E If you have Japanese acquaintances or are just enjoying Japanese video games with anime, then there are a few surnames with which you are familiar. Sato and Suzuki are by far the most common in Japan. However, Takahashi and Tanaka are not much inferior to them in popularity.

But what about the opposite? Myoji Yurai Net, a Japanese family name database, recently released a study that analyzed data from government statistics and phone books to compile a list of 30 of the rarest Japanese last names.

30. Ikari /

Value: 50 villages(about 1000 people)

While the meaning may not be as dramatic when written with different hieroglyphs, this surname can also mean "anger" or "anchor." According to a study by Myoji Yurai Net, approximately 1,300 people throughout Japan have this surname.

29. Shio /

Meaning: The salt (about 920 people)

For reference, this is not a name that etymologically refers to the word "salt", but it is spelled and pronounced exactly like shio, the Japanese word for table salt.

28. Shikichi /

Meaning: The construction site(about 850 people)

27. Tsukumo /

Value: 99

Why not 100? Unfortunately, the answer was not given(about 700 people)

26. Ichibangase /

Meaning: the first rapids, the first jambs(about 440 people)

25. Myoga /

Meaning: The Japanese Ginger (about 330 people)

24. Kai /

Meaning: The shell, the shellfish(about 330 people)

23. Jinja /

Meaning: A Shinto shrine (roughly 270 people)

22. Akasofu /

Meaning: The red grandpa(about 240 people)

Although many japanese names are a reflection environment, those that link to people are much less likely to use a particular color.

21. Kon /

Meaning: The root(about 230 people)

"Hey, wait a second," anime fans say, "What about the respected Perfect Blue and Paprika director Satoshi Kon?" In fact, the late director's last name was written in kanji.which means "now". Although it is also a somewhat unusual surname, it is not as rare as this one based on the plant's rhizome.

20. Hirawa /

Meaning: The Plain of Harmony(about 170 people)

19. Botan /

Meaning: The peony (about 130 people)

References to trees are common in Japanese surnames. For example, Matsuda means "pine forest", while Sugimoto means "original cedar". Flowers are less common, especially when the name matches exactly the name of the flowers.

18. Taue /

Meaning: The planting of rice(about 130 people)

17. Keana /

Meaning: (skin) pores(about 120 people)

16. Mizoroge /

Meaning: The revered body of the Bodhisattva(about 120 people)

15. Senju /

Meaning: The teacher(about 110 people)

While senu is a fairly old school term used for a teaching instructor, the kanji characters are the same ones used to spell sensei, in a standard way contacting teachers and doctors at japanese.

14. Suisha /

Meaning: The water wheel, the mill(about 90 people)

13. Kyoto /

Meaning: Kyoto, the former capital of Japan(about 90 people)

Surnames, which are also place names, are not quite common in Japan. In many cases, these are coincidences born of a reference to the natural landscape that serves as the inspiration for the family name and location. Chiba ("thousand leaves") and Matsumoto ("primordial pine") are very popular surnames, but they are also a prefecture and a city, respectively.

On the other hand, Kyoto means "capital", which makes this surname derived from an already established place.

12. Momo /

Meaning: One hundred hundred(about 80 people)

Momo is also the Japanese word for peach, but in the case of fruit, kanji is used instead. Even stranger, the Japanese already have a word for a hundred hundred people, which means "ten thousand."

11. Wamuro /

Meaning: The harmonious number(about 60 people)

While the original intent was probably a favorable allusion to a peaceful home and family, can also be read like a verse, a room in japanese style from floor covering from the tatami.

10. Tokei /

Meaning: The clock (about 50 people)

9. Nosaku /

Meaning: agricultural products(about 40 people)

8. Kajiyashiki /

Meaning: The blacksmith's mansion(about 30 people)

7. Gogatsu /

Value: May (month)(about 30 people)

Only about 30 people in Japan have this last name. Unfortunately, there is no data on how many of them are women with the name Satsuki, which also means "may" and should be written in the same kanji.

6. Hime /

Meaning: The Princess(about 30 people)

5. Higasa /

Meaning: The umbrella(about 20 people)

4. Iekami /

Meaning: The home god(about 10 people)

3. Dango /

Meaning: The dumplings or Japanese mochi balls on a stick, usually served with a sauce.

So far, we've only seen a couple of food names on this list. This dish, (although only about 10 people in Japan bear this surname), is the first dessert.

