Japanese Name - Japanese Names in English

Japanese Names in English

Beginning in Meiji Era Japan, in many English-language publications the naming order of modern day Japanese people is reversed from the traditional Japanese naming order, with the family name after the given name, instead of the given name after the family name. Japanese people adopted using western naming order in European languages as a part of the Meiji era adoption of aspects of western culture, as part of proving to the wider world that Japan was a developed country rather than an undeveloped country. When Japanese people attended events for the international community, such as balls, Japanese people used the western naming order.

Most foreign publications reverse the names of modern individuals, and most Japanese reverse their own names when creating materials for foreign consumption. A Japanese executive or official usually has two business cards (meishi): one in Japanese and intended for fellow Japanese, using Japanese order, and another intended for foreigners, with the name in Western order. In popular journalism publications, western order is used.

In English many historical figures are still referred to with the family name first. This is especially the case in scholarly works about Japan. Some books use western order for modern Japanese people and Japanese order for pre-Meiji era figures. Some books do not have consistent naming order practices. Shizuka Saeki of Look Japan said, "This is not only a headache for writers and translators, it is also a source of confusion for readers." Lynne E. Riggs of the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators (SWET), a professional writing organization headquartered in Tokyo, said, "When you publish a book about Japan, you are publishing it for people who want to know about Japan. So they are interested in learning something new or something as it is supposed to be."

Edith Terry, author of How Asia Got Rich, said that because Japanese people are "mastering" a "Western game" people have some pride and at the same time feel insecurity because the "game" is on "Western terms" rather than "Japanese terms." The standard presentation of Japanese names in English differs from the standard presentations of modern Chinese names, since modern Chinese names are usually not reversed to fit the western order in English, except when the Chinese person is living or traveling outside of China. Terry said, "it was one of the ironies of the late twentieth century that Japan remained stranded in the formal devices underlining its historical quest for equality with the West, while China set its own terms, in language as in big-power politics."

Saeki said in 2001 that most Japanese people writing in English use western order, but that some figures began to promote the usage of Japanese order as Japan became a major economic power in the 20th century. The Japan Style Sheet, a 1998 guide for producing English language works about Japan written by SWET, advocates the usage of the Japanese naming order as often as possible because the translators wanted to promote a consistency in naming order. In 1987, one publisher of English language textbooks in Japan used Japanese order, while in 2001 six of the eight publishers of English language textbooks in Japan use Japanese order. In December 2000 the Council on the National Language of the Ministry of Education recommended that English language productions begin using the Japanese naming order because "it is in general desirable that personal names be presented and written in a way that preserves their unique forms, except for registries and other documents with specific standards." It recommended using capitalization (YAMADA Taro) or commas (Yamada, Taro) to clarify which part of the personal name is the family name and which part is the given name. In a January 2000 opinion poll from the Agency for Cultural Affairs on the preferred order of Japanese names in the English language, 34.9% had a preference for Japanese order, 30.6% had a preference for Western order, and 29.6% had no preference. In 1986 the Japan Foundation decided that it would use the Japanese naming order in all of its publications. A Japan Foundation publishing division spokesperson stated around 2001 that some SWET publications, including popular anglophone newspapers, continue to use western order. As of 2001 the agency's style sheet recommends using a different naming order style depending upon the context. For instance it advocates using the western order in publications for readers who are not familiar with Japan, such as international conference papers.