For the Japanese, a beautiful combination of first and last name is the main thing. They consider it a complex science. It is known that the choice of a name for a child, they trust only people who specialize in this. Due to such a serious attitude to the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of guys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a "namesake", but all because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than given names, which, by the way, are many.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two adjectives: a family name and a personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and spoken first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name like Europeans, but in order to designate their last name as the main one, they write it in capital letters. Europeans do not attach importance to such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese to their surnames, which causes misunderstandings related to the reading, translation and transcription of Japanese names and surnames.

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats and samurai had surnames in Japan, even their wives did not have the honor of bearing a surname. The rest of the population had only nicknames and personal names. The most notable were the clans of aristocrats - Fuji, which had the common name "Gosetsuke". Today, in the dictionary of Japanese surnames, there are 100,000 family names, of which approximately 70,000 appeared 135 years ago (for comparison: in Europe 50,000, in China a couple of hundred, in Korea about 160, in Russia about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million families). During the era of His Eminence (1868–1911), the reigning Emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their families. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to come up with. Someone wrote the name of their locality, someone wrote the name of their store, and creative people they themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

The surname is the hereditary name of the clan, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

The first legislative act on Japanese surnames appeared in 1870, it stated that every Japanese must take a surname for himself. By this time, already 35 million people (descendants of aristocrats and samurai) had surnames.

Surnames in Japanese in 70% consist of two hieroglyphs. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the place of residence. The dictionary of Japanese surnames considers this type to be the leading one. Often it uses not only the names of settlements, but also the names of trees, rivers, areas, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, rice cultivation and harvesting (almost 60%), it is rare to find an interesting or simply beautiful (from the point of view of a Russian-speaking person) surname.

The second type includes surnames formed as a result of simple professions. For example, "Inukai" - in translation, this word means nothing more than "dog breeder".

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare, but well-aimed beautiful surnames

Here is a small list of popular, beautiful and unusual surnames:

• Akiyama - autumn;
• Araki - tree;
• Baba is a horse;
• Wada - rice field;
• Yoshida - happiness;
• Yoshikawa - river;
• Kaneko - gold;
• Mizuno - water;
• Suzuki - bell;
• Takagi is a tall tree;
• Fukui - happiness;
• Homma - good luck;
• Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames do not have a generic affiliation. One surname is suitable for both men and women.

Previously, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, inclusive, family, only the husband's surname could be, but the constitution, written in postwar period, canceled this inequality. Modern Japanese can optionally choose a surname, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old time, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

For Russian people, all Japanese names and surnames seem interesting and unusual. But there are those whose translation sounds like real music.

This is, for example:

• Igarashi - 50 storms;
• Katayama - wild well;
• Kikuchi is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

The most popular Japanese surnames in alphabetical order are, of course, offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames. Surnames include:

• BUT- Ando, ​​Arai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
• And- Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
• To- Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
• M- Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
• H- Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
• O- Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
• FROM- Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
• T- Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
• At- Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
• F- Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujivra
• X- Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
• C- Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
• I- Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

And also Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and common, according to the data offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames.

E If you know Japanese people or just enjoy Japanese anime video games, there are a few surnames that you are familiar with. Sato and Suzuki are by far the most common in Japan. However, Takahashi and Tanaka are not much inferior to them in popularity.

But what about the opposite? Myoji Yurai Net, a Japanese surname database, recently published the results of a study that analyzed data from government statistics and phone books to compile a list of the 30 rarest Japanese surnames.

30. Ikari /

Value: 50 villages(about 1000 people)

Although the meaning may not be as dramatic when written with different characters, this surname can also mean "anger" or "anchor". According to a study by Myoji Yurai Net, approximately 1,300 people throughout Japan have this surname.

29. Shio /

Meaning: salt (approximately 920 people)

For reference, this is not a name that etymologically refers to the word "salt", but it is spelled and pronounced exactly like shio, the Japanese word for table salt.

