ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2384 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2384 ************************************ 18 Nov 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Japanese woman in the 12th to 15th centuries. You also asked whether you should add a third name. Here is what we have found. Japanese women mentioned in records from our period are more often identified by their relationship to a man rather than by their own formal name. Consequently, our knowledge of the structure of women's names is imprecise. We believe that a Japanese woman's name in our period could consist of two or three parts: a family name and one or more given names. She would have had a nanori, which is a formal given name; and she might have had a yobina, an informal given name, used only by those intimate with her [1]. Unfortunately, we did not find evidence that either of the names you've chosen was used in pre-1600 Japan [2]. combines elements that mean "snow" and "slope"; but we found no example of a family name starting nor have we found evidence that is a modern Japanese family name. Many family names were based on place names, but we have identified only two places in modern Japan whose names begin with , one a mountain peak, the other a modern neghborhood in Tokyo. It appears that this element was not used in pre-1600 Japanese place names or family names. There are some women's nanori that include , like 1392 [3]. You wrote that you intended to mean "one thousand sunny days". That's not quite right: means "clear (sky)" [4], and we're not sure that this compound makes sense in Japanese. "one thousand" was used as the first element of several women's names [5], but we have found this only in masculine names. There is another word "spring (season)" that appears in some women's names, but only as a first element [6]. However, since both of its elements do appear in women's names in our period, "one thousand springs" is a plausible construction. If you like, we can suggest some other names that contain elements that sound like and but have different meanings. We can also suggest some family names that you could combine with . 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 Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Solveig Throndardottir, Blaise de Cormeilles, Ayranhwy merch Catmael, Barak Raz, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 18 Nov 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Solveig Throndardottir, _Name Construction in Mediaeval Japan_ (Carlsbad, N. Mex.: The Outlaw Press, 1994; Potboiler Press, 1999 [Box 30171, Columbia, MO 65205]), pp.4, 7. [2] A word transliterated exists in modern Japanese, but we don't know what it means. A search at google.com turns up several examples. A search there also finds examples of , apparently as a woman's name; but we have not been able to determine when it came into use. [3] Solveig Throndardottir, p.156. Another example is 784. [4] ibid., p.155. [5] ibid., p.214. Women's nanori using "one thousand" include: Chime 793 One Thousand Chiyo 1428 Thousand Generations Chiyoinu 1428 Thousand Generation Dog Chiyorime 793 Chiyotsurume 1392 Thousand Generation Crane [6] ibid., p.125. Feminine nanori using "spring" include: Haru, 1332 Haruhime, 784 Harukiri, 1572 "spring-fog" Harumatsu, 1332 Harutoshime, 1332