ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2019 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2019 ************************************ 5 Jul 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a late-period Japanese masculine name that refers to hawks and mountains, and you asked our opinion of your design for your arms. Here is what we have found. The Japanese words "hawk" and "mountain" can be combined to create a plausible place name . Similarly-constructed names were used in your period, like "bird" + "mountain", which was recorded as a family name in 1600. The word also appears in Japanese place names, like "three hawks" [1]. You could use a place name like as your family name, a common practice in medieval Japan. It's worth noting that there's another kanji character pronounced which means "tall, high"; and that there is a real place called "tall mountain" [3]. To build a complete medieval Japanese name, you will need to add two more elements: A yobina and a nanori. These are both given names of a sort. The nanori is the name that most people would have used to identify you; the yobina is a second given name used only by those intimate with you. Your complete name would have been written in this order: . We can recommend the pamphlet we've used as reference [1] as a good source for choosing your given names. Here are short lists of late-period examples of each type of given name selected from that source. Yobina ------ (undated names were used at an uncertain date before 1600) Chouemon 1568 Motouemon Fujigorou Munesaemon Gengorou Saburou 1572 Genjirou Shigenotsuke 1568 Genkutarou Songorou Genta Sonjirou Gorousaemon Sukesaemon Hachirou Tarou Hikosaburou 1572 Tarousaemon Jinkurou 1568 Yogotarou Jirou Yoichirou Jogorou Yokurou Kutarou 1568 Yoshirou Masatsugu 1568 Zengorou 1568 Matajirou Zenjirou Matashirou 1568 16th century nanori 14th century nanori ------------------- ------------------- Akahito Muneatsu Akikane Nishikintoki Chikamasa Nagahisa Chikaaki Nobuhara Fusasaki Nobuaki Fuyuie Okitane Hamanari Okikaze Hideaki Sadahide Hideie Sadabumi Iekane Shigekatsu Ienari Shigechika Kagemune Suetada Kagekatsu Tadafumi Kinkiyo Tadaaki Kinsue Tokihira Korehisa Tokimichi Korechika Tsunekage Kunikiyo Tsugufusa Kunika Ujinobu Masaie Ujiaki Makoto Yasuhide Michifuyu Yasuharu Michigane Yorikawa Morimitsu Yoriaki Mochizane Yukinari Munehira Yukifusa Nagamoto Very frequently, nanori expressed family relationships by composing elements of the parent's name with the name of the family's clan or overlord. If you have SCA relations who also have Japanese personas, we may be able to help you choose a nanori that expresses those relationships. Once you choose your name, you may want to know the correct pronunciation and the proper way to write it in kanji. We can probably help you there; write us again and we'll do our best. The design you described for your arms sounds to us to be very typical of the medieval style of kamon (Japanese arms). Without seeing a drawing, we can't be certain. It's difficult to describe Japanese heraldic designs in European terminology, but yours might be blazoned "Sable, three hawks displayed in pall inverted, heads to center and wing tips conjoined, all within an annulet argent". This description doesn't capture all the nuances of the Japanese design; that reflects a difference in approach between European and Japanese heraldry. The Society's College of Arms uses European heraldry as its standard, and requires Japanese-style armory to adapt to that standard [2]. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Edward of Effingham, Juliana de Luna, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Solveig Throndardottir, Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon, Mari neyn Bryan, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 Jul 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Solveig Throndardottir, _Name Construction in Mediaeval Japan_ (Carlsbad, N. Mex.: The Outlaw Press, 1994; Potboiler Press, 1999 [Box 30171, Columbia, MO 65205]). In the first printing, appears on p.172 and <-yama> on p.143. appears in p.171 s.n. Bird. [2] A similar motif with three hawks is the civic symbol of the Japanese city of Mitaka, which is within Tokyo. It is prominently displayed in the city, and you may decide that you don't want to copy it in the Society. However, the SCA College of Arms probably won't be concerned with the similarity. [3] Reiber, Beth and Janie Spencer, ed., "Fromer's Japan", 5th ed. (Foster City, CA: IDB Books Worldwide, Inc., 2000), p.249.