2. Hinode /

Meaning: The sunrise(about 10 people)

1. Mikan /

Meaning: The Japanese mandarin orange(less than 10 people)

We do not know how interesting and useful this hit parade was for expanding your horizons, but we think now you can better understand the surprise or even admiration of one of the anime or game characters when he finds out that the name of his interlocutor is Wamuro or evenHinode.

On February 13, 1875, the new, modernized and westernized Meiji government passed a bill requiring all citizens to register their surnames.

Many, regardless of social status, had surnames - officially or not, legal or not. Those who did not have surnames had to come up with them.

By Asian standards, modern Japan is unusually rich in surnames: there are about 100 thousand of them, while in China - whose population is 10 times the population of Japan - there are only a few thousand surnames, and in Korea - about two hundred.

The five most common surnames in Japan are Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka, and Watanabe. Why? Where did they come from? Shukan Josei (6th November issue) did a little investigation, the main source of which was Hiroshi Morioka's “Myoji no Himitsu” (“Myoji no Himitsu”).

The particle "-to" in the surname "Sato" means "wisteria", "fuji", which immediately refers to the Fujiwara clan, which ruled during the Heian period (794-1185). "Sa-" is an alternative reading of "suke" - a title in the bureaucratic system. Then all of today's 2 million Sato are descendants of Fujiwara? It is argued that it is, to one degree or another, regardless of whether it is verifiable or not. The surname is mostly common in eastern Japan, with the exception of Hiroshima, Tokushima and Oita prefectures. Why is that? Because after the first civil war that took place between the Genji and Heike clans at the end of the 12th century, western Heike was defeated, and their lands were ceded to eastern Sato, who came to their place and took control.

How many of the current 1.8 million Suzuki know that their surname in the local dialect of the Kii Peninsula originally meant "a bale of rice straw"? Now the Suzuki surname is most common in eight prefectures of the Kanto and Tokai regions, and in the 19 remaining prefectures it is among the ten most common.

Takahashi is the most common of the many surnames deriving from local names, in fact, even a few names. Takahashi means "high bridge". Today bridges can be found anywhere, but in the old days they were quite rare, so much so that they clearly distinguished the area in which they were located. The names of Hashimoto (literally "the base of the bridge"), Ohashi ("big bridge") and Ishibashi ("stone bridge") are also associated with bridges.

The surname Tanaka also has a topographic origin and means "in the middle of a rice field." The family, who owned a vast rice field with a house in the middle, naturally wanted to celebrate their prosperity. The name "Tanaka" was quite suitable for this purpose. Nowadays, this surname is one of the ten most common in 34 prefectures.

Watanabe, like Takahashi, was originally a geographical name and is related to the modern Osaka prefecture, where the descendants of Emperor Saga, who ruled in the 8th century, settled. The modern bearers of this surname - there are about 1.4 million of them - apparently can boast of a little blue blood flowing in their veins.

Rounding out the ten most common surnames is Ito, Yamamoto, Nakamura, Kobayashi and Kato.

For the Japanese, a beautiful combination of first and last name is the main thing. They see it as a difficult science. It is known that the choice of a name for a child, they only trust people who specialize in this. Due to such a serious attitude towards the choice of names, in the same village you can never hear the same names of guys and girls. In Japan, there is no such thing as a "namesake", but this is because the Japanese prefer to use their surnames rather than their names, which, by the way, are numerous.

First name after last name

Japanese names consist of two appended names: family name and personal name. In Japan, in turn, the surname is the main one, it is written and said first everywhere. Modern Japanese are used to writing their first and last name, like Europeans, but in order to designate their main name, they write it with capital letters. Europeans do not attach importance to such a strange and serious attitude of the Japanese towards their surnames, which is why misunderstandings arise related to the reading, translation and transcription of Japanese names and surnames.

Until the second half of the 19th century, only aristocrats and samurai possessed surnames in Japan, even their wives did not have the honor of bearing a surname. The rest of the population had only nicknames and personal names. The most notable were the clans of aristocrats - Fuji, which had the general name "Gosetsuke". Today in the dictionary of Japanese surnames, there are 100,000 family names, of which about 70,000 appeared 135 years ago (for comparison: in Europe 50,000, in China a couple of hundred, in Korea about 160, in Russia about 85,000, in the USA more than 1 million surnames). During the reign of His Grace (1868–1911), the reigning emperor Mutsuhito ordered all Japanese peasants to choose any surname for their family. The Japanese were shocked by this idea, many did not know what to think of at all. Someone wrote the name of their settlement, someone the name of their store, and creative people themselves came up with an unusual surname, consonant with the name.

