ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2523 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2523 ************************************ 2 May 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Japanese woman in our period. 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 [2]. You can read more about the construction of medieval Japanese names in this report: http://www.s-gabriel.org/2019 is composed of two elements that mean "snow" and "white". We have found no pre-1600 Japanese family name that includes . Family names were often derived from place names, but we've found only in modern place names [1]. We therefore cannot recommend this name as good re-creation. If you especially want to include the element in your name, you might consider using it in your nanori (given name); see our report 2384 for details: http://www.s-gabriel.org/2384 is a historical feminine nanori [2]. It was pronounced \toe-moe-ey\, with the last syllable rhyming with . In addition to the problems with the family name, we want to let you know that is the name of a major character in the anime film Rurouni Kenshin [3]. Society custom frowns on duplicating the names of significant fictional characters. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Mari neyn Bryan, Solveig Throndardottir, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 May 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Concise Japanese Place Name Dictionary 4-385-15332-9 [2] 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, 385. [3] See either of these websites: http://members.tripod.com/re_Joyce/rk/prof_tomoe.html http://www.geocities.com/japanz_bear/char-tomoe.html or many others indexed from http://www.anipike.com/rkenshin.html.