28. Shikichi /

Meaning: construction site(approximately 850 people)

27. Tsukumo /

Value: 99

Why not 100? Unfortunately no answer was given.(about 700 people)

26. Ichibangase /

Meaning: first thresholds, first jambs(approximately 440 people)

25. Myoga /

Meaning: Japanese ginger(approximately 330 people)

24. Kai /

Meaning: shell, shellfish(approximately 330 people)

23. Jinja /

Meaning: Shinto shrine (approx. 270 people)

22. Akasofu /

Meaning: red grandfather(approximately 240 people)

While many Japanese names are a reflection of the environment, those that refer to people are much less likely to use a specific color.

21.Kon /

Meaning: root(approximately 230 people)

“Hey, wait a second,” anime fans say, “What about respected Perfect Blue and Paprika director Satoshi Kon?” In fact, the last name of the late director was written in kanjiwhich means "now". And although it is also a somewhat unusual surname, it is not as rare as this one, based on the rhizome of the plant.

20. Hirawa /

Meaning: the plain of harmony(about 170 people)

19. Botan /

Meaning: peony (about 130 people)

Tree references are common in Japanese surnames. For example, Matsuda means "pine forest", while Sugimoto means "original cedar". Flowers are less common, especially when the name matches exactly the name of the flowers.

18. Taue /

Meaning: planting risai(about 130 people)

17. Keana /

Meaning: (skin) pores(about 120 people)

16. Mizoroge /

Meaning: revered body of water of the Bodhisattva(about 120 people)

15. Senju /

Meaning: teacher(approximately 110 people)

While senyu is a rather old school term used for a teaching instructor, the kanji charactersare the same ones used to write sensei, the standard way of addressing teachers and doctors in Japanese.

14. Suisha /

Meaning: water wheel, windmill(about 90 people)

13. Kyoto /

Meaning: Kyoto, the former capital of Japan(about 90 people)

Surnames that are also place names are not exactly common in Japan. In many cases, these are coincidences, born from a reference to the natural landscape serving as the inspiration for the family name and location. Chiba ("thousand leaves") and Matsumoto ("original pine tree") are very popular surnames, but they are also a prefecture and a city, respectively.

On the other hand, Kyoto means "capital", which makes this surname derived from the name of an already established place.

12. Momo /

Value: One hundred hundred(about 80 people)

Momo is also the Japanese word for peach, but in the case of fruit, the kanji is used instead. Even stranger, the Japanese already have a word for a hundred hundred people, which means "ten thousand."

11. Wamuro /

Meaning: harmonious number(about 60 people)

While the original intention was probably a favorable allusion to a peaceful home and family,can also be read as a verse, a Japanese-style room with tatami flooring.

10. Tokei /

Meaning: hours (about 50 people)

9. Nosaku /

Meaning: agricultural products(about 40 people)

8. Kajiyashiki /

Meaning: Blacksmith's mansion(about 30 people)

7. Gogatsu /

Meaning: May (month)(about 30 people)

Only about 30 people in Japan have this surname. Unfortunately, there is no data on how many of them are women with the name Satsuki, which also means "May" and should be spelled the same kanji.

6. Hime /

Meaning: princess(about 30 people)

5. Higasa /

Meaning: umbrella(about 20 people)

4. Iekami /

Meaning: home god(approximately 10 people)

3. Dango /

Meaning: dumplings or Japanese mochi balls on a stick, usually served with gravy.

So far, we have only seen a couple of food names on this list. This dish, (although only about 10 people in Japan have this surname), is the first dessert.

2. Hinode /

Meaning: sunrise(approximately 10 people)

1. Mikan /

Meaning: Japanese Mandarin, Orange(less than 10 people)

We don’t know how interesting and useful this hit parade was for expanding your horizons, but we think now you can better understand the surprise or even admiration of one of the anime or game characters when he finds out that the name of his interlocutor is Wamuro or even hinode.

On February 13, 1875, the new, modernized and Westernized Meiji government passed a bill requiring all citizens to register their family names.

Many, regardless of social status, had surnames - officially or not, legally or not. Those who did not have surnames had to invent them.

