chuunin_mod (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chuunin_mod) wrote,@ 2006-08-26 18:44:00 |
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What do the characters' names mean?
(Note: This page contains some Japanese text; if it will not display or comes out as gibberish on your system, check this page to learn how to make it display properly.)
Team Seven
春野サクラ Haruno Sakura: 'Haruno' means 'of spring'. 'Sakura' means 'cherry blossom'. Hence Sakura's name means, literally, 'cherry blossom of spring'.
はたけカカシ Hatake Kakashi: 'Hatake' is a field -- specifically a regular farm field rather than a rice field. 'Kakashi' is a scarecrow.
うちはサスケ Uchiha Sasuke: 'Uchiha' is similar in pronunciation to the word 'uchiwa', which is a round paddle-shaped fan, the same one seen in the Uchiha family emblem. (In the Japanese language, there are some instances where a syllable written as 'ha' is pronounced 'wa', hence the pun is immediately obvious to Japanese readers.) 'Sasuke' is a common boy's name as well as being the personal name of Sarutobi Sasuke, a famous fictional ninja in Japanese history.
うずまきナルト Uzumaki Naruto: 'Uzumaki' is a whirlpool, a coil, or a spiral shape. 'Naruto' refers to two things -- a type of kamaboko (steamed fish-paste cake) used as a topping on ramen, and the Naruto whirlpool, a famous Japanese landmark. Slices of naruto in ramen traditionally have a pink swirl in the middle, so this name is a pun on two different levels.
Team Eight
油女シノ Aburame Shino: 'Aburame' means 'oil woman'. If 'Shino' has a specific intended meaning, it's unclear.
日向ヒナタ Hyuuga Hinata: Both Hinata's surname and personal name mean the same thing: 'a sunny place' or 'in the sun'.
犬塚キバ Inuzuka Kiba: 'Inuzuka' means 'dog hill'. 'Kiba' means 'fang'.
夕日紅 Yuuhi Kurenai: Kurenai's name means 'crimson sunset'. :) 'Yuuhi' is 'setting sun' and 'kurenai' is 'crimson'.
Team Ten
秋道チョウジ Akimichi Chouji: 'Akimichi' means 'autumn road' or 'autumn path'. 'Chouji' contains the 'chou' of 'chouchou', which means 'butterfly'.
奈良シカマル Nara Shikamaru: 'Nara' is the name of a famous ancient city in Japan; one of the things Nara is known for is its deer. 'Shikamaru' contains 'shika', which means 'deer'. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names.
猿飛アスマ Sarutobi Asuma: 'Sarutobi' means 'flying monkey', and also evokes the name Sarutobi Sasuke, a famous fictional ninja. 'Asuma' is a normal name and does not appear to have any special meaning.
山中いの Yamanaka Ino: 'Yamanaka' means 'inside the mountain'. 'Ino' is from 'inoshishi', a boar. (Hence why Sakura taunts Ino with the name 'Ino-buta', meaning 'Ino-pig'.)
Team Gai
日向ネジ Hyuuga Neji: 'Hyuuga' means 'a sunny place' or 'in the sun'. 'Neji' means 'a screw' (as in the metal kind), 'helix', or 'spiral'.
マイト・ガイ Maito Gai: According to Kishimoto-sensei, this name was chosen because he is indeed a "Mighty Guy".
ロック・リー Rock Lee: Thought to be a pun on the name of famous martial artist Bruce Lee.
テンテン Tenten: The repetitive nature of Tenten's name, coupled with her hair and clothing style, seem to suggest that she is supposed to be Chinese.
Sand Siblings
我愛羅 Gaara: As detailed in the series, Gaara's name means 'a demon who loves only himself'. Read literally, the three characters mean 'self (我 ga) love (愛 a) demon (羅 ra)'. The 'ra' in Gaara's name is short for 'Ashura', a specific kind of demon.
カンクロウ Kankurou: Also the name of a line of famous kabuki actors.
テマリ Temari: These are traditional Japanese cloth balls, once made as children's toys and now regarded as an art form. Read more here.
