Japanese surnames have become one of the wonders of the world. A country with a population of just over 100 million. There are hundreds of thousands of surnames. On average, there are only a few hundred people with one surname. Japanese surnames are weird. The name is also weird. The origin behind this is inseparable from the history of Japanese naming.
Same as Chinese society. Japanese surnames have also experienced a process of popularization from "top to bottom". That is, the process of popularization from nobles to common people. but. until 1875. In Japan, only people with certain status and power, such as the royal family, nobles, daimyo, and samurai, are eligible to have surnames. Most common people do not have surnames. Just nicknames and nicknames.
By the end of the 4th century AD. The Yamato court unified the southern part of the Japanese archipelago. And began to establish their own family ruling line through the surname system. Generally speaking. A big family will have a "shi".
Some names of surnames come from official positions. Some place names come from places of residence and rule. Some come from divine names. Others come from craftsmanship. For example. Those who live in Izumo country are called "Izumo clan". Those who do sacrificial work are called "Jibu clan". The most powerful clan at that time was the Daiou family, which held the highest power in the Yamato court.
Generally speaking. A commoner among the descendants of the royal family who cannot inherit the throne. They were appointed to Beijing posts or transferred to local areas. later. The royal family ranks many families according to their closeness, blood relationship, and merit and influence. They were given "surnames" respectively. This "surname" is just a title indicating status, family lineage, and position. Similar to a title.
There were about 30 surnames at that time. Among them, "Xianchen", "Jun" and "Zhi" were given to the royal family and prominent nobles. It is the most powerful surname.
However. If you are a commoner for several consecutive generations. Then it is very likely that you will lose your royal status. And became a local lord. Become a branch of a larger family. These branches gave themselves the word "Miao", which means shoots and branches. That is, branches branched from the main family. We can infer the origin of our family from these Miao characters. For example. Fujiwara is a big clan. After the branch appears. The Fujiwara clan lives in Omi Province. He was named "Kondo". The Fujiwara clan who lived in Ise, Toe, and Kaga were called "Ito", "Endo" and "Kato".
Miss Ran Muto, the famous Japanese movie star, is also a member of the Fujiwara family
It can be said. In ancient Japan, clan can express part of the family blood relationship. The surname indicates the status of the family. The word Miao means a new branch. certainly. At this time, only nobles had the surname, surname, and Miao characters.
A monk is a person who has given up his secular name. Often given the name of the temple. Such as Honganji Temple, Anguoji Temple, Manshuin Temple, etc. It cannot be regarded as a surname. However, public families often take the name of the temple built as the permanent tomb of the clan as their surname. Such as Xiyuan Temple, Quanxiu Temple, etc. The residents in the temple territory take the name of the temple as their surname. Also related to temples. But they are all genuine surnames.
Honganji Kianru, although he was the abbot of the temple, through hard work, he became a dominant Warring States daimyo
During the Meiji Emperor. The government feels there is no surname. It is very inconvenient to make up household registration and collect taxes and levies. In order to thoroughly implement the household registration system. The order was issued in the eighth year of Meiji (1875). All the people were asked to give names.
But due to people’s long-term habits. No one wanted to use a last name. This time. People hurriedly found their last names. There is a craze for choosing surnames across the country. Ever since. Those who live in Qingmu Village have the surname "Qingmu". Those who live near the bridge are named "Daqiao". The person with a pine tree growing in front of his house has the surname "Matsushita". There is a mountain in front of the door. His surname is "Yamaguchi".
If you are a little educated, choose pleasant words such as "Fushou", "Longevity", "Millennium", "Songzhu", "Asahi", etc. as your surname. Symbols of longevity such as "pine", "crane" and "turtle" also became surnames. "Hundred", "Qian" and "Wan" also became surnames. Some want to get a little bit of the glory of aristocratic surnames. Just use the characters from the previous noble surnames. For example, there are many people who use the word "vine". Surnames such as "Fujita", "Fujimoto", "Fujii", "Fujiyama" and "Fujikawa" were born.
And some uneducated people "have no choice but to choose a last name." Fish, vegetables, temples, and occupations are used as surnames. Even deal with one casually. "My grandson", "Ino Tate", "Inukai", "Ki Tou" and "Eggplant River" are all here.
Because Japanese surnames come suddenly. Come on a special occasion. Its connotation is also different. Most surnames in countries around the world express blood relationships. Japanese surnames rarely have this meaning. People with the same surname are not necessarily related by blood. They don't have the same surname, but they may be uncle or grandfather.
1898.
The government enacted household registration laws. The surname of each household was then fixed. But it also makes Japanese surnames one of the wonders of the world. A country with a population of just over 100 million. There are hundreds of thousands of surnames. On average, there are only a few hundred people with one surname. Japanese surnames are weird. The name is also weird. Men's names usually end with the characters "lang", "husband", "xiong" and "nan". To express might, handsomeness and loyalty. And there are many signs indicating rankings. The eldest son is called "Taro". The second son is called "Jiro" and "Erlang". The eleventh one is called "Yu Yilang". Some also remove "lang". Directly it is Tai, one, two, two. Use "governance" to express two. Use "select" and "hide" to express three. Use "help" to express the younger son. From this we can know that Kobayashi Koichi must be the eldest son. Torajiro must be the second son.
In the past, Japanese men's names often added "Hei", "Zaemon" and "Youemon". This is a name derived from military rank. Some are to show martial spirit.
Japanese women's names mostly end with "子", "江", "代" and "様". like. Yoshiko Kawashima, Yuki Ozeki, Chiyo Uno, Tomie Ohara. It sounds elegant and soft. Among young women now. About 90% of people are named with "子". According to custom. After a woman gets married, she must take her husband's surname. For example, Nakano Ryoko married Kawasaki Zenhiro. Changed his name to Kawasaki Ryoko.
Famous movie star Noriko Sakai
Use numbers in names. It is another characteristic of Japanese names. There are people named Yidan, Erjing, Miki, Shidao, and Yiyijii. There are those with the surnames Liujiao, Qitiao, Bama, Jiugui and Shishi. There are also people with the surnames Forty-Five, Isuzu, Baiyuan, Liubaitian, and Qianjia. There are even people named Baidai and Long live. It is even more common to use numbers in names to indicate ranking. But there are also those that indicate the time of birth. For example, Yamamoto Isoroku. It's not ranked fifty-sixth. But because of when he was born. The father's age is 56 years old.
Isoroku Yamamoto