By Asian standards, modern Japan is unusually rich in surnames: there are about 100 thousand of them, while in China - whose population is 10 times the population of Japan - there are only a few thousand surnames, and in Korea - about two hundred.

The five most common surnames in Japan are Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka, and Watanabe. Why? Where did they go? Shukan Josei (November 6th issue) did a little investigation, the main source for which was Hiroshi Morioka's Myoji no Himitsu.

The particle "-to" in the surname "Sato" means "wisteria", "fuji", which immediately refers to the Fujiwara clan, which ruled during the Heian period (794-1185). "Sa-" is an alternative reading of "suke", a title in a bureaucratic system. Then it turns out that all of today's 2 million Sato are descendants of Fujiwara? It is argued that this is so, to one degree or another, regardless of whether it is verifiable or not. The surname is mostly common in the eastern part of Japan, with the exception of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Tokushima and Oita. Why is that? Because after the first civil war that took place between the Genji and Heike clans at the end of the 12th century, the western Heike were defeated, and their lands were ceded to the eastern Sato, who came in their place and took control into their own hands.

How many of the current 1.8 million Suzuki are aware that their surname, in the local dialect of the Kii Peninsula, originally meant "bale of rice straw"? Now the surname Suzuki is most common in the eight prefectures of the Kanto and Tokai regions, and in the remaining 19 prefectures it is among the ten most common.

Takahashi is the most common of the many surnames deriving from local names, in fact, several names. Takahashi means "high bridge". Today, bridges can be found anywhere, but in the old days they were quite rare, so much so that they clearly distinguished the area in which they were located among others. The surnames Hashimoto (lit. “base of the bridge”), Ohashi (“big bridge”) and Ishibashi (“stone bridge”) are also associated with bridges.

The surname Tanaka also has a topographical origin and means "in the middle of the rice field". The family, who owned a vast paddy field, in the middle of which stood a house, naturally wanted to glorify their prosperity. The name "Tanaka" was quite suitable for this purpose. Nowadays, this surname is among the ten most common in 34 prefectures.

Watanabe, like Takahashi, was originally geographical name and is related to the modern prefecture of Osaka, where the descendants of Emperor Saga, who ruled in the 8th century, settled. Modern carriers of this surname - there are about 1.4 million of them - apparently can boast of a bit of blue blood flowing in their veins.

Rounding out the top ten most common surnames are Ito, Yamamoto, Nakamura, Kobayashi and Kato.

: Kyodo News, 2.11.2012
Translation into Russian: Kalcheva Anastasia for "Fushigi Nippon /", 2.11.2012

Negotiations on the "Northern Territories" moved off the ground

On the evening of November 14, Prime Minister Abe met with President Putin in Singapore. The parties agreed to sign a peace treaty within three years. In addition, next January the head of Japan will visit Russia, where he will discuss the details with President Putin. In fact, the heads of both countries decided to conclude a peace treaty, setting a deadline, which means that the problem of the "northern territories", which could not be resolved for more than 70 years, has come to a turning point. After the talks, Prime Minister Abe told reporters: “Putin and I have a common irresistible desire to put an end to the post-war problem that has existed for more than 70 years, without passing it on to the next generations” (15.11, Sankei newspaper). Prime Minister Abe's enthusiasm is palpable.

“We agreed to speed up negotiations on a peace treaty based on the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956,” Prime Minister Abe stressed after the talks. This declaration states that after the signing of the peace treaty, the islands of Habomai and Shikotan will be transferred to Japan. Meanwhile, according to one of the officials, during the meeting, Prime Minister Abe once again explained the course of the Japanese government, which is to first solve the problem of ownership of the four islands, and then make peace, and the Russian leader expressed understanding in this regard (15.11 , Sankei newspaper).

Context

Wenhui Bao: Putin laughed at Abe without hesitation

Hokkaido: Russia will return two islands to Japan? Everything is in the hands of Abe

Abe wants blood and prepares for war with Russia

The Japanese government explains that there has been no change in Japan's position: first resolve the issue of sovereignty, and then sign a peace treaty. From a logical point of view, there are five options for solving the problem of sovereignty: Japan 4/Russia 0; Japan 3/Russia 1; Japan 2/Russia 2; Japan 1/Russia 3 and Japan 0/Russia 4.

