#sadly my pool of english speakers who can play this game with me is not big

[omoi-no-hoka]

Moderately Interesting Japanese Episode #4 Unusual Surnames, Summer Edition!

Above: super cool name stamps Japanese people use in place of signatures. Still dead set on getting a laser beam Buddha. 

For every “Yamada” and “Sasaki” there is a unique and interesting Japanese last name. I made a post about this in the past here, and this is the continuation. Since it is a hot summer day here, the theme of these surnames is “Summer.”

八月一日

Pronunciation: Hazumi Meaning: August 1st Number of people with this last name: ~80

The first time I saw this, I was blown away by the fact that a date could be someone’s last name. English speakers are used to the concept of days of the week being used as surnames (like “Friday”), but not an exact date. Then, I was blown away by the pronunciation. The standard pronunciation for this date is “Hachigatsu tsuitachi,” and you can see that “Hazumi” is quite a large leap. 

So what’s the story behind this last name? Long, long ago, when Japan used the lunar calendar instead of the western calendar, August 1st was the day that rice was harvested and presented as a gift to others. This custom is the source of this surname. 

蝉

Pronunciation: Semi Meaning: Cicada Number of people with this name: ~90

Perhaps the most ubiquitous symbol of summer in Japan is the “miiin miiin” call of cicadas. Still, they’re not exactly a beautiful creature and I for one wouldn’t be thrilled to be known as “Ms. Cicada.” haha

There are a couple different ideas of where this surname came from. Many Japanese peasants didn’t have surnames until the late 1800′s, when the Meiji Era government made last names mandatory. Peasants went to the local government building to create/be assigned a surname and kanji for it, but at the time most peasants could not read kanji. So when a peasant said their last name was “Semi” and the government employee asked what kanji was correct, the peasant may not have known the answer. This common occurrence led to alternative kanji for the same last name. The surname Semi can also be written as 瀬見 or 勢見, which refer to geographical locations. 

Therefore, people with the last name “cicada” likely meant to have one of the above two versions of “Semi,” or they lived in a place with a lot of cicadas. 

下駄

Pronunciation: Geta Meaning: wooden geta sandals Number of people with this last name: ~40

Geta are those wooden sandals that are traditionally worn with kimono and yukata and make that beautiful clack clack sound. I have a couple pairs and I look for every excuse to wear them because I just love the sound, and who doesn’t love sandals, am I right? Nowadays, few people wear geta unless they are really committed to their yukata/kimono ensemble. When there’s a festival and people get dressed up in yukata, it’s fairly common for them to forgo geta and wear regular flip flops instead. 

Anyways, let’s get back to this last name. Did these people make geta back in the day? Did they wear them even in the dead of winter because they were that committed to fashion? 

Sadly, both of the above hypotheses are incorrect. “Geta” was a region in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, so this is a surname that has been around for a long time. And the 下 (ge) of Geta means “under,” and refers to a low place like a foot of a mountain. 

祭

Pronunciation: Matsuri Meaning: Festival Number of people with this surname: ~30

As evidenced in, like, every anime ever, the number one event of summer is the matsuri. Local parks and temple grounds are filled with rows of yatai selling drinks, food, desserts, and myriad games and contests. Girls dress up in a yukata, boys might dress up in a yukata too but probably won’t, and they walk through all the yatai, try but fail to scoop goldfish into a cup with a rice paper spatula, maybe go through the haunted house, and watch fireworks together. They are my favorite thing about Japan, so I would absolutely love to marry a Mr. Matsuri and take his last name haha. 

So what is the history behind Mr. Matsuri? Well, the actual meaning is “festival,” and specifically the worship of gods, since that was the original function of matsuri. “Matsuri” is also a region in Aichi prefecture. 

金魚

Pronunciation: Kingyo Meaning: Goldfish Number of people with this surname: ~20

What is the official fish of the summer? Goldfish! Why? Because of the “kingyo sukui” (save the goldfish) game that everyone plays at festivals. Goldfish are in a shallow pool, and you pay about 500 yen for three tiny paddles made of very thin paper. You must scoop the goldfish up and transfer it into a cup without breaking the paddle, but you are dipping paper into water and it is pretty tricky. 

I couldn’t find too much information about this surname, but it appears that back in the Meiji Era when everyone had to have last names, a man who owned a fish shop wanted to combine “fish” and “gold,” and so made his last name “goldfish.” Can’t argue with that logic!

I found a whole bunch more interesting last names that deal with summer, but I don’t want this post to end up a mile long so I’m gonna cut myself off. Which one was your favorite? Let me know!

Also, if there’s a particular topic you’re interested in, send me an ask and I’ll make a post about it!

#japanese #study japanese #kanji #study kanji #learn kanji #japan #linguistics #moderately interesting Japanese #surnames #日本語 #日本語の勉強