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READING NAMES The ''Nihon seishi daijiten'' is a two volume family name dictionary. One is arranged by stroke-number, the other arranged in gojūon order, and contains 33 different categories of name origin, indicated by a circled characters next to entries. The third volume (kaisetsu-hen) discusses the history of Japanese names, house crests, etc. The ''Monshō dai shō sei'' and '''''Kamon daizukan''''' are family-crest dictionaries that contain symbols or designs adopted as insignia by individuals, families, or other groups and applied to banners or armor for identification in battle, or to clothing or possessions for decoration. These symbols occupy an esteemed place among the graphic arts of Japan. Many of the most popular motifs first appeared in Japan simply as patterns on the costumes and paraphernalia of the court aristocracy of the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods. Family crests (kamon) were a product of the wars that ushered in the warrior class and the feudal era in the late 12th century. There is no single definitive collection of Japanese crests in general or of family crests in particular. The total number of design variations is probably between 4,000 and 5,000, with the most popular general categories being plants, flowers, and trees. Also depicted on crests are tools, implements, and other man-made objects, birds, insects, and animals, heavenly bodies and geographical features, abstract patterns and designs, and ideographs and symbols. HISTORICAL PERSONAGES The ''Sengoku jinmei jiten'' contains biographical material on Kamakura , Muromachi , and Sengoku historical personages. Entries ar arranged in gojūon order and include persons from the field of politics, economy, society, religion, literature, and art. The ''Heibonsha Dai jinmei jiten'' is a 10 volume set published in 1953 as the first truly modern multi-volume dictionary of Japanese biography. It covers persons deceased prior to 1953, and is indexed by gojūon. Volumes 7 & 8 cover foreigners (indexed alphabetically). In general, more detailed information can usually be found in historical and literary dictionaries than in this resource. WHO'S WHO'S The ''Shintei gendai Nihon jinmeiroku'' is the definitive source for information on living Japanese. It includes 105,000 entries, arranged in gojūon order. Entries include occupation, educational record, birthdate, professional resume, contact address, hobbies, professional associations, and contact address. The date the record was last updated is also included at the end of each entry. The ''Jinji koshinroku'' includes living leading figures in politics, government, academia, religion, business and the arts. It is arranged in gojūon order by kanji. Includes a brief biographical entry, with such information as contacts or friends and biographies of immediate family members. Listings depend on amount of tax paid, so also serves as a directory of wealth. The Jinbutsu Jōhō database is a databse that can be reached here COPYRIGHT HOLDERS, ETC. ''Gendai Nihon shippitsusha daijiten''
name pseudonym(s) (if any) speciality and area of interest or current theme of research date of birth/death hometown 出身地 educational history current awards, prizes, honors etc. (since 1991) group affiliations languages spoken and/or used when translating place of work contact details ''Kenkyūsha kenkyū kadai sōran: Jinbun shakai kagaku hen''
name date of birth university specialities position held background degrees held association memberships research interests publications NECROLOGIES ''Meiji kakochō: bukko jinmei jiten''
The ''Meiji kakochō'' is the result of a labor of love of its compiler, Ōue, and the personal attention that it was given by him is apparent throughout. For example, the last page has the inscription, "限りなき幽魂のために" (For the sake of the infinite souls). The detail that is given in many of the entries comes largely from obituaries and other research by the author/compiler. To compile this work, Ōue consulted postal records from Meiji 5 (1872), countless newspapers, and official gazettes/telegrams; he visited various temples and cemeteries, including military cemeteries, and collected epitaphs. The editor gives as much information as possible based on all of his collected data. This volume includes a chart for figuring out the ages of the deceased if they are not given in the text entry.
''Shōwa bukko jinmeiroku''
''KANSEI CHōSHū SHOKAFU''
There are four main groups of names into which the indexes are organized: ''seishi'' 姓氏 (surname), ''imina'' 諱 (posthumous name, 忌み名), and ''shōko'' 稱呼 (appellation/name), which includes all other types of names not found in the other categories, such as ''yōmei'' 幼名, ''tsūshō'' 通称, ''gō'' 号, ''ingō'' 院号, etc. Under this last category, ''shōko'', there are two additional sections for names based on ranks and titles: ''kanshokumei'' 官職名, ''kokumei'' 国名. While there are four basic types of names that the indexes deal with, each of the four index volumes do not correspond equally with one name type. The name-type ''shōko'' occupies the majority of the indexes (and hence the dictionary), with a total of 931 pages, including the two subcategories ''kanshokumei'' and ''kokumei''. The ''seishi'' (surname) only occupies about one tenth of the first index volume. This would obviously indicate that the way to go about tracking someone down in these volumes is not by their surname, but first by their ''shōko'', and then by their ''imina'', which occupies 688 pages of the indexes. NICHIGAI WHO ''(also known as: Nichigai/web sābisu who, Nichigai/web who)'' Online database containing biographical information about more than 420,000 Japanese. Contains name, place and date of birth, occupation, current address/contact information, career history, and hobbies. It notes when entry was last updated. Lists works published for academics, roles/albums for actors and musicians, and positions held by political figures. Database allows you to enter name in hiragana/katakana in case kanji reading of name is unknown. |
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