＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Recently, we have been hearing the term “Kirakira Name” a lot, but have you heard of it?
1. What is a “Kirakira Name”?
A “Kirakira Name” is an unusual name that is considered to be significantly out of the norm. These are names that are hard to think of in terms of common sense, or names with many readings or guesses that are not in the “Jyouyo-Kanji Chart” or “Names”.
In the 2000s, they were apparently sometimes called “DQN(dokyun) names” on the Internet, and are also sometimes called “strange names” or “out-of-control Manyo-gana.”
2. Examples of “Kirakira Names”
Examples of “Kirakira Names(glittering names)” include the following
「苺愛」「黄熊」「七音」「姫奈」「希星」「彪雅」「愛羅」「今鹿」「姫星」「琉絆空」
They all seem to be Chinese or Korean names, and I can’t imagine how to read them at all.
The correct readings are apparently “Ichia (or Berry-a)”, “Puu”, “Doremi (or Onpu)”, “Hina (or Piina)”, “Kirara (or Kiti)”, “Hyuuga (or Ayasa)”, “Aira (or Tiara)”, “Naushika”, “Kirara (or Kiti)”, and “Rukia”.
3. problems with Kirakira Names
However, even when they tell me the “correct way to read it,” most of the readings leave me scratching my head, and as a member of the baby boomer generation, I can’t help but feel sorry for the child. I worry that the child will be teased or bullied at school in the future.
Kirakira Names also appear occasionally in the “Mebae” segment of Yomiuri TV’s evening information program “Kansai Information Network ten.”, a segment that introduces babies born today.
When foreigners acquire Japanese citizenship and adopt a Japanese name, there have been cases in the past where they assign kanji characters that sound similar to the original name. This is a convenient way to naturalize as a Japanese person by using “Manyo-gana” for the name, and is acceptable. (Ramos Ruy, Santos Alessandro, Lopes Wagner, etc.)
4. Background of the Increase in Kirakira Names
The reason why these “kirakira Names” have become more common seems to be due to the influence of celebrities giving their children unusual names.
The list is too long to list, including the couple Takuya Kimura and Shizuka Kudo’s “Kokomi(「心美（ここみ）」)” and “Mitsuki(「光希（みつき）」),” Koji Matoba’s “Tiara(「宝冠（てぃあら）」)” and “Garyu(「我流（がりゅう）」),” and Shungiku Uchida’s “Aruha(「在波（あるは）」),” “Beta(「紅多（べーた）」),” “Gamma(「紅甘（がんま）」),” and “Deruta(「出誕（でるた）」).”
5. Problems with accepting family register applications
By the way, is there any problem with these kinds of “Kirakira Names” being accepted by the family registry office?
First, without furigana, (almost) no one can read it. Although furigana appears on the resident’s card in Takatsuki City, it is not a required item, and some municipalities do not include it.
Furigana is not included in ordinary documents, of course, but also in family registers, My Number cards, driver’s licenses, etc. In the case of people with surnames that are pronounced differently than normal, such as Nissan’s President Saikawa(「西川（さいかわ）」), “furigana” may be added to warn people, but this is not usually done.
Similarly, “Nakajima（「中島」）” can be read in two ways, “Nakajima” or “Nakashima,” so strictly speaking you need to check which one it is, but in everyday life it isn’t much of an issue.
Second, as I touched on a bit earlier, is the negative impact on children. I believe that “yellow bears” (pooh)(「黄熊（ぷう）」), for example, are more likely to be bullied and teased, although not as much as “devil-boy(「悪魔くん」)” used to be. I am afraid that the children may “refuse to go to school” or become “shut-ins” and resent their parents.
Because it is a silly name, it could be a disadvantage when looking for a job, and even after entering the workforce, it could give the impression of being frivolous and careless when meeting people from other companies.
Even if you want to change your name, the process seems to be quite difficult.
In March 2019, there was news that a man named “Oji sama(王子様)
” filed a petition with the family court to change his name to “Hajime” (肇), which was approved. He was embarrassed and couldn’t stand being teased when introducing himself at school, for example.
Third, when accepting a birth certificate at the family registry section of the municipal office, is it not necessary to establish criteria to determine not only whether a kanji can be used for a “name” but also whether it is appropriate to read it as well?
Otherwise, I have a feeling that the self-satisfied and self-indulgent naming style of parents will spread endlessly.
As an aside, the naming controversy over “Devil boy(「悪魔くん」)” ended with the application to name the baby “Aku(「亜駆」)”.
However, his parents got divorced, his father was arrested for theft and other crimes, and “Aku” was placed in an orphanage.
As an aside, the name “Hamako（「破魔子」）” contains the character “ma（「魔」）” (demon), but just like “Hamaya（「破魔矢」）”, it means “to destroy evil and ward off disasters.” The real name of the famous female haiku poet, Nakamura Teijyo（中村汀女）, was Nakamura Hamako（中村破魔子）.
The word “aku(「悪」)” (evil) originally meant “strong, brave,” and this “aku” was sometimes used as a nickname. Minamoto no Yoshihira was a military commander in the Heian period and the half-brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, but he was nicknamed “Kamakura Akugenta（「鎌倉悪源太」）.”
In the first place, children’s names are usually given with “good” or “happy” meanings in the hope that they will be happy. We seldom give children names that are “evil,” “ominous,” or “morbid.
However, in “stage names,” sometimes people intentionally give unusual names, as in the case of Kyoji Sugi （杉狂児）(1903-1975), a comedic actor active from the prewar to postwar period.
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