Sannin
地来也 Jiraiya: Jiraiya's name and that of the other two Sannin are lifted from a Japanese serial novel and kabuki play of the mid to late 1800s titled "Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari" (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya). Kishimoto-sensei writes his Jiraiya's name with different kanji than the Jiraiya of the 1800s; the characters of our Jiraiya's name can be read as 'to come and be on the earth'.
大蛇丸 Orochimaru: 'Orochi' means a giant snake. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names. Orochimaru was, unsurprisingly, the traitorous ally-turned-villain of Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari.
綱手 Tsunade: 'tsunade' is mooring rope. The Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari character was the female lead and Jiraiya's love interest.
Akatsuki
（赤砂の）サソリ (Akasuna no) Sasori: 'Sasori' means 'scorpion'. 'Akasuna no Sasori', therefore, is 'Scorpion of the Red Sand'.
飛段 Hidan: 'Hi' is an abbreviation of 飛車 'hisha', the name of the rook piece in shogi.
干柿鬼鮫 Hoshigaki Kisame: 'Hoshigaki' are dried persimmons. 'Kisame' means 'demon shark'.
角都 Kakuzu: 'Kaku' is an abbreviation of 角行 'kakugyou', the name of the bishop piece in shogi.
うちはイタチ Uchiha Itachi: 'Uchiha' is similar in pronunciation to the word 'uchiwa', which is a round paddle-shaped fan, the same one seen in the Uchiha family emblem. (In the Japanese language, there are some instances where a syllable written as 'ha' is pronounced 'wa', hence the pun is immediately obvious to Japanese readers.) 'Itachi' means 'weasel'.
Kirigakure
白 Haku: The kanji for Haku's name means 'white'.
桃地再不斬 Momochi Zabuza: 'Momochi' means 'ground where peaches grow' (literally 'peach [momo] ground [chi]'). The characters in 'Zabuza' can be read as 'not kill again' or 'not kill a second time'.
Konohagakure
月光ハヤテ Gekkou Hayate: 'Gekkou' means 'moonlight'. Hayate is a normal Japanese name.
はがねコテツ Hagane Kotetsu: 'Hagane' means 'steel'. 'Kotetsu' contains 'tetsu', which means 'iron'.
はたけサクモ Hatake Sakumo: 'Hatake' is a field -- specifically a regular farm field rather than a rice field. 'Sakumo' probably comes from the word 'sakumotsu' (作物), meaning produce or crops.
神月イズモ Kamizuki Izumo: 'Kamizuki' means 'divine moon' or 'god moon'. 'Izumo' may refer to Izumo Taisha, a famous Shinto shrine.
みたらしアンコ Mitarashi Anko: 'Mitarashi' is the name of a honey-like syrup made from soy sauce which is sometimes used to flavor dango (Anko's favorite food). 'Anko' is a sweet red bean paste, also used to flavor dango.
並足ライドウ Namiashi Raidou: 'Namiashi' means 'a walking pace' or 'slow march'. 'Raidou' can mean 'following blindly'.
不知火ゲンマ Shiranui Genma: 'Shiranui' means 'phosphorescent light' or 'mysterious lights on the sea'. Genma is a regular Japanese name and appears to have no special meaning.
うみのイルカ Umino Iruka: 'Umino' means 'of the sea'. 'Iruka' means 'dolphin'.
Otogakure
赤胴ヨロイ Akadou Yoroi: 'Yoroi' means armor.
ドス・キヌタ Dosu Kinuta, キン・ツチ Kin Tsuchi, ザク・アブミ Zaku Abumi: Appropriately for Sound ninja, all three of these characters are named using Japanese onomatopoeia.
次郎坊 Jiroubou: This name means 'next son'.
鬼童丸 Kidoumaru: 'Kidou' means 'demon child'. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names.
君麻呂 Kimimaro: This name is of a classical style that evokes images of the ancient Japanese nobility.
左近 Sakon means 'close to the left', while 右近 Ukon means 'close to the right'.
多由也 Tayuya: The -ya ending makes this name sound boyish. The kanji of 'tayu' can mean 'many reasons' or 'many causes'.
剣ミスミ Tsurugi Misumi: 'Tsurugi' means a sword.
薬師カブト Yakushi Kabuto: 'Yakushi' means 'a master/teacher of medicine', and may evoke the image of Buddha as healer of all ills. 'Kabuto' means a helmet or headpiece.
