Yamada Tarō (山田太郎), a typical Japanese name (male), equivalent to John Smith in English. Jane Smith would be Yamada Hanako (山田花子).

Japanese names (人名, jinmei^?) in modern times usually consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name. This is common to East Asia, including among the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and sometimes Thai cultures. Middle names are not recognized in Japan in the Western sense, in which there is a clear differentiation from the given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji (Han characters). The kanji for a name may have a variety of possible pronunciations. Image File history File links Yamada-vertical. ... Image File history File links Yamada-vertical. ... Yamada Tarō, a common Japanese name (male) Yamada (山田, mountain ricefield) is the 13th most common Japanese surname. ... Taro can refer to: Taro, a tropical plant known as a root vegetable. ... A family name, surname, or last name is the part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... A given name is a name which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... Many peoples names include one or more middle names, placed between the first given name and the surname. ... The term Western World or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ...

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).^[1] According to estimates, there are as many as 100,000 different surnames in use today in Japan. 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. 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." Satō (佐藤, characters for assistance and wisteria) is the most common Japanese surname. ... Suzuki (スズキ) is a Japanese motorcycle and automobile brand (Suzuki Motor). ... Takahashi can refer to: Takahashi (written 高梁), a city in Okayama prefecture, Japan Ward-Takahashi identities, a feature of Quantum Mechanics Takahashi (高橋 meaning high bridge) is the third most common Japanese family name. ... Katō (加藤, characters for add/increase and wisteria) is the eleventh most common Japanese surname. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... Ishikawa (石川 rocky river) is a Japanese surname, and the name of several places in Japan, primarily Ishikawa Prefecture. ... Yamamoto (山本 meaning base of the mountain) is one of the most popular Japanese surnames. ... 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"). (Since 1980, the popularity of female names ending in -ko has dramatically fallen for new baby names and some women drop the -ko upon adulthood.) Other popular endings for female names include -ka (香 "scent, perfume" or 花 / 華 "flower") and -na (奈, or 菜, meaning greens). Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Structure

Structurally, modern Japanese names are simple compared with names in many other cultures. 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 given name in Japanese is called the "name" (名前 namae) or "lower name" (下の名前 shita no namae). The surname is called myōji (苗字 or 名字), "uji" (氏) or sei (姓). In Japanese, the family name precedes the given name. The Japanese people ) is the ethnic group that identifies as Japanese by culture or ancestry. ... Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan. ...

Historically, myōji, uji and sei had different meanings. Sei was originally the matrilineal surname. 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. Myōji was, simply, what a family chooses to call itself, as oppose 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. Matrilineality is a system in which one belongs to ones mothers lineage; it may also involve the inheritance of property or titles through the female line. ... Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to ones fathers lineage; it generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well. ...

There are a few names that can be used as either surnames or given names. (For example Kaneko 金子, or Masuko 益子). However, 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 makes it unlikely that the two names will be confused, for example when writing in English using the order family name, given name.

Characters

Japanese names are usually written in kanji (Complex characters), although some names use hiragana or even katakana, or a mixture of kanji and kana. 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. Many others use readings which are only used in names (nanori), such as the female name Nozomi (希). The vast majority of surnames comprise one or two kanji. Some others consist of three characters. Typical are Sasaki (佐々木) and Igarashi (五十嵐). Hon'inbō (本因坊, a name for the famous family of go players), Shōji (東海林), Gushiken (具志堅), Sakonjū (左近充), and Kindaichi (金田一) are more unusual examples. There are also a small number of four-kanji surnames, such as Mukainakano (向井中野), but these are extremely rare. Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Hiragana ) are a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana and kanji; the Latin alphabet is also used in some cases. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Manyogana 万葉仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... The characters for Kanji, lit. ... The characters for Kanji, lit. ... In the Japanese language many names are constructed from common kanji characters with standard spelling and pronunciation. ... Sasaki (佐々木) is the 14th most common Japanese surname. ... The Honinbō (本因坊) school was one of four major schools of Go in Japan. ... Go is a board game for two players. ... Gushiken (å…·å¿—å …), is a Japanese surname of Okinawan origin. ... Kindaichi (Japanese: 金田一) is a surname and place name in Japan. ...

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 verbs, 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. 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. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian...

