Japanese Female Names
Japanese Female Names
I
BY the Japanese a certain kind of girl is called a Rose-Girl,—Bara-Musumé. Perhaps my reader will think of Tennyson's "queen-rose of the rosebud-garden of girls," and imagine some analogy between the Japanese and the English idea of femininity symbolized by the rose. But there is no analogy whatever. The Bara-Musumé is not so called because she is delicate and sweet, nor because she blushes, nor because she is rosy; indeed, a rosy face is not admired in Japan. No; she is compared to a rose chiefly for the reason that a rose has thorns. The man who tries to pull a Japanese rose is likely to hurt his fingers. The man who tries to win a Bara-Musumé is apt to hurt himself much more seriously,—even unto death. It were better, alone and unarmed, to meet a tiger than to invite the caress of a Rose-Girl.
Now the appellation of Bara-Musumé—much more rational as a simile than many of our own floral comparisons—can seem strange only because it is not in accord with our poetical usages and emotional habits. It is one in a thousand possible examples of the fact that Japanese similes and metaphors are not of the sort that he who runs may read. And this fact is particularly well exemplified in the yobina, or personal names of Japanese women. Because a yobina happens to be identical with the name of some tree, or bird, or flower, it does not follow that the personal appellation conveys to Japanese imagination ideas resembling those which the corresponding English word would convey, under like circumstances, to English imagination. Of the yobina that seem to us especially beautiful in translation, only a small number are bestowed for æsthetic reasons. Nor is it correct to suppose, as many persons still do, that Japanese girls are usually named after flowers, or graceful shrubs, or other beautiful objects. Æsthetic appellations are in use; but the majority of yobina are not æsthetic. Some years ago a young Japanese scholar published an interesting essay upon this subject. He had collected the personal names of about four hundred students of the Higher Normal School for Females,—girls from every part of the Empire; and he found on his list only between fifty and sixty names possessing æsthetic quality. But concerning even these he was careful to observe only that they "caused an æsthetic sensation,"—not that they had been given for æsthetic reasons. Among them were such names as Saki (Cape), Miné (Peak), Kishi (Beach), Hama (Shore), Kuni (Capital),—originally place-names;—Tsuru (Stork), Tazu (Ricefield Stork), and Chizu (Thousand Storks);—also such appellations as Yoshino (Fertile Field), Orino (Weavers' Field), Shirushi (Proof), and Masago (Sand). Few of these could seem æsthetic to a Western mind; and probably no one of them was originally given for æsthetic reasons. Names containing the character for "Stork" are names having reference to longevity, not to beauty; and a large number of names with the termination "no" (field or plain) are names referring to moral qualities. I doubt whether even fifteen per cent of yobina are really æsthetic. A very much larger proportion are names expressing moral or mental qualities. Tenderness, kindness, deftness, cleverness, are frequently represented by yobina; but appellations implying physical charm, or suggesting æsthetic ideas only, are comparatively uncommon. One reason for the fact may be that very æsthetic names are given to geisha and to jōro, and consequently vulgarized. But the chief reason certainly is that the domestic virtues still occupy in Japanese moral estimate a place not less important than that accorded to religious faith in the life of our own Middle Ages. Not in theory only, but in every-day practice, moral beauty is placed far above physical beauty; and girls are usually selected as wives, not for their good looks, but for their domestic qualities. Among the middle classes a very æsthetic name would not be considered in the best taste; among the poorer classes, it would scarcely be thought respectable. Ladies of rank, on the other hand, are privileged to bear very poetical names; yet the majority of the aristocratic yobina also are moral rather than æsthetic.
But the first great difficulty in the way of a study of yobina is the difficulty of translating them. A knowledge of spoken Japanese can help you very little indeed. A knowledge of Chinese also is indispensable. The meaning of a name written in kana only,—in the Japanese characters,—cannot be, in most cases, even guessed at. The Chinese characters of the name can alone explain it. The Japanese essayist, already referred to, found himself obliged to throw out no less than thirty-six names out of a list of two hundred and thirteen, simply because these thirty-six, having been recorded only in kana, could not be interpreted. Kana give only the pronunciation; and the pronunciation of a woman's name explains nothing in a majority of cases. Transliterated into Romaji, a yobina may signify two, three, or even half-a-dozen different things. One of the names thrown out of the list was Banka. Banka might signify "Mint" (the plant), which would be a pretty name; but it might also mean "Evening-haze." Yuka, another rejected name, might be an abbreviation of Yukabutsu, "precious"; but it might just as well mean "a floor." Nochi, a third example, might signify "future"; yet it could also mean "a descendant," and various other things. My reader will be able to find many other homonyms in the lists of names given further on. Ai in Romaji, for instance, may signify either "love" or "indigo-blue";—Chō, "a butterfly," or "superior," or "long";—Ei, either "sagacious" or "blooming";—Kei, either "rapture" or "reverence";—Sato, either "native home" or "sugar";—Toshi, either "year" or "arrow-head";—Taka, "tall," "honorable," or "falcon." The chief, and, for the present, insuperable obstacle to the use of Roman letters in writing Japanese, is the prodigious number of homonyms in the language. You need only glance into any good Japanese-English dictionary to understand the gravity of this obstacle. Not to multiply examples, I shall merely observe that there are nineteen words spelled chō; twenty-one spelled ki; twenty-five spelled to or tō; and no less than forty-nine spelled ko or kō.
Yet, as I have already suggested, the real signification of a woman's name cannot be ascertained even from a literal translation made with the help of the Chinese characters. Such a name, for instance, as Kagami (Mirror) really signifies the Pure-Minded, and this not in the Occidental, but in the Confucian sense of the term. Umé (Plum-blossom) is a name referring to wifely devotion and virtue. Matsu (Pine) does not refer, as an appellation, to the beauty of the tree, but to the fact that its evergreen foliage is the emblem of vigorous age. The name Také (Bamboo) is given to a child only because the bamboo has been for centuries a symbol of good-fortune. The name Sen (Wood-fairy) sounds charmingly to Western fancy; yet it expresses nothing more than the parents' hope of long life for their daughter and her offspring,—wood-fairies being supposed to live for thousands of years.... Again, many names are of so strange a sort that it is impossible to discover their meaning without questioning either the bearer or the giver; and sometimes all inquiry proves vain, because the original meaning has been long forgotten.
Before attempting to go further into the subject, I shall here offer a translation of the Tōkyō essayist's list of names,—rearranged in alphabetical order, without honorific prefixes or suffixes. Although some classes of common names are not represented, the list will serve to show the character of many still popular yobina, and also to illustrate several of the facts to which I have already called attention.
