Japanese Surnames - Part 1

In the previous course, we saw that there were special cases for purely and Sino-Japanese readings of kanji. I also told you that there is one last special case, the one of Japanese surnames, and here we are.

First thing to know, Japanese first and last names are written in kanji. From time to time, they can be written in hiragana or katakana.

Foreign names and surnames are written exclusively in katakana, as we saw in a previous course.

Today we’re going to focus on Japanese surnames. We are going to leave the first names aside because these are still a case apart more complex to grasp than surnames.

To give you a little overview, it is possible (for Japanese first names only) to put any reading on any kanji, sometimes to give a symbolic aspect. A real sandbox where you will quickly realize that apart from the classic rules of reading kanji applicable to certain first names, you will especially have to learn them by heart if you want to remember them.

But we will see the Japanese names later. For now, let’s focus on Japanese surnames.

In the vast majority of cases, Japanese surnames always consist of two kanji and, where this is a special case, is that they are read in purely Japanese reading. Quite simply because the Japanese did not wait to have the kanji and therefore Sino-Japanese readings to have surnames. So how did the surnames appear ?

In the same way as in many other civilizations, the first surnames were given in relation to the geographical location of the person in question, that is to say the place where he lived. There are also invasions, wars, cultural exchanges which also influenced the surnames… On this last point, Japan is a special case because it has remained for centuries very isolated from the rest of the world and has therefore not been subject to very significant influences. This is probably the main reason why the Japanese language is classified as an isolate.

To give you an example, a person who lived in the middle of a rice field, we wrote their last name with the kanji of « rice field » and the kanji of « middle » ; a person who lived in a village full of flowers, we wrote his name with the kanji of "flower" and the kanji of « village »…

So, since surnames were created before the arrival of kanji and Sino-Japanese readings, even today, even if we have two kanji, we keep the purely Japanese reading.

I will now give you a list of twenty-seven kanji with which we can create lots of Japanese surnames. These kanji that I have selected are the ones that we find most often and with which we will create our first Japanese surnames. These are among the most common, the most widespread in Japan, up to several million people.

Here we go !

田 . た . rice field → だ
中 . なか . middle, interior
花 . はな . flower
木 . き . tree
森 . もり . forest
山 . やま . mountain
口 . くち . mouth → ぐち
川 . かわ . river → がわ
河 . かわ . river → がわ
松 . まつ . pine
村 . むら . village
石 . いし . stone, rock
青 . あお . blue
宮 . みや . palace ; temple, Shinto shrine
鳥 . とり . bird
岡 . おか . mountain’s crete (you will recognize the mountain kanji inside)
内 . うち . inside
島 . しま . island → じま
水 . みず . water
本 . もと . origin, base
岸 . きし . shore, edge → ぎし
野 . の . field
東 . ひがし . east
北 . きた . north
西 . にし . west
南 . みなみ . south
小 . ちい (さい) / こ . small

For example :

With the kanji of « rice field » and the kanji of « middle, interior », we can create the last name « Tanaka ».
田 + 中 - 田中 . たなか

If we reverse the kanji, first of all « middle, interior » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Nakata ».
中 + 田 - 中田 . なかた

With the kanji of « rice field » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Tayama ».
田 + 山 - 田山 . たやま

With the kanji of « middle, interior » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Nakayama ».
中 + 山 - 中山 . なかやま

With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « village », that gives us « Yamamura ».
山 + 村 - 山村 . やまむら

With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Yamada ».
山 + 田 - 山田 . やまだ

With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « mouth », that gives us « Yamaguchi ».
山 + 口 - 山口 . やまぐち

With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Yamagawa ».
山 + 川 - 山川 . やまがわ

With the kanji of « rice field » and then the one of « mouth », that gives us « Taguchi ».
田 + 口 - 田口 . たぐち

With the kanji of « river » and then the one of « mouth », that gives us « Kawaguchi ».
川 + 口 - 川口 . かわぐち

With the kanji of « stone » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Ishida ».
石 + 田 - 石田 . いしだ

With the kanji of « stone » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Ishikawa ».
石 + 川 - 石川 . いしかわ
Other writing possible : 石河 . いしかわ

With the kanji of « flower » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Hanakawa ».
花 + 川 - 花川 . はなかわ
Other writing possible : 花河 . はなかわ

With the kanji of « flower » and then the one of « mountain’s crete », that gives us « Hanaoka ».
花 + 岡 - 花岡 . はなおか

With the kanji of « flower » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Hanada ».
花 + 田 - 花田 . はなだ

With the kanji of « flower » and then the one of « village », that gives us « Hanamura ».
花 + 村 - 花村 . はなむら

With the kanji of « pine » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Matsuda ».
松 + 田 - 松田 . まつだ

With the kanji of « pine » and then the one of « mountain’s crete », that gives us « Matsuoka ».
松 + 岡 - 松岡 . まつおか

With the kanji of « pine » and then the one of « tree », that gives us « Matsuki ».
松 + 木 - 松木 . まつき

With the kanji of « pine » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Matsukawa ».
松 + 川 - 松川 . まつかわ
Other writing possible : 松河 . まつかわ

With the kanji of « blue » and then the one of « tree », that gives us « Aoki ».
青 + 木 - 青木 . あおき

With the kanji of « blue » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Aoyama ».
青 + 山 - 青山 . あおやま

With the kanji of « bird » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Toriyama ».
鳥 + 山 - 鳥山 . とりやま

With the kanji of « inside » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Uchida ».
内 + 田 - 内田 . うちだ

With the kanji of « inside » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Uchikawa ».
内 + 川 - 内川 . うちかわ
Other writing possible : 内河 . うちかわ

With the kanji of « inside » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Uchiyama ».
内 + 山 - 内山 . うちやま

