Library

Reference

How to Write Names in Hiragana — Katakana or hiragana for your name? Katakana is how a Japanese reader reads your name; hiragana is the brush's own script, for art. What changes when a foreign name is written in hiragana, shown on real names.

How to Write Names in Kanji — Writing names in Japanese kanji — two methods, phonetic (ateji) and literal translation, with guidance on when each works best and detailed examples by Master Calligrapher Eri Takase.

How to Write Names in Katakana — How Japanese writes a foreign name in katakana, by how it is said. The rules you can check on your own name, the extended katakana for foreign sounds, and real names with their readings.

How to Write Your Name in Japanese, by How You Say It — Your name is written in Japanese by how you say it, not how it is spelled. How katakana works, with real names and their readings, and when hiragana or kanji is the better choice.

How We Get Your Name's Japanese — How we write a name in Japanese from the way it is said, how a reading is checked against the way Japan already writes a namesake, and how you can tell us your own pronunciation.

What Your Name Means — Where the meaning of your name comes from, how sure we are of it, and how that meaning finds the kanji Master Takase has brushed.