Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?
What’s in a name? This series introduces stories exploring the meanings, origins, and the untold stories behind personal Nikkei names. This can include family names, given names, and even nicknames!
For this project, we asked our Nima-kai to vote for their favorite stories and our editorial committee to pick their favorites.
Here are the selected favorite stories.
Editorial Committee’s selections:
- ENGLISH:
Re-Discovering My Name Between Two Cultures
By Jayme Tsutsuse
- JAPANESE:
What it means to have a Nikkei name in Brazil
By Satomi Takano Kitahara
- SPANISH:
A Discordant Name Match
By Jimmy Seiji Amemiya Siu
- PORTUGUESE:
Who am I speaking with?
By Claudio Sampei
Nima-kai selection:
- 96 stars:
The Chosen Names
By Mary Sunada
Stories from this series
What's in a Name?
Oct. 15, 2014 • Sachi Kaneshiro
On my early morning walk the other day, I heard behind me, faintly, in the distance, “Sochi, Sochi…” I wondered, is someone trying to channel the Olympics but didn’t look back, just kept on going. Then the sound caught up with me. It was Flossie from the same senior citizens’ building where I live. “I’ve been watching the Winter Olympics on TV and I finally got your name straight…Sochi.” Close enough, I thought, she had already gone from “Soxy” to …
I'm Mitikó
Oct. 13, 2014 • Mitikó Yanaga Une
I think Japanese names sound strange to Brazilian ears. Many of them are also related to the way they were recorded. When researching the arrival of my grandfather, Seiji Shimoide, in Brazilian lands, I discovered that whoever translated (a person who can read Japanese), read the ideograms as being SHIMODE. I know another Shimoide family, which is not related to us (they came from Hokkaido) and their name should also be translated as Shimode. Regarding my family directly, we lived …
Katagwee?
Oct. 10, 2014 • John Katagi
On my first visit to Brazil, I attended a conference and received a nametag with the spelling of my last name: Katagui. What? G-U-I? Like Guido? That’s not my name! I took the nametag out of the plastic holder, crossed off the incorrect spelling and wrote it as “it should have been.” It would be two years before I understood the complexities and peculiarities of the Portuguese language well enough to look back on that nametag incident. As usual I …
A Jewpanese Name for the Past, Present, and Future
Oct. 7, 2014 • Sharleen Naomi Nakamoto Levine
Can parents choose a name that is a reflection of its times, as well as the past, and even the future? I was born on March 19, 1970, at Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, the same hospital where my mother had attended a School of Nursing to become a registered nurse in 1962. I was the second of three girls to Jack and June Nakamoto. My birth certificate lists my full name as Sharleen Naomi Nakamoto. I have always liked …
What’s in a Name?
Sept. 30, 2014 • Noriko Eileen Kurahashi
By placing my Japanese given name first on my birth certificate, you know my parents were Issei. Technically, my mother was Nisei, but she was schooled in Japan for many years, making her closer to the original culture than most Nisei. My father died when I was young, but I remember he explained to me that he chose my name carefully and that the kanji (Chinese character) for “Nori” meant “wise teacher.” I know it is an old tradition in …
What It Means to Have a Nikkei Name in Brazil
Sept. 22, 2014 • Satomi Takano Kitahara
For over fifteen years, I’ve been teaching Japanese and Japanese culture at university, and today most Brazilian students know that almost all Japanese names have meanings. At the beginning of each semester, I write my name, Satomi, in kanji and tell my students that 聡 means sabedoria (wisdom) and 美 means beleza (beauty). I was even accustomed to explaining the weighty expectations on me from my father. Names become a target of piada Brazilian people love jokes (piada), so you …