A couple weeks ago I was going through a Japanese workbook can came across some common names. For a moment I thought about learning them via flashcards, so today I made up a very small 20-card list. It was warming typing up the list, since the names are fairly familiar among characters and creators we all know and love.
佐藤 さとう 鈴木 すずき 高橋 たかはし 田中 たなか 渡辺 わたなべ 伊藤 いとう 中村 なかむら 山本 やまもと 小林 こばやし 斎藤 さいとう
加糖 かとう 吉田 よしだ 山田 やまだ 佐々木 ささき 松本 まつもと 山口 やまぐち 木村 きむら 井上 いのうえ 阿部 あべ 林 はやし
Perhaps my favorite of the list is 井上 (いのうえ), which has pretty ring to it and sounds so… proper. <3 Interestingly, KanjiDict’s list of common Japanese names (including male and female first names) does not include いのうえ. Hmm, right?
Personally, I believe learning the common names (including the various kanji writings) is a decent investment, especially when browsing things like wikipedia or official sites. And no matter how fast StarDict selections bring up a reading, the brain will be much quicker and often more correct (even with just a week of study).
For the reader, what are some of your favorite [non-exotic] surnames?
