{"id":1762,"date":"2024-10-09T17:52:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T22:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/?page_id=1762"},"modified":"2024-10-09T18:00:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T23:00:04","slug":"japanese-womens-names-from-the-azuchi-momoyama-period-1568-1600","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/japanese-names\/japanese-womens-names-from-the-azuchi-momoyama-period-1568-1600\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Women’s Names from the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the former distinctions between noble and commoner women’s names disappeared as commoners adopted the names of the nobility. Meanwhile, noble women used a nickname ending in -ko while they were at court, but went by their childhood names or childhood nicknames outside formal situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some of the names below belonged to women as high-ranking as concubines and ladies-in-waiting of great daimy\u014d<\/em>, the list is slanted toward maids, ordinary townswomen, and other women from the upper levels of commoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This page is a work in progress. Updated Oct. 9, 2024.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name<\/th>Spelling and Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Acha<\/strong><\/td>\u963f\u8336. Originally, acha was an honorific used by the emperor’s daughters, but by the 14th century it spread to less eminent women, then entered the name pool as a popular female name element. It could be shortened to cha.

A- (\u963f) was an affectionate prefix derived from the name of the Amitabha Buddha. Cha was written with the character for tea (\u8336), but it is best understood as a phonetic spelling rather than a reference to tea.<\/td><\/tr>
Achaa<\/strong><\/td>\u963f\u8336\u963f See Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Achacha<\/strong><\/td>\u963f\u8336\u8336 See Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Ago<\/strong><\/td>\u3042\u4e94. Ago was derived from Ko, a short form of the classical childhood name Akome\/Akomaru. Although Ago was written with the character for five (\u4e94), it is best understood as a phonetic spelling rather than a reference to the number five.<\/td><\/tr>
Agogo<\/strong><\/td>\u3042\u4e94\u4e94. See Ago.<\/td><\/tr>
Ahi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ai<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Akaka<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ako<\/strong><\/td>\u543e\u5b50 “My child”<\/td><\/tr>
Akoko<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Aya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ayamachi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ayaya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Azechi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Chaa<\/strong><\/td>\u8336\u963f See Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Chacha<\/strong><\/td>\u8336\u3005 See Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Chatsu<\/strong><\/td>\u8336\u6d25 Literally “tea harbor,” but see Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Chibo<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Chii<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Chiku<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Chima<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Chiyo<\/strong><\/td>\u5343\u4ee3 A thousand years<\/td><\/tr>
Chobo<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Fuji<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Fuku<\/strong><\/td>\u798f Good fortune, blessing, good luck<\/td><\/tr>
Gomoji<\/strong><\/td>\u4e94\u3082\u3058<\/td><\/tr>
Gosa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Gou<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Harima<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Haru<\/strong><\/td>\u6625 Spring<\/td><\/tr>
Hatsu<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Higashi<\/strong><\/td>\u6771 East<\/td><\/tr>
Ia<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ichi<\/strong><\/td>\u5e02 Market<\/td><\/tr>
Ichiya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Ichiyako<\/strong><\/td>\u3044\u3061\u3084\u5b50<\/td><\/tr>
Ima<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Imaaki<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Inaka<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Inu<\/strong><\/td>Dog, a name given to girls born in the Year of the Dog<\/td><\/tr>
Ishi<\/strong><\/td>\u77f3 Stone<\/td><\/tr>
Ishikame<\/strong><\/td>\u77f3\u304b\u5973 Stone + turtle<\/td><\/tr>
Itoito<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Itoko<\/strong><\/td>\u3044\u3068\u5b50<\/td><\/tr>
Iwa<\/strong><\/td>Rock<\/td><\/tr>
Iya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kaka<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kame<\/strong><\/td>\u4e80 Turtle<\/td><\/tr>
Kii<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kiku<\/strong><\/td>\u83ca Chrysanthemum<\/td><\/tr>
Kimi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kita<\/strong><\/td>\u5317 North<\/td><\/tr>
Kitsu<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kiyaku<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kochiya<\/strong><\/td>Little Chiya<\/td><\/tr>
Kogou<\/strong><\/td>\u3053\u4e94\u3046. Little Gou.<\/td><\/tr>
Kohi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Koho<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Koito<\/strong><\/td>Little Ito<\/td><\/tr>
Koko<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Konabe<\/strong><\/td>Little Nabe<\/td><\/tr>
Kotsuru<\/strong><\/td>Little Tsuru<\/td><\/tr>
Kou<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Koya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Koyaya<\/strong><\/td>Little Yaya<\/td><\/tr>
Kuma<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kuni<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Kuri<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Maa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Man<\/strong><\/td>\u4e07 Ten thousand<\/td><\/tr>
Masa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Matsu<\/strong><\/td>\u677e Pine tree<\/td><\/tr>
Miya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Muku<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Mume<\/strong><\/td>\u6885 Japanese plum<\/td><\/tr>
Musu<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Naa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Nabe<\/strong><\/td>\u934b, cooking pot. Despite the humble sound of this name, it could be borne by women of distinction–one of Oda Nobunaga’s concubines was named Nabe.<\/td><\/tr>
Naka<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Natsu<\/strong><\/td>\u590f Summer<\/td><\/tr>
Nene<\/strong><\/td>Mouse or rat, a name given to girls born in the Year of the Rat<\/td><\/tr>
Nishi<\/strong><\/td>\u897f West<\/td><\/tr>
On’ue<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Riri<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Roku<\/strong><\/td>\u516d Six<\/td><\/tr>
Sako<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Sana<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Sashi<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Sen<\/strong><\/td>\u4ed9<\/td><\/tr>
Shiyaa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Suwa<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Take<\/strong><\/td>\u7af9 Bamboo<\/td><\/tr>
Tama<\/strong><\/td>\u7389 Jewel<\/td><\/tr>
Tatsu<\/strong><\/td> Dragon, a name given to girls born in the Year of the Dragon<\/td><\/tr>
Tau<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Toku<\/strong><\/td>\u5fb3 Virtue<\/td><\/tr>
Tomo<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Tora<\/strong><\/td>Tiger, a name given to girls born in the Year of the Tiger<\/td><\/tr>
Tou<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Tsuma<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Tsuru<\/strong><\/td>\u9db4 Crane<\/td><\/tr>
Uba<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Uta<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yasu<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yaya<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yayacha<\/strong><\/td>\u3084\u3084\u8336 See Acha.<\/td><\/tr>
Yome<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yura<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yuusai<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Yuusen<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
Zuru (Dzuru)<\/strong><\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Goble, Andrew Edmund. \u201cWomen and Medicine in Late 16th Century Japan: The Example of the Honganji Religious Community in \u014csaka and Kyoto as Recorded in the Diary of Physician Yamashina Tokitsune<\/a>.\u201d Asia Pacific Perspectives<\/em>, Vol. 14, no. 1 (2016): 50-74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsunoda Bun’ei (\u89d2\u7530\u6587\u885b). Japanese Female Names: A Historical Perspective<\/em> | \u65e5\u672c\u306e\u5973\u6027\u540d \u6b74\u53f2\u7684\u5c55\u671b. Higashimurayama, Japan : Ky\u014dikusha, 1980-1988.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the former distinctions between noble and commoner women’s names disappeared as commoners adopted the names of the nobility. Meanwhile, noble women used a nickname ending in -ko while they were at court, but went by their childhood names or childhood nicknames outside formal situations. While some of the names below belonged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":550,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-1762","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-japanese-names","tag-female-names"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1826,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1762\/revisions\/1826"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/issendai.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}