Names, like other Japanese words, cannot begin with the syllable n (ん, ン). Some names end in n: the male names Ken, Kon, Shin, Jun, and Den are examples. The syllable n should not be confused with the sound "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). 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. 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. As already noted, some of the most common family names are in this list. Species See text This article is about the plant. ... Rendaku (連濁, lit. ... The Fujiwara clan (藤原氏 Fujiwara-shi) was a clan of regents who had sort of monopoly to the Sekkan positions, Sesshō and Kampaku. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... ATO may stand for: Abort to Orbit, one of the Space Shuttle abort modes Air Training Officer, a former position at the United States Air Force Academy Alpha Tau Omega, an American student fraternity Alternative Trading Organization (ATO) - a non-governmental organization focusing on Fair Trade exports from developing countries... Ando add links here This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Itō (伊藤) is the sixth most common Japanese surname. ... Udo can mean the following: A flowering plant Aralia cordata (独活 in Japanese) found in Japan. ... The word endo can have several meanings: In cycling, an endo is a trick that involves the rider lifting the rear wheel into the air while the front wheel stays grounded. ... Goto may mean: GOTO (also known as Goto or Go to) – a branching construct in programming languages, infamous for its role in unstructured dialects of BASIC Goto, Nagasaki – a Japanese city G0-T0 (note: the characters following the G and T, respectively, are zeros), alias his coverup identity of Goto... Katō (加藤, characters for add/increase and wisteria) is the eleventh most common Japanese surname. ... Kudō (工藤) is a Japanese family name. ... Kondō (近藤 near wisteria) is a Japanese surname, and is sometimes used in other contexts. ... Saitō (usually 斉藤 or æ–Žè—¤, but other forms are common) is the tenth most common Japanese surname. ... Satō (佐藤, characters for assistance and wisteria) is the most common Japanese surname. ... Shindo (進藤) refers to: 1. ... sudo (superuser do) is a program in Unix, Linux, and similar operating systems such as Mac OS X that allows users to run programs in the guise of another user (normally in the guise of the systems superuser). ... Mutō (武藤 warrior wisteria) is a Japanese surname. ...

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 中田 may be read either Nakata or Nakada. 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," "Ichi," "Kazu," "Hitoshi," 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, 春, 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. 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). 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. Alphabetical redirects here. ... Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Furigana (Japanese: ふりがな), are a Japanese reading aid. ...

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 instead of the usual 島. Some names also feature very uncommon kanji, or even kanji which no longer exist in modern Japanese. Japanese people who have such names are likely to compromise by substituting similar or simplified characters. Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ...

An example of such a name is Saitō. While there are over 100 kanji that can be read as sai and over 200 kanji for tō, in this case, there are two common kanji for sai. The two sai characters have different meanings: 斉 means "together" or "parallel", but 斎 means "to purify". Confusing the two characters would be an embarrassing mistake. Saitō (usually 斉藤 or æ–Žè—¤, but other forms are common) is the tenth most common Japanese surname. ...

Family names are sometimes written with idiosyncratic characters, called ateji, that relate indirectly to the name as spoken. 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. Ateji (当て字 ) guessed characters are Kanji selected to write a borrowed non-Chinese or native Japanese word with the intent of implying an etymology, which is fanciful or false. ...

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. There are currently (as of Oct 2004) 2,232 "name kanji" (the jinmeiyō kanji) used in personal names, and the government plans to increase this list by 578 kanji in the near future. This would be the largest increase since World War II. 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 (devil) were prohibited from doing so. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 The jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字) are a set of 983 kanji known as the name kanji in English. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

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 decrease 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.

Interestingly, 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", "hemorrhoids", "corpse", and "excrement", as well as those used in jukugo (words which are compounds of two or more kanji) meaning "curse", "prostitute", and "rape", are among the proposed additions to the list. 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. Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Kanji ( ▶ (help· info), literally Han characters) is the name of Chinese characters in the Japanese language. ...

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. Japanese nationals are also required to give a romanized name for their passport. 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. An address book or a name and address book (NAB) is a book or a collection of data storing contact details (for example: address, telephone number, e-mail address, fax number, mobile phone number). ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Furigana (Japanese: ふりがな), are a Japanese reading aid. ... Ruby characters, also called ruby, rubi or furigana, are sometimes used in the typography of ideographic languages, especially Japanese and Chinese. ... A romanization or latinization is a system for representing a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, where the original word or language used a different writing system. ... For Microsoft Corporations universal login service, see Microsoft Passport Network. ... A socialite is a person (male or female, but more often used for a woman) of social prominence who spends a significant amount of his or her time and resources entertaining and being entertained. ...

