III

[56]Lit., "Everlasting-Rock,"—but the ethical meaning is "Constancy-everlasting-as-the-Rocks." "Tokiwa" is a name famous both in history and tradition; for it was the name of the mother of Yoshitsuné. Her touching story,—and especially the episode of her flight through the deep snow with her boys,—has been a source of inspiration to generations of artists.

Place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are particularly difficult to explain. A child may be called after a place because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because of beliefs belonging to the old Chinese philosophy regarding direction and position, or because of traditionalcustom, or because of ideas connected with the religion of Shintō.

[57]Abbreviation ofMinami.

[58]I must confess that in classing this name as a place-name, I am only making a guess. It seems to me that the name probably refers to theichi no miya, or chief Shintō temple of some province.

[59]I fancy that this name, like that of O-Séki, must have originated in the custom of naming children after the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. But here again, I am guessing.

[60]This classification also is a guess. I could learn nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it is said to be unlucky.

The next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of theyobinacomprised in it. Some are really æsthetic and pleasing; others industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most disagreeable kind.

[61]Aya-Nishiki,—the famous figured damask brocade of Kyōto,—is probably referred to.

[62]O-Kama(Sickle) is a familiar peasant-name.O-Kama(caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other ugly names in this list are ' names. Servants in old time not only trained their children to become servants, but gave them particular names referring to their future labors.

The following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names. There are severalyobinaamong them of which I cannot find the emblematical meaning. Generally speaking, theyobinawhich signify precious substances, such as silver and gold, are æsthetic names; and those which signify common hard substances, such as stone, rock, iron, are intended to suggest firmness or strength of character. But the name "Rock" is also sometimes used as a symbol of the wish for long life, or long continuance of the family line. The curious nameSunahas nothing, however, to do with individual "grit": it is half-moral and half-æsthetic. Fine sand—especially colored sand—is much prized in this fairy-landof landscape-gardening, where it is used to cover spaces that must always be kept spotless and beautiful, and never trodden,—except by the gardener.

[63]I cannot find any explanation of this curious name.

[64]The Japanese name does not give the same quality of æsthetic sensation as the name Esmeralda. Theruriis not usually green, but blue; and the term "ruri-iro" (emerald color) commonly signifies a dark violet.

The following fiveyobinaare æsthetic names,—although literally signifying things belonging to intellectual work. Four of them, at least,refer to calligraphy,—the matchless calligraphy of the Far East,—rather than to anything that we should call "literarybeauty."

Names relating to number are very common, but also very interesting. They may be loosely divided into two sub-classes,—names indicating the order or the time of birth, and names of felicitation. SuchyobinaasIchi,San,Roku,Hachiusually refer to the order of birth; but sometimes they record the date of birth. For example, I know a person called O-Roku, who received this name, not because she was the sixth child born in the family, but because she entered this world upon the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth Meiji. It will be observed that the numbers Two, Five, and Nine are not represented in the list: the mere idea of such names asO-Ni,O-Go, orO-Kuseems to a Japanese absurd. I do not know exactly why,—unless it be that theysuggest unpleasant puns. The place ofO-Niis well supplied, however, by the nameO-Tsugi("Next"), which will be found in a subsequent list. Names signifying numbers ranging from eighty to a thousand, and upward, are names of felicitation. They express the wish that the bearer may live to a prodigious age, or that her posterity may flourish through the centuries.

[65]Such a name may record the fact that the girl was a first-born child, and the father fifty years old at the time of her birth.

[66]The "O" before this trisyllable seems contrary to rule; butHyakuis pronounced almost like a dissyllable.

[67]"Better half?"—the reader may query. But I believe that this name originated in the old custom of taking a single character of the father's name—sometimes also a character of the mother's name—to compose the child's name with. Perhaps in this case the name of the girl's father wasHanyémon, orHanbei.

Some few of the next group of names are probably æsthetic. But such names are sometimes given only in reference to the time or season of birth; and the reason for any particularyobinaof this class is difficult to decide without personal inquiry.

Names of animals—real or mythical—form another class ofyobina. A name of this kind generally represents the hope that the child will develop some quality or capacity symbolized by the creature after which it has been called. Names such as "Dragon," "Tiger," "Bear," etc., are intended in most cases to represent moral rather than other qualities. The moral symbolism of theKoi(Carp) is too well-known to require explanation here. The namesKaméandTsururefer to longevity.Koma, curious as the fact may seem, is a name of endearment.

[68]Cyprinus carpio.

[69]Chrysophris cardinalis.

[70]Sometimes this name is shortened intoO-Tsu. In Tōkyō at the present time it is the custom to drop the honorific "O" before such abbreviations, and to add to the name the suffix "chan,"—as in the case of children's names. Thus a young woman may be caressingly addressed as "Tsu-chan" (for O-Tsuru), "Ya-chan" (for O-Yasu), etc.

