We’ve come a long way so far and don’t worry, we still have a lot to discover. Before going any further, I would like us to take a little detour to come back to a subject that we had already discussed : Japanese surnames.
As a reminder, Japanese surnames are written in kanji. Occasionally, they can be written in hiragana or katakana.
Foreign first and last names are written exclusively in katakana by the way, as we have seen in a course, which is quite distant but which I invite you to review. This is the opportunity to do so.
Today we’re going to focus (again) on Japanese surnames. We are going to review the last names that we have already seen in Part 1, in addition to discovering new surnames. Of course, it’s quite possible that you already know them, if you’ve seen them in a manga or an anime, which is great by the way.
I give you the whole subsection on how Japanese surnames came about below. We already discussed this the first time and this is a good opportunity to refresh your memory.
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 forty-three 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 . fower
木 .
き . tree
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
白 .
しろ . white → しら
城 .
しろ . castle → ぎ
石 .
いし . stone, rock
青 .
あお . blue
崎 / 埼 .
さき . cape, promontory → ざき
宮 .
みや . palace; temple, shinto shrine
黒 .
くろ . black
鳥 .
とり . bird
尾 .
お . tail (new kanji)
岡 .
おか . mountain’s crete (you will recognize the mountain kanji inside)
月 .
つき . moon
内 .
うち . inside
島 .
しま . island → じま
水 .
みず . water
虎 .
とら . tiger
本 .
もと . origin, base
岸 .
きし . shore, edge → ぎし
釘 .
くぎ . nail
手 .
て . hand
塚 .
つか . tumulus, mound → ずか
吉 .
よし . chance (new kanji)
兎 .
うさぎ . rabbit
井 .
い . well
畑 .
はたけ . field, garden (vegetable patch) (new kanji)
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
犬 .
いぬ . dog
雨 .
あめ . rain → あま
森 .
もり . forest
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 « mountain » and then the one of « castle », that gives us « Yamashiro ».
山 +
城 -
山城 . やましろ
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 « black » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Kuroda ».
黒 +
田 -
黒田 . くろだ
With the kanji of « black » and then the one of « tree », that gives us « Kuroki ».
黒 +
木 -
黒木 . くろき
With the kanji of « black » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Kurokawa ».
黒 +
川 -
黒川 . くろかわ
Other writing possible : 黒河 . くろかわ
With the kanji of « white » and then the one of « stone, rock », that gives us « Shiraishi ».
白 +
石 -
白石 . しらいし
With the kanji of « white » and then the one of « tree », that gives us « Shiraki ».
白 +
木 -
白木 . しらき
With the kanji of « white » and then the one of « mountain’s crete », that gives us « Shiraoka ».
白 +
岡 -
白岡 . しらおか
With the kanji of « white » and then the one of « temple, sanctuary », that gives us « Shiromiya ».
白 +
宮 -
白宮 . しろみや
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 « mountain’s crete » and then the one of « cape, promontory », that gives us « Okazaki ».
岡 +
埼 -
岡埼 . おかざき
With the kanji of « temple, sanctuary » and then the one of « cape, promontory », that gives us « Miyazaki ».
宮 +
埼 -
宮埼 . みやざき
With the kanji of « mountain » and then the one of « cape, promontory », that gives us « Yamazaki ».
山 +
埼 -
山埼 . やまざき
With the kanji of « black » and then the one of « cape, promontory », that gives us « Kurosaki ».
黒 +
埼 -
黒埼 . くろさき
With the kanji of « white » and then the one of « cape, promontory », that gives us « Shirosaki ».
白 +
埼 -
白埼 . しろさき
With the kanji of « temple, sanctuary » and then the one of « castle », that gives us « Miyagi ».
宮 +
城 -
宮城 . みやぎ
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 « tail » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Oda ».
尾 +
田 -
尾田 . おだ
With the kanji of « moon » and then the one of « mountain’s crete », that gives us « Tsukioka ».
月 +
岡 -
月岡 . つきおか
With the kanji of « moon » and then the one of « temple, sanctuary », that gives us « Tsukimiya ».
月 +
宮 -
月宮 . つきみや
With the kanji of « moon » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Tsukikawa ».
月 +
川 -
月川 . つきかわ
Other writing possible : 月河 . つきかわ
With the kanji of « moon » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Tsukiyama ».
月 +
山 -
月山 . つきやま
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 « moon » and then the one of « island », that gives us « Tsukishima ».
月 +
島 -
月島 . つきしま
With the kanji of « tiger » and then the one of « water », that gives us « Toramizu ».
虎 +
水 -
虎水 . とらみず
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 « moon » and then the one of « origin, base », that gives us « Tsukimoto ».
月 +
本 -
月本 . つきもと
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 « origin, base », that gives us « Yamagishi ».