SELECTED NAMES OF STUDENTS AND GRADUATES
OF THE HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL FOR
FEMALES (1880-1895):—
Number of
students
so named.
| Ai | ("Indigo,"—the color) | 1 |
| Ai | ("Love") | 1 |
| Akasuké | ("The Bright Helper") | 1 |
| Asa | ("Morning") | 1 |
| Asa | ("Shallow")[33] | 2 |
[33] Probably a place-name originally.
| Au | ("Meeting") | 2 |
| Bun | ("Composition"—in the literary sense)[34] | 1 |
[34]Might we not quaintly say, "A Fair Writing"?
| Chika | ("Near")[35] | 5 |
[35] ] Probably in the sense of "near and dear"—but not certainly so.
| Chitosé | ("A Thousand Years") | 1 |
| Chiyo | ("A Thousand Generations") | 1 |
| Chizu | ("Thousand Storks") | 1 |
| Chō | ("Butterfly") | 1 |
| Chō | ("Superior") | 2 |
| Ei | ("Clever") | 1 |
| Ei | ("Blooming") | 2 |
| Etsu | ("Delight") | 1 |
| Fudé | ("Writing-brush") | 1 |
| Fuji | ("Fuji,"—the mountain) | 1 |
| Fuji | ("Wistaria-flower") | 2 |
| Fuki | ("Fuki,"—name of a plant, Nardosmia Japonica) | 1 |
| Fuku | ("Good-fortune") | 2 |
| Fumi | ("Letter")[36] | 5 |
[36] ] Fumi signifies here a letter written by a woman only—a letter written according to the rules of feminine epistolary style.
| Fumino | ("Letter-field") | 1 |
| Fusa | ("Tassel") | 3 |
| Gin | ("Silver") | 2 |
| Hama | ("Shore") | 3 |
| Hana | ("Blossom") | 3 |
| Haruë | ("Spring-time Bay") | 1 |
| Hatsu | ("The First-born") | 2 |
| Hidé | ("Excellent") | 4 |
| Hidé | ("Fruitful") | 2 |
| Hisano | ("Long Plain") | 2 |
| Ichi | ("Market") | 4 |
| Iku | ("Nourishing") | 3 |
| Iné | ("Springing Rice") | 3 |
| Ishi | ("Stone") | 1 |
| Ito | ("Thread") | 4 |
| Iwa | ("Rock") | 1 |
| Jun | ("The Obedient")[37] | 1 |
[37] ] Jun suru means to be obedient unto death. The word jun has a much stronger signification than that which attaches to our word "obedience" in these modern times.
| Kagami | ("Mirror") | 3 |
| Kama | ("Sickle") | 1 |
| Kamé | ("Tortoise") | 2 |
| Kaméyo | ("Generations-of-the-Tortoise")[38] | 1 |
[38] ] The tortoise is supposed to live for a thousand years.
| Kan | ("The Forbearing")[39] | 11 |
[39] ] Abbreviation of kannin, "forbearance," "self-control," etc. The name might equally well be translated "Patience."
| Kana | ("Character"—in the sense of written character)[40] | 2 |
[40] ] Kana signifies the Japanese syllabary,—the characters with which the language is written. The reader may imagine, if he wishes, that the name signifies the Alpha and Omega of all feminine charm; but I confess that I have not been able to find any satisfactory explanation of it.
| Kané | ("Bronze") | 3 |
| Katsu | ("Victorious") | 2 |
| Kazashi | ("Hair-pin,"—or any ornament worn in the hair) | 1 |
| Kazu | ("Number,"—i.e., "great number") | 1 |
| Kei | ("The Respectful") | 3 |
| Ken | ("Humility") | 1 |
| Kiku | ("Chrysanthemum") | 6 |
| Kikuë | ("Chrysanthemum-branch") | 1 |
| Kikuno | ("Chrysanthemum-field") | 1 |
| Kimi | ("Sovereign") | 1 |
| Kin | ("Gold") | 4 |
| Kinu | ("Cloth-of-Silk") | 1 |
| Kishi | ("Beach") | 2 |
| Kiyo | ("Happy Generations") | 1 |
| Kiyo | ("Pure") | 5 |
| Ko | ("Chime,"—the sound of a bell) | 1 |
| Kō | ("Filial Piety") | 11 |
| Kō | ("The Fine") | 1 |
| Koma | ("Filly") | 1 |
| Komé | ("Cleaned Rice") | 1 |
| Koto | ("Koto,"—the Japanese harp) | 4 |
| Kuma | ("Bear") | 1 |
| Kumi | ("Braid") | 1 |
| Kuni | ("Capital,"—chief city) | 1 |
| Kuni | ("Province") | 3 |
| Kura | ("Treasure-house") | 1 |
| Kurano | ("Storehouse-field") | 1 |
| Kuri | ("Chestnut") | 1 |
| Kuwa | ("Mulberry-tree") | 1 |
| Masa | ("Straightforward,"—upright) | 3 |
| Masago | ("Sand") | 1 |
| Masu | ("Increase") | 3 |
| Masuë | ("Branch-of-Increase") | 1 |
| Matsu | ("Pine") | 2 |
| Matsuë | ("Pine-branch") | 1 |
| Michi | ("The Way,"—doctrine) | 4 |
| Mië | ("Triple Branch") | 1 |
| Mikië | ("Main-branch") | 1 |
| Miné | ("Peak") | 2 |
| Mitsu | ("Light") | 5 |
| Mitsuë | ("Shining Branch") | 1 |
| Morië | ("Service-Bay")[41] | 1 |
[41] ] The word "service" here refers especially to attendance at meal-time,—to the serving of rice, etc.
| Naka | ("The Midmost") | 4 |
| Nami | ("Wave") | 1 |
| Nobu | ("Fidelity") | 6 |
| Nobu | ("The Prolonger")[42] | 1 |
[42] ] Perhaps in the hopeful meaning of extending the family-line; but more probably in the signification that a daughter's care prolongs the life of her parents, or of her husband's parents.
| Nobuë | ("Lengthening-branch") | 1 |
| Nui | ("Tapestry,"—or, Embroidery) | 1 |
| Orino | ("Weaving-Field") | 1 |
| Raku | ("Pleasure") | 3 |
| Ren | ("The Arranger") | 1 |
| Riku | ("Land,"—ground) | 1 |
| Roku | ("Emolument") | 1 |
| Ryō | ("Dragon") | 1 |
| Ryū | ("Lofty") | 3 |
| Sada | ("The Chaste") | 8 |
| Saki | ("Cape,"—promontory) | 1 |
| Saku | ("Composition")[43] | 3 |
[43] ] Abbreviation of sakubun, a literary composition.
| Sato | ("Home,"—native place) | 2 |
| Sawa | ("Marsh") | 1 |
| Sei | ("Force") | 1 |
| Seki | ("Barrier,"—city-gate, toll-gate, etc.). | 3 |
| Sen | ("Fairy")[44] | 3 |
[44] ] As a matter of fact, we have no English equivalent for the word "sen," or "sennin,"—signifying a being possessing magical powers of all kinds and living for thousands of years. Some authorities consider the belief in sennin of Indian origin, and probably derived from old traditions of the Rishi.
| Setsu | ("True,"—tender and true) | 2 |
| Shidzu | ("The Calmer") | 1 |
| Shidzu | ("Peace") | 2 |
| Shigë | ("Two-fold") | 2 |
| Shika | ("Deer") | 2 |
| Shikaë | ("Deer-Inlet") | 1 |
| Shimé | ("The Clasp,"—fastening) | 1 |
| Shin | ("Truth") | 1 |
| Shina | ("Goods") | 1 |
| Shina | ("Virtue") | 1 |
| Shino | ("Slender Bamboo") | 1 |
| Shirushi | ("The Proof,"—evidence) | 1 |
| Shun | ("The Excellent") | 1 |
| Sué | ("The Last") | 2 |
| Sugi | ("Cedar,"—cryptomeria) | 1 |
| Suté | ("Forsaken,"—foundling) | 1 |
| Suzu | ("Little Bell") | 8 |
| Suzu | ("Tin") | 1 |
| Suzuë | ("Branch of Little Bells") | 1 |
| Taë | ("Exquisite") | 1 |
| Taka | ("Honor") | 2 |
| Taka | ("Lofty") | 9 |
| Také | ("Bamboo") | 1 |
| Tama | ("Jewel") | 1 |
| Tamaki | ("Ring") | 1 |
| Tamé | ("For-the-Sake-of—") | 3 |
| Tani | ("Valley") | 4 |
| Tazu | ("Ricefield-Stork") | 1 |
| Tetsu | ("Iron") | 4 |
| Toku | ("Virtue") | 2 |
| Tomé | ("Stop,"—cease)[45] | 1 |
[45] ] Such a name may signify that the parents resolved, after the birth of the girl, to have no more children.
