ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3157 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3157 ************************************ 23 Aug 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a Japanese man living between 1000 and 1600. You also asked if we could recommend simple Japanese kamon. Here is what we have found. Starting in the late Heian period (12th century) onwards, members of the noble class in period Japan used three part names: The nanori was the name which appeared on official documents, and was the name that a warrior proclaimed before combat with a worthy adversary; the use of a nanori was a privilege confined to the male members of the courtier and military classes. The yobina was essentially a second given name, used socially; the yobina was not a nickname, but rather a less formal name used in conversation. We found the family name in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), so it's a fine choice for the latter half of your period. [1] was pronounced roughly \mah-tsoo-dye-rah\, where the vowel in \dye\ is the diphthong \AH-ee\. We were unable to find any pre-modern examples of the yobina . You said you chose this because you were born in the year of the dragon. We were unable to find any yobina which use the kanji 'dragon'; the only names which use this kanji that we found are the family name , used between 1336 and 1392, and a feminine yobina. [2] We did, however, find a number of yobina containing the kanji 'first son', including the following: [3] Names with meanings of "First Son" Tarou 1600 [First Son] Genkutarou 1600 Boy / Young Scholar Kentarou 1600 Build/Construct Kutarou 1568 Longtime Matatarou 1600 Next Yatarou 1438 Nostalgic Yo'ichitarou 1183 Team Up + One Yogotarou 1600 Team Up Yotarou 1600 Team Up Names with meanings of "One" Yo'ichitarou 1183 Team Up + First Son Names with meanings of "Second Son" Jirou 1600 [Second Son] Genjirou 1600 Origin Kojirou 1568 Small Matajirou 1600 Next Sonjirou 1600 Grandchild Soujirou 1600 Master an Art Zenjirou 1600 Perform Well Names with meanings of "Third Son" Saburou 1572 [Third Son] Gensaburou 1438 Origin Hikosaburou 1572 Boy / Young Scholar Names with meanings of "Five" Gorou 1575 Son [i.e. Fifth Son] Fujigorou 1600 Wisteria Gengorou 1600 Origin Jogorou 1600 Rescue Songorou 1600 Grandchild Yogotarou 1600 Team Up + Fifth Son Zengorou 1568 Perform Well Names with meanings of "Six" Rokurou 1332 [Sixth Son] Names with meanings of "Nine" Kurou 1332 Son [i.e. Ninth Son] Genutarou 1600 Young Scholar + Son [literally Young Scholar + Nine + First Son] Jinkurou 1568 Terrible + Son Names with meanings of "Ten" Juurou 1332 Son Others Hachirou 1600 Eighth Son Jirou 1600 Next Son Matashirou 1568 [Next + Fourth Son] Soujirou 1600 Perfect Second Son The meanings in the third column are the meanings for the other kanji in the name. Any of these would be a fine choice for your yobina. We found a number of nanori which beginning with a kanji , all found in the Hei'an period (794-1185): [4] "obligation / fealty / foster child" Yoshi'aki Yoshi'aki (different 2nd kanji) Yoshihira Yoshikiyo Yoshiku'ni Yoshimori Yoshisada Yoshishige Yoshitada Yoshitaka Yoshitomo Yoshitsu'ne Yoshitsu'ne (different 2nd kanji) Yoshiyasu Yoshiyuki Yoshiza'ne Yoshizumi "good / superior" Yoshimichi "talent / ability" Yoshimori "affection / desire" Yoshikata There are also a number which end with these kanji; if you are interested in one of these, please write us again and we'll make a list for you. Note that all of these nanori come from the Hei'an era, which is before the Muromachi period in which is found. We're not certain that any of these nanori remained in use until the Muromachi period. We'll be happy to research any particular nanori you are interested in further; also, we'll be happy to give you pronunciations for any of the elements listed above which appeal to you. We believe that the article on kamon that you were looking at, "Daimyo flags, 15th - 17th century (Japan)" http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/jp-kuni.html is a reasonable guide to later-period kamon style. We also recommend the following article as a good guide: "A Roll of Japanese Armory" http://www.s-gabriel.org/heraldry/solveig/kamon/ We recommend that you pick one or two elements from the designs in these articles and combine them into a new design. [5] Kamon tended to be very simple in style, using only one or two charges, and geometric patterns were common. Kamon didn't use colors in the same way that western European heraldry did; instead, kamon were designed in terms of light and dark (usually white and black). We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Ines Alfon, Juetta Copin, Mari neyn Brian, Rian mag Uidir, Ari Ansson, and Eleyne de Comnocke. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 23 August 2006 -- References: [1] Solveig Throndardottir, _Name Construction in Mediaeval Japan_ (Carlsbad, N. Mex.: The Outlaw Press, 1994; Potboiler Press, 1999 [Box 30171, Columbia, MO 65205]), p. 322 [2] ibid., p. 174 [3] ibid., pp. 211-15 [4] ibid., p. 212 [5] In general, you probably don't need to worry about conflicting with the designs in this article, as most of these the SCA College of Arms probably won't consider important enough to protect from conflict.