山 +
岸 -
山岸 . やまぎし
With the kanji of « nail » and then the one of « temple, sanctuary », that gives us « Kugimiya ».
釘 +
宮 -
釘宮 . くぎみや
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 « hand » and then the one of « tumulus, mound », that gives us « Tezuka ».
手 +
塚 -
手塚 . てずか
With the kanji of « chance » and then the one of « rice field », that gives us « Yoshida ».
吉 +
田 -
吉田 . よしだ
With the kanji of « chance » and then the one of « river », that gives us « Yoshikawa ».
吉 +
川 -
吉川 . よしかわ
Other writing possible : 吉河 . よしかわ
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 « rabbit » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Usagiyama ».
兎 +
山 -
兎山 . うさぎやま
With the kanji of « well » and then the one of « mountain », that gives us « Iyama ».
井 +
山 -
井山 . いやま
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 « rain » and then the one of « temple, sanctuary », that gives us « Amamiya ».
雨 +
宮 -
雨宮 . あまみや
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 is an accent and when it will not.
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.
Well ! The list I gave you is extremely long, but you can imagine that these are not the only surnames that exist in Japan. There are still many more and finally, I can’t resist the urge to quickly add a few more to this little list. There might be a few kanji that you don’t recognize, in which case I invite you to look them up in the dictionary. It will do you good.
麻倉 . あさくら . Asakura
柿崎 . かきざき . Asakura
月影 . つきかげ . Tsukikage
龍宮 . たつみや . Tatsumiya
熊崎 . くまさき . Kumasaki
熊谷 . くまがい . Kumagai
川西 . かわにし . Kawanishi
河西 . かわにし . Kawanishi
川村 . かわむら . Kawamura
河村 . かわむら . Kawamura
川上 . かわかみ . Kawakami
河上 . かわかみ . Kawakami
後山 . あとやま . Atoyama
山崎 . やまさき . Yamasaki
望月 . もちずき . Mochizuki
中原 . なかはら . Nakahara
永倉 . ながくら . Nagakura
永宮 . ながみや . Nagamiya
永沢 . ながさわ . Nagasawa
嘴平 . はしびら . Hashibira
桑原 . くわばら . Kuwabara
桑江 . くわえ ばら . Kuwae
桑島 . くわじま . Kuwajima
冨岡 . とみおか . Tomioka
時岡 . ときおか . Tokioka
立花 . たちばな . Tachibana
橘 . たちばな . Tachibana
継国 . つぎくに . Tsugikuni
継宮 . つぎみや . Tsugimiya
月白 . つきしろ . Tsukishiro
月城 . つきしろ . Tsukishiro
高野 . たかの . Takano
高岡 . たかおか . Takaoka
神崎 . かんざき . Kanzaki
柴崎 . しばさき . Shibasaki
赤松 . あかまつ . Akamatsu
赤石 . あかいし . Akaishi
赤西 . あかにし . Akanishi
赤塚 . あかつか . Akatsuka
赤木 . あかぎ . Akagi
赤城 . あかぎ . Akagi
灰谷 . はいたに . Haitani
松下 . まつした . Matsushita
浦島 . うらしま . Urashima
浦野 . うらの . Urano (cognom extremadament rar)
若月 . わかつき . Wakatsuki
分島 . わけしま . Wakeshima (cognom extremadament rar)
皇 . すめらぎ . Sumeragi (cognom extremadament rar)
綾波 . あやなみ . Ayanami
式波 . しきなみ . Shikinami
真希波 . まきなみ . Makinami
米山 . こめやま . Komeyama
山形 . やまがた . Yamagata
水原 . みずはら . Mizuhara
宮原 . みやはら . Miyahara
小泉 . こいずみ . Koizumi
藍原 . あいはら . Aihara
山吹 . やまぶき . Yamabuki
柏崎 . かしわざき . Kashiwazaki
柏木 . かしわぎ . Kashiwagi
柏倉 . かしわくら . Kashiwakura
岩倉 . いわくら . Iwakura
小清水 . こしみず . Koshimizu
輿水 . こしみず . Koshimizu
青沼 . あおぬま . Aonuma
乃木坂 . のぎざか . Nogizaka
陸山 . くがやま . Kugayama
久我山 . くがやま . Kugayama
七緒 . ななお . Nanao
堀川 . ほりかわ . Horikawa
堀越 . ほりこし . Horikoshi
堀北 . ほりきた . Horikita
