« Reader photo: Myodani Station, Kobe | Main | USB breast-warming pads (maybe NSFW) »

October 30, 2009

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c5d3253ef0120a642dcf2970b

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Japanese full names used to be super long:

Comments

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1131661938

Okay, let's see... by last names, I am going to guess you are referring to the Western notion of last names, i.e. family names... so perhaps in no particular order:

Yamada
Suzuki
Nakamura
Takahashi
Watanbe
Tanaka
Satou
Yamamoto

These are 8 that I tend to see/find a lot.

vagrant

Thanks for this. I was not fully aware of how surnames had been previously used, as I only knew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi banning of surnames, unless you weren't of a certain class.

I do find the similarities between Japanese and some European surname origination quite interesting. Where it is sometimes based on your job, where you come from, your point in the family line, etc.

twitter.com/bluemagister

My last name is a "slave name" that, like most of our names, is basically ateji, or phonetic matching that we got when Japan conquered us.
I am not sure how Okinawans named themselves before the Japanese came, but some of the older folks on the island still have short, Okinawan first names like Kon.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

About

Lisa Katayama's personal blog.
My Photo

My Bio

  • I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.

    In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.

    I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.

    Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!

    Follow me on Twitter
    Become a Facebook Fan
    Read some of my published magazine stories

    Send tips to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com

MY BOOK

  • My book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan, was published in April 2008. Get it now!

TokyoMango on Twitter

we love unko