Reon Yuzuki and Nene Yumesaki Almost everyone knows about Japanese anime – you know, that East Asian medium that has been blasting through the West’s youth for the past few decades. You’ve probably also heard your share of Japanese pop and rock, including the visual kei that depicts heavy rocking men in long hair, heavy…
Last week I discussed Japanese naming conventions for first names. This week, it’s family land ville!Most of you are probably familiar with the Eastern convention of putting the family name first, then the given name last. (Japanese people, at least, usually do not have middle names.) This puts prominence on the family name, which is…
(Part 1 will deal with given names. Please see next week for Part 2, which will be about family names!) To the unfamiliar ear, Japanese names may sound, well, foreign. By this I mean they’re hard to remember (woe to your new Japanese friends) or just plain weird sounding. Of course, to the Japanese (and…