Forum - View topicMeanings of character's names.
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next |
Author | Message | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
suna_suna
Posts: 550 Location: Ohio |
|
|||||
i think he just likes to say it. also, the four names Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu and Seiryu come up alot in anime (again Yu Yu Hakusho) and also video games (Tenchu 2). they are four deities i think |
||||||
abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
|
|||||
Yes, in lots of places. They are the names of the four gods or holy animals. Originally a Chinese mythological device, they were imported to Japanese mythology during the Heian period. A complex symbolism has been built up around them, and they each have a number of corresponding symbolic values: Suzaku - phoenix - South - Summer Genbu - tortoise - North - Winter Byakku - white tiger - West - Autumn Seiryuu - dragon - East - Spring Offhand, I can think of at least a dozen anime where the four animals play an important part, in one form or another. Fushigi Yuugi, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyoushou~, Mahou Shoutengai Abenobashi, etc. - abunai |
||||||
Kelly
Posts: 868 Location: New York City |
|
|||||
spoiler[I always took Dio's name to be an intentionally painful irony - being Delphine's heir but also completely powerless to protect either himself or his friends from her. I also took Luciola's name, aside from the Eraclea's apparent tradition of naming their slaves after insects (Luciola's brother is named Cicada), as representing a brief light - his acceptance of himself as a human being before being murdered so young, and his function as the one stabilizing force in Dio's life.] |
||||||
Iritscen
Subscriber
Posts: 794 |
|
|||||
And yet sometimes the name can be misleading. The guy who wrote "Wrong About Japan" talks about how he learned that "saya" meant "sheath", and excitedly applied it to the main character in Blood, who, appropriately, carries a sword. A Japanese acquaintance advised him that such an obvious wordplay was highly unlikely. Of course he made parts of that book up, so I'm not saying he's a source on anything authoritative, but that's just an example of how knowing just a little Japanese can be misleading.
"Shiro" means "castle", so does that mean the main character in 08th MS Team is named "Castle"? I doubt it. It seems that the more obivous wordplay is found in the works aimed at younger audiences, imo. Naruto, or DBZ, for instance. Let's not even get into DBZ names. Pretty much everyone knows those anyway -- Bulma's family being named after underwear (or related attire), Saiyans all being vegetables, etc. etc. |
||||||
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
|
|||||
They are also characters in Digimon East: Seiryuu (Blue Dragon) - Qinglongmon (Azulongmon) North: Genbu (Black Turtle) - Xuanwumon (Ebonwumon) West: Byakko (White Tiger) - Baihumon South: Suzaku (Red Sparrow/Phoenix) - Zhuqiaomon and they also feature in the PS2 game Shadow Hearts.
depends on the kanji: 城 (shiro) is castle 白 (shiro) is white There are a whole host of names that can be romanised as shiro or shirou. |
||||||
abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
|
|||||
Oh yes indeed.
Far more likely that his name is 白 (shiro, "white") than 城 (shiro, "castle"), since the former is a far more common name. Looking at the series website doesn't really give us any clues, since it's written in katakana as シロー (Shirô). If I was going to assume that his name had a hidden pun, I'd guess that it was a combination of 白 (shiro, "white") and 素人 (shirouto, "novice"). But that would really be reaching for it. - abunai EDIT: I see Shiroi Hane (白い羽) beat me to the punch, unsurprisingly under the circumstances. |
||||||
Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
|
|||||
I'd like to mention that in my name it means castle. Altough I will agree that the shiro/haku usage is more common in first names. I also tried to look up Hikaru in Figure 17's name to see if it also means light but could only find her name in kana online. I did confirm that Hikaru no Go is named after light. I believe Hikaru Ichijo uses a different kanji, maybe kagayaku instead of hikari. I never was a big fan of Sailor Moon, but their names also correspond to planets which fits the show, right? Either that or days of the week. |
||||||
LydiaDianne
Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
|
|||||
Zalis had these translations of the Sailor Senshi's names:
I have an old Sailor Moon RPG book that translates them this way: Tsukino Usagi - Rabbit of the Moon Mizuno Ami - Asian Beauty of Water Hino Rei - Spirit of Fire Kino Makoto - Sincerity of Wood Aino Minako - Beautiful Little Child of Love Chiba Mamoru - Protector of Earth Tenoh Haruka - Distant Heaven King Kaioh Michiru - Maturing Sea King Meioh Setsuna - Momentary Dark King Tomoe Hotaru - Firefly Sprouting from the Earth Seiya Kou - Star Field Light Taiki Kou - Atmospheric Light Yaten Kou- Night Sky Light Sorry that I don't have the kanji, but then I wouldn't know how to input it anyway. Most of the Senshi's names matches their particular skills but I never have figured out how Hotaru's name fits in with her role as Sailor Saturn. I also like what Sesshomaru's name could mean: From Wikipedia:
It's rather fits him, don't you think? Of course, he's loosened up (a little bit) now that he has Rin traveling with him. |
||||||
mrgazpacho
Posts: 316 Location: Australia |
|
|||||
No; according to Japanese superstition, the mulberry tree is less likely to be struck by lightning than any other tree. So the guy is probably saying that to protect himself from the dangerous ability that he is using. And it's therefore also easy to see how it became a general incantation to ward off bad luck |
||||||
suna_suna
Posts: 550 Location: Ohio |
|
|||||
which is ironic because spoiler[he dies by being struck by lightning] |
||||||
mrgazpacho
Posts: 316 Location: Australia |
|
|||||
Well, there's also "Ahiru" in Princess Tutu, although it's not really a subtle name |
||||||
Cuprin
Posts: 63 Location: Sacramento - Life stinks |
|
|||||
Also the four "bosses" in the Nintendo Final Fantasy for the Gameboy. |
||||||
suna_suna
Posts: 550 Location: Ohio |
|
|||||
they also made an appearance in Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins,l as i said earlier. they are the four lords of the burning dawn. they are: Suzaku:the red sparrow Seiryu:the blue dragon Byakko:the white tiger and Genbu:the green titan. i never did find out why genbu is the green titan and not the green turtle. all four also appeared in the rurouni kenshin manga |
||||||
hentai4me
Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
|
|||||
Why is everyone so amazed with the meaning behind Japanese names? It's not like they are the only ones to do it...
http://www.behindthename.com/usage.php I mean off the top of my head:- David - beloved Peter - rock(as in reliable or trustworthy) Abraham - Father perhaps because we dont have different alphabetical systems it's slightly different but names meaning things is hardly a Japanese cultural thing. |
||||||
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
|
|||||
No, they aren't the first oe only ones to do it, however this is an anime site, which is works of Japanese fiction, not Hebrew or Greek fiction.
|
||||||
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
||
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group