The surname is a hereditary name for the genus, which in Japan is passed from father to children, wives almost always take the husband's surname.

The first legislative act on Japanese surnames appeared in 1870, it stated that every Japanese should take a surname. By this time, 35 million of the population (descendants of aristocrats and samurai) had surnames.

Surnames in Japanese are 70% composed of two characters. It is very rare to find a surname of 3 or more hieroglyphs.

Surname types

The first type includes surnames indicating the place of residence. The dictionary of Japanese surnames considers this type to be the leading one. Often, it uses not only the names of settlements, but also the names of trees, rivers, areas, settlements, reservoirs, etc.

Very often, Japanese surnames are associated with peasant life, growing rice and harvesting (almost 60%), you can rarely find an interesting or simply beautiful (from the point of view of a Russian-speaking person) surname.

The second type includes surnames formed as a result of simple professions. For example, "Inukai" - in translation this word means nothing more than "dog breeder."

The third type includes individual nicknames.

Rare but well-aimed beautiful surnames

Here is a small list of popular, beautiful and unusual surnames:

• Akiyama - autumn;
• Araki is a tree;
• Baba is a horse;
• Vada - rice field;
• Yoshida - happiness;
• Yoshikawa is a river;
• Kaneko - gold;
• Mizuno - water;
• Suzuki - bell;
• Takagi is a tall tree;
• Fukui - happiness;
• Homma - good luck;
• Yano is an arrow.

Common surname

In Japan, surnames are not gendered. One surname suits both men and women.

Earlier, Japanese law stipulated that a husband and wife must have the same surname. Until 1946, only the husband's surname could be married, but the constitution, written in the post-war period, abolished this inequality. Modern Japanese can choose a surname at will, even a husband or wife, but according to the traditions of the old times, spouses stop at the surname of a man.

For Russian people, all Japanese names and surnames seem interesting and unusual. But there are those whose translation sounds like real music.

This, for example:

• Igarashi - 50 storms;
• Katayama is a wild well;
• Kikuchi is a chrysanthemum.

Common surnames in Japan

The most popular Japanese surnames in alphabetical order are, of course, offered by the dictionary of Japanese surnames. Among the surnames on:

• AND - Ando, \u200b\u200bArai, Araki, Asano, Akiyama, Asayama.
• AND - Imai, Ito, Iwasaki, Iwata, Igarasti, Iida, Inoe, Ishida (despite the similarity of sound, she has nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian goddess), Ishihara, Ichikawa.
• TO - Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Kaneko, Kitano.
• M - Maruyama, Masuda, Morimoto, Matila.
• H - Nakahara, Narita, Nakanishi.
• ABOUT - Oyama, Okazaki, Okumura, Ogiva, Ootsuoka.
• FROM - Saida, Sato, Sano, Sakurai, Shibada, Shima.
• T - Tachibana, Takaki, Takeguchi.
• Have - Ueda, Uematsu, Ueno, Uchida.
• F - Fujii, Fukushima, Fujimomo, Fujiwra
• X - Hattori, Hattochi, Hirai, Hirata, Hirosa, Homma, Hori.
• C - Tsubaki, Tsuji, Tsuchiya
• I - Yamamura, Yano, Yamanaka, Yamamoto, Yamashita, Yamauchi, Yasuda, Yamashita.

As well as Enomoto, Yumake also belong to the list of popular and widespread, according to the data that the dictionary of Japanese surnames offers.

A Japanese name (人名 jimmei) today usually consists of a generic first name (surname) followed by a personal name.

Names are usually written using kanji, which can have many different pronunciations on different occasions.

Modern Japanese names can be compared to names in many other cultures. All Japanese have a single surname and a single name without a patronymic, with the exception of the Japanese imperial family, whose members do not have a surname. Girls who marry princes also lose their surnames.

In Japan, the surname comes first, then the name. At the same time, in Western languages \u200b\u200b(often in Russian), Japanese names are written in reverse order first name - last name - according to European tradition. For convenience, the Japanese sometimes write their surname in CAPITAL letters so that it is not confused with the given name.

