ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3381 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3381 ************************************ 17 May 2009 From: Ursula Whitcher Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether , or another name incorporating , is an appropriate given name for a woman living in Heian Japan (the ninth through twelfth centuries). You also asked about a name meaning 'quiet' or that sounded like , and a family name incorporating the syllables , , or . We'll begin with some information on feminine name structure in your period. Then we'll discuss each name you asked about. In your period and the subsequent Kamakura period, women were frequently identified by just their clan name. For instance, a woman of the Minamoto clan might be referred to as . Some documents expanded this description by adding a given name. We believe the appropriate construction adds , 'called', together with the given name: an example is , 'Minamoto no uji, called Chiyo'. We have also found examples of women identified only as their husbands' wives or their sons' mothers. [1, 2] We found and as feminine given names used in the Heian period. We also found , which is spelled using the kanji or Chinese character 'quiet', used as a Heian feminine given name. [3] Because women were generally identified by clan name rather than an inherited family surname, we looked for clan names beginning with the syllables , , or . We found the following medieval clan names: [4] Fujiwara Fujiwarabe Fumi Fu'ne Furu Hi Hi'nokumo no To'neri Yamabe Yamaji Yamashiro Yamato Yamato no Aya Yamato no Umakai Yatabe Yatsume A name such as or is a good choice for a Heian woman, at least in a written document. We hope this letter has been useful to you. Please don't hesitate to write to us again if you have further questions or would like clarification. Solveig Throndardottir, Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, Mari neyn Brian, Brian Dorcha ua Connail, and Franzeska contributed to researching and writing this report. Ursula Georges for the Academy 17 May 2009 References: [1] Mass, Jeffrey P., _Antiquity and Anachronism in Japanese History (Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1992), ch.4 "Identity, Personal Names, and Kamakura Society", pp.113-121. [2] Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 2627 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2627 [3] Solveig Throndardottir, _Name Construction in Mediaeval Japan_ (Carlsbad, N. Mex.: The Outlaw Press, 1994; Potboiler Press, 1999 [Box 30171, Columbia, MO 65205]), revised edition, 2004, pp. 380, 384. [4] Ibid., pp. 390-8.