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in modern times usually consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used. Japanese names are usually written in ''kanji'', which are characters usually Chinese in origin but Japanese in pronunciation. The ''kanji'' for a name may have a variety of possible Japanese pronunciations, but parents might use hiragana or katakana when giving a birth name to their newborn child. Names written in hiragana or katakana are phonetic renderings, and so lack the visual meaning of names expressed in the logographic kanji. Japanese family names are extremely varied: according to estimates, there are over 100,000 different surnames in use today in Japan.〔''The Expanded Dictionary of Japanese Family Names'' has 290,000 entries; some of these are distinguished by differences in pronunciation of the same characters, or by rare variant characters. (日本苗字大辞典、芳文館、1996, 7月発行 )〕 The three most common family names in Japan are Satō (), Suzuki (), and Takahashi ().〔 (.XLS file).〕 This diversity is in stark contrast to the situation in other nations of the East Asian cultural sphere, which reflects a different history: while Chinese surnames have been in use for millennia and were often reflective of an entire clan or adopted from nobles (with or without any genetic relationship) – and were thence transferred to Korea and Vietnam via noble names, the vast majority of modern Japanese family names date only to the 19th century, following the Meiji restoration, and were chosen at will. The recent introduction of surnames has two additional effects: Japanese names became widespread when the country had a very large population (over 30 million during the early Meiji era – see Demographics of Imperial Japan) instead of dating to ancient times (estimated population at 1 CE is 300,000, for instance – see Demographics of Japan before Meiji Restoration), and since little time has passed, Japanese names have not experienced as significant a surname extinction as has occurred in the much longer history in China.〔 ((Archive ))〕 Surnames occur with varying frequency in different regions; for example, the names Chinen (), Higa (), and Shimabukuro () are common in Okinawa but not in other parts of Japan; this is mainly due to differences between the language and culture of Yamato people and Okinawans. Many Japanese family names derive from features of the rural landscape; for example, Ishikawa () means "stone river", Yamamoto () means "the base of the mountain", and Inoue () means "above the well". While family names follow relatively consistent rules, given names are much more diverse in pronunciation and character usage. While many common names can easily be spelled or pronounced, many parents choose names with unusual characters or pronunciations, and such names cannot in general be spelled or pronounced unless both the spelling and pronunciation are given. Unusual pronunciations have especially become common, with this trend having increased significantly since the 1990s.〔〔佐藤 稔 『読みにくい名前はなぜ増えたか』 Minoru Sato, "Yominikui Namae wa Naze Fuetaka" ("Why We See More Hard-to-read Names"), 2007〕 For example, the popular boy's name 大翔 is traditionally pronounced "Hiroto", but in recent years alternative pronunciations "Haruto", "Yamato", "Taiga", "Sora", "Taito", "Daito", and "Masato" have all entered use.〔 Male names often end in ''-rō'' ( "son", but also "clear, bright"; e.g. "Ichirō") or ''-ta'' ( "great, thick"; e.g. "Kenta"), or contain ''ichi'' ( "first ()"; e.g. "Ken'ichi"), ''kazu'' (also written with 一 "first ()", along with several other possible characters; e.g. "Kazuhiro"), ''ji'' ( "second ()" or "next"; e.g. "Jirō"), or ''dai'' ( "great, large"; e.g. "Daiichi") while female names often end in ''-ko'' ( "child"; e.g. "Keiko") or ''-mi'' ( "beauty"; e.g. "Yumi"). Other popular endings for female names include ''-ka'' ( "scent, perfume" or "flower"; e.g. "Reika") and ''-na'' (, or , meaning greens; e.g. "Haruna"). ==Structure== In ancient Japan it was often only the nobles who had more than one name. The majority of Japanese people have one surname and one given name with no middle name, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members bear no surname. The family name - ''myōji'' ( or ), ''uji'' () or ''sei'' () - precedes the given name, called the "name" - ( ''mei'') or "lower name" ( ''shita no namae''). The given name may be referred to as the "lower name" because, in vertically written Japanese, the given name appears under the family name.〔Hakes, Molly. ''The Everything Conversational Japanese Book: Basic Instruction For Speaking This Fascinating Language In Any Setting''. Everything Books, 2004. (119 ). Retrieved from Google Books on August 8, 2011. ISBN 1-59337-147-0, ISBN 978-1-59337-147-0.〕 People with mixed Japanese and foreign parentage may have middle names.〔Power, p. C4-2.〕 Historically, ''myōji'', ''uji'' and ''sei'' had different meanings. ''Sei'' was originally the patrilineal surname which is why up till now it has only granted only by the emperor as a title of male rank. The lower form of the name 'Sei' being 'Tei' which is a common name in Japanese men. Although there was a male ancestor in ancient Japan who the name 'Sei' originally came from. There were relatively few ''sei'', and most of the medieval noble clans trace their lineage either directly to these ''sei'' or to the courtiers of these ''sei''. ''Uji'' was another name used used to designate patrilineal descent, but later merged with ''myōji'' around the same time. ''Myōji'' was, simply, what a family chooses to call itself, as opposed to the ''sei'' granted by the emperor. While it was passed on patrilineally in male ancestors including in male ancestors called haku (uncles), one had a certain degree of freedom in changing one's ''myōji''. See also Kabane. Multiple Japanese characters have the same pronunciations, so several Japanese names have multiple meanings. A particular kanji itself can have multiple meanings and pronunciations. In some names, Japanese characters phonetically "spell" a name and have no intended meaning behind them. Many Japanese personal names use puns.〔Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges. ''A Dictionary of First Names''. Oxford University Press, 2006. (Appendix 8: Japanese Names ). Retrieved from Google Books on April 1, 2012. ISBN 0-19-861060-2, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.〕 Very few names can serve either as surnames or as given names (for example Mayumi , Kaneko , Masuko , or Arata ). Therefore, to those familiar with Japanese names, which name is the surname and which is the given name is usually apparent, no matter which order the names are presented in. This thus makes it unlikely that the two names will be confused, for example when writing in (say) English while using the family name-given name naming order. However, due to the variety of pronunciations and differences in languages, some common surnames and given names may coincide when Romanized: e.g., (given name) and (surname). Japanese names have distinct differences from Chinese names through the selection of characters in a name and pronunciation. A Japanese person can distinguish a Japanese name from a Chinese name by looking at it. Akie Tomozawa, author of "Japan's Hidden Bilinguals: The Languages of 'War Orphans' and Their Families After Repatriation From China," said that this was equivalent to how "Europeans can easily tell that the name 'Smith' is English and 'Schmidt' is German or 'Victor' is English or French and 'Vittorio' is Italian".〔Tomozawa, Akie. Chapter 6: "Japan's Hidden Bilinguals: The Languages of 'War Orphans' and Their Families After Repatriation From China." In: Noguchi, Mary Goebel and Sandra Fotos (editors). ''Studies in Japanese Bilingualism''. Multilingual Matters, 2001. (158-159 ). Retrieved from Google Books on October 25, 2012. ISBN 185359489X, 9781853594892.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese name」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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