| Tomi | ("Riches") | 3 |
| Tomijū | ("Wealth-and-Longevity") | 1 |
| Tomo | ("The Friend") | 4 |
| Tora | ("Tiger") | 1 |
| Toshi | ("Arrowhead") | 1 |
| Toyo | ("Abundance") | 3 |
| Tsugi | ("Next,"—i. e., second in order of birth) | 2 |
| Tsuna | ("Bond,"—rope, or fetter) | 1 |
| Tsuné | ("The Constant,"—or, as we should say, Constance) | 10 |
| Tsuru | ("Stork") | 4 |
| Umé | ("Plum-blossom") | 1 |
| Umégaë | ("Plumtree-spray") | 1 |
| Uméno | ("Plumtree-field") | 2 |
| Urano | ("Shore-field") | 1 |
| Ushi | ("Cow,"—or Ox)[46] | 1 |
[46] ] This extraordinary name is probably to be explained as a reference to date of birth. According to the old Chinese astrology, years, months, days, and hours were all named after the Signs of the Zodiac, and were supposed to have some mystic relation to those signs. I surmise that Miss Ushi was born at the Hour of the Ox, on the Day of the Ox, in the Month of the Ox and the Year of the Ox—"Ushi no Toshi no Ushi no Tsuki no Ushi no Hi no Ushi no Koku."
| Uta | ("Poem,"—or Song) | 1 |
| Wakana | ("Young Na,"—probably the rape-plant is referred to) | 1 |
| Yaë | ("Eight-fold") | 1 |
| Yasu | ("The Tranquil") | 1 |
| Yō | ("The Positive,"—as opposed to Negative or Feminine in the old Chinese philosophy;—therefore, perhaps, Masculine) | 1 |
| Yoné | ("Rice,"—in the old sense of wealth) | 4 |
| Yoshi | ("The Good") | 1 |
| Yoshino | ("Good Field") | 1 |
| Yū | ("The Valiant") | 1 |
| Yuri | ("Lily") | 1 |
It will be observed that in the above list the names referring to Constancy, Forbearance, and Filial Piety have the highest numbers attached to them.
II
A few of the more important rules in regard to Japanese female names must now be mentioned.
The great majority of these yobina are words of two syllables. Personal names of respectable women, belonging to the middle and lower classes, are nearly always dissyllables—except in cases where the name is lengthened by certain curious suffixes which I shall speak of further on. Formerly a name of three or more syllables indicated that the bearer belonged to a superior class. But, even among the upper classes to-day, female names of only two syllables are in fashion.
Among the people it is customary that a female name of two syllables should be preceded by the honorific "O," and followed by the title "San,"—as O-Matsu San, "the Honorable Miss [or Mrs.] Pine"; O-Umé San, "the Honorable Miss Plum-blossom."[47] But if the name happen to have three syllables, the honorific "O" is not used. A woman named Kikuë ("Chrysanthemum-Branch") is not addressed as "O-Kikuë San," but only as "Kikuë San."
[47] ] Under certain conditions of intimacy, both prefix and title are dropped. They are dropped also by the superior in addressing an inferior;—for example, a lady would not address her maid as "O-Yoné San," but merely as "Yoné."
Before the names of ladies, the honorific "O" is no longer used as formerly,—even when the name consists of one syllable only. Instead of the prefix, an honorific suffix is appended to the yobina,—the suffix ko. A peasant girl named Tomi would be addressed by her equals as O-Tomi San. But a lady of the same name would be addressed as Tomiko. Mrs. Shimoda, head-teacher of the Peeresses' School, for example, has the beautiful name Uta. She would be addressed by letter as "Shimoda Utako," and would so sign herself in replying;—the family-name, by Japanese custom, always preceding the personal name, instead of being, as with us, placed after it.
This suffix ko is written with the Chinese character meaning "child," and must not be confused with the word ko, written with a different Chinese character, and meaning "little," which so often appears in the names of dancing girls. I should venture to say that this genteel suffix has the value of a caressing diminutive, and that the name Aiko might be fairly well rendered by the "Amoretta" of Spenser's Faerie Queene. Be this as it may, a Japanese lady named Setsu or Sada would not be addressed in these days as O-Setsu or O-Sada, but as Setsuko or Sadako. On the other hand, if a woman of the people were to sign herself as Setsuko or Sadako, she would certainly be laughed at,—since the suffix would give to her appellation the meaning of "the Lady Setsu," or "the Lady Sada."
I have said that the honorific "O" is placed before the yobina of women of the middle and lower classes. Even the wife of a kurumaya would probably be referred to as the "Honorable Mrs. Such-a-one." But there are very remarkable exceptions to this general rule regarding the prefix "O." In some country-districts the common yobina of two syllables is made a trisyllable by the addition of a peculiar suffix; and before such trisyllabic names the "O" is never placed. For example, the girls of Wakayama, in the Province of Kii, usually have added to their yobina the suffix "ë,"[48] signifying "inlet," "bay," "frith,"—sometimes "river." Thus we find such names as Namië ("Wave-Bay"), Tomië ("Riches-Bay"), Sumië ("Dwelling-Bay"), Shizuë ("Quiet-Bay"), Tamaë ("Jewel-Bay"). Again there is a provincial suffix "no" meaning "field" or "plain," which is attached to the majority of female names in certain districts. Yoshino ("Fertile Field"), Uméno ("Plumflower Field"), Shizuno ("Quiet Field"), Urano ("Coast Field"), Utano ("Song Field"), are typical names of this class. A girl called Namië or Kikuno is not addressed as "O-Namië San" or "O-Kikuno San," but as "Namië San," "Kikuno San."
[48] ] This suffix must not be confused with the suffix "ë," signifying "branch," which is also attached to many popular names. Without seeing the Chinese character, you cannot decide whether the name Tamaë, for example, means "Jewel-branch" or "Jewel Inlet."
"San" (abbreviation of Sama, a word originally meaning "form," "appearance"), when placed after a female name, corresponds to either our "Miss" or "Mrs." Placed after a man's name it has at least the value of our "Mr.",—perhaps even more. The unabbreviated form Sama is placed after the names of high personages of either sex, and after the names of divinities: the Shintō Gods are styled the Kami-Sama, which might be translated as "the Lords Supreme"; the Bodhisattva Jizō is called Jizō-Sama, "the Lord Jizō." A lady may also be styled "Sama." A lady called Ayako, for instance, might very properly be addressed as Ayako Sama. But when a lady's name, independently of the suffix, consists of more than three syllables, it is customary to drop either the ko or the title. Thus "the Lady Ayamé" would not be spoken of as "Ayaméko Sama," but more euphoniously as "Ayamé Sama,"[49] or as "Ayaméko."