Evenyobinawhich are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of æsthetic meaning. The plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy; the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. The symbolism of the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. But such names asHana("Blossom ") andBen("Petal")are æsthetic in the true sense; and the Lily remains in Japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of feminine grace.

[71]Iris setosa, or Iris sibrisia.

[72]Wistaria chinensis.

[73]Imperata arundinacea.

[74]Torreya nucifera.

[75]Podocarpus chinensis.

[76]Yet this name may possibly have been written with the wrong character. There is anotheryobina, "Momo" signifying "hundred,"—as in the phrasemomo yo, "for a hundred ages."

[77]Scirpus maritimus.

[78]Cryptomeria Japonica.

[79]Cissus Thunbergii.

[80]A flower-name certainly; but theyaëhere is probably an abbreviation ofyaë-zakura, the double-flower of a particular species of cherry-tree.

[81]Brassica chinensis.

Names signifying light or color seem to us the most æsthetic of allyobina; and they probably seem so to the Japanese. Nevertheless the relative purport even of these names cannot be divined at sight. Colors have moral and other values in the old nature-philosophy; and an appellation that to the Western mind suggests only luminosity or beauty may actually referto moral or social distinction,—to the hope that the girl so named will become "illustrious."

[82]Mikais an abbreviation of Mikazuki, "the moon of the third night" [of the old lunar month].

[83]MidoriandMurasaki, especially the latter, should properly be classed with aristocraticyobina; and both are very rare. I could find neither in the collection of aristocratic names which was made for me from the records of the Peeresses' School; but I discovered a "Midori" in a list of middle-class names. Color-names being remarkably few amongyobina, I thought it better in this instance to group the whole of them together, independently of class-distinctions.

The following and final group of female names contains several queer puzzles. Japanese girls are sometimes named after the family crest; and heraldry might explain one or two of theseyobina. But why a girl should be called a ship, I am not sure of being able to guess. Perhaps some reader may be reminded of Nietzsche's "Little Brig called Angeline":—

"Angeline—they call me so—Now a ship, one time a maid,(Ah, and evermore a maid!)Love the steersman, to and fro,Turns the wheel so finely made."

But such a fancy would not enter into a Japanese mind. I find, however, in a list of family crests, two varieties of design representing a ship, twenty representing an arrow, and two representing a bow.

[84]Possibly this name belongs to the same class asO-Nui("Embroidery"),O-Somé("The Dyer"); but I am not sure.

[85]Probably a name of caress. The wordhinais applied especially to the little paper dolls made by hand for amusement,—representing young ladies with elaborate coiffure; and it is also given to the old-fashioned dolls representing courtly personages in full ceremonial costume. The true doll—doll-baby—is calledningyō.

[86]Perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound of thesuzu,—a tiny metal ball, with a little stone or other hard object inside, to make the ringing.—It is a pretty Japanese custom to put one of these littlesuzuin the silk charm-bag (mamori-bukero) which is attached to a child's girdle. Thesuzurings with every motion that the child makes,—somewhat like one of those tiny bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten.

Before passing on to the subject of aristocratic names, I must mention an old rule for Japanese names,—a curious rule that might help to account for sundry puzzles in the preceding lists. This rule formerly applied to all personal names,—masculine or feminine. It cannot be fully explained in the present paper; for a satisfactoryexplanation would occupy at least fifty pages. But, stated in the briefest possible way, the rule is that the first or "head-character" of a personal name should be made to "accord" (in the Chinese philosophic sense) with the supposedSei, or astrologically-determined nature, of the person to whom the name is given;—the required accordance being decided, not by the meaning, but by the sound of the Chinese written character. Some vague idea of the difficulties of the subject may be obtained from the accompanying table. (Page 143.)

PHONETIC RELATION of the FIVE ELEMENTAL-NATURES to the JAPANESE SYLLABARYPHONETIC RELATION of the FIVE ELEMENTAL-NATURES to the JAPANESE SYLLABARY

Forexamples of contemporary aristocratic names I consulted the reports of theKwazoku-Jogakkō(Peeresses' School), published between the nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of Meiji (1886-1895). The Kwazoku-Jogakkō admits other students besides daughters of the nobility; but for present purposes the names of the latter only—to the number of one hundred and forty-seven—have been selected.

It will be observed that names of three or more syllables are rare among these, and alsothat the modern aristocraticyobinaof two syllables, as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinaryyobina. But as written in Chinese they differ greatly from other female names, being in most cases represented by characters of a complex and unfamiliar kind. The use of these more elaborate characters chiefly accounts for the relatively large number of homonyms to be found in the following list:—

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