Part 7

[76] Yet this name may possibly have been written with the wrong character. There is another _yobina_, "Momo" signifying "hundred,"--as in the phrase _momo yo_, "for a hundred ages."

_O-Nara_ "Oak." _O-Ryu_ "Willow." _Sanae_ "Sprouting-Rice." _O-Sane_ "Fruit-seed." _O-Shino_ "Slender Bamboo." _O-Suge_ "Reed."[77]

[77] _Scirpus maritimus._

_O-Sugi_ "Cedar."[78]

[78] _Cryptomeria Japonica._

_O-Take_ "Bamboo." _O-Tsuta_ "Ivy."[79]

[79] _Cissus Thunbergii._

_O-Yae_ "Double-Blossom."[80]

[80] A flower-name certainly; but the _yae_ here is probably an abbreviation of _yae-zakura_, the double-flower of a particular species of cherry-tree.

_O-Yone_ "Rice-in-grain." _Wakana_ "Young _Na_."[81]

[81] _Brassica chinensis._

Names signifying light or color seem to us the most aesthetic of all _yobina_; 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 refer to moral or social distinction,--to the hope that the girl so named will become "illustrious."

NAMES SIGNIFYING BRIGHTNESS

_O-Mika_ "New Moon."[82]

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

_O-Mitsu_ "Light." _O-Shimo_ "Frost." _O-Teru_ "The Shining." _O-Tsuki_ "Moon." _O-Tsuya_ "The Glossy,"--lustrous. _O-Tsuyu_ "Dew." _O-Yuki_ "Snow."

COLOR-NAMES

_O-Ai_ "Indigo." _O-Aka_ "Red." _O-Iro_ "Color." _O-Kon_ "Deep Blue." _O-Kuro_ "Dark,"--lit., "Black." _Midori_[83] "Green." _Murasaki_[83] "Purple."

[83] _Midori_ and _Murasaki_, especially the latter, should properly be classed with aristocratic _yobina_; 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 among _yobina_, I thought it better in this instance to group the whole of them together, independently of class-distinctions.

_O-Shiro_ "White."

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 these _yobina_. 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.

NAMES DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY OR EXPLAIN

_O-Fuku_[84] "Raiment,"--clothing.

[84] Possibly this name belongs to the same class as _O-Nui_ ("Embroidery"), _O-Some_ ("The Dyer"); but I am not sure.

_O-Fune_ "Ship,"--or Boat. _O-Hina_[85] "Doll,"--a paper doll?

[85] Probably a name of caress. The word _hina_ is 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 called _ningyo_.

_O-Kono_ "This." _O-Nao_ "Still More." _O-Nari_ "Thunder-peal." _O-Nibo_ "Palanquin" (?). _O-Rai_ "Thunder." _O-Rui_ "Sort,"--kind, species. _O-Suzu_[86] "Little Bell."

[86] Perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound of the _suzu_,--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 little _suzu_ in the silk charm-bag (_mamori-bukero_) which is attached to a child's girdle. The _suzu_ rings with every motion that the child makes,--somewhat like one of those tiny bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten.

_Suzue_ "Branch-of-Little-Bells." _O-Tada_ "The Only." _Tamaki_ "Armlet,"--bracelet. _O-Tami_ "Folk,"--common people. _O-Toshi_ "Arrowhead,"--or barb. _O-Tsui_ "Pair,"--match. _O-Tsuna_ "Rope,"--bond. _O-Yumi_ "Bow,"--weapon.

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 satisfactory explanation 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 supposed _Sei_, 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.)

************************************************************ * * * Transcriber Note: Explanation of Table * * * * In the table above, there were lines connecting the * * five elements of nature with the lines of Japanese * * syllabary: * * * * The Wood element was associated with the * * ka/ga lines, * * * * the Fire element was associated with the * * ta/da, na, and ra lines, * * * * the Earth element was associated with the * * a, ka/ga, ya, and wa lines, * * * * the Metal element was associated with the * * sa/za lines, and * * * * the Water element was associated with the * * ha/ba/pa, and ma lines. * * * ************************************************************

III

FOR examples of contemporary aristocratic names I consulted the reports of the _Kwazoku-Jogakko_ (Peeresses' School), published between the nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of Meiji (1886-1895). The Kwazoku-Jogakko 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 also that the modern aristocratic _yobina_ of two syllables, as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinary _yobina_. 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:--