(Note: This page contains some Japanese text; if it will not display or comes out as gibberish on your system, check this page to learn how to make it display properly.)
Team Seven
春野サクラ Haruno Sakura: 'Haruno' means 'of spring'. 'Sakura' means 'cherry blossom'. Hence Sakura's name means, literally, 'cherry blossom of spring'.
はたけカカシ Hatake Kakashi: 'Hatake' is a field -- specifically a regular farm field rather than a rice field. 'Kakashi' is a scarecrow.
うちはサスケ Uchiha Sasuke: 'Uchiha' is similar in pronunciation to the word 'uchiwa', which is a round paddle-shaped fan, the same one seen in the Uchiha family emblem. (In the Japanese language, there are some instances where a syllable written as 'ha' is pronounced 'wa', hence the pun is immediately obvious to Japanese readers.) 'Sasuke' is a common boy's name as well as being the personal name of Sarutobi Sasuke, a famous fictional ninja in Japanese history.
うずまきナルト Uzumaki Naruto: 'Uzumaki' is a whirlpool, a coil, or a spiral shape. 'Naruto' refers to two things -- a type of kamaboko (steamed fish-paste cake) used as a topping on ramen, and the Naruto whirlpool, a famous Japanese landmark. Slices of naruto in ramen traditionally have a pink swirl in the middle, so this name is a pun on two different levels.
Team Eight
油女シノ Aburame Shino: 'Aburame' means 'oil woman'. If 'Shino' has a specific intended meaning, it's unclear.
日向ヒナタ Hyuuga Hinata: Both Hinata's surname and personal name mean the same thing: 'a sunny place' or 'in the sun'.
犬塚キバ Inuzuka Kiba: 'Inuzuka' means 'dog hill'. 'Kiba' means 'fang'.
夕日紅 Yuuhi Kurenai: Kurenai's name means 'crimson sunset'. :) 'Yuuhi' is 'setting sun' and 'kurenai' is 'crimson'.
Team Ten
秋道チョウジ Akimichi Chouji: 'Akimichi' means 'autumn road' or 'autumn path'. 'Chouji' contains the 'chou' of 'chouchou', which means 'butterfly'.
奈良シカマル Nara Shikamaru: 'Nara' is the name of a famous ancient city in Japan; one of the things Nara is known for is its deer. 'Shikamaru' contains 'shika', which means 'deer'. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names.
猿飛アスマ Sarutobi Asuma: 'Sarutobi' means 'flying monkey', and also evokes the name Sarutobi Sasuke, a famous fictional ninja. 'Asuma' is a normal name and does not appear to have any special meaning.
山中いの Yamanaka Ino: 'Yamanaka' means 'inside the mountain'. 'Ino' is from 'inoshishi', a boar. (Hence why Sakura taunts Ino with the name 'Ino-buta', meaning 'Ino-pig'.)
Team Gai
日向ネジ Hyuuga Neji: 'Hyuuga' means 'a sunny place' or 'in the sun'. 'Neji' means 'a screw' (as in the metal kind), 'helix', or 'spiral'.
マイト・ガイ Maito Gai: According to Kishimoto-sensei, this name was chosen because he is indeed a "Mighty Guy".
ロック・リー Rock Lee: Thought to be a pun on the name of famous martial artist Bruce Lee.
テンテン Tenten: The repetitive nature of Tenten's name, coupled with her hair and clothing style, seem to suggest that she is supposed to be Chinese.
Sand Siblings
我愛羅 Gaara: As detailed in the series, Gaara's name means 'a demon who loves only himself'. Read literally, the three characters mean 'self (我 ga) love (愛 a) demon (羅 ra)'. The 'ra' in Gaara's name is short for 'Ashura', a specific kind of demon.
カンクロウ Kankurou: Also the name of a line of famous kabuki actors.
テマリ Temari: These are traditional Japanese cloth balls, once made as children's toys and now regarded as an art form. Read more here.
Sannin
地来也 Jiraiya: Jiraiya's name and that of the other two Sannin are lifted from a Japanese serial novel and kabuki play of the mid to late 1800s titled "Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari" (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya). Kishimoto-sensei writes his Jiraiya's name with different kanji than the Jiraiya of the 1800s; the characters of our Jiraiya's name can be read as 'to come and be on the earth'.