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 in Japan. ...

Not all names are complicated. Some common names are summarized by the phrase tanakamura ("the village in the midst of the fields"): the three kanjis: 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, Muranaka, Tamura. Tanaka (田中 in the ricefield) is the 4th most common Japanese surname. ... Nakamura (中村 in the town) is the 8th most popular Japanese surname. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Nakata (中田) is a Japanese surname. ...

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'). Names would also be given in the recognition of a great achievement and contribution. Some surnames originated from Chinese and Korean names. Examples are Kaneshiro (金城) (Chinese) and Ō (王) (Chinese). The ÅŒtomo clan (大伴氏) was a Japanese clan whose power stretched from the Yamato period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 1100 years. ... The Korean name Hong Gildong (a common anonymous name, like John Doe in American English). ... ÅŒ is a Japanese family name. ...

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. For example, Ichirō born in Asahi mura (Asahi village) in the province of Musashi would say "Ichirō from Asahi-mura of Musashi". 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, Fujida, whose father was Doiji, would be "Fujida son of Doiji"). 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. The Meiji Restoration ), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to a change in Japans 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 Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ...

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 article: Japanese titles

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. 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. In Japan, it is common to use honorific titles after a persons name. ... Uchi-soto is a term in the Japanese language used to refer to the distinction between in-groups (uchi, inside) and out-groups (soto, outside). This distinction between groups is not merely a fundamental part of Japanese social custom, but is also directly reflected in the Japanese language itself. ...

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 okāsan ("mother"), in a school it could be 先生 sensei ("teacher"), while a company president would be addressed as 社長 shachō.

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). For example, Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉, Kimura Takuya^?), a famous Japanese actor and singer, becomes Kimutaku (キムタク, Kimutaku^?). 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^?), Jimi Hendrix, who abbreviated as Jimihen (ジミヘン, Jimihen^?). Some Japanese celebrities have also taken names combining kanji and katakana, such as Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano), Marcy (Masashi Tashiro), Martin (Masayuki Suzuki). 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) in some languages. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... William Bradley Brad Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Tarento (タレント) is a Japanese rendering of the Portuguese word talento (talent in English) and is used as a catch-all term for major media personalities who regularly appear on television, radio and other forms of entertainment. ... Takeshi Kitano at Cannes, 2000 Takeshi Kitano (北野 æ­¦, Kitano Takeshi, b. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Masayuki Suzuki (鈴木雅之, Suzuki Masayuki, born on September 22, 1956 in Ota, Tokyo) is a Japanese singer best known as a former member of Rats & Star (previously called Chanels). ...

Corresponding to any given name there are one or more hypocoristics, affectionate nicknames. 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, Kimikochan from Kimiko, and Yasunarichan 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, Kiichan from Kimiko, and Yā-chan from Yasunari. Hypochoristics with modified stems are more intimate than those based on the full given name. A hypocoristic is a pet name or term of endearment. ...

Hypochoristics 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. 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 verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem. ... Mora can mean: Cameroon Mora, Cameroon Costa Rica Mora Canton Portugal Mora, Portugal Sweden Mora, Sweden - a municipality of Dalarna County in Sweden Mora Court District - a district of Dalecarlia in Sweden United States Mora, Minnesota, United States Mora County, New Mexico, United States Mora (linguistics): A unit of sound...

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 practise compelled many Koreans to change their names to Japanese names. Nowadays, ethnic minorities take on Japanese names, sometimes called pass names, to ease communication and, more importantly, to avoid discrimination. A few of them still keep their native names. One Korean who keeps his original name is Chang Woo Han, a founder and chairman of Maruhan Corp., a large chain of pachinko parlors in Japan. Sōshi-kaimei was a policy created by Jiro Minami, Governor-General of Korea under the Empire of Japan, implemented upon Japanese subjects from Korea (referred to below as Koreans). ... Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling Hate speech · Hate crime Lynching · Gay bashing Genocide · Holocaust Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing Pogrom · Race war Religious persecution Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism White/Black supremacy Hate groups · Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism Womens/Universal suffrage Civil rights · Gay rights Childrens rights · Youth rights Groups NAACP... Pachinko parlor Pachinko players Entrance to large pachinko parlor in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan. ...

