Scroll down for a list of all the kanji mentioned in this column.
Kanji Clinic #62 The Japan Times November 4, 2004
"Thinking about naming your baby 'Spiderman?' Think again"
Unlike that of many countries, the Japanese government has the legal authority to prevent parents from giving their children certain names-- say the kanji incarnation of "Spiderman.".
In order for the birth of a baby to be registered with local authorities in Japan, all the kanji in the child’s given name must be chosen from characters approved by the Justice Ministry. Parents are allowed to select from the 1,945 general-use (jouyou) kanji and a list of “name” (jinmei) kanji, or, alternatively, to write the name in kana.
Last June, the ministry announced that the 285 jinmei kanji list would be expanded, and, citing increasing diversification of values in Japanese society, that the public would be allowed to have its say in the matter.
A ministry working group first drew up a proposed list of 578 characters, based on frequency of use, and then gave the public one month to submit feedback on the would-be inductees. By the time the final list of newly allowed characters was announced in September, approximately 90 kanji--including “spider”-- had been axed.
Soon after the deadline for responses, the ministry proclaimed that nine
god-awful proposals-- “feces,” “corpse,” “curse,” “cancer,” “wickedness,”
“lewd,” “bear a grudge,” “hemorrhoid,” and “mistress” would be
the first group of kanji to be expunged from the list. Each of these highly
unpopular candidates had been given the nix by over 100 respondents.
Anatomical-kanji such as “buttocks,” “crotch,” “jaw,” “knee,” and
“throat” were later stricken from the list, as were unsavory body fluids
“pus” and “spittle.” Kanji painting pictures of violent death-- “to
drown,” “to crush,” and “to hang”-- were given the ax, as were several
characters related to criminal activity: “jail,” “prostitute,” “to
bribe,” and “to peep” (as in “peeping Tom”).
Several animals with image problems-- “rat,” “fox,” and “raccoon-dog” (tanuki, that pudgy animal with the jumbo-sized scrotum you see in ceramic form
outside of Japanese drinking establishments), for example-- were banished,
and so was “female animal” (the second character in the kanji compound
word “bitch”).
Regarding the elimination of animal and insect characters, there were, from my perspective, a few surprises. The industrious “ant” got stamped off the list, but the pesky “bee” managed to avoid a death sentence. “Frog,” whose gero-gero croak features in a traditional children’s song about the onset of summer, was exterminated, while the predatory “crocodile” was spared. And why, after all the complaints heard from Tokyoites about crows breaking open garbage bags-- not to mention fears of their spreading avian flu-- was “crow” not shooed away?
Unlike their jinmei counterparts, the joyo kanji have not been vetted for appropriateness of use in personal names,
and there are some real stinkers among them, too: “Pig,” death,” “urine,”
“poison,” “mosquito,” “tears,” “dirty,” and “hate”are just a
few of the over 300 general-use characters that name guidebooks for parents
counsel steering clear of. So why doesn’t the Justice Ministry give the
public an opportunity to disqualify joyo characters it considers distasteful, just as it did for the new jinmei characters?
This begs a larger question: Are disqualifications of any frequently used
kanji really necessary? With few exceptions, Japanese parents can be counted
on to give their children inoffensive-- if sometimes difficult to pronounce--kanji
names. Besides, universal agreement on the appropriateness of several thousand
individual kanji for use in names is impossible. As a demonstration of
this problematic fact, take the quiz below with a friend or spouse and
see how your opinions differ.
QUIZ
In each pair below, one is the English keyword for a new jinmei kanji, the other is the keyword for a kanji eliminated from the Justice Ministry’s original list. Identify which of the two, if either, you find more inappropriate for use in names. Those actually eliminated are given at the end.
1.spine/armpit
2.puzzle/lie
3.jealousy/gloom
4.to leak/to get wet
5. to kick/to scold
6.turnip/animal feed
7.to bark/to give off a smell
8.to crawl/to shave
9. mother-in-law/old woman
10.male animal /old man
Answers: 1.spine 2.lie 3.jealousy 4.to leak 5.to scold 6.animal feed 7.to bark 8. to shave 9.mother-in-law 10.old man
To view the complete list of new jinmei kanji, go here.
Kanji mentioned in this column:
spider 蜘
feces 糞
corpse 屍
curse 呪
cancer 癌
wickedness 姦
lewd 淫
to bear a grudge 怨
hemorrhoid 痔
mistress 妾
buttocks 尻
crotch 股
jaw 顎
knee 膝
throat 喉, 咽
pus 膿
spittle 唾
to drown 溺
to crush 潰
to hang 吊
to bribe 賂
jail 牢
prostitute 娼
to peep 覗
rat 鼠
fox 狐
raccoon-dog 狸
female animal 牝
ant 蟻
bee 蜂
frog 蛙
crocodile 鰐
crow 烏
pig 豚
death 死
urine 尿
poison 毒
mosquito 蚊
dirty 汚
hate 嫌
Kanji in the quiz:
spine 脊
armpit 脇
puzzle 謎
lie 嘘
jealousy 妬
gloom 闇
to leak 洩
to get wet 濡
to kick 蹴
to scold 叱
animal feed 餌
turnip 蕪
to bark 吠
to give off a smell 匂
mother-in-law 姑
old woman 姥
to shave 剃
to crawl 這
male animal 牡
old man 爺