Japanese Names and Armory

Entries marked "ST" were reviewed by Solveig Throndarsdottir.

NAMES

Koop & Inada. Japanese Names and How to Read Them.

Includes an informative introduction, although much of the information is post-period. (ST)

Nostrand, Barbara. Name Construction in Medieval Japan. Outlaw Press: 1993.

A book intended to be used by SCA members. Contains lots of information about Japanese names and naming practices. Considered a standard SCA source. (AF)

Plutschow, Herbert. Japan's Name Culture. Japan Library, St. John's Studios: Richmond, Surrey, 1995.

This book gives you a fairly good look at how names functioned in Japanese society. Written by a professor of Japanese. Somewhat difficult to use because it lacks tables. (ST)

NAMES--REGIONAL

Sakamaki, Shunzo. Ryukyuan Names. East-West Center Press: Honolulu, 1964.

Monographs on and list of personal and place names in the Ryukyus. Recommended for Ryukyuan names only. (JA)

ARMORY

Dower, John W., The Elements of Japanese Design, Weatherhill, 1971.

A recommended book for design ideas and symbolims used in Japanese armory. Extensively illustrated, though it does not cite sources.

Hawley, W. M., and K. K. Chappeleer, Mon: The Japanese Family Crest.

One of the standard SCA references on Japanese armory.

Matsuya Piece Good Store, Japanese Design Motifs, tr. Fumie Adashi, New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1972.

An ordinary of Japanese heraldry.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Gillis, I. V. & Pai Ping-Ch'i. Japanese Surnames. A comprehensive listing of Japanese personal names.

Gives no information about the name. Not a reliable source. (AF)

O'Neill, P.G. Japanese Names. John Weatherhill, Inc.: New York, 1972.

An undated list of names compiled in the mid-20'th century which lacks a bibliography. O'Neill's introduction makes it clear that his research method consisted of accumulating names regardless of source. An unreliable source for information. (ST)



This page maintained by Jim Trigg (known in the SCA as Blaise de Cormeilles), blaise@s-gabriel.org