Japanese citizenship requires 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. 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). 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). 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. Marutei Tsurunen (ツルネン マルテイ or 弦念 丸呈 Tsurunen Marutei, born April 30, 1940) is the first foreign-born Japanese member of the Diet of Japan. ... Arudou Debito Arudou Debito (有道 出人 Arudō Debito), a naturalized Japanese citizen born in the United States, is a teacher, author and controversial activist. ... Lafcadio Hearn, aka Koizumi Yakumo. ...

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). Eric Ken Shinseki (born November 28, 1942 in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii) is a retired United States Army General and served as the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1999 - 2003). ...

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. 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. This affects names such as Kevin (ケヴィン), which would be written as Kebin. 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattles Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous... For Microsoft Corporations universal login service, see Microsoft Passport Network. ...

Imperial names

Akishino-dera in Nara, from which Prince Akishino took his name

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. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1250x853, 537 KB) Akishinodera, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1250x853, 537 KB) Akishinodera, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. ... Nara ) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan, near Kyoto. ... Prince Akishino (Fumihito) of Japan (秋篠宮文仁親王殿下 Akishino-no-miya Fumihito shinnō denka) also known as Prince Fumihito (文仁親王 Fumihito shinnō) (born 30 November 1965) is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito. ... Hirohito (Japanese: ) (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1926 to 1989. ...

When children are born into the Imperial family, they are given a standard given name, as well as a special title. Akihito, for instance, was born as Tsugu-no-miya Akihito, 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.).

Many members of the extended Imperial family became commoners after World War II, and adopted their Imperial surnames as regular surnames. An example is Asaka Yasuhiko. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... Asaka Yasuhiko (朝香鳩彦 Asaka Yasuhiko, 2 October 1887 - 13 April 1981), Prince Asakanomiya (朝香宮) of Japan, was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a career army officer. ...

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 telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ...

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. (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. Fujiwara no Kamatari, Ki no Tsurayuki (紀 貫之), and Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛) are additional examples. This is a list of of Japanese clans: Abe clan of Mikawa Adachi clan Amago clan Asakura clan Asano Ashikaga clan Ashina Azai Chiba clan Chousokabe Date clan Doi clan Fujiwara clan Hachisuka Hatakeyama Hayashi clan Hojo clan late Hojo clan Hosokawa clan Kikkawa Kiso Kitabatake Kyogoku Maeda clan Minamoto... Portrait of Yoritomo (copy) Minamoto no Yoritomo May 9, 1147—February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan, who ruled from 1192 until 1199. ... Minamoto (源) was an honorary surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period to their sons and grandsons after accepting them as royal subjects. ... Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原鎌足, 614–669 A.D.) was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan. ... Ki no tsurayuki (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Ki no Tsurayuki (ç´€ 貫之) 872-945) was a Japanese author, poet and courtier. ... Statue of Taira no Kiyomori, Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture Taira no Kiyomori (å¹³ 清盛 1118 - 1181) was a general of the late Heian period 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) or Kagō (加号) (a pen name). 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. 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, which is given at Genpuku (元服), is used by others and one himself uses his real name to refer to him. Kagō (加号) is commonly named after places or houses. A posthumous name (Traditional Chinese: 諡號/謚號 Simplified Chinese: 谥号; Pinyin: shì hào; Romaji: shigō/tsuigō; Revised Romanization of Korean: siho) is a honorary name given to royalty in some cultures posthumously, that is, after the persons death. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ... Japan, since 1948, has held an annual ceremony called the Coming-of-Age Day (成人の日; seijin no hi), the second Monday of January, for those becoming 20 years old in the new calendar year. ...

