Japanese Naming Conventions 2, Or Fun With Villages, Fields, and Mountains

Last week I discussed Japanese naming conventions for first names. This week, it's family land ville!

Most of you are probably familiar with the Eastern convention of putting the family name first, then the given name last. (Japanese people, at least, usually do not have middle names.) This puts prominence on the family name, which is a more important identifier than even the given name. Chances are, if you're Japanese, you'll be called only by your family name for most of your life - this includes by close friends, depending on your gender and dynamics. (Boys/Men are more likely to solely call each other by family name, whereas Girls/Women may use given names in close relationships.) Your last name will also probably give away what region you're from.

Popularity and the Top 10

Here's a quick and dirty skinny about Japanese family names:  like given names, they come in "puzzle pieces," although family names tend to go in any order. (You'll see examples of this below.) Their kanji and associated meanings are almost always natural or geographical, and denote where a family may have once lived. (In contrast, think about how many Western names come from very old professions, like "Smith" and "Baker.") There are some odd hundred-thousand possible family names in Japan, but, as you can imagine, some are WAY more common than others. To begin deconstructing family names, let's start with the top ten family names in the nation, courtesy of here:

(Please note that almost all these family names have various kanji spelling and meanings. The ones used below are just the most common ones.)

1. Satou (佐藤)  "Helpful Wisteria."
2. Suzuki (鈴木) "Bud Tree"
3. Takahashi (高橋) "High Bridge"
4. Tanaka (田中) "Middle of the Field"
5. Watanabe (渡辺) "Crossing the Border"
6. Itou (伊藤) "That One Wisteria"
7. Nakamura (中村) "Middle of the Village"
8. Yamamoto (山本) "Foot of the Mountain"
9. Kobayashi (小林) "Small Woods"
10. Saitou (斉藤*) "Adjusted Wisteria"

*This is a difficult name to translate. The first kanji essentially means "equal," "similar to," etc.

As you can see, almost all these names have to do with geographical locations and natural elements. ("What's with all the Wisteria?" you may be asking. The wisteria is a very popular flower appearing throughout Japanese history, and could be considered one of the visual icons of Japanese culture. "Tou" as a suffix appears in other Japanese names such as "Katou," and as "Fuji" in many prefixes, like "Fujiko" for a girl's name and "Fujita" for a family name.) Other geographical names including these pieces are "Yamada," (山田) "Nakayama," (中山) "Honda," (本田) and "Nakata." (中田) But of course, they don't stop there. Cardinal directions (/Kita, Minami, Nishi, and Higashi) all make frequent appearances in Japanese surnames.

Meanings of Whole Names

So now that you're familiar with both first names and last names in Japanese, we can take a look at how they affect a person's whole name! 

Remember Yuka (Gentle Aroma / 優香) and Ryota (Big Dragon / 龍太), two kids we had in our post last week? Let's pretend they're sister and brother and see what their names are like with some of the most popular surnames above!

Yuka:

1. Satou Yuka (佐藤優香) "Gentle Aroma of the Helpful Wisteria"
2. Suzuki Yuka (鈴木優香) "Gentle Aroma of the Bud Tree"
3. Takahashi Yuka (高橋優香) "Gentle Aroma From the High Bridge"
4. Tanaka Yuka (田中優香) "Gentle Aroma of the Middle Field"
5. Watanabe Yuka (渡辺優香) "Gentle Aroma Crossing the Border"
6. Itou Yuka (伊藤優香) "The Gentle Aroma of That One Wisteria"
7. Nakamura Yuka (中村優香) "Gentle Aroma From the Middle of the Village"
8. Yamamoto Yuka (山本優香) "Gentle Aroma From the Foot of the Mountain"
9. Kobayashi Yuka (小林優香) "Gentle Aroma Of the Small Woods"
10. Saitou Yuka (斉藤優香) "Gentle Aroma of the Adjusted Wisteria"

Ryota:

To save myself the typing, just take out "Gentle Aroma" from above and replace it with "Big Dragon." Bam! Done. 

Some of those meanings are kinda "what," and that's to be expected. I mean, think about us, most of us Westerners don't even have a first and last name in the SAME LANGUAGE. *ahem* But yes, sometimes choosing a name for a child is more about the syllabic sound and flow, rather than the meaning. Recently whole name meanings tend to matter less, especially with the trend of first name meanings also mattering less. 