[49] ] "Ayamé Sama," however, is rather familiar; and this form cannot be used by a stranger in verbal address, though a letter may be directed with the name so written. As a rule, the ko is the more respectful form.
So much having been said as regards the etiquette of prefixes and suffixes, I shall now attempt a classification of female names,—beginning with popular yobina. These will be found particularly interesting, because they reflect something of race-feeling in the matter of ethics and æsthetics, and because they serve to illustrate curious facts relating to Japanese custom. The first place I have given to names of purely moral meaning,—usually bestowed in the hope that the children will grow up worthy of them. But the lists should in no case be regarded as complete: they are only representative. Furthermore, I must confess my inability to explain the reason of many names, which proved as much of riddles to Japanese friends as to myself.
NAMES OF VIRTUES AND PROPRIETIES
| O-Ai | "Love." |
| O-Chië | "Intelligence." |
| O-Chū | "Loyalty." |
| O-Jin | "Tenderness,"—humanity. |
| O-Jun | "Faithful-to-death." |
| O-Kaiyō | "Forgiveness,"—pardon. |
| O-Ken | "Wise,"—in the sense of moral discernment. |
| O-Kō | "Filial Piety." |
| O-Masa | "Righteous,"—just. |
| O-Michi | "The Way,"—doctrine. |
| Misao | "Honor,"—wifely fidelity. |
| O-Nao | "The Upright,"—honest. |
| O-Nobu | "The Faithful." |
| O-Rei | "Propriety,"—in the old Chinese sense. |
| O-Retsu | "Chaste and True." |
| O-Ryō | "The Generous,"—magnanimous. |
| O-Sada | "The Chaste." |
| O-Sei | "Truth." |
| O-Shin | "Faith,"—in the sense of fidelity, trust. |
| O-Shizu | "The Tranquil,"—calm-souled. |
| O-Setsu | "Fidelity,"—wifely virtue. |
| O-Tamé | "For-the-sake-of,"—a name suggesting unselfishness. |
| O-Tei | "The Docile,"—in the meaning of virtuous obedience. |
| O-Toku | "Virtue." |
| O-Tomo | "The Friend,"—especially in the meaning of mate, companion. |
| O-Tsuné | "Constancy." |
| O-Yasu | "The Amiable,"—gentle. |
| O-Yoshi | "The Good." |
| O-Yoshi | "The Respectful." |
The next list will appear at first sight more heterogeneous than it really is. It contains a larger variety of appellations than the previous list; but nearly all of the yobina refer to some good quality which the parents trust that the child will display, or to some future happiness which they hope that she will deserve. To the latter category belong such names of felicitation as Miyo and Masayo.
MISCELLANEOUS NAMES EXPRESSING PERSONAL QUALITIES, OR PARENTAL HOPES
| O-Atsu | "The Generous,"—liberal. |
| O-Chika | "Closely Dear." |
| O-Chika | "Thousand Rejoicings." |
| O-Chō | "The Long,"—probably in reference to life. |
| O-Dai | "Great." |
| O-Den | "Transmission,"—bequest from ancestors, tradition. |
| O-É | "Fortunate." |
| O-Ei | "Prosperity." |
| O-En | "Charm." |
| O-En | "Prolongation,"—of life. |
| O-Etsu | "Surpassing." |
| O-Etsu | "The Playful,"—merry, joyous. |
| O-Fuku | "Good Luck." |
| O-Gen | "Source,"—spring, fountain. |
| O-Haya | "The Quick,"—light, nimble. |
| O-Hidé | "Superior." |
| Hidéyo | "Superior Generations." |
| O-Hiro | "The Broad." |
| O-Hisa | "The Long." (?) |
| Isamu | "The Vigorous,"—spirited, robust. |
| O-Jin | "Superexcellent." |
| Kaméyo | "Generations-of-the-Tortoise." |
| O-Kané[50] | "The Doubly-Accomplished." |
[50] ] From the strange verb kaneru, signifying, to do two things at the same time.
| Kaoru | "The Fragrant." |
| O-Kata | "Worthy Person." |
| O-Katsu | "The Victorious." |
| O-Kei | "Delight." |
| O-Kei | "The Respectful." |
| O-Ken | "The Humble." |
| O-Kichi | "The Fortunate." |
| O-Kimi | "The Sovereign,"—peerless. |
| O-Kiwa | "The Distinguished." |
| O-Kiyo} | {"The Clear,"—in the sense of |
| Kiyoshi} | { bright, beautiful. |
| O-Kuru | "She-who-Comes"(?).[51] |
[51] ] One is reminded of, "O whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad"—but no Japanese female name could have the implied signification. More probably the reference is to household obedience.
| O-Maru | "The Round,"—plump. |
| O-Masa | "The Genteel." |
| Masayo | "Generations-of-the-Just." |
| O-Masu | "Increase." |
| O-Mië | "Triple Branch." |
| O-Miki | "Stem." |
| O-Mio | "Triple Cord." |
| O-Mitsu | "Abundance." |
| O-Miwa | "The Far-seeing." |
| O-Miwa | "Three Spokes"(?).[52] |
[52] ] Such is the meaning of the characters. I cannot understand the name. A Buddhist explanation suggests itself; but there are few, if any, Buddhist yobina.
| O-Miyo | "Beautiful Generations." |
| Miyuki[53] | "Deep Snow." |
[53] ] This beautiful name refers to the silence and calm following a heavy snowfall. But, even for the Japanese, it is an æsthetic name also—suggesting both tranquillity and beauty.
| O-Moto | "Origin." |
| O-Naka | "Friendship." |
| O-Rai | "Trust." |
| O-Raku[54] | "Pleasure." |
[54] ] The name seems curious, in view of the common proverb, Raku wa ku no tané,—"Pleasure is the seed of pain."
| O-Sachi | "Bliss." |
| O-Sai | "The Talented." |
| Sakaë | "Prosperity." |
| O-Saku | "The Blooming." |
| O-Sei | "The Refined,"—in the sense of "clear." |
| O-Sei | "Force." |
| O-Sen | "Sennin,"—wood-fairy. |
| O-Shigé | "Exuberant." |
| O-Shimé | "The Total,"—summum bonum. |
| O-Shin | "The Fresh." |
| O-Shin | "Truth." |
| O-Shina | "Goods,"—possessions. |
| Shirushi | "Proof,"—evidence. |
| O-Shizu | "The Humble." |
| O-Shō | "Truth." |
| O-Shun | "Excellence." |
| O-Suki | "The Beloved,"—Aimée. |
| O-Suké | "The Helper." |
| O-Sumi | "The Refined,"—in the sense of "sifted." |
| O-Suté | "The Forsaken,"—foundling.[55] |
[55] ] Not necessarily a real foundling. Sometimes the name may be explained by a curious old custom. In a certain family several children in succession die shortly after birth. It is decided, according to traditional usage, that the next child born must be exposed. A girl is the next child born;—she is carried by a servant to some lonely place in the fields, or elsewhere, and left there. Then a peasant, or other person, hired for the occasion (it is necessary that he should be of no kin to the family), promptly appears, pretends to find the babe, and carries it back to the parental home. "See this pretty foundling," he says to the father of the girl,—"will you not take care of it?" The child is received, and named "Suté," the foundling. By this innocent artifice, it was formerly (and perhaps in some places is still) supposed that those unseen influences, which had caused the death of the other children, might be thwarted.
| O-Taë | "The Exquisite." |
| O-Taka | "The Honorable." |
| O-Taka | "The Tall." |
| Takara | "Treasure,"—precious object. |
| O-Tama | "Jewel." |
| Tamaë | "Jewel-branch." |
| Tokiwa[56] | "Eternally Constant." |
[56] ] Lit., "Everlasting-Rock,"—but the ethical meaning is "Constancy-everlasting-as-the-Rocks." "Tokiwa" is a name famous both in history and tradition; for it was the name of the mother of Yoshitsuné. Her touching story,—and especially the episode of her flight through the deep snow with her boys,—has been a source of inspiration to generations of artists.
| O-Tomi | "Riches." |
| O-Toshi | "The Deft,"—skilful. |
| O-Tsuma | "The Wife." |
| O-Yori | "The Trustworthy." |
| O-Waka | "The Young." |
Place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are particularly difficult to explain. A child may be called after a place because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because of beliefs belonging to the old Chinese philosophy regarding direction and position, or because of traditional custom, or because of ideas connected with the religion of Shintō.