Names in Japan are often created independently from existing characters, so the country has a huge number of unique names. Surnames are more traditional and most often go back to toponyms. There are significantly more names in Japanese than surnames. Male and female names differ due to their characteristic components and structure. Reading Japanese proper names is one of the most difficult elements of the Japanese language.

The surname in Japanese is called myoji (苗 字 or 名字), uji (氏) or sei (姓).

For a long time, the vocabulary of the Japanese language was divided into two types: wago (Japanese 和 語 "Japanese language") - originally Japanese words and kango (Japanese 漢語 Chineseism) - borrowed from China. Names are also divided into these types, although now a new type is actively expanding - gairaigo (jap. 外来 語) - words borrowed from other languages, but components of this type are rarely used in names.

Modern Japanese names fall into the following groups:
kunny (consisting of wagos),
onny (consisting of kango),
mixed.
The ratio of kun and onny surnames is about 80% to 20%.

The overwhelming majority of surnames in the Japanese language consist of two hieroglyphs, less often there are surnames of one or three characters, and four- or more-digit surnames are quite rare.

Male names are the most difficult part of Japanese proper names to read, namely in male names non-standard nanori readings and rare readings are very common, strange changes to some components, although there are also easy-to-read names. For example, the names Kaworu (薫), Shigekazu (薫) and Kungoro: (薫 五郎) use the same hieroglyph 薫 ("flavor"), but each name reads it differently; and the common main component of yoshi names can be written in 104 different characters and their combinations. Sometimes reading is not at all connected with written hieroglyphs, so it happens that only the bearer himself can read the name correctly.

Japanese female names, unlike male names, in most cases have a simple kunu reading and a clear and understandable meaning. Most female names are composed according to the “main component + indicator” scheme, however, there are names without an indicative component. Sometimes female names can be written in full hiragana or katakana. Also, sometimes, there are names with on-line reading, and also new non-Chinese borrowings (gairaigo) are found only in female names.

Ancient names and surnames

Before the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats (kuge) and samurai (bushi) had surnames. The rest of the population of Japan was content with personal names and nicknames.

Women of aristocratic and samurai families also usually did not have surnames, since they did not have the right to inherit. In those cases when women did have surnames, they did not change them upon marriage.

The surnames were divided into two groups - the surnames of the aristocrats and the surnames of the samurai.

Unlike the number of samurai surnames, the number of aristocratic surnames has practically not increased since ancient times. Many of them date back to the priestly past of the Japanese aristocracy.

The most respected and respected clans of aristocrats were: Konoe, Takashi, Kujo, Ichijou and Gojo. They all belonged to the Fujiwara clan and had a common name - "Gosetsuke". From among the men of this kind, regents (sessho) and chancellors (kampaku) of Japan were appointed, and from among women, wives for the emperors were chosen.

The clans of Hirohata, Daigo, Kuga, Oimikado, Sayonji, Sanjo, Imidegawa, Tokudaiji and Kaoin were the next most prominent. Among them, the highest state dignitaries were appointed. For example, representatives of the Sayonji clan served as imperial stables (meryo no gogen). Next came all the other aristocratic clans.

The hierarchy of nobility of aristocratic families began to take shape in the 6th century and lasted until the end of the 11th century, when the power in the country passed to the samurai. Among them, the clans Genji (Minamoto), Heike (Taira), Hojo, Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Shimazu, Oda enjoyed special respect. A number of their representatives in different time were the shoguns (military rulers) of Japan.

The personal names of aristocrats and high-ranking samurai were formed from two kanji (hieroglyphs) of the "noble" meaning.

The personal names of samurai servants and peasants were often given according to the principle of "numbering". The first son is Ichiro, the second is Jiro, the third is Saburo, the fourth is Shiro, the fifth is Goro, etc. Also, in addition to "-ro", the suffixes "-emon", "-dzi", "-dzo", "-suke", "-be" were used for this purpose.

Upon the entry of a samurai into his youth, he chose a different name for himself than what he was given at birth. Sometimes samurai changed their names throughout adulthood, for example, to emphasize the onset of her new period (promotion or move to another place of service). The lord had the right to rename his vassal. In the case of a serious illness, the name was sometimes changed to the name of Buddha Amida in order to invoke his mercy.

According to the rules of samurai fights, before the fight, the samurai had to name his full nameso that the opponent can decide whether he is worthy of such an opponent. Of course, in life this rule was observed much less often than in novels and chronicles.