Amount of Kanji

All the names above utilize a clean and even four kanji, which is the standard amount of kanji for any given person's name. However, this is not a rule, or even a suggestion! Five and three kanji names are also common. But in my experience, names tend to balance out to around an even four. If a surname is only one kanji, then a person's given name is likely to be three kanji long, and vice versa. Two kanji name exist, but are rare, similar to six kanji names. And since the kanji are ultimately what dictates the meaning of a name in Japanese, some parents have a lot to consider when naming a new child. 

Summation

Familiarizing yourself with Japanese family names is one of the easiest ways to learn Japanese kanji, since many of them use simple and common ones. They are also likely to tell you the long-ago origin of a family, and in the case of very rare names, can even tell you what region of the country a person is probably from. "Hasegawa" is a common name in Gifu Prefecture not often as found in other places. 

Of the ten names listed above, odds are 1/10 Japanese people have one of them. Probably more in actuality. The beauty of them is that they can be "spelled" in many different ways, just like Western names. 

From A Writer's Perspective

I both love and loathe picking out surnames for my Japanese characters. Most of them are so common that I have to be careful that two characters I don't intend to be related  have the same name, or even a name that sounds too similar. (Recently had this issue with a character who I wanted to name Nakayama, since I have another character already established with the name Nakamura.*) There's also laws to follow and consider, such as any female character who gets married is required by law to change her name to that of her husband's. (Isn't that just lovely?)

*And nobody wants to be mistaken for that guy. 

Hope you enjoyed part 2 of this series! Part 3 (and the final one) will come next week, where we'll take a look at nickname conventions! 

Weekly Writing Check-In: NaNo Progress

Just a quick check-in for how Nano's going! Well, I'm still chugging on with 2k a day, which puts me a little over 23k. I'll be at the halfway point tomorrow. Earlier this week I finished my first REN'AI RENSAI short that is sure to come out soon, and by the mid-week I should have the second one done! After that it means I can return to book 3, which makes me happy. I needed a break from Book 3 because it got REALLY heavy in the psychological department, and I needed to write some short fluff. But now I'm ready to get back into the long-ass saddle, so bring on the week!

I know there's a lot of people who are already finished or have already "given up." Wherever you are in the Nano road, congrats for getting as far as you have!

"LOVE MY LIFE," A Beautiful and Sweet Lesbian Film From Japan

Taking a break from my first-drafting to talk a little about one of my favorite Japanese movies I've discovered this year, "LOVE MY LIFE." Rippin' the summary straight from wiki:

"Ichiko Izumiya is an eighteen-year-old woman who goes to language school in university and works part-time at a music store. She lives with her father, Housei Izumiya, who translates English novels into Japanese for a living. Her mother died seven years before the story begins. Ichiko also has a girlfriend named Eri Joujima. When she comes out as a lesbian to her father, her father shocks her by telling her that both he and her mother are also gay. They had wanted to raise a child, and had agreed to marry in name to raise a child in Japan, while mutually being in their own relationships. The rest of the story shows Ichiko meeting her parents' lovers, her daily life and love with Eri."

 That's the basic gist of it, although the story also heavily centers around Eri's insecurities with her own family and the rift it eventually creates between her and her girlfriend. There's also a subplot about one of Ichiko's gay (male) friends and his depression.

It's very rare for me to find a lesbian film from Japan that not only completely normalizes a lesbian relationship, but also celebrates the fact and, gasp, has a happy ending! Most of the films I've seen, such as the iconic and always remade "MANJI," basically comes down to "lesbians are deviants and will hack your balls off, bro." I also appreciated that this wasn't a "fall in love" story like most are want to be: Ichiko and Eri are well into a relationship at the start of the film. Instead, the film is an explanation of the lengths some queer people go to in order to achieve a "traditional" and happy life.

It's low budget (I laughed every time they were in a completely empty including devoid of staff restaurant) but the acting is superb. It even has a cameo from the great 80's idol Kyoko Koizumi! I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Asami Imajuku, the actress who plays Eri, also appeared in the lesbian film "BLUE" as a minor character. Hmm, think that means anything? ;) All I know is that young lady likes kissing.

The movie is very PG13, with almost no foul language, and very little nudity (only at the end.) The main characters are depicted as having sex occasionally, but nothing about it is graphic. (In fact, if you're looking for HAWT LEZBO SEX you will probably be disappointed.) But I find myself continuing to watch this movie every couple of weeks, as it remains one of the best films I've seen in the genre yet.. Why isn't everyone watching this?

