Okinawan family name

Okinawan names ( Okinawan: /, ''nā'') today have only two components, the family names (surnames or last names) first and the given names last. Okinawan family names represent the distinct historical and cultural background of the islands which now comprise Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Expatriates originally from Okinawa also have these names.

Modern names

As Japanese citizens, Okinawans today comply with the Japanese family register (''koseki'') system. Accordingly, an Okinawan name has only two components, a family name and a given name. A family name is called ''myōji'' (苗字 or 名字), ''uji'' (氏) or ''sei'' (姓), and a given name is called the "front name" (名前, ''namae'') or "lower name" (下の名前, ''shita no namae''). The family name precedes the given name. The given name may be referred to as the "lower name" because, in vertically-written Japanese, the given name appears under the family name.

Japanese family names generally show regional variation, but Okinawan family names are known for their distinctiveness. In contrast it becomes increasingly difficult to find unique Okinawan given names.Ueno Kazuo 上野和男, ''Okinawa no namae to shakai'' 沖縄の名前と社会, ''Ryūkyū Ajia no minzoku to rekishi'' 琉球・アジアの民俗と歴史, pp. 41–60, 2002.

Top 10 popular Okinawan family names

This top 10 listMorioka Hiroshi 森岡浩, ''Zenkoku Myōji Jiten'' 全国名字辞典, p.333, is based on the name as written in kanji (Chinese characters). Since the Japanese language allows for multiple possible readings, or pronunciations, for each character, the reading of Okinawan family names written with the same characters varies. In addition, the Okinawan language has its own means of reading Japanese kanji, but some surnames like Nakama, Yara have the same reading in both languages.

Historical names

As in mainland Japan, historical names in Okinawa are more complicated. People with different social statuses bore different kinds of names, maintained several names to use in different occasions, and sometimes changed them in their lifetime. Okinawan names underwent great changes after the Ryūkyū Kingdom fell under the Satsuma Domain's control.

''Warabi-naa''

''Warabi-naa'' (warabe-na/''warabi-naa'', 童名) were personal names. For example, the ''warabi-naa'' of Tamagusuku Chōkun was Umi-guraa (思五良). ''Warabi-naa'' were most prevalent among Okinawans, from the king to commoners, both male and female. They were the oldest component of Okinawan names as, like people in mainland Japan, the inhabitants of Ryukyu islands did not originally have names for families, clans or lineages. They were used as the official names during the early era of the Ryukyu Kingdom. They appeared even in appointment letters by the king, written mostly in hiragana. It was during the 17th century that other name components prevailed among the pechin class.Dana Masayuki 田名真之, ''Ryūkyū jinmei kō hoi'' 琉球人名考補遺, Okinawa kinsei shi no shosō 沖縄近世史の諸相, pp. 213–232, 1992.

A ''warabi-naa'' was given soon after birth. Although literally meaning ''childhood name'', it was used by commoners for their entire life. While it was overshadowed by other name components, even adult male members of the pechin class used ''warabi-naa'' at home and when referring to their friends.Higashionna Kanjun 東恩納寛惇, ''Ryūkyū jinmei kō'' 琉球人名考, ''Higashionna Kanjun zenshū'' 6 東恩納寛惇全集 6, pp.357–478, 1979.

Later in history, stylized use of prefixes and suffixes differentiated social statuses. A commoner used neither a prefix nor suffix, a samurai used either a prefix or suffix, and an aristocrat used both a prefix and a suffix. For example, Tukū (徳) was a name for commoners, Umi-tukū (思徳) for samurai, and Umi-tuku-gani (思徳金) for aristocrats.

A set of ''warabi-naa'' appeared in the very beginning of recorded history and has not been changed since then. The number of ''warabi-naa'' pooled in society was extremely small. It was not uncommon for a ''warabi-naa'' to be shared by more than one person in a household. The first male child was usually named after his paternal grandfather. For example, the last king Shō Tai had the ''warabi-naa'' Umi-jiraa-gani (思次良金), which was also the name of his grandfather Shō Kō.

