Shadowings Part 11

_O-Suke_ "The Helper."

_O-Sumi_ "The Refined,"--in the sense of "sifted."

_O-Sute_ "The Forsaken,"--foundling.[55]

[55] Not necessarily a real foundling. Sometimes the name may be explained by a curious old custom. In a certain family several children in succession die shortly after birth. It is decided, according to traditional usage, that the next child born must be exposed. A girl is the next child born;--she is carried by a servant to some lonely place in the fields, or elsewhere, and left there. Then a peasant, or other person, hired for the occasion (it is necessary that he should be of no kin to the family), promptly appears, pretends to find the babe, and carries it back to the parental home. "See this pretty foundling," he says to the father of the girl,--"will you not take care of it?" The child is received, and named "Sute," the foundling. By this innocent artifice, it was formerly (and perhaps in some places is still) supposed that those unseen influences, which had caused the death of the other children, might be thwarted.

_O-Tae_ "The Exquisite."

_O-Taka_ "The Honorable."

_O-Taka_ "The Tall."

_Takara_ "Treasure,"--precious object.

_O-Tama_ "Jewel."

_Tamae_ "Jewel-branch."

_Tokiwa_[56] "Eternally Constant."

[56] Lit., "Everlasting-Rock,"--but the ethical meaning is "Constancy-everlasting-as-the-Rocks." "Tokiwa" is a name famous both in history and tradition; for it was the name of the mother of Yos.h.i.tsune. Her touching story,--and especially the episode of her flight through the deep snow with her boys,--has been a source of inspiration to generations of artists.

_O-Tomi_ "Riches."

_O-Toshi_ "The Deft,"--skilful.

_O-Tsuma_ "The Wife."

_O-Yori_ "The Trustworthy."

_O-Waka_ "The Young."

Place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are particularly difficult to explain. A child may be called after a place because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because of beliefs belonging to the old Chinese philosophy regarding direction and position, or because of traditional custom, or because of ideas connected with the religion of Shinto.

PLACE-NAMES

_O-Fuji_ [Mount] "Fuji."

_O-Hama_ "Coast."

_O-Ichi_ "Market,"--fair.

_O-Iyo_ "Iyo,"--province of Iyo, in Shikoku.

_O-Kawa_ (rare) "River."

_O-Kishi_ "Beach,"--sh.o.r.e.

_O-Kita_ "North."

_O-Kiwa_ "Border."

_O-Kuni_ "Province."

_O-Kyo_ "Capital,"--metropolis,--Kyoto.

_O-Machi_ "Town."

_Matsue_ "Matsue,"--chief city of Izumo.

_O-Mina_[57] "South."

[57] Abbreviation of _Minami_.

_O-Mine_ "Peak."

_O-Miya_ "Temple" [_Shinto_].[58]

[58] I must confess that in cla.s.sing this name as a place-name, I am only making a guess. It seems to me that the name probably refers to the _ichi no miya_, or chief Shinto temple of some province.

_O-Mon_[59] "Gate."

[59] I fancy that this name, like that of O-Seki, must have originated in the custom of naming children after the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. But here again, I am guessing.

_O-Mura_ "Village."

_O-Nami_[60] "Wave."

[60] This cla.s.sification also is a guess. I could learn nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it is said to be unlucky.

_Naniwa_ "Naniwa,"--ancient name of osaka.

_O-Nishi_ "West."

_O-Rin_ "Park."

_O-Saki_ "Cape."

_O-Sato_ "Native Place,"--village,--also, home.

_O-Sawa_ "Marsh."

_O-Seki_ "Toll-Gate,"--barrier.

_Shigeki_ "Thickwood,"--forest.

_O-Shima_ "Island."

_O-Sono_ "Flower-garden."

_O-Taki_ "Cataract,"--or Waterfall.

_O-Tani_ "Valley."

_O-Tsuka_ "Milestone."

_O-Yama_ "Mountain."

The next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of the _yobina_ comprised in it. Some are really aesthetic and pleasing; others industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most disagreeable kind.

NAMES OF OBJECTS AND OF OCCUPATIONS ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO WOMEN

_Ayako_ or } "Damask-pattern."

_O-Aya_[61] }

[61] _Aya-Nishiki_,--the famous figured damask brocade of Kyoto,--is probably referred to.

_O-Fumi_ "Woman's Letter."

_O-Fusa_ "Ta.s.sel."

_O-Ito_ "Thread."

_O-Kama_[62] "Rice-Sickle."

[62] _O-Kama_ (Sickle) is a familiar peasant-name. _O-Kama_ (caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other ugly names in this list are servants' names. Servants in old time not only trained their children to become servants, but gave them particular names referring to their future labors.

_O-Kama_ "Caldron."

_Kazashi_ "Hair-pin."

_O-Kinu_ "Cloth-of-Silk."

_O-Koto_ "Harp."

_O-Nabe_ "Pot,"--or cooking-vessel.

_O-Nui_ "Embroidery."

_O-Shime_ "Clasp,"--ornamental fastening.

_O-Some_ "The Dyer."

_O-Taru_ "Cask,"--barrel.

The following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names.