Here is the trailer, sadly, without any subtitles.

 

You can also watch the first ten minutes on youtube, with subtitles! (Might be NSFW, since the opening is a weird pass-the-gumball scene that you see in the trailer above.) The rest of the movie missing, however, unless you rent the whole thing from youtube, buy it off Amazon (with subtitles) or probably Netflix it. Or, I'm sure you'll find...some way...of watching it. *COUGH*

 

I'm always looking for new Japanese lesbian films to watch (or manga to read) so if anybody knows of anything good, let me know! Except MANJI. That's the stuff of weird-ass nightmares.

Japanese Naming Conventions 1, Or, Fun With "Yuka, Yuki, and Yuko.""

(Part 1 will deal with given names. Please see next week for Part 2, which will be about family names!)

To the unfamiliar ear, Japanese names may sound, well, foreign. By this I mean they're hard to remember (woe to your new Japanese friends) or just plain weird sounding. Of course, to the Japanese (and people who have been involved with the language and culture for even a short amount of time) most of them make perfect sense and may even be easy to determine the meaning of. Like with most things Japanese language related, you begin to see patterns and start to realize how mundane some names really are!

In this week's article about Japan, I'm going to take a look at typical Japanese naming conventions: their trends, their meanings, and how easy they are to get the hang of. Many names in Japanese are like literal little puzzles - they are made up of separate sounds often quashed together for certain meanings (or because they sound pretty/tough.)

It helps to have a common grasp of Japanese pronunciation and how the syllabic alphabets work before we begin. If you know absolutely nothing about "ka ki ku ke ko," I suggest you take a brief look at this awesome explanation here. It's easy, I swear!

Now that you're already familiar with the most common sounds in Japanese, let's jump in!

The Rules

Names are heavily regulated in Japan. There is a set list of kanji (symbols) parents can use to name their children. In a recently infamous case, one Japanese couple tried to name their newborn son "Akuma," which means "devil/demon." Local government basically said "No, don't. Don't even think about it." So unlike in, say, America, where you meet kids named after naughty body parts and encounter more than one "Qhriztayll" (That''s pronounced Crystal, by the way.) Japan keeps a lean and mean track of what you're naming your children. However, this doesn't mean you can only choose between Tom, Dick, and Harry. There are thousands of names to choose from...and many of them sound frustratingly alike.  

Trends and Suffixes

The easiest place to begin looking is at the trends themselves - shockingly, Japanese names, like almost every other set of names out there, follows trends in every generation. Just like we might say "Barbara" is very Baby Boomer, or "Edna" is very Baby Boomer's Mother, some names sound "old" or "very stylish" in Japanese.

Whether or not a Japanese name sounds "old" or "young" often resides in the suffix, or final syllable, in a name. Below is a list of common suffixes between girl and boy names, what they (usually, it depends on which kanji used) mean, and what generation they may be attributed to. (Please note that there are MANY more, these are just some of the MOST popular.)

Girls:

-ko (子) "Child." Often associated with older generations, with the trend tapering off in the 80s. A common source for this trend is the tradition of every female member of the Imperial family having this suffix in their name.

-mi (美) "Beauty." Like "ko," it had its heyday in the older generations, but still prevails on maybe moreso than "ko" these days. 

-ka (香) "Scent." "ka" seems to have replaced "ko" in the newer generations as the go-to "k" sound. The difference between "Yuko" and "Yuka" can be as much as taking twenty years off your age!

-na (菜) "Plant." "na" is especially a younger sounding suffix these days, and has probably the biggest amount of kanji variants on this list. Usually, I find, it doesn't mean anything and basically acts as an "empty sound." A possible origin for this suffix as a feminized name is the trend of women saying "na?" at the end of questions. (And, indeed, one of the most common kanji I find for this name suffix means "what?")

-ki (木) "Tree." "Ki" has wallowed among popular names for a while, but never started hitting bigger numbers until the current generation. Please note that instead of just "ki" the name might actually end with "tsuki," (月) which means "moon."

Now that we know five of the most common female name suffixes, let's play a little game that shows off how  "puzzle piece" like these names can get.

Let's take the name Yu(u). (優)Common girl's name on it's on. Usually it means "gentle," but, depending on the kanji it can mean almost anything. But let's go with the common "gentle" for now. Using it as a prefix, let's mash it up with all our suffixes above!