PERSONAL NAMES OF LADY STUDENTS OF THE KWAZOKU JOGAKKO

_Aki-ko_ "Autumn." _Aki-ko_ "The Clear-Minded." _Aki-ko_ "Dawn." _Asa-ko_ "Fair Morning." _Aya-ko_ "Silk Damask." _Chiharu-ko_ "A Thousand Springs." _Chika-ko_ "Near,"--close. _Chitsuru-ko_ "A Thousand Storks." _Chiyo-ko_ "A Thousand Generations." _Ei-ko_ "Bell-Chime." _Etsu-ko_ "Delight." _Fuji-ko_ "Wistaria." _Fuku-ko_ "Good-Fortune." _Fumi-ko_ "A Woman's Letter." _Fuyo-ko_ "Lotos-flower." _Fuyu-ko_ "Winter." _Hana-ko_ "Flower." _Hana-ko_ "Fair-Blooming." _Haru-ko_ "The Tranquil." _Haru-ko_ "Spring,"--the season of flowers. _Haru-ko_ "The Far-Removed,"--in the sense, perhaps, of superlative. _Hatsu-ko_ "The First-born." _Hide-ko_ "Excelling." _Hide-ko_ "Surpassing." _Hiro-ko_ "Magnanimous,"--literally, "broad," "large,"--in the sense of beneficence. _Hiro-ko_ "Wide-Spreading,"--with reference to family prosperity. _Hisa-ko_ "Long-lasting." _Hisa-ko_ "Continuing." _Hoshi-ko_ "Star." _Iku-ko_ "The Quick,"--in the sense of living. _Ima-ko_ "Now." _Iho-ko_ "Five Hundred,"--probably a name of felicitation. _Ito-ko_ "Sewing-Thread." _Kame-ko_ "Tortoise." _Kane-ko_ "Going around" (?).[87]

[87] It is possible that this name was made simply by taking one character of the father's name. The girl's name otherwise conveys no intelligible meaning.

_Kane-ko_ "Bell,"--the character indicates a large suspended bell. _Kata-ko_ "Condition"? _Kazu-ko_ "First." _Kazu-ko_ "Number,"--a great number. _Kazu-ko_ "The Obedient." _Kiyo-ko_ "The Pure." _Ko_[88] "Filial Piety."

[88] The suffix "_ko_" is sometimes dropped for reasons of euphony, and sometimes for reasons of good taste--difficult to explain to readers unfamiliar with the Japanese language--even when the name consists of only one syllable or of two syllables.

_Ko-ko_ "Stork." _Koto_ "Harp." _Kuni-ko_ "Province." _Kuni_ "Country,"--in the largest sense. _Kyo-ko_ "Capital,"--metropolis. _Machi_ "Ten-Thousand Thousand." _Makoto_ "True-Heart." _Masa-ko_ "The Trustworthy,"--sure. _Masa-ko_ "The Upright." _Masu-ko_ "Increase." _Mata-ko_ "Completely,"--wholly. _Matsu-ko_ "Pine-tree." _Michi-ko_ "Three Thousand." _Mine_ "Peak." _Mine-ko_ "Mountain-Range." _Mitsu-ko_ "Light,"--radiance. _Miyo-ko_ "Beautiful Generations." _Moto-ko_ "Origin,"--source. _Naga-ko_ "Long,"--probably in reference to time. _Naga-ko_ "Long Life." _Nami-ko_ "Wave." _Nao-ko_ "Correct,"--upright. _Nyo-ko_[89] "Gem-Treasure."

[89] This name is borrowed from the name of the sacred gem _Nyoihoju_, which figures both in Shinto and in Buddhist legend. The divinity Jizo is usually represented holding in one hand this gem, which is said to have the power of gratifying any desire that its owner can entertain. Perhaps the _Nyoihoju_ may be identified with the Gem-Treasure _Veluriya_, mentioned in the Sutra of The Great King of Glory, chapter i. (See _Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xi.)

_Nobu-ko_ "Faithful." _Nobu-ko_ "Abundance,"--plenty. _Nobu-ko_ "The Prolonger." _Nori-ko_ "Precept,"--doctrine. _Nui_ "Embroidery,"--sewing. _Oki_ "Offing,"--perhaps originally a place-name.[90]

[90] A naval officer named Oki told me that his family had originally been settled in the Oki Islands ("Islands of the Offing"). This interesting coincidence suggested to me that the above _yobina_ might have had the same origin.