今石 . いまいし . Imaishi
白銀 / 白鋼 / 白鉄 . しろがね . Shirogane
黒銀 / 黒鋼 / 黒鉄 . くろがね . Kurogane
早坂 . はやさか . Hayasaka
早川 . はやかわ . Hayakawa
早河 . はやかわ . Hayakawa
風祭 . かざまつり . Kazamatsuri
豊崎 . とよさき . Toyosaki
平田 . ひらた . Hirata
星原 . ほしはら . Hoshihara
喜多川 . きたがわ . Kitagawa
北川 . きたがわ . Kitagawa
霧島 . きりしま . Kirishima
霧嶋 . きりしま . Kirishima
織斑 . おりむら . Orimura
梅津 . うめず / うめつ . Umezu / Umetsu
辰本 . たつもと . Tatsumoto
竜本 /龍本 . たつもと . Tatsumoto
達本 . たつもと . Tatsumoto
辰山 . たつやま . Tatsuyama
竜山 /龍山 . たつやま . Tatsuyama
達山 . たつやま . Tatsuyama
桜宮 . さくらみや . Sakuramiya
篠原 . しのはら . Shinohara
旭川 . あいかわ . Aikawa
旭河 . あいかわ . Aikawa
会川 . あいかわ . Aikawa
会河 . あいかわ . Aikawa
相川 . あいかわ . Aikawa
相河 . あいかわ . Aikawa
愛川 . あいかわ . Aikawa
愛河 . あいかわ . Aikawa
藍川 . あいかわ . Aikawa
西原 . にしはら . Nishihara
南原 . みなみはら . Minamihara
北原 . きたはら . Kitahara
東原 . ひがしはら . Higashihara
岩川 . いわがわ . Iwagawa
岩河 . いわがわ . Iwagawa
岩崎 . いわさき . Iwasaki
岩田 . いわた . Iwata
岩波 . いわなみ . Iwanami
岩島 . いわしま . Iwashima
岩嶋 . いわしま . Iwashima
岩本 . いわもと . Iwamoto
I think I managed to give you a particularly comprehensive list of last names. I hope I haven’t done too much. And for now, we only talk about purely Japanese surnames.
Although there are surnames today that can be read in purely Japanese reading, there are a few that appeared after the introduction of kanji in Japan and therefore can be read in Sino-Japanese reading. For example :
遠藤 . えんドウ → 藤 . ふじ . トウ
You will notice that in the last name 遠藤 . えんどう, the kanji 藤 is pronounced トウ in Sino-Japanese. Placed as a suffix, the ト becomes ド.
Another Sino-Japanese surname :
須藤 . すドウ → 藤 . ふじ . トウ
In this last name too, the kanji 藤 is pronounced トウ in Sino-Japanese pronunciation. Placed as a suffix, the ト becomes ド.
Yet another, very common in Japan :
佐藤 . すトウ → 藤 . ふじ . トウ
This time, the kanji 藤 is pronounced トウ in Sino-Japanese pronunciation.
Of course, this same kanji can be found in other surnames where they are read in purely Japanese reading. For example :
藤崎 . ふじさき . Fujisaki
藤島 . ふじしま . Fujishima
藤吉 . ふじよし . Fujiyoshi
藤森 . ふじもり . Fujimori
藤原 . ふじわら . Fujiwara
藤林 . ふじばやし . Fujibayashi
藤巻 . ふじまき . Fujimaki
藤丸 . ふじまる . Fujimaru
藤白 . ふじしろ . Fujishiro
藤代 . ふじしろ . Fujishiro
You will notice that in the last name 藤崎 . ふじさき, the syllable さき does not take dakuten.
We can cite other examples with surnames beginning with the kanji 安. I give you its most famous purely Japanese pronunciation and Sino-Japanese pronunciation :
安 . やすい . アン
Here are some last names with the Sino-Japanese pronunciation of the same kanji :
安藤 . アンドウ → 藤 . ふじ . トウ
安東 . アンドウ → 東 . ひがし . トウ
安野 . アンの → 野 . の . ヤ
安西 . アンザイ → 西 . にし . サイ, セイ
A few last ones for the road :
一条 . イチジョウ → Ichijou → 条 . ジョウ
二条 . ニジョウ → Nijou → 条 . ジョウ
三条 . サンジョウ → Sanjou → 条 . ジョウ
四条 . しジョウ → Shijou → 条 . ジョウ
南条 . ナンジョウ → Nanjou → 条 . ジョウ
本田 . ホンだ → Honda → 本 . ホン
東城 . トウジョウ → Toujou → 城 . ジョウ
西城 . サイジョウ → Saijou → 城 . ジョウ
北城 . ホクジョウ → Hokujou → 城 . ジョウ
南城 . ナンジョウ → Nanjou → 城 . ジョウ
For the last four last name, you will notice the kanji 城 as a suffix in its Sino-Japanese pronunciation ジョウ.