With the kanji of « inside » and then the one of « mountain », then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Uchiyamada ».
内 + 山 + 田 - 内山田 . うちやまだ

With the kanji of « rice field » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Tajima ».
田 + 島 - 田島 . たじま

With the kanji of « tree » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Kijima ».
木 + 島 - 木島 . きじま

With the kanji of « middle, interior » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Nakajima ».
中 + 島 - 中島 . なかじま

With the kanji of « island » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Shimada ».
島 + 田 - 島田 . しまだ

With the kanji of « stone » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Ishijima ».
石 + 島 - 石島 . いしじま

With the kanji of « island » and then the one of « village », that gives us « Shimamura ».
島 + 村 - 島村 . しまむら

With the kanji of « water » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Mizushima ».
水 + 島 - 水島 . みずしま

With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Yamamoto ».
山 + 本 - 山本 . やまもと

With the kanji of « pine » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Matsumoto ».
松 + 本 - 松本 . まつもと

With the kanji of « temple, Shinto shrine » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Miyamoto ».
宮 + 本 - 宮本 . みやもと

With the kanji of « river » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Kawamoto ».
川 + 本 - 川本 . かわもと
Other writing possible : 河本 . かわもと

With the kanji of « mountain’s crete » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Okamoto ».
岡 + 本 - 岡本 . おかもと

With the kanji of « stone » and then the one of « mountain’s crete », that gives us « Ishimoto ».
石 + 本 - 石本 . いしもと

With the kanji of « flower » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Hanamoto ».
花 + 本 - 花本 . はなもと

With the kanji of « village » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Muramoto ».
村 + 本 - 村本 . むらもと

With the kanji of « shore, edge » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Kishida ».
岸 + 田 - 岸田 . きしだ

With the kanji of « shore, edge » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Kishimoto ».
岸 + 本 - 岸本 . きしもと

With the kanji of « village » and then the one of « shore, edge », that gives us « Yamagishi ».
山 + 岸 - 山岸 . やまぎし

With the kanji of « temple, Shinto shrine » and then the one of « water », that gives us « Miyamizu ».
宮 + 水 - 宮水 . みやみず

With the kanji of « east » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Higashiyama ».
東 + 山 - 東山 . ひがしやま

With the kanji of « north » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Kitayama ».
北 + 山 - 北山 . きたやま

With the kanji of « west » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Nishiyama ».
西 + 山 - 西山 . にしやま

With the kanji of « south » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Minamiyama ».
南 + 山 - 南山 . みなみやま

With the kanji of « east » and then the one of « field », that gives us « Higashino ».
東 + 野 - 東野 . ひがしの

With the kanji of « west » and then the one of « field », that gives us « Nishino ».
西 + 野 - 西野 . にしの

With the kanji of « north » and then the one of « field », that gives us « Kitano ».
北 + 野 - 北野 . きたの

With the kanji of « south » and then the one of « field », that gives us « Minamino ».
南 + 野 - 南野 . みなみの

With the kanji of « little » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Kojima ».
小 + 島 - 小島 . こじま

With the kanji of « dog » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Inuyama ».
犬 + 山 - 犬山 . いぬやま

With the kanji of « river » and then the one of « forest », that gives us « Kawamori ».
川 + 森 - 川森 . かわもり
Other writing possible : 河森 . かわもり

With the kanji of « forest » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Morikawa ».
森 + 川 - 森川 . もりかわ
Other writing possible : 森河 . もりかわ

With the kanji of « forest » and then the one of « village », that gives us « Kawamura ».
川 + 村 - 川村 . かわむら
Other writing possible : 河村 . かわむら

With the kanji of « village » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Murakawa ».
村 + 川 - 村川 . むらかわ
Other writing possible : 村河 . むらかわ

With the kanji of « forest » and then the one of « rice field », that give us « Morita ».
森 + 田 - 森田 . もりた

Now, you see, Japanese surnames are very simple to understand. Two kanji and a pronunciation exclusively in purely Japanese. You will have noticed in the list of surnames that I have given you that some kanji change their pronunciation slightly when they are placed as the suffix in the combination. Looks like they diphongs.

Do you remember the dakuten we saw in the lesson on kana and hiragana ? As an example, let’s take the kanji 岸 . きし. Placed in suffix in the last name 山岸 . やまぎし, you notice that the き becomes ぎ.

Of course, you will also have noticed that not all the purely Japanese pronunciations of kanji necessarily diphthong.

So, in family names like 岡埼 . おかざき, 山埼 . やまざき and 宮埼 . みやざき, the syllable さ diphthong in ざ. Yet in the last name 黒崎 . くろさき, it does not diphthong.

We are dealing here with the first annexed rule of the kanji that we saw in a previous course. As a reminder, in a Sino-Japanese word, it will sometimes happen that the first kana (or the first syllable if you prefer) of the second kanji take an accent and this, for reasons of pronunciation.

It will not happen every time so it will be up to you to know when there will be an accent and when there will not be.

Both for surnames and for common nouns consisting of two or more kanji, you must memorize by practice when the first additional rule applies and when it does not apply.

I hope you enjoyed this course on Japanese family names. It was a particularly long course because I wanted to give you as many examples as possible and it is done.

There are a lot of kanji to remember but it is important that you learn them all now. All this is only learning by heart. Review this lesson several times and practice writing these surnames until you memorize them perfectly.

Regarding Japanese first names, we will not address them until much later because they obey rules a little more complex than surnames and it is necessary that we see the numbers first. There, you wonder what is the relationship with first names. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything in detail when the time comes.

Also be aware that there are Chinese-Japanese surnames although they are rarer. We will also see that much later at the very end of season two.

Thank you for reading me so far and I suggest you take a deep breath. Take your time to re-read this lesson and I wish you good luck with your revisions.