''Kamei''

Even in the Old Ryukyu era, social development led Okinawans to acquire names other than ''warabi-naa'' for disambiguation. ''Kamei'' (家名) or ''Yaa-n-naa'' (家の名), both meaning "family name," were often attached to ''warabi-naa''. ''Kamei'' were toponyms, either the domains they ruled or the places of their origin. For example, an inscription of the Old Ryukyu era contains a personal name, ''Mafuto-kane    Ufusato no Ufu-yakumoi'' (まふとかね 大さとの大やくもい), where ''Mafuto-kane'' (Mafutu-gani) was a ''warabi-naa'', ''Ufusato'' (Ufusatu) was a place associated with him, and ''Ufu-yakumoi'' (Ufu-yakumui) was the title he was given.Higashionna Kanjun 東恩納寛惇, ''Shisei kō'' 氏姓考, ''Higashionna Kanjun zenshū'' 6 東恩納寛惇全集 6, pp.574–589, 1979.

In the naming conventions after the separation of the Peichin class from peasants, only the Pechin class was allowed to have ''kamei''. Because the vast majority of the Pechin families lacked domains to rule, they inherited fixed ''kamei''. In contrast, an upper class member used the name of the fief he was given by the king. This means that his ''kamei'' was changed every time a different land was allotted. For example, Makishi Chōchū (1818–1862) originally had the ''kamei'' Itarashiki (板良敷) but was then given a fief of Ōwan (大湾) before being finally renamed to Makishi (牧志).

In early times, ''kamei'' were written predominantly in hiragana. After the invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom by Japan's Satsuma Domain in 1609, the Japanese-style use of Chinese characters (kanji) was adopted. The Keichō Land Surveys of 1609-1611 probably conventionalized to some degree the choice of kanji for place names, and thus surnames based on them. In 1625 the Satsuma Domain instituted a . As a result, the kanji used to write ''kamei'' changed from characters that were common in Japan to new, unique character combinations. For example, the name 東 (Higashi) was often changed to 比嘉 (Figa) or 比謝 (Fija), the name 前田 (Maeda) to 真栄田 (the same reading), 福山 (Fukuyama) to 譜久山 (the same reading), etc.Shuncho Higa, ''On Okinawan Surnames'', Shunzo Sakamaki ed., Ryukyuan Names, pp. 31–50, 1964.

In practice, ''kamei'' represented a group who shared the founder of a relatively recent past. When it was necessary to distinguish branch families, the main family attached the prefix ''ufu'' (大, great) to its ''kamei'' while the suffix ''gwa'' (少, small), for example, was used for a branch family.

Officially, commoners did not have ''kamei''. At some point in history, commoners in the capital region, Shuri and Naha, started to assume ''kamei''. However, ''kamei'' of commoners were differentiated verbally and in writing. The last syllable of a commoner's ''kamei'' was lengthened (e.g. Arakachii) while that of a Pechin was not (e.g. Arakachi). For commoners, his ''warabi-naa'' is written first and is followed by his ''kamei''. For example, Taraa (''warabi-naa'') from Yamagushiku was written as たら山城 (Taraa Yamagushiku).

Commoners in rural areas unofficially used names for households, which were also called ''Yaa-n-naa'' (屋の名). They were similar to ''yagō'', private family names used by commoners in Japan.

Rank

Like in Japan, a rank (位階) was also part of the addressing system. The following was the list of ranks after they were fixed:
* ''Wōji'' (王子)
* ''Anji or Aji'' (按司)
* ''Uwekata'' (親方)
* ''Peechin'' (親雲上)
* ''Satunushi-peechin'' (里之子親雲上)
* ''Satunushi'' (里之子)
* ''Chukudun-peechin'' (筑登之親雲上)
* ''Chukudun'' (筑登之)
Young male members of the Pechin class who had no rank were addressed with honorific suffixes: ''shii'' (子) for the upper class and ''nyaa'' (仁屋) for the lower class. Commoners had no rank.

''Nanui''

Male members of the Pechin class adopted ''nanui'' (nanori/''nanui'', 名乗), or Japanese-style personal names, when they reached adulthood. Each ''nanui'' consists of two kanji characters, e.g. 朝薫 ( Chōkun). The first character of a ''nanui'', called ''nanui-gasira'' (nanori-gashira/''nanui-gasira'', 名乗頭), was shared by a lineage or ''munchū''. For example, the character 朝 (''chō'') was used by branch families of the royal family including Chōkun (玉城朝薫), his father Chōchi (朝致) and his son Chōki (朝喜).

