Character Names

[silchi.livejournal.com]

In all the time I've spent following Naruto, one thing has always baffled me: the way in which character names are written.

Let's take Naruto, for example - in the manga, and the series logo, his name is written in katakana. Yet in episode 50 something, when he signs the frog-summoning scroll, he writes his name in hiragana.

Also, think about Sakura's name - that's a Japanese word, definately not a foreign one, so why isn't it written in hiragana?

Just curious, is all. =)

Comments

[seeing-scarlet.livejournal.com]

The same reason Sakura Kinomoto's name is written in kana in Cardcaptor Sakura. The creators wanted it that way.

[sakurak.livejournal.com]

My memory is a little fuzzy, but where in CCS was Sakura's name written in katakana? I recall the profile/narratives where they used kanji and I generally remember the name being in hiragana whenever someone addressed her by name. ._.

[jijabi.livejournal.com]

Kana doesn't just refer to katakana. It includes hiragana as well.

[kimivalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Well...considering that all the kanji have furigana, I assume that character names are written in Katakana because Kishimoto-sensei is appealing to a younger audience, I guess. Such is the nature of Shonen Jump. ._.

[kookie315.livejournal.com]

i wish i could even tell the difference.

[fleetingly.livejournal.com]

[silchi.livejournal.com]

Huh. It seems to me that hiragana would be the first thing youngsters would learn.

But I guess I can understand it being so because Kishi wanted it like that.

[fleetingly.livejournal.com]

[silchi.livejournal.com]

That was the case for me when I took a course in Japanese. Though, I still have trouble remembering katakana. XD;

[jean-kun.livejournal.com]

When people write Japanese words in katakana, it's meant to bring more emphasis on the word. That's what I gathered from it ^^

[herchuckness.livejournal.com]

"His family name is uzumaki and it is written in Hiragana as うずまき. His given name is naruto, which is written in katakana as ナルト. Hiragana is used for Japanese words (including Japanese names for people and places, which are usually written in kanji). Katakana is used mainly for foreign loan words (words that come from other languages, including foreign names), but it is also used for sound effects and to add emphasis in written Japanese (e.g., in manga).

uzumaki (うずまき or 渦巻き) means "whirlpool or eddy". On the other hand, naruto (ナルト) seems to have no meaning, because it is written in katakana. One's initial instinct is to treat it as though it were simply a phonetic spelling of a foreign name, and thus sans intrinsic meaning to Japanese readers/viewers. However, the name naruto is a clever one because for Japanese people it adds emphasis to the character's name and personality by evoking a set of images/meanings: the first is of a special compressed fish cake; the second is of a famous ocean area near the coast."
- from http://www.blueturnip.com/writing/articles/uzumakinaruto.php

I've seen this mentioned elsewhere, I just had the link handy for this one. ;)

[silchi.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thanks! I didn't know katakana was also used for emphasis. You learn something new everyday.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

Y_Y I love you.

[herchuckness.livejournal.com]

♥

[snm-queen.livejournal.com]

Damn, you stole my thunder. :P

[jijabi.livejournal.com]

And using katakana for "Sasuke" was probably best to evoke images of Sarutobi Sasuke, the famous ninja, rather than a helpful person as the kanji for Sasuke (佐助 - both of which mean "helpful") would suggest.

[cthulhu-cult.livejournal.com]

It's fairly rare to see a name just written in hiragana. Pretty much all Japanese people have kanji names. But Naruto never knew his parents, so he has no idea what kanji name they gave him, so all he knows is how to write it in hiragana.

[hikari-cyhan.livejournal.com]

It doesn't matter what kanji they gave him; it would still be on official record. In Japan, when your name is registered with the government, you have to choose the kanji that make up your name. Changing your kanji is the same as changing your name, even if the reading remains the same.

[cthulhu-cult.livejournal.com]

They don't live in Japan. Since Naruto was orphaned so young, the only record they'd have of him in Konoha is orally. Which would naturally default to hiragana.

[hikari-cyhan.livejournal.com]

Orally, yes. Which means that someone would have known who his mother was. And while she might not have told who the father was, her name would most certainly be on file, and that file would include how the name was written.

[hikari-cyhan.livejournal.com]

Probably to bring a foreign sort of feel to the series. The Naruto world is like Japan, but not exactly Japan.

[silchi.livejournal.com]

That makes alot of sense to me. ^-^

[lyraelin.livejournal.com]

But isn't Sakura's family name written in hiragana? I didn't know you could mix and match like that.

[silchi.livejournal.com]

You noticed that, too, deary? I'm sure I've seen it in hiragana. Alot of characters with the mixed characters like that. Meh. I think I'll just take the explinations I've been given and be happy with them. =.=