At the end of the names of girls from noble families, the suffix "-hime" was added. It is often translated as "princess", but in fact it was used in relation to all noble young ladies.

The suffix "-gozen" was used for the names of samurai wives. Often they were called simply by the name and title of their husband. The personal names of married women were practically used only by their close relatives.

For the names of monks and nuns from the noble classes, the suffix "-in" was used.

Modern names and surnames

During the Meiji Restoration, all Japanese were given surnames. Naturally, most of them were associated with various signs of peasant life, especially with rice and its processing. These surnames, like those of the upper class, were also usually composed of two kanji.

The most common Japanese surnames now are Suzuki, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Saito, Sato, Sasaki, Kudo, Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Ito, Murakami, Oonishi, Yamaguchi, Nakamura, Kuroki, Higa.

Male names have changed less. They all also often depend on the "serial number" of the son in the family. The suffixes "-ichi" and "-kazu", meaning "first son," are often used, as well as the suffixes "-ji" ("second son") and "-dzo" ("third son").

Most Japanese female names end in “-ko” (“child”) or “-mi” (“beauty”). Girls, as a rule, are given names related by meaning to everything beautiful, pleasant and feminine. Unlike male names, female names are usually not written in kanji, but in hiragana.

Some modern girls do not like the ending "-ko" in their names and prefer to omit it. For example, a girl named "Yuriko" might call herself "Yuri".

According to the law passed during the time of Emperor Meiji, after marriage, the husband and wife are legally required to adopt the same surname. In 98% of cases, this is the name of the husband.

After death, the Japanese receives a new, posthumous name (kaimyo), which is written on a special wooden tablet (ihai). This tablet is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is used in memorial rites. Kaimyo and ihai are bought from Buddhist monks - sometimes even before a person's death.

