![]() Chiba (“thousand leaves”) and Matsumoto (“original pine”) are often-heard family names, but they’re also a prefecture and city, respectively. In many cases, though, they’re coincidences born out of a reference to the natural landscape serving as inspiration for the name of a family and location. Surnames that are also place names aren’t entirely uncommon in Japan. Meaning: Kyoto, Japan’s former capital city While senju is a pretty old-school term to use for an educational instructor, the kanji characters 先生 are the exact same ones used to write sensei, the standard way of addressing schoolteachers and doctors in Japanese. Matsuda means “field of pines,” for example, while Sugimoto is “original cedar.” Flowers are less common, though, especially when the name matches up exactly with the name of the blossom. References to trees are common in Japanese names. “What about esteemed Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Tokyo Godfathers director Satoshi Kon?” Actually, the late director’s surname was written with the kanji 今, meaning “now,” and while that’s also a somewhat unusual family name, it’s not as rare as this plant-based one. “Hey, wait a second,” anime fans are saying. While many Japanese names are reflections of the natural environment, ones that reference people are much rarer, much less one with a specific color. But while many Japanese surnames contain the kanji 神, meaning “god” or “divine,” the rather on-the-nose Jinja is far less common, being the family name of only about 330 people. In olden times, Shinto shrines were often the center of culture and activity in their respective communities, and thus a part of the personal identity of those who lived nearby. Myoga is the first of a handful of agriculture-based names on the list, highlighting how much of Japan’s populace was involved in farming prior to the end of the feudal era. To clarify, this isn’t a name that etymologically traces back to the word “salt,” but one that’s written and pronounced exactly like shio, the Japanese word for table salt.ĩ9 what? Why not 100? We have so many questions. While the meaning might not be so dramatic, when written with different kanji characters, ikari can also mean “anger” or “anchor.” According to Myoji Yurai Net’s study, approximately 1,300 people across Japan bear this surname. Sato and Suzuki are by far the most common surnames in Japan, with others such as Takahashi and Tanaka also showing up very frequently.īut what about the other end of the spectrum? Myoji Yurai Net, a Japanese surname database, recently released the results of a study in which researchers analyzed data from government statistics and phone books in order to compile a list of the 30 rarest Japanese family names. If you’ve made a moderate amount of Japanese social or business acquaintances, or even just enjoy video games or anime set in Japan, odds are there are a few family names you’re familiar with. Some people didn’t have to win a beauty pageant to be called “Miss Kyoto.”
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