_Sada-ko_ "The Chaste." _Sada-ko_ "The Sure,"--trustworthy. _Sakura-ko_ "Cherry-Blossom." _Sakae_ "The Prosperous." _Sato-ko_ "Home." _Sato-ko_ "The Discriminating." _Seki-ko_ "Great." _Setsu-ko_ "The Chaste." _Shige-ko_ "Flourishing." _Shige-ko_ "Exuberant,"--in the sense of rich growth. _Shige-ko_ "Upgrowing." _Shige-ko_ "Fragrance." _Shiki-ko_ "Prudence." _Shima-ko_ "Island." _Shin-ko_ "The Fresh,"--new. _Shizu-ko_ "The Quiet,"--calm. _Shizue_ "Quiet River." _Sono-ko_ "Garden." _Sue-ko_ "Last,"--in the sense of youngest. _Suke-ko_ "The Helper." _Sumi-ko_ "The Clear,"--spotless, refined. _Sumi-ko_ "The Veritable,"--real. _Sumie-ko_ "Clear River." _Suzu-ko_ "Tin." _Suzu-ko_ "Little Bell." _Suzune_ "Sound of Little Bell." _Taka-ko_ "High,"--lofty, superior. _Taka-ko_ "Filial Piety." _Taka-ko_ "Precious." _Take-ko_ "Bamboo." _Taki-ko_ "Waterfall." _Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--jewel. _Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--written with a different character. _Tame-ko_ "For the Sake of--" _Tami-ko_ "People,"--folks. _Tane-ko_ "Successful." _Tatsu-ko_ "Attaining." _Tatsuru-ko_[91] "Many Storks."

[91] So written, but probably pronounced as two syllables only.

_Tatsuru-ko_ "Ricefield Stork." _Teru-ko_ "Beaming,"--luminous. _Tetsu-ko_ "Iron." _Toki-ko_ "Time." _Tome-ko_ "Cessation." _Tomi-ko_ "Riches." _Tomo_ "Intelligence." _Tomo_ "Knowledge." _Tomo-ko_ "Friendship." _Toshi-ko_ "The Quickly-Perceiving." _Toyo-ko_ "Fruitful." _Tsune_ "Constancy." _Tsune-ko_ "Ordinary,"--usual, common. _Tsune-ko_ "Ordinary,"--written with a different character. _Tsune-ko_ "Faithful,"--in the sense of wifely fidelity. _Tsuru-ko_ "Stork." _Tsuya-ko_ "The Lustrous,"--shining, glossy. _Ume_ "Female Hare." _Ume-ko_ "Plum-Blossom." _Yachi-ko_ "Eight Thousand." _Yaso-ko_ "Eighty." _Yasoshi-ko_ "Eighty-four." _Yasu-ko_ "The Maintainer,"--supporter. _Yasu-ko_ "The Respectful." _Yasu-ko_ "The Tranquil-Minded." _Yone-ko_ "Rice." _Yori-ko_ "The Trustful." _Yoshi_ "Eminent,"--celebrated. _Yoshi-ko_ "Fragrance." _Yoshi-ko_ "The Good,"--or Gentle. _Yoshi-ko_ "The Lovable." _Yoshi-ko_ "The Lady-like,"--gentle in the sense of refined. _Yoshi-ko_ "The Joyful." _Yoshi-ko_ "Congratulation." _Yoshi-ko_ "The Happy." _Yoshi-ko_ "Bright and Clear." _Yuki-ko_ "The Lucky." _Yuki-ko_ "Snow." _Yuku-ko_ "Going." _Yutaka_ "Plenty,"--affluence, superabundance.

IV

IN the first part of this paper I suggested that the custom of giving very poetical names to _geisha_ and to _joro_ might partly account for the unpopularity of purely aesthetic _yobina_. And in the hope of correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, I shall now venture a few remarks about the names of _geisha_.

_Geisha_-names,--like other classes of names,--although full of curious interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of respectable. Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject of the present study,--inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but professional appellations only,--not _yobina_, but _geimyo_.

A large proportion of such names can be distinguished by certain prefixes or suffixes attached to them. They can be known, for example,--

(1) By the prefix _Waka_, signifying "Young";--as in the names _Wakagusa_, "Young Grass"; _Wakazuru_, "Young Stork"; _Wakamurasaki_, "Young Purple"; _Wakakoma_, "Young Filly".

(2) By the prefix _Ko_, signifying "Little";--as in the names, _Ko-en_, "Little Charm"; _Ko-hana_, "Little Flower"; _Kozakura_, "Little Cherry-Tree".