Let's try to consider the statement of Putin and Abe on accelerating negotiations on a peace treaty based on the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956. Article 9 says: “At the same time, the USSR, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan."

I think that the heads of the Russian Federation and Japan will develop negotiations on a peace treaty in the following direction: they will confirm that Habomai and Shikotan are under Japanese sovereignty, and Kunashir and Iturup are under Russian sovereignty, and they will draw a border between Russia and Japan.

The demarcation of borders and the solution of the territorial problem are one and the same. This means the final settlement of the post-war problem between Russia and Japan. The Japanese authorities will change the legal rhetoric, which was that Russia illegally seized the "northern territories."

Since Habomai and Shikotan will become Japanese, the Japanese will be able to live there and conduct economic as well as cultural activities. Kunashir and Iturup would be under Russian sovereignty and a system could be devised to recognize Japan's special status needed for economic activity. You can enter into a special agreement.

This is how the scheme for returning two islands plus alpha will be implemented

The Japanese will travel to Iturup and Kunashir, and I do not exclude the possibility that in the future, due to the Japaneseization of these islands, they will become Japanese, on which an agreement will be signed with Russia.

In the course of the forthcoming negotiations, it is important that Russia formally recognize Japan's sovereignty over Habomai and Shikotan. The Soviet-Japanese declaration says that the USSR will transfer Habomai and Shikotan to Japan, but it does not say anything about sovereignty, so Russia may try to change its approach: sovereignty for these two islands will remain with Russia, and Japan will receive them on an indefinite lease.

If we analyze the course of the negotiations between 1955 and 1956, it is clear that the prerequisite for everything was the transfer of sovereignty, and priority was given to the Japanese position.

In addition, most likely Russia will require that after the transfer, no American troops are stationed on Habomai and Shikotan. On the this moment there are no American troops or self-defense forces there, and since there is no threat to the security of Japan, Tokyo and Washington can discuss the situation and make a promise to Putin that will reassure him.

One way or another, there was a chance to resolve the problem of the "northern territories" even before the G20 summit, which will be held next June in Osaka. Also, thanks to the interaction between Russia and Japan, it will be possible to contain China. I support Abe's strategic decisiveness, which only he is capable of.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

A Japanese given name (人名 jinmei) these days usually consists of a family name (surname) followed by a personal name.

Names are usually written in kanji, which are different occasions can have many different pronunciations.

Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single given name without a middle name, with the exception of the Japanese Imperial Family, whose members do not have a surname. Girls who marry princes also lose their last names.

In Japan, the surname comes first, and then the given name. At the same time, in Western languages ​​(often in Russian), Japanese names are written in the reverse order of first name - last name - according to European tradition. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their last name in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with the given name.

Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to toponyms. There are more names in Japanese than surnames. Men's and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

The surname in Japanese is called "myoji" (苗字 or 名字), "uji" (氏) or "sei" (姓).

The vocabulary of the Japanese language has long been divided into two types: wago (Japanese 和語 "Japanese") - native Japanese words and kango (Japanese 漢語 Chineseism) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into the same types, although a new type is now actively expanding - gairaigo (jap. 外来語) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

Modern Japanese names are divided into the following groups:
kunny (consisting of vago),
onny (consisting of kango),
mixed.
The ratio of Kun and Onn surnames is approximately 80% to 20%.

The vast majority of surnames in Japanese consist of two characters, surnames of one or three characters are less common, and four or more digit surnames are very rare.

Male names are the most difficult part of Japanese proper names to read, it is in male names non-standard readings of nanori and rare readings, strange changes to some components are very common, although there are also easy-to-read names. For example, the names Kaworu (薫), Shigekazu (薫), and Kungoro: (薫五郎) use the same character 薫 ("flavor"), but in each name it is read differently; and the common main component of yoshi names can be written 104 different signs and their combinations. Sometimes reading is not at all connected with written hieroglyphs, so it happens that only its bearer himself can read the name correctly.

