Who's on first?
If you count variations in spelling and pronunciation, English-speaking parents have endless choices when it comes to naming their bundle of joy. But in Japan, the total is about 2,200—so far.
Although there are tens of thousands of Japanese characters, parents are limited to specific baby names that have been sanctioned by the Japanese Justice Ministry. In 2004, the ministry considered 578 new additions to the official list, responding to parents who longed to name their children Strawberry, Sardine, Turnip, Frog, and Spider. Ha ha, right? But wait, they also asked for Beetle, Agony, Cancer, and Dung. And although it might be confusing a la Abbott and Costello, Japan's Pete Townsend fans want to name their children Who, as well.
Japan's baby name list currently clocks in at 2,232 characters. That's a good deal of choice, considering that any given Japanese person only knows how to read and write between 2,000 to 3,000 characters. If people couldn't read your name, it would be chaos, and so the government began to put the curbs on names right after World War II.
Kanji, the written Japanese based on Chinese ideograms, is different from spoken Japanese, but only kanji can be officially used to register a baby's name in the greater five islands of Japan. Children with names that contain any "banned characters" can't be entered in the family register—an official document for all Japanese nationals—until little Beetle's parents change his name. Without national registry recognition, it would be as if you do not exist.
Every now and again the list of approved baby names is revised to reflect trends, but generally the Japanese frown on too many western influences. Since a lot of Japanese names convey worthy traits such as bravery, strength, endurance, and beauty, characters that connote malignancy and death are given the thumbs down. Sorry Cancer and Dung!
Although there are tens of thousands of Japanese characters, parents are limited to specific baby names that have been sanctioned by the Japanese Justice Ministry. In 2004, the ministry considered 578 new additions to the official list, responding to parents who longed to name their children Strawberry, Sardine, Turnip, Frog, and Spider. Ha ha, right? But wait, they also asked for Beetle, Agony, Cancer, and Dung. And although it might be confusing a la Abbott and Costello, Japan's Pete Townsend fans want to name their children Who, as well.
Japan's baby name list currently clocks in at 2,232 characters. That's a good deal of choice, considering that any given Japanese person only knows how to read and write between 2,000 to 3,000 characters. If people couldn't read your name, it would be chaos, and so the government began to put the curbs on names right after World War II.
Kanji, the written Japanese based on Chinese ideograms, is different from spoken Japanese, but only kanji can be officially used to register a baby's name in the greater five islands of Japan. Children with names that contain any "banned characters" can't be entered in the family register—an official document for all Japanese nationals—until little Beetle's parents change his name. Without national registry recognition, it would be as if you do not exist.
Every now and again the list of approved baby names is revised to reflect trends, but generally the Japanese frown on too many western influences. Since a lot of Japanese names convey worthy traits such as bravery, strength, endurance, and beauty, characters that connote malignancy and death are given the thumbs down. Sorry Cancer and Dung!
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