大蛇丸 Orochimaru: 'Orochi' means a giant snake. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names. Orochimaru was, unsurprisingly, the traitorous ally-turned-villain of Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari.
綱手 Tsunade: 'tsunade' is mooring rope. The Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari character was the female lead and Jiraiya's love interest.
Akatsuki
（赤砂の）サソリ (Akasuna no) Sasori: 'Sasori' means 'scorpion'. 'Akasuna no Sasori', therefore, is 'Scorpion of the Red Sand'.
飛段 Hidan: 'Hi' is an abbreviation of 飛車 'hisha', the name of the rook piece in shogi.
干柿鬼鮫 Hoshigaki Kisame: 'Hoshigaki' are dried persimmons. 'Kisame' means 'demon shark'.
角都 Kakuzu: 'Kaku' is an abbreviation of 角行 'kakugyou', the name of the bishop piece in shogi.
うちはイタチ Uchiha Itachi: 'Uchiha' is similar in pronunciation to the word 'uchiwa', which is a round paddle-shaped fan, the same one seen in the Uchiha family emblem. (In the Japanese language, there are some instances where a syllable written as 'ha' is pronounced 'wa', hence the pun is immediately obvious to Japanese readers.) 'Itachi' means 'weasel'.
Kirigakure
白 Haku: The kanji for Haku's name means 'white'.
桃地再不斬 Momochi Zabuza: 'Momochi' means 'ground where peaches grow' (literally 'peach [momo] ground [chi]'). The characters in 'Zabuza' can be read as 'not kill again' or 'not kill a second time'.
Konohagakure
月光ハヤテ Gekkou Hayate: 'Gekkou' means 'moonlight'. Hayate is a normal Japanese name.
はがねコテツ Hagane Kotetsu: 'Hagane' means 'steel'. 'Kotetsu' contains 'tetsu', which means 'iron'.
はたけサクモ Hatake Sakumo: 'Hatake' is a field -- specifically a regular farm field rather than a rice field. 'Sakumo' probably comes from the word 'sakumotsu' (作物), meaning produce or crops.
神月イズモ Kamizuki Izumo: 'Kamizuki' means 'divine moon' or 'god moon'. 'Izumo' may refer to Izumo Taisha, a famous Shinto shrine.
みたらしアンコ Mitarashi Anko: 'Mitarashi' is the name of a honey-like syrup made from soy sauce which is sometimes used to flavor dango (Anko's favorite food). 'Anko' is a sweet red bean paste, also used to flavor dango.
並足ライドウ Namiashi Raidou: 'Namiashi' means 'a walking pace' or 'slow march'. 'Raidou' can mean 'following blindly'.
不知火ゲンマ Shiranui Genma: 'Shiranui' means 'phosphorescent light' or 'mysterious lights on the sea'. Genma is a regular Japanese name and appears to have no special meaning.
うみのイルカ Umino Iruka: 'Umino' means 'of the sea'. 'Iruka' means 'dolphin'.
Otogakure
赤胴ヨロイ Akadou Yoroi: 'Yoroi' means armor.
ドス・キヌタ Dosu Kinuta, キン・ツチ Kin Tsuchi, ザク・アブミ Zaku Abumi: Appropriately for Sound ninja, all three of these characters are named using Japanese onomatopoeia.
次郎坊 Jiroubou: This name means 'next son'.
鬼童丸 Kidoumaru: 'Kidou' means 'demon child'. '-maru' is a common traditional ending for boy's names.
君麻呂 Kimimaro: This name is of a classical style that evokes images of the ancient Japanese nobility.
左近 Sakon means 'close to the left', while 右近 Ukon means 'close to the right'.
多由也 Tayuya: The -ya ending makes this name sound boyish. The kanji of 'tayu' can mean 'many reasons' or 'many causes'.
剣ミスミ Tsurugi Misumi: 'Tsurugi' means a sword.
薬師カブト Yakushi Kabuto: 'Yakushi' means 'a master/teacher of medicine', and may evoke the image of Buddha as healer of all ills. 'Kabuto' means a helmet or headpiece.