The direct reference to a ''nanui'' verbally and in writing was usually avoided because it was considered rude. In domestic documents, a Pechin was usually addressed by the combination of a ''kamei'' and a rank (e.g. Kyan Peekumi (喜屋武親雲上)). This was similar to the convention of Japan, e.g. Andō Tsushima-no-kami (安藤対馬守, Andō, Governor of Tsushima Province) for Andō Nobumasa. This combination can be found in as early as the first half of the 16th century. When necessary, a ''nanui'' was attached to the combination of a ''kamei'' and a rank. It is only a convention of historiography that people of the Ryūkyū Kingdom are referred to by the combination of a ''kamei'' and a ''nanui'', e.g. Tamagusuku Chōkun (玉城朝薫).

''Nanui'' came into use during the 17th century with obvious influence from Satsuma. The use of ''nanui-gashira'' is similar to that of ''tsūji'' (通字) in Japan. However, while ''tsūji'' was usually assumed only by the successor of a household, the first son in most cases, each ''nanui-gashira'' was shared by all the male member of a lineage.

''Kara-naa''

From 1689 male members of the Pechin class also had ''kara-naa'' (唐名) or Chinese names. Each ''kara-naa'' consists of a one-character name for a lineage called ''shii'' or ''uji'' (sei/''shii'', 姓 or uji/''uji'', 氏) and a personal name called ''imina'' (諱). For example, Tamagusuku Chōkun had the ''kara-naa'' Shō Juyū (向受祐). ''Kara-naa'' appeared neither officially nor privately in domestic affairs, but were used for diplomatic correspondence with Chinese dynasties. Thus a lower-class Pechin who had no post in the court had virtually no chance to use his ''kara-naa''.

Names for Okinawan officials were recorded in early diplomatic documents written in Classical Chinese. They were actually corrupt forms of ''warabi-naa'' and ''kamei''. For example, ''a-fu-sat-to'' 阿布薩都 and ''ō-sat-to'' 王察度 both referred to the ''kamei'' Ufuzatu (大里). Similarly, ''go-ratsu'' 呉剌 and ''tatsu-ro-ka-ne'' 達魯加禰 derived from ''warabi-naa'' Guraa (五良) and Taru-gani (樽金) respectively. It is during the 16th century that some officials used names that could be analyzed as Chinese surnames and given names. It seems that at first these names were coined each time they were needed for a diplomatic trip to China. Some families from which diplomats came for generations began to succeed the first character of their ancestors' transcribed names as ''shii''. For instance, descendants of Mafutu-gani, who appeared as ''ma-botsu-to'' (麻勃都) in diplomatic records, adopted the ''shii'' Ma (麻) after him.

''Munchū'' or lineages

The development of Okinawan naming conventions was closely related with that of ''munchū'' (monchū/''munchū'', 門中), or patrilineages. In 1689 ''Keizu-za'' or the Board of Genealogies (系図座) was established and all the Pechin lineages were ordered to compile genealogical records. In 1690 the royal court assigned one-character ''shii'' or Chinese surnames to all registered lineages. Since commoners were forbidden to compile genealogical records, this effectively separated the Pechin class from commoners. Genealogical records became a status symbol of the Pechin class. The Pechin class came to be referred to as ''keimochi'' (系持), lit. possessing genealogy, while commoners were called ''mukei'' (無系), lit. without genealogy.Dana Masayuki 田名真之, ''Ryūkyū kafu no seiritsu to sono igi'' 琉球家譜の成立とその意義, Okinawa kinsei shi no shosō 沖縄近世史の諸相, pp. 95–131, 1992.

Among the Pechin class, lineages were identified by the combination of the Chinese-style ''shii'' and the Japanese-style ''nanui-gashira''. A lineage with the ''shii'' Mō (毛) shared the ''nanui-gashira'' Sei (盛), but this ''nanui-gashira'' was also used by a lineage named Ō (翁). Also, there was another lineage whose ''shii'' was Mō, but its ''nanui-gashira'' was An (安). ''Kamei'' cannot be a designator of lineages. The Mō lineage with the ''nanui-gashira'' Sei had was headed by the family with the ''kamei'' Tomigusuku (豊見城), but its branch families had various ''kamei'' including Kunigami (国頭) and Tomikawa (富川).Shunzo Sakamaki, ''On Early Ryukyuan Names'', Shunzo Sakamaki ed., Ryukyuan Names, pp. 11–30, 1964.