In the late shogunate period, many anti-government activists used several false names to hide their activities from the shogunate. 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). The famous writer Kyokutei Bakin (曲亭 馬琴) is known to have had as many as 33 names. The late Tokugawa shogunate or last shogun (幕末; Bakumatsu) is the period between 1853 and 1867 during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called sakoku and modernized from a feudal shogunate to the Meiji government. ... This page is about the Japanese ruler and military rank. ... Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本 龍馬 Sakamoto Ryōma January 3, 1836 - December 10, 1867) was born in Kochi, of Tosa han. ... Kido Takayoshi (Tokugawa shogunate years) Kido Takayoshi (木戸孝允, August 11, 1833 - May 26, 1877), also referred as Kido Koin was a Japanese politician during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. ... Takasugi Shinsaku (高杉 晋作 1839-1867) is a samurai who contributed to the Meiji restoration. ... Kyokutei Bakin (曲亭馬琴) (1767–1848) was the pen name for Japanese author Takizawa Okikuni (瀧澤興邦), best known for his 106-volume literary opus Satomi and the Eight Dogs (南総里見八犬傳 Nansō Satomi Hakkenden). ...

Professional names

Actors and actresses in Western and Japanese dramatic forms, comedians, sumo wrestlers, and practitioners of traditional crafts often use professional names. Kabuki actors take one of the traditional surnames such as Nakamura (中村), Bandō or Onoe. 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. For example, Kamatari Fujiwara (藤原 鎌足) 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). 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. Writers also tend to be clever about their names, for example Edogawa Ranpo which is designed to sound like "Edgar Allan Poe". Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western World. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... A comedian (also comedienne, female) is a person who attempts to make people laugh through a variety of methods, normally through joke telling. ... A Sumo match (Ozeki Kaio vs. ... Look up craft in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Kamatari Fujiwara (藤原釜足 Fujiwara Kamatari) (January 1, 1905 - January 1, 1985) was a Japanese actor. ... The Fujiwara family (藤原氏 Fujiwara-uji) was a powerful family of regents in Japan who had a sort of monopoly to the Sekkan positions, Sesshō and Kampaku. ... Takeshi Kitano Takeshi Kitano (北野 武 Kitano Takeshi) (born January 18, 1947) is a Japanese comedian, actor, author, poet, painter and film director who has received acclaim both in his native Japan and abroad for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. ... Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩 Edogawa Ranpo), born Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎 Hirai Tarō, October 21, 1894 - July 28, 1965) was a Japanese author and critic. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ...

Sumo wrestlers take wrestling names called shikona (醜名 or 四股名). 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. 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). Another notable example is the wrestler Sentoryu, which means fighting war dragon but is also homophonous with St. Louis, his city of origin. A Sumo match (Ozeki Kaio vs. ... A shikona (Japanese: 四股名 or 醜名) is a sumo wrestlers stage name. ... Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国, countries), usually known in English as provinces. ... River Gambia flowing through Niokolokoba National Park A river is a large natural waterway. ... For the three letter acronym, see SEA. Sea as seen from jetty in Frankston, Australia Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Masayo Ishigure plays the koto The koto (Japanese: 箏, Sino-Japanese reading sō; more commonly, though not quite correctly, the character 琴, Sino-Japanese reading kin is used) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from China resembling a zither. ... Brocade can stands for: thick heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven. ... Takanohana III Koji (貴乃花 光司 Takanohana Kōji, born August 12, 1972 as Koji Hanada (花田 光司 Hanada Kōji)) is the younger son of the late Takanohana Kenshi (formerly Ozeki Takanohana II, whose name after retirement was Futagoyama oyakata). ... SentoryÅ« Henri ) (born July 16, 1969 as Henry Armstrong Miller) is a former sumo wrestler, originally from St. ... Nickname: Gateway City, Gateway to the West, or Mound City Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: Country United States State Missouri County Independent City Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area    - City 66. ...

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. In many cases, these come from the master under whom they studied. Women dressed up as maiko (geisha apprentices), Kyoto, Japan wearing traditional kimono and okobo. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... A tea ceremony is a ritualised form of making tea. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... The Japanese word irezumi (入れ墨, 入墨, 文身, 剳青, 黥 or 刺青) refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark, in other words, tattooing. ... Ikebana arrangement A Japanese hanging scroll and Ikebana Ikebana (Japanese: 生け花 or いけばな, literally living flowers) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (華道)—the way of flowers. In contrast to the decorative form of flower arranging in western countries, the Japanese flower arrangement creates a harmony of linear...

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 language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system. ... It is nearly universal for a person to have a name; the rare exceptions occur in the cases of mentally disturbed parents, or wild children growing up in isolation. ...