PLACE-NAMES
| O-Fuji | [Mount] "Fuji." |
| O-Hama | "Coast." |
| O-Ichi | "Market,"—fair. |
| O-Iyo | "Iyo,"—province of Iyo, in Shikoku. |
| O-Kawa | (rare) "River." |
| O-Kishi | "Beach,"—shore. |
| O-Kita | "North." |
| O-Kiwa | "Border." |
| O-Kuni | "Province." |
| O-Kyō | "Capital,"—metropolis,—Kyōto. |
| O-Machi | "Town." |
| Matsuë | "Matsuë,"—chief city of Izumo. |
| O-Mina[57] | "South." |
[57] ] Abbreviation of Minami.
| O-Miné | "Peak." |
| O-Miya | "Temple" [Shintō].[58] |
[58] ] I must confess that in classing this name as a place-name, I am only making a guess. It seems to me that the name probably refers to the ichi no miya, or chief Shintō temple of some province.
| O-Mon[59] | "Gate." |
[59] ] I fancy that this name, like that of O-Séki, must have originated in the custom of naming children after the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. But here again, I am guessing.
| O-Mura | "Village." |
| O-Nami[60] | "Wave." |
[60] ] This classification also is a guess. I could learn nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it is said to be unlucky.
| Naniwa | "Naniwa,"—ancient name of Ōsaka. |
| O-Nishi | "West." |
| O-Rin | "Park." |
| O-Saki | "Cape." |
| O-Sato | "Native Place,"—village,—also, home. |
| O-Sawa | "Marsh." |
| O-Seki | "Toll-Gate,"—barrier. |
| Shigéki | "Thickwood,"—forest. |
| O-Shima | "Island." |
| O-Sono | "Flower-garden." |
| O-Taki | "Cataract,"—or Waterfall. |
| O-Tani | "Valley." |
| O-Tsuka | "Milestone." |
| O-Yama | "Mountain." |
The next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of the yobina comprised in it. Some are really æsthetic and pleasing; others industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most disagreeable kind.
NAMES OF OBJECTS AND OF OCCUPATIONS ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO WOMEN
| Ayakoor } | "Damask-pattern." |
| O-Aya[61] } |
[61] ] Aya-Nishiki,—the famous figured damask brocade of Kyōto,—is probably referred to.
| O-Fumi | "Woman's Letter." |
| O-Fusa | "Tassel." |
| O-Ito | "Thread." |
| O-Kama[62] | "Rice-Sickle." |
[62] ] O-Kama (Sickle) is a familiar peasant-name. O-Kama (caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other ugly names in this list are ' names. Servants in old time not only trained their children to become servants, but gave them particular names referring to their future labors.
| O-Kama | "Caldron." |
| Kazashi | "Hair-pin." |
| O-Kinu | "Cloth-of-Silk." |
| O-Koto | "Harp." |
| O-Nabé | "Pot,"—or cooking-vessel. |
| O-Nui | "Embroidery." |
| O-Shimé | "Clasp,"—ornamental fastening. |
| O-Somé | "The Dyer." |
| O-Taru | "Cask,"—barrel. |
The following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names. There are several yobina among them of which I cannot find the emblematical meaning. Generally speaking, the yobina which signify precious substances, such as silver and gold, are æsthetic names; and those which signify common hard substances, such as stone, rock, iron, are intended to suggest firmness or strength of character. But the name "Rock" is also sometimes used as a symbol of the wish for long life, or long continuance of the family line. The curious name Suna has nothing, however, to do with individual "grit": it is half-moral and half-æsthetic. Fine sand—especially colored sand—is much prized in this fairy-land of landscape-gardening, where it is used to cover spaces that must always be kept spotless and beautiful, and never trodden,—except by the gardener.
MATERIAL NOUNS USED AS NAMES
| O-Gin | "Silver." |
| O-Ishi | "Stone." |
| O-Iwa | "Rock." |
| O-Kané | "Bronze." |
| O-Kazé[63] | "Air,"—perhaps Wind. |
[63] ] I cannot find any explanation of this curious name.
| O-Kin | "Gold." |
| O-Ruri[64] } | "Emerald,"—emeraldine? |
| Ruriko } |
[64] ] The Japanese name does not give the same quality of æsthetic sensation as the name Esmeralda. The ruri is not usually green, but blue; and the term "ruri-iro" (emerald color) commonly signifies a dark violet.
| O-Ryū | "Fine Metal." |
| O-Sato | "Sugar." |
| O-Seki | "Stone." |
| O-Shiwo | "Salt." |
| O-Suna | "Sand." |
| O-Suzu | "Tin." |
| O-Tané | "Seed." |
| O-Tetsu | "Iron." |
The following five yobina are æsthetic names,—although literally signifying things belonging to intellectual work. Four of them, at least, refer to calligraphy,—the matchless calligraphy of the Far East,—rather than to anything that we should call "literary beauty."
LITERARY NAMES
| O-Bun | "Composition." |
| O-Fudé | "Writing-Brush." |
| O-Fumi | "Letter." |
| O-Kaku | "Writing." |
| O-Uta | "Poem." |
Names relating to number are very common, but also very interesting. They may be loosely divided into two sub-classes,—names indicating the order or the time of birth, and names of felicitation. Such yobina as Ichi, San, Roku, Hachi usually refer to the order of birth; but sometimes they record the date of birth. For example, I know a person called O-Roku, who received this name, not because she was the sixth child born in the family, but because she entered this world upon the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth Meiji. It will be observed that the numbers Two, Five, and Nine are not represented in the list: the mere idea of such names as O-Ni, O-Go, or O-Ku seems to a Japanese absurd. I do not know exactly why,—unless it be that they suggest unpleasant puns. The place of O-Ni is well supplied, however, by the name O-Tsugi ("Next"), which will be found in a subsequent list. Names signifying numbers ranging from eighty to a thousand, and upward, are names of felicitation. They express the wish that the bearer may live to a prodigious age, or that her posterity may flourish through the centuries.