(3) By the suffix _Ryo_, signifying "Dragon" (the Ascending Dragon being especially a symbol of success);--as _Tama-Ryo_, "Jewel-Dragon"; _Hana-Ryo_, "Flower-Dragon"; _Kin-Ryo_, "Golden-Dragon".

(4) By the suffix _ji_, signifying "to serve", "to administer";--as in the names _Uta-ji_, _Shinne-ji_, _Katsu-ji_.

(5) By the suffix _suke_, signifying "help";--as in the names _Tama-suke_, _Koma-suke_.

(6) By the suffix _kichi_, signifying "luck", "fortune";--as _Uta-kichi_, "Song-Luck"; _Tama-kichi_, "Jewel-Fortune".

(7) By the suffix _giku_ (i. e., _kiku_) signifying "chrysanthemum";--as _Mitsu-giku_, "Three Chrysanthemums"; _Hina-giku_, "Doll-Chrysanthemum"; _Ko-giku_, "Little Chrysanthemum".

(8) By the suffix tsuru, signifying "stork" (emblem of longevity);--as _Koma-tsuru_, "Filly-Stork"; _Ko-tsuru_, "Little Stork"; _Ito-zuru_, "Thread-Stork".

These forms will serve for illustration; but there are others. _Geimyo_ are written, as a general rule, with only two Chinese characters, and are pronounced as three or as four syllables. _Geimyo_ of five syllables are occasionally to be met with; _geimyo_ of only two syllables are rare--at least among names of dancing girls. And these professional appellations have seldom any moral meaning: they signify things relating to longevity, wealth, pleasure, youth, or luck,--perhaps especially to luck.

* * * * *

Of late years it became a fashion among certain classes of _geisha_ in the capital to assume real names with the genteel suffix _Ko_, and even aristocratic _yobina_. In 1889 some of the Tokyo newspapers demanded legislative measures to check the practice. This incident would seem to afford proof of public feeling upon the subject.

Old Japanese Songs

[Decoration]

THIS New Year's morning I find upon my table two most welcome gifts from a young poet of my literary class. One is a roll of cloth for a new kimono,--cloth such as my Western reader never saw. The brown warp is cotton thread; but the woof is soft white paper string, irregularly speckled with black. When closely examined, the black specklings prove to be Chinese and Japanese characters;--for the paper woof is made out of manuscript,--manuscript of poems,--which has been deftly twisted into fine cord, with the written surface outwards. The general effect of the white, black, and brown in the texture is a warm mouse-grey. In many Izumo homes a similar kind of cloth is manufactured for family use; but this piece was woven especially for me by the mother of my pupil. It will make a most comfortable winter-robe; and when wearing it, I shall be literally clothed with poetry,--even as a divinity might be clothed with the sun.

The other gift is poetry also, but poetry in the original state: a wonderful manuscript collection of Japanese songs gathered from unfamiliar sources, and particularly interesting from the fact that nearly all of them are furnished with refrains. There are hundreds of compositions, old and new,--including several extraordinary ballads, many dancing-songs, and a surprising variety of love-songs. Neither in sentiment nor in construction do any of these resemble the Japanese poetry of which I have already, in previous books, offered specimens in translation. The forms are, in most cases, curiously irregular; but their irregularity is not without a strange charm of its own.

* * * * *

I am going to offer examples of these compositions,--partly because of their unfamiliar emotional quality, and partly because I think that something can be learned from their strange art of construction, The older songs--selected from the antique drama--seem to me particularly worthy of notice. The thought or feeling and its utterance are supremely simple; yet by primitive devices of reiteration and of pause, very remarkable results have been obtained. What strikes me especially noteworthy in the following specimen is the way that the phrase, begun with the third line of the first stanza, and interrupted by a kind of burthen, is repeated and finished in the next stanza. Perhaps the suspension will recall to Western readers the effect of some English ballads with double refrains, or of such quaint forms of French song as the famous--

Au jardin de mon pere-- _Vole, mon coeur, vole!_ Il y a un pommier doux, _Tout doux!_

But in the Japanese song the reiteration of the broken phrase produces a slow dreamy effect as unlike the effect of the French composition as the movements of a Japanese dance are unlike those of any Western round:--

KANO YUKU WA

(_Probably from the eleventh century_)

Kano yuku wa, Kari ka?--kugui ka? Kari naraba,--

(Ref.) _Hareya toto!_ _Hareya toto!_

Kari nara Nanori zo semashi;-- Nao kugui nari-ya!--