Well, I’ll give you a few more :
今条 . コンジョウ → Konjou
藤堂 . トウドウ → Toudou
北土 . ホクド → Hokudo
南土 . ナンド → Nando
西土 . セイド → Seido
須藤 . スドウ → Sudou
新藤 . シンドウ → Shindou
深藤 . シンドウ → Shindou
新海 . シンカイ → Shinkai (last name of the film director Makoto Shinkai)
深海 . シンカイ → Shinkai
新開 . シンカイ → Shinkai
深開 . シンカイ → Shinkai
Before moving on, I will give you one more last surname, also purely Japanese, and in four different writings :
市瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
一之瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
市ノ瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
一ノ瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
Observe the last two writings closely :
市ノ瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
一ノ瀬 . いちのせ . Ichinose
If you know your katakana well, you will recognize the katakana ノ. We have surnames that mix kanji and katakana. This is a very rare case, but you can occasionally come across surnames like this. And, in fact, it is the particle の of possession, written in hiragana.
By the way, observe the surname 市瀬 . いちのせ . It is actually pronounced いちのせ. However, the kanji 市 is pronounced いち and the kanji 瀬 is pronounced せ. The の is not found anywhere but it is pronounced anyway. In fact, the writing 市瀬 is just the result of the evolution of the surname. From 市ノ瀬, he has become 市瀬. This can be explained by the fact that certain surnames, by evolving over time, have seen variations in the kanji while maintaining their original pronunciation.
Then in the writing 一之瀬 . イチのせ, you have the kanji 之. And for many, this may be the first time you’ve seen this kanji. This is normal because it is a borrowed spell from Chinese 之 (possessive marker). Formerly used to represent the possessive particle の, in modern Japanese this character is used very rarely. You will certainly only find it in surnames.
The surname 一之瀬 . イチのせ and its variations are just one of many examples to show you very simply how a last name can evolve over time and see its writing change. There are plenty of other surnames which themselves have their own variants in terms of writing :
木下 . きのした . Kinoshita
木之下 . きのした . Kinoshita
木ノ下 . きのした . Kinoshita
四宮 . しのみや . Shinomiya
四之宮 . しのみや . Shinomiya
四ノ宮 . しのみや . Shinomiya
Ditto for first names like Ryuunosuke which has its own variants. See below :
龍介 / 隆介 / 竜介 / 龍助 / 隆助 / 竜助 . リュウのすけ . Ryuunosuke
龍之介 / 隆之介 / 竜之介 / 龍之助 / 隆之助 / 竜之助 . リュウのすけ . Ryuunosuke
龍ノ介 / 隆ノ介 / 竜ノ介 / 龍ノ助 / 隆ノ助 / 竜ノ助 . リュウのすけ . Ryuunosuke
In works of fiction, manga, anime and more, set in ancient, medieval Japan, it is quite common to find surnames and given names with the kanji 之. It helps to anchor the character in an era that suits him better. Also, in works of fiction set in contemporary times (and sometimes even reality), you can find ancient families, aristocrats or nobles, who have surnames with old kanji that are no longer used nowadays.
You also have families who have among their descendants guardians of temples who have passed the hand on from generation to generation, and who sometimes have surnames like :
錦ノ宮 . にしきノみや . Nishikinomiya
Literally, the name can be translated as « the temple of brocade ». If we have the ノ in katakana in this last name, it is a way of indicating that we are in a proper name. It is also very likely that this name could have been written in the past 錦之宮 with the kanji 之.
Again, these special cases are very rare, you really won’t come across it often but at least know that they exist.
We have one very last special case to tackle and it will be very simple. There are Japanese surnames whose pronunciation does not match either the purely Japanese pronunciation or the Sino-Japanese pronunciation of kanji. We have seen Japanese words like this before and this is very rare in Japanese surnames, but it does exist. I give you an example below :
如月 . きさらぎ . Kisaragi
This last name is pronounced as such. It’s not the most common surname in Japan, but learn it by heart like all the others.
We have finally arrived at the end of this course on Japanese surnames. Most of you will probably have felt that this course has been a long one, but at least we’ve seen everything there is to know about it. It was a real pleasure for me to write this course to the end and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
In this course, it is obvious that there are a lot of new kanji that you have never seen before. It’s a lot of new things to remember, but it’s important that you learn them all now. Look for them in the dictionary and learn them by heart. Read this lesson a few times and practice writing these last names until you remember them perfectly.
Despite all the last names I have featured in this course, be well aware that we just covered millions of Japanese and at the same time this is a drop in the bucket among all the existing Japanese surnames. However, once you have memorized everything, it will be fine. Of course, if you still stumble upon a last name that you do not know and that is not listed in this course, you must learn it by heart yourself. In most manga, anime and novels, the reading of names is given in furigana; if not, use the dictionary or the Wiktionary to try to find the correct reading of the kanji.
To help you, keep in mind that to date Japanese surnames 99% of the time have a pure Japanese pronunciation, and in 1% of cases a Sino-Japanese pronunciation.
What more can we say now if not… do your homework properly everyone.
Introduction