Japanese surnames and their meaning

Abe - 阿 部 - corner, shadow; sector
Akiyama - 秋山 - autumn + mountain
Ando: - 安藤 - calm + wisteria
Aoki - 青木 - green, young + tree
Arai - 新 井 - new well
Arai - 荒 井 - wild well
Araki - 荒木 - wild + tree
Asano - 浅 野 ／ 淺 野 - shallow + [uncultivated] field; plain
Baba - 馬 場 - horse + seat
Wada - 和田 - harmony + rice field
Watanabe - 渡 辺 ／ 渡邊 - cross + surroundings
Watanabe - 渡 部 - to cross + part; sector;
Goto: - 後 藤 - behind, future + wisteria
Yokota - 横 田 - side + rice field
Yokoyama - 横山 - side, side of the mountain
Yoshida - 吉田 - happiness + rice field
Yoshikawa - 吉川 - happiness + river
Yoshimura - 吉 村 - happiness + village
Yoshioka - 吉岡 - happiness + hill
Iwamoto - 岩 本 - rock + base
Iwasaki - 岩崎 - rock + cape
Iwata - 岩田 - rock + rice field
Igarashi - 五十 嵐 - 50 storms
Yendo: - 遠藤 - distant + wisteria
Iida - 飯 田 - boiled rice, food + rice field
Ikeda - 池田 - pond + rice field
Imai - 今井 - now + well
Inoe - 井上 - well + top
Ishibashi - 石橋 - stone + bridge
Ishida - 石田 - stone + rice field
Ishii - 石井 - stone + well
Ishikawa - 石川 - stone + river
Ishihara - 石 原 - stone + plain, field; steppe
Ichikawa - 市 川 - city + river
Ito - 伊 東 - one, he + east
Ito: - 伊藤 - I + wisteria
Kawaguchi - 川口 - river + mouth, entrance
Kawakami - 川 上 - river + top
Kawamura - 川村 - river + village
Kawasaki - 川 崎 - river + cape
Kamata - 鎌 田 - sickle, scythe + rice field
Kaneko - 金子 - gold + child
Katayama - 片 山 - piece + mountain
Kato: - 加藤 - add + wisteria
Kikuchi - 菊 地 - chrysanthemum + earth
Kikuchi - 菊池 - chrysanthemum + pond
Kimura - 木村 - tree + village
Kinoshita - 木 下 - wood + under, bottom
Kitamura - 北 村 - north + village
Ko: no - 河野 - river + [uncultivated] field; plain
Kobayashi - 小林 - small forest
Kojima - 小島 - small + island
Koike - 小池 - small + pond
Komatsu - 小松 - small pine tree
Condo - 近藤 - close + wisteria
Konishi - 小 西 - small + west
Koyama - 小山 - small mountain
Kubo - 久保 - long + support
Kubota - 久保 田 - long + maintain + rice field
Kudo: - 工藤 - worker + wisteria
Kumagai - 熊 谷 - bear + valley
Kurihara - 栗 原 - chestnut + plain, field; steppe
Kuroda - 黒 田 - black rice field
Maruyama - 丸山 - round + mountain
Masuda - 増 田 - increase + rice field
Matsubara - 松原 - pine + plain, field; steppe
Matsuda - 松田 - pine + rice field
Matsui - 松井 - pine + well
Matsumoto - 松本 - pine + base
Matsumura - 松 村 - pine + village
Matsuo - 松尾 - pine + tail
Matsuoka - 松岡 - pine + hill
Matsushita - 松下 - pine + under, bottom
Matsuura - 松浦 - pine + bay
Maeda - 前 田 - behind + rice field
Mizuno - 水 野 - water + [uncultivated] field; plain
Minami - 南 - south
Miura - 三浦 - three bays
Miyazaki - 宮 崎 - temple, palace + cape
Miyake - 三 宅 - three houses
Miyamoto - 宮本 - temple, palace + base
Miyata - 宮 田 - temple, palace + rice field
Mori - 森 - forest
Morimoto - 森 本 - forest + base
Morita - 森田 - forest + rice field
Mochizuki - 望月 - full moon
Murakami - 村上 - village + top
Murata - 村田 - village + rice field
Nagai - 永 井 - eternal well
Nagata - 永田 - eternal rice field
Naito - 内藤 - inside + wisteria
Nakagawa - 中 川 - middle + river
Nakajima ／ Nakashima - 中 島 - middle + island
Nakamura - 中 村 - middle + village
Nakanishi - 中西 - west + middle
Nakano - 中 野 - middle + [uncultivated] field; plain
Nakata ／ Nakada - 中 田 - middle + rice field
Nakayama - 中山 - middle + mountain
Narita - 成 田 - to form + rice field
Nishida - 西 田 - west + rice field
Nishikawa - 西川 - west + river
Nishimura - 西村 - west + village
Nishiyama - 西山 - west + mountain
Noguchi - 野 口 - [uncultivated] field; plain + mouth, entrance
Noda - 野 田 - [uncultivated] field; plain + rice field
Nomura - 野村 - [uncultivated] field; plain + village
Ogawa - 小川 - small river
Oda - 小田 - small rice field
Ozawa - 小 沢 ／ 小澤 - small swamp
Ozaki - 尾崎 - tail + cape
Oka - 岡 - hill
Okada - 岡田 - hill + rice field
Okazaki - 岡 崎 - hill + cape
Okamoto - 岡本 - hill + base
Okumura - 奥 村 - deep (hidden) + village
It - 小野 - small + [uncultivated] field; plain
Ooishi - 大石 - big stone
Ookubo - 大 久保 - big + long + support
Oomori - 大 森 - big forest
Oonishi - 大西 - big west
Oono - 大野 - large + [uncultivated] field; plain
Oosawa - 大 沢 ／ 大 澤 - big swamp
Ooshima - 大 島 - big island
Oota - 太 田 - large + rice field
Ootani - 大谷 - big valley
Oohashi - 大橋 - big bridge
Ootsuka - 大 塚 - big + hill
Sawada - 沢 田 ／ 澤 田 - swamp + rice field
Saito: - 斉 藤 ／ 齊藤 - equal + wisteria
Saito: - 斎 藤 ／ 齋藤 - purification (religious) + wisteria
Sakai - 酒井 - alcohol + well
Sakamoto - 坂 本 - slope + base
Sakurai - 桜 井 ／ 櫻井 - sakura + well
Sano - 佐野 - helper + [uncultivated] field; plain
Sasaki - 佐 々 木 - helpers + tree
Sato: - 佐藤 - helper + wisteria
Shibata - 柴 田 - brushwood + rice field
Shimada - 島 田 - island + rice field
Shimizu - 清水 - clear water
Shinohara - 篠 原 - undersized bamboo + plain, field; steppe
Sugawara - 菅原 - sedge + plain, field; steppe
Sugimoto - 杉 本 - Japanese cedar + roots
Sugiyama - 杉山 - Japanese cedar + mountain
Suzuki - 鈴木 - bell (bell) + tree
Suto / Sudo - 須藤 - certainly + wisteria
Seki - 関 ／ 關 - Outpost; barrier
Taguchi - 田 口 - rice floor + mouth
Takagi - 高木 - tall tree
Takada ／ Takata - 高田 - tall + rice field
Takano - 高 野 - high + [uncultivated] field; plain
Takahashi - 高橋 - high + bridge
Takayama - 高山 - high mountain
Takeda - 武田 - military + rice field
Takeuchi - 竹 内 - bamboo + inside
Tamura - 田村 - rice field + village
Tanabe - 田 辺 ／ 田邊 - rice field + surroundings
Tanaka - 田中 - rice field + middle
Taniguchi - 谷口 - valley + mouth, entrance
Chiba - 千葉 - one thousand sheets
Uchida - 内 田 - inside + rice field
Uchiyama - 内 山 - inside + mountain
Ueda / Ueta - 上 田 - top + rice field
Ueno - 上 野 - top + [uncultivated] field; plain
Fujiwara - 藤原 - wisteria + plain, field; steppe
Fujii - 藤井 - wisteria + well
Fujimoto - 藤 本 - wisteria + base
Fujita - 藤田 - wisteria + rice field
Fukuda - 福田 - happiness, well-being + rice field
Fukui - 福井 - happiness, well-being + well
Fukushima - 福島 - happiness, well-being + island
Furukawa - 古 川 - old river
Hagiwara - 萩 原 - two-color lespedetsa + plain, field; steppe
Hamada - 浜 田 ／ 濱 田 - shore + rice field
Hara - 原 - plain, field; steppe
Harada - 原田 - plain, field; steppe + rice field
Hashimoto - 橋本 - bridge + base
Hasegawa - 長谷川 - long + valley + river
Hattori - 服 部 - clothing, subjugate + part; sector;
Hayakawa - 早川 - early + river
Hayashi - 林 - forest
Higuchi - 樋 口 - gutter; drain + mouth, entrance
Hirai - 平井 - even well
Hirano - 平野 - even + [uncultivated] field; plain
Hirata - 平 田 - flat + rice field
Hirose - 広 瀬 ／ 廣 瀬 - wide fast current
Homma - 本 間 - base + gap, room, luck
Honda - 本田 - base + rice field
Hori - 堀 - channel
Hoshino - 星野 - star + [uncultivated] field; plain
Tsuji - 辻 - street
Tsuchiya - 土屋 - earth + house
Yamaguchi - 山口 - mountain + mouth, entrance
Yamada - 山田 - mountain + rice field
Yamazaki ／ Yamazaki - 山崎 - mountain + cape
Yamamoto - 山 本 - mountain + base
Yamanaka - 山 中 - mountain + middle
Yamashita - 山下 - mountain + under, down
Yamauchi - 山 内 - mountain + inside
Yano - 矢野 - arrow + [uncultivated] field; plain
Yasuda - 安 田 - calm + rice field.

08.08.2018 TV channel "Big Asia" 915 views

Wisteria tunnel. Photo: imagist.ru

According to a study conducted by one of the island nation's insurance companies, the most common surname was Sato.

Of the more than 126 million Japanese, about 1.95 million people, or about 1.54% of the country's population, wear it. The second most common surname is Suzuki, which is worn by 1.82 million. Takahashi surname closes the top three, its owners are about 1.43 million Japanese.

It is noteworthy that the Sato surname belongs to one of the oldest. It consists of the hieroglyphs "sa" (») and" that "(藤). The first can be translated as "help" or "support". The second means "fuji" or "wisteria". In other words, Sato's surname means "under the auspices of wisteria." Some Japanese scholars are of the opinion that the name Sato indicates that the ancestor of this clan was in the service of one of the most noble and powerful clans in the country - Fujiwara.

However, most experts agree that the hidden meaning of the ancient surname is associated with the veneration of wisteria, a plant beloved by the Japanese that symbolizes the Heian era (794-1185). This time is considered the golden age of Japanese culture, which fell on the 9th-12th centuries.

In Japanese tradition, the image of this flower is twofold. On the one hand, he personifies tenderness and fragility. On the other hand, when it gets into the water, the leaves of the plant become poisonous to fish and birds. At the same time, the poison of the flower is strong antibiotic and is curative for humans. Therefore, in Japan it is believed that people bearing the Sato surname are marked by the grace and protection of this flower, and also have excellent health.