:asian:
In Japan an Era always began with the ascendancy to the throne of a new Emperor, and during his life would always be known and referred to by his formal, but unspoken name, and upon his death is referred to by his Nengo or "Reign Name." For example, in 1926 when Hirohito became Emperor he selected the reign-name of “Showa - Peace Made Manifest”. During his life no one would ever use or say the name Hirohito, he would simply be referred to as the "Emperor." Further, his year of accession, 1926, was styled in the Japanese calendar as Showa One with 1936, being Showa Eleven, etc., and throughout his lifetime he was known as Emperor Hirohito. But since his death in 1989, he is now known as Emperor Showa.
With regard to other name changes up until the end of the Second World War historical sources identify male members of a Samurai family as being considered an adult upon reaching the age of fifteen, with male members of a Noble family being considered an adult at age thirteen. Although other sources identify the age of adulthood within each group as being the opposite, 13 for Samurai and 15 for nobles. However, regardless of which view is accepted at birth a child was first given a “milk” name that they retained until the age of three, unlike Western beliefs a Japanese child was considered to be two years old after having survived their first year of life.
When a child reach the age of three [according to Japanese calculations] a second name was given and used until age seven when a final childhood name was bestowed until their later passage into adulthood. At this stage the last childhood name was discarded and a name made up of two characters was bestowed upon the male child. The first character of the individual’s adult name was always a hereditary one, and the second character was personally selected by the individual.” Once again it was found that some sources state the individual’s father selected the new name. Yet, regardless of the historical source cited, this adult name was bestowed upon the individual by their father or godfather during a special ceremony. Part of this ceremony included presentation of a Kao’, a special seal that was then used by the new Samurai for signing his new name. This right of passage also permitted the individual the privilege of selecting a different surname, if so desired, but the Uji [Clan] name was never changed.
Whenever, a Samurai or Noble family found itself without a male heir a blood relation such as a nephew or cousin or another male from an affiliated or allied clan, regardless of their age would be adopted. However, the family that this individual came from had to be one of equal stature to the family making the adoption. Upon assuming the surname of his new family the individual would often select a new name once again! The ability of a Samurai or Nobleman to select and use different names came from the exclusive birth right privileges of those belonging to either of these two classes. Until the Edo Period began this privilege was never available to anyone born into another social class. As a result many of todayÂ’s Japanese families only trace their roots back to the Edo period, the beginning of the 17th century when the cultural makeup became rigidly stratified into four major groups; the Nobility, the Samurai [Warrior], farmers and merchants, respectively.
The above are extracts from the unpublished book entitled:
“Shodan, Notes on the art of Aikido; Senju Aki Publications.
A subsidiary of The Daito Trading Company, LLC, Montague, New Jersey. With all rights reserved, and no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
:asian: :asian:
