| 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? |