Japanese female names, unlike male ones, in most cases have a simple kun reading and a clear and understandable meaning. Most female names are composed according to the “main component + indicator” scheme, however, there are names without an indicative component. Sometimes female names can be written entirely in hiragana or katakana. Also, sometimes, there are names with on-reading, and also only in female names there are new non-Chinese borrowings (gairaigo).

Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan was content with personal names and nicknames.

Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right to inherit. In cases where women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

Surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of aristocrats and the surnames of samurai.

Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of surnames of aristocrats has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most honored and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijo and Gojo. All of them belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - "Gosetsuke". From among the men of this kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and wives for emperors were chosen from among women.

The following in nobility were the Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Saionji, Sanjo, Imaidegawa, Tokudaiji, and Kaoin clans. From among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed. So, representatives of the Saionji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Then came all the other aristocratic clans.

The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the VI century and lasted until the end of the XI century, when power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans of Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. Whole line their representatives in different time were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) of a "noble" meaning.

The personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the "numbering" principle. The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, and so on. Also, in addition to "-ro", the suffixes "-emon", "-ji", "-zo", "-suke", "-be" were used for this purpose.

Upon entering the samurai during his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or moving to another duty station). The lord had the right to rename his vassal. In the event of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of the Buddha Amida in order to appeal to his mercy.

According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to name his full name so that the opponent can decide whether he is worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less frequently than in novels and chronicles.

At the end of the names of girls from noble families, the suffix "-hime" was added. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies.

For the names of the wives of the samurai, the suffix "-gozen" was used. Often they were called simply by their husband's surname and rank. The personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.

For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix "-in" was used.

Modern names and surnames

During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like those of the upper class, were also usually composed of two kanji.

The most common Japanese surnames now are Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Onishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Men's names have changed less. They also often depend on the "serial number" of the son in the family. The suffixes "-ichi" and "-kazu" meaning "first son" are often used, as well as the suffixes "-ji" ("second son") and "-zo" ("third son").

Most Japanese female names end in "-ko" ("child") or "-mi" ("beauty"). Girls, as a rule, are given names that are connected in meaning with everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually written in hiragana instead of kanji.

Some modern girls do not like the "-ko" ending in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might refer to herself as "Yuri".

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are required by law to take the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the husband's surname.

After death, the Japanese receive a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in funeral rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before a person's death.

