name is romanized: for example, Takuya MURATA or MURATA Takuya. Artists whose works are distributed in English outside of Japan often opt for a Western ordering on the English editions of their works: e. g. , Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一 Sakamoto Ryūichi), Shunji Iwai (岩井 俊二 Iwai Shunji), and Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹 Murakami Haruki). Shunji Iwai (岩井俊二 Iwai Shunji, born January 24 1963 in Sendai, Japan, Miyagi prefecture) is a popular contemporary Japanese Writer and Translator. His work has been described by the Virginia Quarterly Review as "easily accessible Japanese living overseas, such as Yoko Ono (小野 洋子 Ono Yōko) and Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗 Suzuki Ichirō), usually use the Western order as well. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. often known simply as, (born October 22 1973 in Toyoyama, Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is an Outfielder for the Seattle Mariners

Most foreign scholars of Japanese history and literature use the Japanese order, so historical and literary figures are usually referred to in that order: e. g. , Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康). Murasaki Shikibu ( 紫[[wikt 式|式]] 部; c 973&ndashc 1014 or 1025 or Lady Murasaki as she is sometimes known in English was a Japanese  was the founder and first Shogun  of the Tokugawa shogunate However, English publications tend to prefer the Western order when discussing contemporary individuals, especially politicians, businessmen and athletes. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A businessperson (also businessman or businesswoman) is someone who is employed at usually a profit-oriented enterprise, or more specifically someone A sportsperson ( British and American English) or athlete (principally American English is any person who participates regularly in a Sport. In contrast, when written in kanji characters, the order of Japanese names is never reversed.

The following English publications tend to use the western order to refer to Japanese figures:

• Credits in movies
• Characters in comics (if the names of the characters have not been completely changed)
• Books concerning contemporary Japanese culture like J-pop
• Sports media

But, in recent years (since the beginning of 21th century), Japanese order in English writing is rising. Comics (via Latin from the Greek "" kōmikos, of or pertaining to "comedy" from kōmos "revel" J-pop is an abbreviation of Japanese pop. It refers to Japanese popular musicians and was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese musicians from foreign musicians For example, in NHK's TV programs (e. or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, is Japan 's Public broadcaster. g. "Eigo de Shabera Night", "Salaryman NEO", "Bakusho Mondai no Nippon no Kyoyo"), credits (Japanese names in English Alphabets) are written using Japanese order. is a Japanese Talk show by NHK. The show began in 2003 and is ongoing refers to someone whose income is Salary based particularly those working for corporations Bakushō Mondai (爆笑問題 is a Japanese comedy duo consisting of Yūji Tanaka (田中裕二 Tanaka Yūji, born January 10,

The following tend to keep the original Japanese order:

• Scholastic articles
• Books concerning historical Japanese activities like Go and Waka

Characters in translated Japanese manga, anime and video games are special cases. See Waka and Tanka (disambiguation for other usages Waka (和歌 or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly (anime in Japanese, A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. They are sometimes given new Western names (as in Pokémon for example), or they may keep their original Japanese names in either Japanese or Western name order. If you came here to express your personal opinion about Pokémon please go somewhere else They may also have non-Hepburn transliterations of their names, or even different transliterations between different editions or between manga, anime and/or video game versions (as in Yu-Gi-Oh!, for example). The is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English is a Japanese Manga created by Kazuki Takahashi, which has spawned a franchise including multiple Anime series a trading card game and numerous video

See also

• Okinawan family name
• Japanese alias
• List of most popular family names
• Chinese name
• Korean name
• Vietnamese name
• Meishi
• art-name
• Chinese character tattoos

References

Some materials taken from Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, article on "names"

Further reading

• Koop, Albert J. , Hogitaro Inada. Japanese Names and How to Read Them 2005 ISBN 0-7103-1102-8 Kegan Paul International Ltd.
• O'Neill, P. G. Japanese Names 1972 ISBN 0-8348-0225-2 Weatherhill Inc.
• Plutschow, Herbert. Japan's Name Culture 1995 ISBN 1-873410-42-5 Routledge/Curzon
• Poser, William J. (1990) "Evidence for Foot Structure in Japanese," Language 66. 1. 78-105. (Describes hypochoristic formation and some other types of derived names. )
• Throndardottir, Solveig. Name Construction in Medieval Japan 2004 ISBN 0-939329-02-6 Potboiler Press
• Society of Writers, Editors and Translators. Japan Style Sheet 1998 ISBN 1-880656-30-2 Stone Bridge Press

External links

• Japanese names section of sci.lang.japan FAQ
• Japanorama: Japanese Names
• (Japanese)「日本人の名前」目次(Index page of "Names of Japanese") Japanese names in Kanji and Hiragana.
• (Japanese)全国の苗字（名字）１０万種掲載("Publication of 100,000 surnames(names) in the country")
• (Japanese)静岡大学人文学部 城岡研究室(" Shirōka Lab of the Department of Humanities in the Shizuoka University") surnames of Japan, Shizuoka prefecture, Okinawa prefecture and Germany.
• (Japanese)名字見聞録("Records of names") Japanese names in Kanji and Hiragana.
• (Japanese)苗字舘("Museum of surnames)" statistics of Japanese surnames.
• Japanese Given Names
• Popular Japanese baby names 1994 to 2003.
• WWWJDIC online dictionary with over 400,000 Japanese names.
• 男子も「さん」で... 「君」廃止、学校で広がる

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