Write Your Name in Kanji (Paperback)

by Nobuo Sato (Author) "Before getting started, we should note a few points about the Japanese language..." (more)
Key Phrases: elegant nun, practices elegance, clever beauty, Charles Phonetic (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A very useful book to have if you are studying Japan and want to know what people's names mean or how to write your name in Japanese, especially if you are an American. Softcover.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Revised edition (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804833346
• ISBN-13: 978-0804833349
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #862,496 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't try it at home, November 7, 2005

By	C. Chuang "Good Characters" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a fun book filled with funny kanji names. It is useless, and even dangerous, for a non-Japanese-speaking person to attempt to use this book as a tool for coming up with personal names in kanji.

Readers need to know that most of the "names" in the book are not suitable for use as personal names, even though on the surface many seem to have good meanings. Naming is serious business in Japan. The Japanese government publishes a list of characters acceptable for names. Japanese national law restricts all personal names to those that can be formed with the approved characters. When one tries to get creative with his or her kanji name without a good knowledge of the cultural and historical connotations of the characters beyond basic dictionary definitions, the result is more often offensive than creative.

Also, many names explained in the book are incomplete or misleading. For example, the phonetic and denotative transcription for Christina on page 44 says the name means "a solemn Christian beauty" or "a follower of Christ." A native speaker's interpretation is more likely to be "Christ is afraid of women or a woman name Na."

Overall, a fun book but not a serious naming reference for professionals. A word of warning for martial artists: Do your students a favor by hiring a professional to create a good Japanese name. Your and your students' credibility for mastering the art will suffer if an unauthentic kanji name is stamped on your certificate.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A misguided process., November 9, 2007

By	A. Boone - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book takes a very misguided process towards rendering Japanese names. Western names cannot be rendered in Japanese kanji like names would be in native Chinese. The resulting combinations are quite odd and possibly nonsensical to a Japanese reader. The better way would be to find out the meaning of your name and then find the corresponding Japanese name.

The sample page for "Aaron" (my own name) was very odd and certainly not useful. Aaron has many possible meanings. One meaning is "shining light" which can be rendered "Kosho" or "Hikaru". Both of which are actual names. This book is an interesting look at how kanji are used but have absolutely no use for actual naming.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique, fun look at Japanese, June 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Write Your Name in Kanji (Paperback)

I'm trying to teach myself Japanese, got this book as a present, and love it. It exposes the reader to written Japanese while doing so in a non-threatening way.

I keep it aside for days when I need to practice Japanese but I can't stand to look at another kanji textbook... I'll pick it up, flip through, and have fun laughing at some of the (purposefully) sillier name-translations while still seeing Japanese characters. My name, Christina, came out to 'serene Christian beauty' for the 'serious'-meaning name, but there are lots of other less elegant ones. ;)

Overall, it's a great supplement that can make Japanese seem more fun and personal while still exposing the reader to the actual written language.