Japanese surnames and their meaning

Abe - 阿部 - corner, shadow; sector
Akiyama - 秋山 - autumn + mountain
Ando: - 安藤 - calm + wisteria
Aoki - 青木 - green, young + tree
Arai - 新井 - new well
Arai - 荒井 - wild well
Araki - 荒木 - wild + tree
Asano - 浅野／淺野 - small + [uncultivated] field; plain
Baba - 馬場 - horse + seat
Wada - 和田 - harmony + rice field
Watanabe - 渡辺／渡邊 - to cross + surroundings
Watanabe - 渡部 - to cross + part; sector;
Goto: - 後藤 - behind, future + wisteria
Yokota - 横田 - side + rice field
Yokoyama - 横山 - side, side of the mountain
Yoshida - 吉田 - happiness + rice field
Yoshikawa - 吉川 - happiness + river
Yoshimura - 吉村 - happiness + village
Yoshioka - 吉岡 - happiness + hill
Iwamoto - 岩本 - rock + base
Iwasaki - 岩崎 - rock + cape
Iwata - 岩田 - rock + rice field
Igarashi - 五十嵐 - 50 storms
Iendo: - 遠藤 - distant + wisteria
Iida - 飯田 - boiled rice, food + rice field
Ikeda - 池田 - pond + rice field
Imai - 今井 - now + well
Inoe - 井上 - well + top
Ishibashi - 石橋 - stone + bridge
Ishida - 石田 - stone + rice field
Ishii - 石井 - stone + well
Ishikawa - 石川 - stone + river
Ishihara - 石原 - stone + plain, field; steppe
Ichikawa - 市川 - city + river
Ito - 伊東 - that, he + east
Ito: - 伊藤 - I + wisteria
Kawaguchi - 川口 - river + mouth, entrance
Kawakami - 川上 - river + top
Kawamura - 川村 - river + village
Kawasaki - 川崎 - river + cape
Kamata - 鎌田 - sickle, scythe + rice field
Kaneko - 金子 - gold + child
Katayama - 片山 - piece + mountain
Kato: - 加藤 - add + wisteria
Kikuchi - 菊地 - chrysanthemum + earth
Kikuchi - 菊池 - chrysanthemum + pond
Kimura - 木村 - tree + village
Kinoshita - 木下 - tree + under, bottom
Kitamura - 北村 - north + village
Ko:no - 河野 - river + [uncultivated] field; plain
Kobayashi - 小林 - small forest
Kojima - 小島 - small + island
Koike - 小池 - small + pond
Komatsu - 小松 - small pine tree
Kondo - 近藤 - close + wisteria
Konishi - 小西 - small + west
Koyama - 小山 - small mountain
Kubo - 久保 - long + maintain
Kubota - 久保田 - long + maintain + rice field
Kudo: - 工藤 - worker + wisteria
Kumagai - 熊谷 - bear + valley
Kurihara - 栗原 - chestnut + plain, field; steppe
Kuroda - 黒田 - black rice field
Maruyama - 丸山 - round + mountain
Masuda - 増田 - increase + rice field
Matsubara - 松原 - pine + plain, field; steppe
Matsuda - 松田 - pine + rice field
Matsui - 松井 - pine + well
Matsumoto - 松本 - pine + base
Matsumura - 松村 - pine + village
Matsuo - 松尾 - pine + tail
Matsuoka - 松岡 - pine + hill
Matsushita - 松下 - pine + under, bottom
Matsuura - 松浦 - pine + bay
Maeda - 前田 - behind + rice field
Mizuno - 水野 - water + [uncultivated] field; plain
Minami - 南 - south
Miura - 三浦 - three bays
Miyazaki - 宮崎 - temple, palace + cape
Miyake - 三宅 - three houses
Miyamoto - 宮本 - temple, palace + base
Miyata - 宮田 - temple, palace + rice field
Mori - 森 - forest
Morimoto - 森本 - forest + base
Morita - 森田 - forest + rice field
Mochizuki - 望月 - full moon
Murakami - 村上 - village + top
Murata - 村田 - village + rice field
Nagai - 永井 - eternal well
Nagata - 永田 - eternal rice field
Naito - 内藤 - inside + wisteria
Nakagawa - 中川 - middle + river
Nakajima／Nakashima - 中島 - middle + island
Nakamura - 中村 - middle + village
Nakanishi - 中西 - west + middle
Nakano - 中野 - middle + [uncultivated] field; plain
Nakata／ Nakada - 中田 - middle + rice field
Nakayama - 中山 - middle + mountain
Narita - 成田 - to form + rice field
Nishida - 西田 - west + rice field
Nishikawa - 西川 - west + river
Nishimura - 西村 - west + village
Nishiyama - 西山 - west + mountain
