Join Our Newsletter
  • Visit Our Store
  • Come Write for J-List!
J-List Blog
Visit J-List - Your Favorite Online Shop and Friend in Japan
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan
No Result
View All Result
J-List Blog
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan
No Result
View All Result
J-List Blog
No Result
View All Result

The history of family names in Japanese, why there are so many last names in use here, and the Japanese connection with Auld Lang Syne

Peter Payne by Peter Payne
18 years ago
in Your Friend in Japan

Names in Japanese are quite different from what we’re usually used to in the West. Right off the bat, the family and given names are reversed, so if you’re going to talk about “kawaii” bikini idol Yuko Ogura in Japanese, you’d need to get used to calling her Ogura Yuko. There are no middle names in Japan, and over the years I’ve been asked quite a lot by my students about my own middle name (Rowland), which they find interesting. Japanese also never name sons after fathers, as my own father did with me, and part of the mystique of the famous thief Lupin III is that he’s the third generation to hold that name despite being of mixed Japanese ancestry. In the States, expectant mothers will buy a book of baby names that contains information on the etymology of each (for example, my own name comes from the Greek word for ‘rock’), and books which present various kanji names are popular in Japan, too. It’s common for Japanese to consult their local Shinto shrine for advice when choosing a name, but my wife’s family is a little more Buddhist than most, so we visited our family Buddhist temple instead. We had been all set to name our son Kazuma, written with the characters for “peace” and “horse,” but the priest warned us that choosing animal names was a bad idea, as our son would be headstrong and never listen to us.

It can be fun to study how Japanese surnames work. One of the mysteries of family names in Japan is the large number of different ones that exist, around 120,000, compared with a few thousand in China and only 249 in Korea. This is caused partially by how late Japan was in adopting universal surnames, which only became required in 1870, and a lack of a specific tradition of naming families up to that point. It’d be hard to imagine a neighborhood in the States where everyone was named Smith, but nearly everyone who lives around our house has the same last name as us, Yanai, and nearby there are patches of houses where everyone is named Hosoi or Ishida, yet no one is related to anyone around them. Part of this is due to the fact that we live in a small rural city in the exact center of the country where no one ever sells their land, because if you sold your land and moved to another part of the country, what would you do with your family gravestone? Your ancestors would be so lonely. One amusing aspect of living in Japan is hearing people with names like Tanaka (“in the rice field”), Yamada (“rice field on the mountain”) and Nakamura (“in the village”) argue vehemently that their ancesors were samurai warriors despite their agrarian sounding names.

It’s funny how different inputs — such as a simple song — can push different emotional buttons depending on what culture you hail from. When most North Americans hear the Scottish folksong Auld Lang Syne we probably immediately think of New Year’s Eve, of saying goodbye to the old year with a large beer in our hands. Hotaru no Hikari, or Light of the Fireflies, is the title of the Japanese version of this song, and in Japan it’s sung at graduations. The chorus tells the story of hard-working students who wanted to study so much that they read books by the light of fireflies captured in a jar, or the moonlight reflected off snow. It can bring a tear to the eyes of Japanese who hear it sung, and a totally different image from one we might conjure up. Incidentally, the song is also played by stores as they’re about to close, and if you’ve ever visited Japan and wondered why they were playing Auld Lang Syne over the store speakers, it was a polite request that you complete your purchase and leave the store.

Tags: BuddhismculturefamilyfoodhistoryJapanese languageJapanese names

More Posts Like This

I Raised That Boy
Your Friend in Japan

What Anime Raised You? J-List Customers of Culture Respond!

by Peter Payne
5 months ago

One reason I love social media like X, Bluesky, and Facebook is that I can post questions to my followers...

When The Subtitles Substitute Name For Onii Chan
Your Friend in Japan

Onii-chan, No! When Translators Don’t Follow Japanese Naming Conventions

by Peter Payne
8 months ago

How do you feel when you're watching anime and a character uses an honorific like "Onii-chan," but the subtitles use...

Camera Angles In Anime

Yandere Meets Instant Noodles! Anime Marketing with Seiyuu Saori Hayami

8 months ago
Japanese Is Similar To Spanish Blog

Why Is Japanese So Similar to Spanish? Let’s Compare Both Languages!

10 months ago
What Does Bitch Mean In Japanese

Bitch Means What in Japanese?? Nine Times Japan Changed the Meaning of Words

12 months ago
Isoroku Yamamoto From Zipang

Why Did I Watch a Film About Isoroku Yamamoto on Pearl Harbor Day?

2 years ago
Next Post
J-List Default Featured Image

Japan, education and conformity, thoughts on memorizing various stuff, and the enigma of barley tea in the summer

Trending Today

Spring 2025 Ecchi Anime Web Cover
News

Spring 2025 Ecchi Anime and Where to Watch Them

4 months ago
The Top 11 Anime Sex Scenes Blog
Your Friend in Japan

Happy Sex Day! Let’s Rank the 11 Most Surprising Ecchi Scenes in Anime

1 month ago
Yandere Dark Elf Episode 1 Featured Image
Featured

Yandere Dark Elf, Episode 1 — Love Heavier than Chocolate Melons!

3 months ago
Haite Kudasai, Takamine San Episode 9 Featured Image
Featured

Haite Kudasai, Takamine-san, Episode 9 — Slippery When Wet!

2 weeks ago
Dengeki Moeoh August 2025 Cover
Anime Magazine

What’s Inside Dengeki Moeoh August 2025? Ecchi Illustrations, Posters, Art, and More!

1 week ago
Get the Newest Figures from J-List - Your Favorite Online Shop and Friend in Japan
Screenshot
News

They’re Back: Announcing the Return of J-List Tissues!

by Peter Payne
July 19, 2025

They’re Back: Announcing the Return of J-List Tissues!

3 Horny and Hungry Reasons to Watch Clevatess

Dandadan S2 Pulls No Punches (and the Fight Scenes Hit Hard, Too)

Cultural Exchange with a Game Center Girl — A Kawaii Romance

Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider and Fight Shocker

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Discord
  • YouTube

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • News
  • Gallery
  • Product Reports
  • Your Friend in Japan

© J-LIST. All trademarks, characters and images are property of their respective owners.