Quote:
Originally Posted by acjama
My wife also has kanji compound name that most Japanese need to ask how to pronounce. Her parents chose the kanji with only personal preference in mind, and so did a friend to her child. And nobody has ever asked what my name means. Meanings of names or it's etymology simply are not important to (dare I say) most of the people, even in Japan.
I believe westerners are mostly concerned of how names sound and Japanese on top of that, how it looks written. Of course if the most suitable kanji compound for a name has a meaning like "federation of evil" (as does mine) or something, then some reconsideration might occur.
Just a tad on the side, but I once went to look for this Chinese dude in Yokohama Chinatown I've heard of, who was very good at writing western names in Chinese characters. Wanted to get a calligraphy poster for my sister with her chinetized name, but alas, didn't find him. Point being that Chinese has better rules for writing western names in kanji than Japanese.
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This is because Chinese language has far more sounds than Japanese.