Noguchi - 野口 - [uncultivated] field; plain + mouth, entrance
Noda - 野田 - [uncultivated] field; plain + rice field
Nomura - 野村 - [uncultivated] field; plain + village
Ogawa - 小川 - small river
Oda - 小田 - small rice field
Ozawa - 小沢／小澤 - small swamp
Ozaki - 尾崎 - tail + cape
Oka - 岡 - hill
Okada - 岡田 - hill + rice field
Okazaki - 岡崎 - hill + cape
Okamoto - 岡本 - hill + base
Okumura - 奥村 - deep (hidden) + village
It - 小野 - small + [uncultivated] field; plain
Ooishi - 大石 - big stone
Ookubo - 大久保 - big + long + support
Oomori - 大森 - big forest
Oonishi - 大西 - big west
Oono - 大野 - large + [uncultivated] field; plain
Oosawa - 大沢／大澤 - big swamp
Ooshima - 大島 - big island
Oota - 太田 - large + rice field
Ootani - 大谷 - big valley
Oohashi - 大橋 - big bridge
Ootsuka - 大塚 - big + hill
Sawada - 沢田／澤田 - swamp + rice field
Saito: - 斉藤／齊藤 - equal + wisteria
Saito: - 斎藤／齋藤 - purification (religious) + wisteria
Sakai - 酒井 - alcohol + well
Sakamoto - 坂本 - slope + base
Sakurai - 桜井／櫻井 - sakura + well
Sano - 佐野 - assistant + [uncultivated] field; plain
Sasaki - 佐々木 - assistants + tree
Sato: - 佐藤 - helper + wisteria
Shibata - 柴田 - brushwood + rice field
Shimada - 島田 - island + rice field
Shimizu - 清水 - pure water
Shinohara - 篠原 - undersized bamboo + plain, field; steppe
Sugawara - 菅原 - sedge + plain, field; steppe
Sugimoto - 杉本 - Japanese cedar + roots
Sugiyama - 杉山 - Japanese cedar + mountain
Suzuki - 鈴木 - bell (bell) + wood
Suto / Sudo - 須藤 - by all means + wisteria
Seki - 関／關 - Outpost; barrier
Taguchi - 田口 - rice floor + mouth
Takagi - 高木 - tall tree
Takada／Takata - 高田 - tall + rice field
Takano - 高野 - high + [uncultivated] field; plain
Takahashi - 高橋 - tall + bridge
Takayama - 高山 - high mountain
Takeda - 武田 - military + rice field
Takeuchi - 竹内 - bamboo + inside
Tamura - 田村 - rice field + village
Tanabe - 田辺／田邊 - rice field + neighborhood
Tanaka - 田中 - rice field + middle
Taniguchi - 谷口 - valley + mouth, entrance
Chiba - 千葉 - a thousand leaves
Uchida - 内田 - inside + rice field
Uchiyama - 内山 - inside + mountain
Ueda/Ueta - 上田 - top + rice field
Ueno - 上野 - top + [uncultivated] field; plain
Fujiwara - 藤原 - wisteria + plain, field; steppe
Fujii - 藤井 - wisteria + well
Fujimoto - 藤本 - wisteria + base
Fujita - 藤田 - wisteria + rice field
Fukuda - 福田 - happiness, prosperity + rice field
Fukui - 福井 - happiness, prosperity + well
Fukushima - 福島 - happiness, prosperity + island
Furukawa - 古川 - old river
Hagiwara - 萩原 - bicolor lespedeza + plain, field; steppe
Hamada - 浜田／濱田 - shore + rice field
Hara - 原 - plain, field; steppe
Harada - 原田 - plain, field; steppe + rice field
Hashimoto - 橋本 - bridge + base
Hasegawa - 長谷川 - long + valley + river
Hattori - 服部 - clothes, subordinate + part; sector;
Hayakawa - 早川 - early + river
Hayashi - 林 - forest
Higuchi - 樋口 - gutter; drain + mouth, input
Hirai - 平井 - level well
Hirano - 平野 - flat + [uncultivated] field; plain
Hirata - 平田 - flat + rice field
Hirose - 広瀬／廣瀬 - wide fast current
Homma - 本間 - base + gap, room, luck
Honda - 本田 - base + rice field
Hori - 堀 - channel
Hoshino - 星野 - star + [uncultivated] field; plain
Tsuji - 辻 - street
Tsuchiya - 土屋 - land + house
Yamaguchi - 山口 - mountain + mouth, entrance
Yamada - 山田 - mountain + rice field
Yamazaki／ Yamasaki - 山崎 - mountain + cape
Yamamoto - 山本 - mountain + base
Yamanaka - 山中 - mountain + middle
Yamashita - 山下 - mountain + under, bottom
Yamauchi - 山内 - mountain + inside
Yano - 矢野 - arrow + [uncultivated] field; plain
Yasuda - 安田 - calm + rice field.