Yuko - 優子 Gentle Child
Yumi - 優美 Gentle Beauty
Yuka - 優香 Gentle Aroma
Yuna -優菜 Gentle Flower
Yuki - 優木 Gentle Tree (also Snow (雪) and, Bravery (勇気) Also doubles as a common boy's name!)
BONUS: Yuri - (百合) Lily. 

You can do this with just about any common prefix, including some of those suffixes you see above! "Mi" is a super common prefix as well. And yeah, I've seen girls named 美美. (Double the beauty, you know.)

The five names (plus one) you see above are so common, odds are that in any group of Japanese female friends you have, about half of them will have one of the names above. Now, imagine trying to run an English class full of nothing but Yukas, Yukos, and Yukis. Good times. 

Boys:

-shi (史) "History." Very popular in war-time baby names. This one has mostly died off in current generations, but still sometimes pops up now and again.


-suke (介) "Concerned With." This kanji/sound basically enhances the meaning of the prefix. Started appearing in the mid-20th century with regularity, and is now one of the more common suffixes for boys.   

-ta (太) "Big." Particularly common with two-syllable male names. Like "suke," it usually increases the meaning of the prefix. 

-to (人) "Person." Similar to "ta" in its function. It's survived a long time by keeping under the radar.

-ya (哉) "What?" Yes. You read that right. I'm guessing this is mostly an "empty" sound suffix, but let's keep looking...

Let's play another game! Meet "Ryo(u)" (龍) a boy whose name means "Dragon" for our exercise. Also a common prefix for boys...especially today! 

Ryoshi - 龍史 History of Dragons
Ryosuke - 龍介 Having to Do With Dragons
Ryota - 龍太 Big Dragon
Ryoto - 龍人 Dragon Amongst Men / Dragon-Man
Ryoya - 龍哉 What a Dragon!

Some of those names sound silly, but I've met at least one boy for every name up there...sometimes ten.

Summation

As you can see from these two brief exercises, Japanese given names are usually broken up into parts, or syllables associated with a kanji of a special (or not so special) meaning. Girl names tend to have more "fragile" meanings while boy names are more concerned with strength, size, and intellectual pursuits. (Hey! Sound familiar?) This list does not include one kanji names that may have up to three syllables. In general, Japanese given names center around a good feeling mixed with natural elements. This will be even more expanded upon next time when I tackle family names. 

From a Writer's Perspective

Part of the reason I've studied Japanese given names so much and for so long, aside from having meet thousands of Japanese people in my life (whether at school or at work), is because at the moment I'm writing mostly about Japanese characters. In order to make them as realistic as possible, I'm also taking their names into account. Do their names make sense for the generation they were born into? (Most of my characters currently were born either during war-time or the 70s!) Do they match the character? Particularly for girl names, since I mostly write about lesbians. Many masculine Japanese women drop their suffixes because they're too feminine. You'd be hard pressed to find a stone cold butch still going by "Yuko" with the kanji I provided above.

And then there's the AWFUL part! Yes, there's an awful part. With SO many Japanese women running around that need different names, you can see how easy it is to accidentally make too many characters with too similar names. Want to name a character Yuko? Too bad, I already have one named Yuri. I have to keep in mind that most of my readers probably won't be familiar with these conventions, and while I may be okay keeping track of who's who among Yuka / Yuko / Yuki (once, I was paid to!) I'm not going to expect any readers to. It creates quite the headache come time to name characters. 

How about y'all, who made it this far? Do you have any favorite Japanese names? Wanna dissect them and pick apart their meanings? Throw em at me. Should be fun!

Open Call For Questions About Japan, For New Blogging Series

Source: Me. (A view from Gujo City, Gifu)

I've decided to start a little weekly (or maybe bi-weekly) blogging series about life in Japan, both from an academic point and from a living-there-as-a-foreigner point. I mean, why not? It's my major area of study since puberty, damnit.

So to get a jump on some ideas of what to post, I'm opening this first post for questions you might like to see answered about Japanese language and culture from a general view, or a more specific and gritty look at getting a job there (and keeping it) and getting around as a foreigner. Please keep in mind though that I can only answer generic questions about the language - most of its intricacies are still beyond me!

You can look forward to the first blog post sometime this week. I was thinking about either queer life in Japan or Japanese naming conventions. What say you?