Japanese name

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.

[12][13] For example, the popular masculine name 大翔 is traditionally pronounced "Hiroto", but in recent years alternative pronunciations "Haruto", "Yamato", "Taiga", "Sora", "Taito", "Daito", and "Masato" have all entered use.

[15] Other popular endings for female names include -ka (香/花, "scent, perfume" or "flower"⁠) (e.g. "Reika") and -na (奈/菜, "greens" or "apple tree") (e.g. "Haruna").

[17] The usage of -ko (子) has changed significantly over the years: prior to the Meiji Restoration (1868), it was reserved for members of the imperial family.

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.

Some common names are summarized by the phrase tanakamura ("the village in the middle of the rice fields"): the three kanji (ta (田, "rice field"), naka (中, "middle") and mura (村, "village")), together in any pair, form a simple, reasonably common surname: Tanaka, Nakamura, Murata, Nakata (Nakada), Muranaka, Tamura.

Conventions of direct address and name use in conversation are heavily governed by respect for those considered in higher social positions (ex.

Pronouns meaning "you" (anata (あなた), kimi (きみ), omae (お前)) are uncommon in Japanese, as when used improperly they may be perceived as being affrontive or sarcastic.

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).

In recent decades, the government has allowed individuals to simply adopt katakana versions of their native names when applying for citizenship, as is already done when referring to non-East Asian foreigners: National Diet member Tsurunen Marutei (ツルネン マルテイ), originally 'Martti Turunen', who is Finnish, is a famous example.

Yoko Ono, for example, was born in Japan, with the name 小野 洋子, and spent the first twenty years of her life there.

These Christian names are written using katakana, and are adapted to Japanese phonology from their Portuguese or Latin forms rather than being borrowed from English.

Peter, for example, is Petoro (ペトロ), John is Yohane (ヨハネ), Jacob is Yakobu (ヤコブ), Martin is Maruchino (マルチノ), Dominic is Dominiko (ドミニコ), and so on.

However, Japanese people prefer to say "the Emperor" or "the Crown Prince", rather than using the personal name out of respect and as a measure of politeness.

This title is generally used until the individual becomes heir to the throne or inherits one of the historical princely family names (Hitachi-no-miya (常陸宮), Mikasa-no-miya (三笠宮), Akishino-no-miya (秋篠宮), etc.).

In feudal Japan, names reflected a person's social status, as well as their affiliation with Buddhist, Shintō, feudatory-military, Confucian-scholarly, mercantile, peasant, slave, and imperial orders.

Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足), Ki no Tsurayuki (紀 貫之), and Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛) are additional examples.

Examples are Saidani 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).

Writers also tend to be clever about their names, for example Edogawa Ranpo which is designed to sound like "Edgar Allan Poe".

Another notable example is the wrestler Sentoryu, which means "fighting war dragon" but is also homophonous with St. Louis, his city of origin.

Geisha, maiko and practitioners of traditional crafts and arts such as pottery, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, irezumi (tattooing) and ikebana (flower arranging) often take professional names, known as geimei (lit.

Myōseki were written in kanji, and were typically more elaborate than the average woman's name of the time, holding meanings taken from poetry, literary history and nature.

As they were property of the brothel owner, myōseki were rarely passed from one oiran directly down to their apprentice, as holders were chosen for their suitability to the name's reputation.

[36] These practices stand in stark contrast to how English and generally Western names are treated in the Japanese language, where they are typically presented without reordering.

[3] Terry wrote, "it was one of the ironies of the late twentieth century that Japan remained stranded in the formal devices underlining its historical quest for equality with the West, while China set its own terms, in language as in big-power politics.

In December 2000, the council on the National Language of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture recommended that English language productions begin using the Japanese naming order, as "it is in general desirable that personal names be presented and written in a way that preserves their unique forms, except for registries and other documents with specific standards."

A Japan Foundation publishing division spokesperson stated around 2001 that some SWET publications, including popular anglophone newspapers, continue to use the Western order.

[44] Some others in the government support moving to retaining the original order of names, in line with Chinese and Korean practice, in time for the several major global events the country will be host to during 2020, while others seem not to.

[51] For example, in Standard Mandarin, Yamada Tarō (山田 太郎) becomes Shāntián Tàiláng, while Hatoyama Yukio (鳩山 由紀夫) becomes Jiūshān Yóujìfū.

In May 2016, Nintendo sparked anger among fans in Hong Kong by announcing that its new Pokémon games, Sun and Moon, would use translations based upon Mandarin across all parts of China and Taiwan.