NUMERALS AND WORDS RELATING TO NUMBER
| O-Ichi | "One." |
| O-San | "Three." |
| O-Mitsu | "Three." |
| O-Yotsu | "Four." |
| O-Roku | "Six." |
| O-Shichi | "Seven." |
| O-Hachi | "Eight." |
| O-Jū | "Ten." |
| O-Iso | "Fifty."[65] |
[65] ] Such a name may record the fact that the girl was a first-born child, and the father fifty years old at the time of her birth.
| O-Yaso | "Eighty." |
| O-Hyaku | "Hundred."[66] |
[66] ] The "O" before this trisyllable seems contrary to rule; but Hyaku is pronounced almost like a dissyllable.
| O-Yao | "Eight Hundred." |
| O-Sen | "Thousand." |
| O-Michi | "Three Thousand." |
| O-Man | "Ten Thousand." |
| O-Chiyo | "Thousand Generations." |
| Yachiyo | "Eight Thousand Generations." |
| O-Shigé | "Two-fold." |
| O-Yaë | "Eight-fold." |
| O-Kazu | "Great Number." |
| O-Mina | "All." |
| O-Han | "Half."[67] |
[67] ] "Better half?"—the reader may query. But I believe that this name originated in the old custom of taking a single character of the father's name—sometimes also a character of the mother's name—to compose the child's name with. Perhaps in this case the name of the girl's father was Hanyémon, or Hanbei.
| O-Iku | "How Many?"(?) |
OTHER NAMES RELATING TO ORDER OF BIRTH
| O-Hatsu | "Beginning,"—first-born. |
| O-Tsugi | "Next,"—the second. |
| O-Naka | "Midmost." |
| O-Tomé | "Stop,"—cease. |
| O-Sué | "Last." |
Some few of the next group of names are probably æsthetic. But such names are sometimes given only in reference to the time or season of birth; and the reason for any particular yobina of this class is difficult to decide without personal inquiry.
NAMES RELATING TO TIME AND SEASON
| O-Haru | "Spring." |
| O-Natsu | "Summer." |
| O-Aki | "Autumn." |
| O-Fuyu | "Winter." |
| O-Asa | "Morning." |
| O-Chō | "Dawn." |
| O-Yoi | "Evening." |
| O-Sayo | "Night." |
| O-Ima | "Now." |
| O-Toki | "Time,"—opportunity. |
| O-Toshi | "Year [of Plenty]." |
Names of animals—real or mythical—form another class of yobina. A name of this kind generally represents the hope that the child will develop some quality or capacity symbolized by the creature after which it has been called. Names such as "Dragon," "Tiger," "Bear," etc., are intended in most cases to represent moral rather than other qualities. The moral symbolism of the Koi (Carp) is too well-known to require explanation here. The names Kamé and Tsuru refer to longevity. Koma, curious as the fact may seem, is a name of endearment.
NAMES OF BIRDS, FISHES, ANIMALS, ETC.
| Chidori | "Sanderling." |
| O-Kamé | "Tortoise." |
| O-Koi | "Carp."[68] |
[68] ] Cyprinus carpio.
| O-Koma | "Filly,"—or pony. |
| O-Kuma | "Bear." |
| O-Ryō | "Dragon." |
| O-Shika | "Deer." |
| O-Tai | "Bream."[69] |
[69] ] Chrysophris cardinalis.
| O-Taka | "Hawk." |
| O-Tako | "Cuttlefish."(?) |
| O-Tatsu | "Dragon." |
| O-Tora | "Tiger." |
| O-Tori | "Bird." |
| O-Tsuru | "Stork."[70] |
[70] ] Sometimes this name is shortened into O-Tsu. In Tōkyō at the present time it is the custom to drop the honorific "O" before such abbreviations, and to add to the name the suffix "chan,"—as in the case of children's names. Thus a young woman may be caressingly addressed as "Tsu-chan" (for O-Tsuru), "Ya-chan" (for O-Yasu), etc.
| O-Washi | "Eagle." |
Even yobina which are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of æsthetic meaning. The plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy; the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. The symbolism of the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. But such names as Hana ("Blossom ") and Ben ("Petal") are æsthetic in the true sense; and the Lily remains in Japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of feminine grace.
FLOWER-NAMES
| Ayamé | "Iris."[71] |
[71] ] Iris setosa, or Iris sibrisia.
| Azami | "Thistle-Flower." |
| O-Ben | "Petal." |
| O-Fuji | "Wistaria."[72] |
[72] ] Wistaria chinensis.
| O-Hana | "Blossom." |
| O-Kiku | "Chrysanthemum." |
| O-Ran | "Orchid." |
| O-Ren | "Lotos." |
| Sakurako | "Cherryblossom." |
| O-Umé | "Plumflower." |
| O-Yuri | "Lily." |
NAMES OF PLANTS, FRUITS, AND TREES
| O-Iné | "Rice-in-the-blade." |
| Kaëdé | "Maple-leaf." |
| O-Kaya | "Rush."[73] |
[73] ] Imperata arundinacea.
| O-Kaya | "Yew."[74] |
[74] ] Torreya nucifera.
| O-Kuri | "Chestnut." |
| O-Kuwa | "Mulberry." |
| O-Maki | "Fir."[75] |
[75] ] Podocarpus chinensis.
| O-Mamé | "Bean." |
| O-Momo | "Peach,"—the fruit.[76] |
[76] ] Yet this name may possibly have been written with the wrong character. There is another yobina, "Momo" signifying "hundred,"—as in the phrase momo yo, "for a hundred ages."
| O-Nara | "Oak." |
| O-Ryū | "Willow." |
| Sanaë | "Sprouting-Rice." |
| O-Sané | "Fruit-seed." |
| O-Shino | "Slender Bamboo." |
| O-Sugé | "Reed."[77] |
[77] ] Scirpus maritimus.
| O-Sugi | "Cedar."[78] |
[78] ] Cryptomeria Japonica.
| O-Také | "Bamboo." |
| O-Tsuta | "Ivy."[79] |
[79] ] Cissus Thunbergii.
| O-Yaë | "Double-Blossom."[80] |
[80] ] A flower-name certainly; but the yaë here is probably an abbreviation of yaë-zakura, the double-flower of a particular species of cherry-tree.
| O-Yoné | "Rice-in-grain." |
| Wakana | "Young Na."[81] |
[81] ] Brassica chinensis.
Names signifying light or color seem to us the most æsthetic of all yobina; and they probably seem so to the Japanese. Nevertheless the relative purport even of these names cannot be divined at sight. Colors have moral and other values in the old nature-philosophy; and an appellation that to the Western mind suggests only luminosity or beauty may actually refer to moral or social distinction,—to the hope that the girl so named will become "illustrious."
NAMES SIGNIFYING BRIGHTNESS
| O-Mika | "New Moon."[82] |
[82] ] Mika is an abbreviation of Mikazuki, "the moon of the third night" [of the old lunar month].
| O-Mitsu | "Light." |
| O-Shimo | "Frost." |
| O-Teru | "The Shining." |
| O-Tsuki | "Moon." |
| O-Tsuya | "The Glossy,"—lustrous. |
| O-Tsuyu | "Dew." |
| O-Yuki | "Snow." |
COLOR-NAMES
| O-Ai | "Indigo." |
| O-Aka | "Red." |
| O-Iro | "Color." |
| O-Kon | "Deep Blue." |
| O-Kuro | "Dark,"—lit.,"Black." |
| Midori[83] | "Green." |
| Murasaki[83] | "Purple." |
[83] ] Midori and Murasaki, especially the latter, should properly be classed with aristocratic yobina; and both are very rare. I could find neither in the collection of aristocratic names which was made for me from the records of the Peeresses' School; but I discovered a "Midori" in a list of middle-class names. Color-names being remarkably few among yobina, I thought it better in this instance to group the whole of them together, independently of class-distinctions.
| O-Shiro | "White." |
The following and final group of female names contains several queer puzzles. Japanese girls are sometimes named after the family crest; and heraldry might explain one or two of these yobina. But why a girl should be called a ship, I am not sure of being able to guess. Perhaps some reader may be reminded of Nietzsche's "Little Brig called Angeline":—
"Angeline—they call me so—
Now a ship, one time a maid,
(Ah, and evermore a maid!)