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). 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. Ryuichi Sakamoto at his New York City studio September 2003 Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一 Sakamoto RyÅ«ichi, born January 17, 1952, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese musician, composer, producer and actor. ... Shunji Iwai (岩井俊二 Iwai Shunji, born January 24, 1963 in Sendai, Japan, Miyagi prefecture). ... Haruki Murakami , born January 12, 1949) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator. ... Yoko Ono Lennon (born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese musician and artist best known as the widow of John Lennon of The Beatles. ... Ichiro Suzuki ), often known simply as Ichiro ), born October 22, 1973 in Toyoyama, Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is the center fielder for the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team. ...

Manga translated into English and other Indo-European languages often use the Western naming order for Japanese characters. The character "Sugoroku Mutou" of Yu-Gi-Oh! would have his name read Mutō Sugoroku in Japanese order. The character is known as "Solomon Muto" in the English-language TV series.

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). However, English publications tend to prefer the Western order when discussing contemporary individuals, especially politicians, businessmen and athletes. In contrast, when written in kanji characters, the order of Japanese names is never reversed. Sugoroku Mutou, from US Shonen Jump no. ... Sugoroku Mutou, from US Shonen Jump no. ... Sugoroku Mutou ), known as Solomon Muto in the English anime, is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. Spoiler warning: Sugoroku Mutou is the grandfather of Yugi Mutou (Yugi Muto), who calls him Grandpa (Jii-chan). ... Yu-Gi-Oh! , literally Game King [1]) is a popular Japanese anime and manga franchise from Kazuki Takahashi, that mainly involves characters who play a card game called Duel Monsters (originally known as Magic & Wizards), wherein each player purchases and assembles a deck of Monster, Magic, and Trap Cards in... Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan and the rest of Asia as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズ YÅ«giō Dyueru Monsutāzu) is an anime based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. ... Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部 Murasaki Shikibu, c. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu The Tokugawa clan crest Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... Look up Athlete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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

• Newspapers: see List of newspapers in Japan
• 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

The following tend to keep the original Japanese order: Below is a list of newspapers published in Japan. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... J-pop (or Jpop) is an abbreviation of Japanese pop. ...

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

Characters in translated Japanese manga, anime and video games are special cases. 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. 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). Go is a board game for two players. ... Waka (和歌) or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. ... Manga )   is the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... The official Pokémon logo. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 The Hepburn romanization system (Japanese: ヘボン式, Hebon-shiki) was devised by the Reverend James Curtis Hepburn to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Roman alphabet for his Japanese–English dictionary, published in 1867. ... Yu-Gi-Oh! , literally Game King [1]) is a popular Japanese anime and manga franchise from Kazuki Takahashi, that mainly involves characters who play a card game called Duel Monsters (originally known as Magic & Wizards), wherein each player purchases and assembles a deck of Monster, Magic, and Trap Cards in...

See also

For details on how to enter Japanese names on Wikipedia, please see Wikipedia:Manual of Style (Japan-related articles).

• List of most popular family names
• Researching Japanese names
• Chinese name
• Korean name
• Vietnamese name
• Names in world cultures
• Meishi
• art-name
• Chinese character tattoos

Family names can be unique or come in large numbers. ... A variety of reference material is available for looking up information about Japanese names. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... The Korean name Hong Gildong (a common anonymous name, like John Doe in American English). ... Vietnamese names generally consist of three parts: a family name, a middle name, and a given name, used in that order. ... Personal names, both family names and given names take different forms in the various culture and social systems of the world. ... Meishi (名刺, pronounced may-she) is the Japanese equivalent of a business card. ... An art-name (in Japanese, gō) is a pseudonym, or penname, used by an Japanese artist, which they sometimes change. ... Chinese character tattoos are tattoos consisting of Chinese characters (hanzi or kanji) otherwise known as kanji tattoos. ...

References

Some materials taken from Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, article on "names" This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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
• Japanese names at japan-guide.com.
• Japanorama: Japanese Names
• Japanese Given Names
• Japanese Baby Names
• Popular Japanese baby names 1994 to 2003.
• WWWJDIC online dictionary with over 400,000 Japanese names. (Tanaka Sample)
• Japanese names and their meaning An extensive resource for Japanese given names including their meaning.