Okinawa surnames

Historically, the Ryukyushans did not have surnames, since the 15th century, the Ryukyus nobility began to wear names according to the formula "uji + imina + kamei + title + everyday name." The first two were called the “Chinese name” and were used in official Ryukyu and Chinese documents.

The family name ( 名 名 kamei , I: numa :) , which later turned into a surname, was usually formed from a toponym or the name of a family estate. Often there was a change in the generic name to attract good luck. If the parents and children or brothers had different possessions, then the cameo was different.

Everyday name ( 名 乗 nanori ) always consisted of hieroglyphs. The first character was called nanori-gashira ( ас 乗 頭 ) . In the example of in the everyday name Choshu ( 朝 秀 : syu:), the hieroglyph 朝 is “nanori-gashira”, he begins all the names of people from the royal clan Shё.

People who did not own the land usually had the generic name of Nasim ( 名 島 ) .

Warriors from Sakishima were forbidden to have uji from one kanji, so local families had two in their generic name: Tudo-uji ( я 導 氏 ty: do: uji ) 、 Kimbo-uji ( japanese 錦芳 氏 kimbo: uji )

The Ryukyusians also used “baby names” ( 童 名 do: na; varabin:) , they were not subject to restrictions - they were ordinary popular names. Depending on the social class of the carrier, they addressed him with the prefix ma- ( yap. 真 ) or umi- ( yap. 思 ) and the suffix -kani ( yap. 金 ) : for example, the founder of the second dynasty, Sho Sho En, was called Umitukukani ( yap . 思德 金 ) .

The five most notable families ( 五大 姓 Godaysei ) are large families close to the court, clans of large officials and the clan of the king himself.

One of the earliest inscriptions with Ryukyu surnames is a stele in Tamauduna built in 1501, recorded mainly by cana , except for a few characters:

中 ぐ す く instead of 中 城 ( );

こ ゑ く instead of 越来 (Goeku);

と よ ​​ミ ぐ す く instead of 豊 見 城 (Toyomigusuku).

• See also

After the invasion of the Satsumi Khan, all cameos were written in hieroglyphs . In 1624, a law was passed banning Yamato surnames ( Japanese: 大 和 め き た る 名字 の 禁止 Yamatome kitaru me: ji no kinsi ) , and Japanese-style surnames were destroyed or replaced with ateji : Kunigi ( Japanese 国 上 ) → Japanese. 国 頭 , Funakoshi ( Japanese 船 越 ) → Japanese 富 名 腰 , Maeda ( Japanese 前 田 ) → Japanese 真 栄 田 , etc. In addition, the perception of Satsuma surnames and names began. Despite the existence of prohibitions on Japanese surnames, their execution was not very strictly monitored, and many such cameos survived, in contrast to Japanese toponyms, which were completely replaced.

After the annexation of Ryukyu and its transformation into Okinawa Prefecture, all commoners had to choose a surname, during this period many surnames from toponyms were created. The reading of surnames was Japaneseized, for example, the surname Kyan ( я 屋 武 武 ) began to be read “Kiyatake”, Ufugusuku ( 城p . 大城 ) → Ooshiro, etc. Readings in Ryukyu languages ​​remained frequently used until the outbreak of World War II. In the 21st century, such readings as Hagarie ( п 東江 ) , Nakandakari ( 仲 村 渠 ) and a small number of others remained frequent.

After World War II, a census was conducted there in Okinawa, before which, at , it was decided to change the names from Higa to Aoki, Utida, Kitida, and others.

It should be noted that many of the given surnames have options with the addition of the characters 里 or 城 at the end ^[5] .

• Okinawa Large Genealogical Dictionary ( 沖 縄 県 姓氏 家 系 大 辞典 ) , Kokadawa Shôten , 1992
• 別 冊 歴 史 読 本 『日本 の 苗 字 ベ ス ト 30000』 （新人物 往来 社 平 成 12 年）

• 沖 縄 県 の 姓 - 静岡 大学 総 合 情報 処理 セ ン タ ー
• 都 道 府 県 別 名字 ラ ン キ ン グ - 沖 縄 県 - （ 名字 資料 館内の 項目）