Love the steersman, to and fro,
Turns the wheel so finely made."
But such a fancy would not enter into a Japanese mind. I find, however, in a list of family crests, two varieties of design representing a ship, twenty representing an arrow, and two representing a bow.
NAMES DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY OR EXPLAIN
| O-Fuku[84] | "Raiment,"—clothing. |
[84] ] Possibly this name belongs to the same class as O-Nui ("Embroidery"), O-Somé ("The Dyer"); but I am not sure.
| O-Funé | "Ship,"—or Boat. |
| O-Hina[85] | "Doll,"—a paper doll? |
[85] ] Probably a name of caress. The word hina is applied especially to the little paper dolls made by hand for amusement,—representing young ladies with elaborate coiffure; and it is also given to the old-fashioned dolls representing courtly personages in full ceremonial costume. The true doll—doll-baby—is called ningyō.
| O-Kono | "This." |
| O-Nao | "Still More." |
| O-Nari | "Thunder-peal." |
| O-Nibo | "Palanquin" (?). |
| O-Rai | "Thunder." |
| O-Rui | "Sort,"—kind, species. |
| O-Suzu[86] | "Little Bell." |
[86] ] Perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound of the suzu,—a tiny metal ball, with a little stone or other hard object inside, to make the ringing.—It is a pretty Japanese custom to put one of these little suzu in the silk charm-bag (mamori-bukero) which is attached to a child's girdle. The suzu rings with every motion that the child makes,—somewhat like one of those tiny bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten.
| Suzuë | "Branch-of-Little-Bells." |
| O-Tada | "The Only." |
| Tamaki | "Armlet,"—bracelet. |
| O-Tami | "Folk,"—common people. |
| O-Toshi | "Arrowhead,"—or barb. |
| O-Tsui | "Pair,"—match. |
| O-Tsuna | "Rope,"—bond. |
| O-Yumi | "Bow,"—weapon. |
Before passing on to the subject of aristocratic names, I must mention an old rule for Japanese names,—a curious rule that might help to account for sundry puzzles in the preceding lists. This rule formerly applied to all personal names,—masculine or feminine. It cannot be fully explained in the present paper; for a satisfactory explanation would occupy at least fifty pages. But, stated in the briefest possible way, the rule is that the first or "head-character" of a personal name should be made to "accord" (in the Chinese philosophic sense) with the supposed Sei, or astrologically-determined nature, of the person to whom the name is given;—the required accordance being decided, not by the meaning, but by the sound of the Chinese written character. Some vague idea of the difficulties of the subject may be obtained from the accompanying table. (Page 143.)
PHONETIC RELATION of the FIVE ELEMENTAL-NATURES to the JAPANESE SYLLABARY
III
For examples of contemporary aristocratic names I consulted the reports of the Kwazoku-Jogakkō (Peeresses' School), published between the nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of Meiji (1886-1895). The Kwazoku-Jogakkō admits other students besides daughters of the nobility; but for present purposes the names of the latter only—to the number of one hundred and forty-seven—have been selected.
It will be observed that names of three or more syllables are rare among these, and also that the modern aristocratic yobina of two syllables, as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinary yobina. But as written in Chinese they differ greatly from other female names, being in most cases represented by characters of a complex and unfamiliar kind. The use of these more elaborate characters chiefly accounts for the relatively large number of homonyms to be found in the following list:—
PERSONAL NAMES OF LADY STUDENTS OF THE KWAZOKU JOGAKKŌ
| Aki-ko | "Autumn." |
| Aki-ko | "The Clear-Minded." |
| Aki-ko | "Dawn." |
| Asa-ko | "Fair Morning." |
| Aya-ko | "Silk Damask." |
| Chiharu-ko | "A Thousand Springs." |
| Chika-ko | "Near,"—close. |
| Chitsuru-ko | "A Thousand Storks." |
| Chiyo-ko | "A Thousand Generations." |
| Ei-ko | "Bell-Chime." |
| Etsu-ko | "Delight." |
| Fuji-ko | "Wistaria." |
| Fuku-ko | "Good-Fortune." |
| Fumi-ko | "A Woman's Letter." |
| Fuyō-ko | "Lotos-flower." |
| Fuyu-ko | "Winter." |
| Hana-ko | "Flower." |
| Hana-ko | "Fair-Blooming." |
| Haru-ko | "The Tranquil." |
| Haru-ko | "Spring,"—the season of flowers. |
| Haru-ko | "The Far-Removed,"—in the sense, perhaps, of superlative. |
| Hatsu-ko | "The First-born." |
| Hidé-ko | "Excelling." |
| Hidé-ko | "Surpassing." |
| Hiro-ko | "Magnanimous,"—literally, "broad," "large,"—in the sense of beneficence. |
| Hiro-ko | "Wide-Spreading,"—with reference to family prosperity. |
| Hisa-ko | "Long-lasting." |
| Hisa-ko | "Continuing." |
| Hoshi-ko | "Star." |
| Iku-ko | "The Quick,"—in the sense of living. |
| Ima-ko | "Now." |
| Iho-ko | "Five Hundred,"—probably a name of felicitation. |
| Ito-ko | "Sewing-Thread." |
| Kamé-ko | "Tortoise." |
| Kané-ko | "Going around"(?).[87] |
[87] ] It is possible that this name was made simply by taking one character of the father's name. The girl's name otherwise conveys no intelligible meaning.
| Kané-ko | "Bell,"—the character indicates a large suspended bell. |
| Kata-ko | "Condition"? |
| Kazu-ko | "First." |
| Kazu-ko | "Number,"—a great number. |
| Kazu-ko | "The Obedient." |
| Kiyo-ko | "The Pure." |
| Kō[88] | "Filial Piety." |
[88] ] The suffix "ko" is sometimes dropped for reasons of euphony, and sometimes for reasons of good taste—difficult to explain to readers unfamiliar with the Japanese language—even when the name consists of only one syllable or of two syllables.
| Kō-ko | "Stork." |
| Koto | "Harp." |
| Kuni-ko | "Province." |
| Kuni | "Country,"—in the largest sense. |
| Kyō-ko | "Capital,"—metropolis. |
| Machi | "Ten-Thousand Thousand." |
| Makoto | "True-Heart." |
| Masa-ko | "The Trustworthy,"—sure. |
| Masa-ko | "The Upright." |
| Masu-ko | "Increase." |
| Mata-ko | "Completely,"—wholly. |
| Matsu-ko | "Pine-tree." |
| Michi-ko | "Three Thousand." |
| Miné | "Peak." |
| Miné-ko | "Mountain-Range." |
| Mitsu-ko | "Light,"—radiance. |
| Miyo-ko | "Beautiful Generations." |
| Moto-ko | "Origin,"—source. |
| Naga-ko | "Long,"—probably in reference to time. |
| Naga-ko | "Long Life." |
| Nami-ko | "Wave." |
| Nao-ko | "Correct,"—upright. |
| Nyo-ko[89] | "Gem-Treasure." |
[89] ] This name is borrowed from the name of the sacred gem Nyoihōju, which figures both in Shintō and in Buddhist legend. The divinity Jizō is usually represented holding in one hand this gem, which is said to have the power of gratifying any desire that its owner can entertain. Perhaps the Nyoihōju may be identified with the Gem-Treasure Veluriya, mentioned in the Sûtra of The Great King of Glory, chapter i. (See Sacred Books of the East, vol. xi.)