Royal house

The title ''Ō'' (王) or king was of foreign origin. In Okinawan, the king styled himself ''anji-osoi-jyanashi'' or later ''Shui-tin-jyanashi'' (首里天加那志). The king was referred to as ''ushu-jyanashi-me'' by his people and as ''myuumee-jyanashi'' or ''nuumee-jyanshi'' by his family members.

Close relatives of the king were given the ranks of ''wōji'' (王子) and ''anji'' (按司). Although ''wōji'' literally means the king's son, its conferrers were not limited to the king's son. A ''wōji'' or ''anji'' was referred to by his domain plus the suffix ''udun'' (御殿). The crown prince was traditionally given the domain Nakagusuku (中城) and therefore referred to as Nakagusuku-udun (中城御殿).

Many early kings, up to Shō Hō, had divine names (神号) in addition to ''warabi-naa''. For example, Shō Gen's divine name was ''tida-hajimi-aji-sui'' (日始按司添). It seems that divine names were assumed after accession to the throne.

The king had a ''kara-naa'' and used it in diplomatic correspondence with China. The royal ''shii'' Shō (尚) was, according to Ryukyuan records, given to Shō Hashi by the Xuande Emperor of Ming China. This statement is highly questionable because no such record is found in Chinese documents and Shō Hashi used the ''shii'' even earlier. In 1692, the branch families of the royal house were given the ''shii'' Shō (向, note the different kanji) and the ''nanui-gashira'' Chō (朝) no matter how distant from the king.

Kumemura

A district near the capital named Kumemura is said to have been founded by immigrants from Fujian, China. Its raison d'être was to manage diplomatic contacts with China although some were later engaged in domestic affairs. The members of the community had ''kara-naa'' or Chinese names from the very beginning. It is known that they also had ''warabi-naa'' as early as the first half of the 15th century.

Today historical figures from Kumemura are often known by ''kara-naa'', e.g. Sai On. He appeared in domestic documents as Gushichan Uwekata after his ''kamei'' Gushichan (具志頭) and his rank Uwekata (親方). He had a ''nanui'' Bunjaku (文若), and therefore is sometimes known as Gushichan Bunjaku.

Modernization

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was forced to become a Japanese feudal domain by the Meiji government in 1872, and it was formally annexed by Japan in 1879. Ryūkyūans were then entered into the Japanese family register (''koseki'') system and, as in Japan, surnames were extended to all citizens, no longer being the province of the aristocratic classes alone. A large number of the names created at this time were taken from geographical names or places of residence. Direct descendants of Tamagusuku Chōkun, who by the time assumed the ''kamei'' Hentona (辺土名), adopted Hentona as their new surname.Dana Masayuki 田名真之, ''Tamagusuku Chōkun bo (Hentona ke bo) no hitobito'' 玉城朝薫墓 (辺土名家墓) の人々, Okinawa kinsei shi no shosō 沖縄近世史の諸相, pp. 233–256, 1992.

While the nobles had assumed new names when they reached adulthood, the new system forced them to adopt lifetime personal names soon after birth. At first, Japanese given names were often given when they entered school. For this reason, given names were informally called "school names" (学校名). ''Warabi-naa'' continued to be used unofficially until the early Shōwa period.

With increasing contacts with Japan, many Okinawans felt it inconvenient to use their alien-looking surnames. Since the law made it extremely difficult to change surnames, they often changed the ''reading'' of surnames while leaving their written forms unmodified. For example, Naagusuku (宮城) was usually changed to Miyagi (宮城). It is reported that, during the American military occupation after World War II, many managed to change their surname relatively easily. The family registers were completely destroyed by American attacks and reconstructed on individual declarations.

See also

* Amami name
* Japanese name
* Okinawa Prefecture

References

External links

Okinawan family names
Center for Information Infrastructure, Shizuoka University

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Names by culture
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