| Nobu-ko | "Faithful." |
| Nobu-ko | "Abundance,"—plenty. |
| Nobu-ko | "The Prolonger." |
| Nori-ko | "Precept,"—doctrine. |
| Nui | "Embroidery,"—sewing. |
| Oki | "Offing,"—perhaps originally a place-name.[90] |
[90] ] A naval officer named Oki told me that his family had originally been settled in the Oki Islands ("Islands of the Offing"). This interesting coincidence suggested to me that the above yobina might have had the same origin.
| Sada-ko | "The Chaste." |
| Sada-ko | "The Sure,"—trustworthy. |
| Sakura-ko | "Cherry-Blossom." |
| Sakaë | "The Prosperous." |
| Sato-ko | "Home." |
| Sato-ko | "The Discriminating." |
| Seki-ko | "Great." |
| Setsu-ko | "The Chaste." |
| Shigé-ko | "Flourishing." |
| Shigé-ko | "Exuberant,"—in the sense of rich growth. |
| Shigé-ko | "Upgrowing." |
| Shigé-ko | "Fragrance." |
| Shiki-ko | "Prudence." |
| Shima-ko | "Island." |
| Shin-ko | "The Fresh,"—new. |
| Shizu-ko | "The Quiet,"—calm. |
| Shizuë | "Quiet River." |
| Sono-ko | "Garden." |
| Suë-ko | "Last,"—in the sense of youngest. |
| Suké-ko | "The Helper." |
| Sumi-ko | "The Clear,"—spotless, refined. |
| Sumi-ko | "The Veritable,"—real. |
| Sumië-ko | "Clear River." |
| Suzu-ko | "Tin." |
| Suzu-ko | "Little Bell." |
| Suzunë | "Sound of Little Bell." |
| Taka-ko | "High,"—lofty, superior. |
| Taka-ko | "Filial Piety." |
| Taka-ko | "Precious." |
| Také-ko | "Bamboo." |
| Taki-ko | "Waterfall." |
| Tama-ko | "Gem,"—jewel. |
| Tama-ko | "Gem,"—written with a different character. |
| Tamé-ko | "For the Sake of—" |
| Tami-ko | "People,"—folks. |
| Tané-ko | "Successful." |
| Tatsu-ko | "Attaining." |
| Tatsuru-ko[91] | "Many Storks." |
[91] ] So written, but probably pronounced as two syllables only.
| Tatsuru-ko | "Ricefield Stork." |
| Teru-ko | "Beaming,"—luminous. |
| Tetsu-ko | "Iron." |
| Toki-ko | "Time." |
| Tomé-ko | "Cessation." |
| Tomi-ko | "Riches." |
| Tomo | "Intelligence." |
| Tomo | "Knowledge." |
| Tomo-ko | "Friendship." |
| Toshi-ko | "The Quickly-Perceiving." |
| Toyo-ko | "Fruitful." |
| Tsuné | "Constancy." |
| Tsuné-ko | "Ordinary,"—usual, common. |
| Tsuné-ko | "Ordinary,"—written with a different character. |
| Tsuné-ko | "Faithful,"—in the sense of wifely fidelity. |
| Tsuru-ko | "Stork." |
| Tsuya-ko | "The Lustrous,"—shining, glossy. |
| Umé | "Female Hare." |
| Umé-ko | "Plum-Blossom." |
| Yachi-ko | "Eight Thousand." |
| Yaso-ko | "Eighty." |
| Yasoshi-ko | "Eighty-four." |
| Yasu-ko | "The Maintainer,"—supporter. |
| Yasu-ko | "The Respectful." |
| Yasu-ko | "The Tranquil-Minded." |
| Yoné-ko | "Rice." |
| Yori-ko | "The Trustful." |
| Yoshi | "Eminent,"—celebrated. |
| Yoshi-ko | "Fragrance." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Good,"—or Gentle. |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Lovable." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Lady-like,"—gentle in the sense of refined. |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Joyful." |
| Yoshi-ko | "Congratulation." |
| Yoshi-ko | "The Happy." |
| Yoshi-ko | "Bright and Clear." |
| Yuki-ko | "The Lucky." |
| Yuki-ko | "Snow." |
| Yuku-ko | "Going." |
| Yutaka | "Plenty,"—affluence, superabundance. |
IV
In the first part of this paper I suggested that the custom of giving very poetical names to geisha and to jorō might partly account for the unpopularity of purely æsthetic yobina. And in the hope of correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, I shall now venture a few remarks about the names of geisha.
Geisha-names,—like other classes of names,—although full of curious interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of respectable. Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject of the present study,—inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but professional appellations only,—not yobina, but geimyō.
A large proportion of such names can be distinguished by certain prefixes or suffixes attached to them. They can be known, for example,—
(1) By the prefix Waka, signifying "Young";—as in the names Wakagusa, "Young Grass"; Wakazuru, "Young Stork"; Wakamurasaki, "Young Purple"; Wakakoma, "Young Filly".
(2) By the prefix Ko, signifying "Little";—as in the names, Ko-en, "Little Charm"; Ko-hana, "Little Flower"; Kozakura, "Little Cherry-Tree".
(3) By the suffix Ryō, signifying "Dragon" (the Ascending Dragon being especially a symbol of success);—as Tama-Ryō, "Jewel-Dragon"; Hana-Ryō, "Flower-Dragon"; Kin-Ryō, "Golden-Dragon".
(4) By the suffix ji, signifying "to serve", "to administer";—as in the names Uta-ji, Shinné-ji, Katsu-ji.
(5) By the suffix suké, signifying "help";—as in the names Tama-suké, Koma-suké.
(6) By the suffix kichi, signifying "luck", "fortune";—as Uta-kichi, "Song-Luck"; Tama-kichi, "Jewel-Fortune".
(7) By the suffix giku (i. e., kiku) signifying "chrysanthemum";—as Mitsu-giku, "Three Chrysanthemums"; Hina-giku, "Doll-Chrysanthemum"; Ko-giku, "Little Chrysanthemum".
(8) By the suffix tsuru, signifying "stork" (emblem of longevity);—as Koma-tsuru, "Filly-Stork"; Ko-tsuru, "Little Stork"; Ito-zuru, "Thread-Stork".
These forms will serve for illustration; but there are others. Geimyō are written, as a general rule, with only two Chinese characters, and are pronounced as three or as four syllables. Geimyō of five syllables are occasionally to be met with; geimyō of only two syllables are rare—at least among names of dancing girls. And these professional appellations have seldom any moral meaning: they signify things relating to longevity, wealth, pleasure, youth, or luck,—perhaps especially to luck.
Of late years it became a fashion among certain classes of geisha in the capital to assume real names with the genteel suffix Ko, and even aristocratic yobina. In 1889 some of the Tōkyō newspapers demanded legislative measures to check the practice. This incident would seem to afford proof of public feeling upon the subject.