Jinmeiyō kanji

The jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字, lit. Chinese characters for use in personal names) are a set of 862 Chinese characters known as "name kanji" in English. They are a supplementary list of characters that can legally be used in registered personal names in Japan, despite not being in the official list of "commonly used characters" (jōyō kanji). "Jinmeiyō kanji" is sometimes used to refer to the characters in both the jinmeiyō and jōyō lists.

A ministerial decree of 1946 limited the number of officially sanctioned kanji for public use to the 1850 tōyō kanji. Only kanji on this list were acceptable as registered names, despite the fact that the list excluded many kanji frequently used in names up to that point. However, on May 25, 1951, the cabinet extended the set of characters usable in names by specifying the first 90 jinmeiyō kanji.

Over the years, the Minister of Justice has increased the number of name kanji, and has a plan for further addition in response to requests from parents. As of April 30, 2009, there were 985 jinmeiyō kanji, but this number was reduced to 861 in late 2010 when 129 jinmeiyō characters were transferred to the jōyō kanji list, and 5 characters were transferred from the jōyō kanji list to jinmeiyō characters. In 2015, 1 kanji was added to the jinmeiyō list, making the total number 862.

In Japan, name kanji are taught at the junior-high level, and mastery of the name kanji is required to achieve Level 2 of the Kanji kentei, a Chinese-character proficiency test.

History

Below is a list of changes made to the jinmeiyō kanji list since its creation in 1951.

May 25, 1951

First 92 characters of jinmeiyō kanji were published:

丑 丞 乃 之 也 亘 亥 亦 亨 亮 伊 匡 卯 只 吾 呂 哉 嘉 圭 奈 宏 寅 巌 巳 庄 弘 弥 彦 悌 敦 昌 晃 晋 智 暢 朋 桂 桐 楠 橘 欣 欽 毅 浩 淳 熊 爾 猪 玲 琢 瑞 睦 磯 祐 禄 禎 稔 穣 綾 惣 聡 肇 胤 艶 蔦 藤 蘭 虎 蝶 輔 辰 郁 酉 錦 鎌 靖 須 馨 駒 鯉 鯛 鶴 鹿 麿 亀

Seven of them were later transferred to the jōyō kanji: 仙 尚 杉 甚 磨 斉 龍, the last one 龍 being simplified to 竜 (dragon).

July 30, 1976

28 kanji were added, for a total of 120 characters.

佑 允 冴 喬 怜 旭 杏 梓 梢 梨 沙 渚 瑠 瞳 紗 紘 絢 翠 耶 芙 茜 藍 那 阿 隼 鮎 葵

One was later transferred to the jōyō kanji: 悠.

October 1, 1981

Introduction of the jōyō kanji list, which includes the 8 characters mentioned above; those 8 are thus deleted from the jinmeyō kanji list. 54 other characters are added for a total of 166 name characters.

伍 伶 侑 尭 孟 峻 嵩 嶺 巴 彬 惇 惟 慧 斐 旦 昂 李 栗 楓 槙 汐 洵 洸 渥 瑛 瑶 璃 甫 皓 眸 矩 碧 笹 緋 翔 脩 苑 茉 莉 萌 萩 蓉 蕗 虹 諒 赳 迪 遥 遼 霞 頌 駿 鳩 鷹

March 1, 1990

118 kanji were added for a total of 284 characters.

伎 伽 侃 倖 倭 偲 冶 凌 凜 凪 捺 於 旺 昴 晏 晟 晨 暉 曙 朔 凱 勁 叡 叶 唄 啄 奎 媛 嬉 宥 崚 嵐 嵯 巽 彗 彪 恕 憧 拳 捷 杜 柊 柚 柾 栞 梧 椋 椎 椰 椿 楊 榛 槻 樺 檀 毬 汀 汰 洲 湧 滉 漱 澪 熙 燎 燦 燿 爽 玖 琳 瑚 瑳 皐 眉 瞭 碩 秦 稀 稜 竣 笙 紬 絃 綜 綸 綺 耀 胡 舜 芹 茄 茅 莞 菖 菫 蒔 蒼 蓮 蕉 衿 袈 裟 詢 誼 諄 邑 醇 采 雛 鞠 颯 魁 鳳 鴻 鵬 麟 黎 黛

December 3, 1997

1 kanji was added, for a total of 285 characters.

琉

February 23, 2004

1 kanji was added, for a total of 286 characters.

曽

June 7, 2004

1 kanji was added, for a total of 287 characters.

獅

June 11, 2004

No addition to the jinmeiyō kanji was made on this date. However, a plan for 578 additions was put forward to the council on jinmeiyō kanji of the legislative council of the Ministry of Justice. The list included certain characters in strong demand by parents for use in their children's names, such as:

Many others were included not for their potential uses in names (as is noted), but rather because of their frequent use and being easy to read and write. Examples include:

At this same council, the decision was made to call for suggestions on characters to be included or excluded via the Ministry of Justice website, until July 9, 2004.

July 12, 2004

3 kanji were added, for a total of 290 characters.

毘 瀧 駕

July 23, 2004

No additions were made. After sharp protests, the council decided to withdraw nine characters from the 489 whose inclusion had been discussed. These nine characters were:

The 480 other characters still remained under consideration for inclusion, with one additional character added to them, namely 掬 (kiku, "to draw up water with one's hands").

September 27, 2004

484 characters and variant forms of 209 jōyō kanji were added, bringing the total number of the jinmeiyō kanji to 983.

April 30, 2009

2 more characters for a total number of 985 characters.

祷 穹

November 30, 2010

In late 2010, the Japanese government added 196 characters to the jōyō kanji list. The list now includes 129 characters previously classified as jinmeiyō kanji, 11 of which are currently used in Japanese prefectures or nearby countries:[1][2]

At the same time, 5 characters deleted from the jōyō kanji list were added to the jinmeiyō kanji list, making the total number of jinmeiyō kanji 861:

January 7, 2015

1 kanji was added, for a total of 862 characters.

巫

List of jinmeiyō kanji

The list is split into two parts:

Jinmeiyō kanji not part of the jōyō kanji

Variants are given in brackets.

丑丞乃之乎也云亘(亙)些亦亥亨亮仔伊伍伽佃佑伶侃侑俄俠俣俐倭俱倦倖偲傭儲允兎兜其冴凌凜(凛)凧凪凰凱函劉劫勁勺勿匁匡廿卜卯卿厨厩叉叡叢叶只吾吞吻哉哨啄哩喬喧喰喋嘩嘉嘗噌噂圃圭坐尭(堯)坦埴堰堺堵塙壕壬夷奄奎套娃姪姥娩嬉孟宏宋宕宥寅寓寵尖尤屑峨峻崚嵯嵩嶺巌(巖)巫已巳巴巷巽帖幌幡庄庇庚庵廟廻弘弛彗彦彪彬徠忽怜恢恰恕悌惟惚悉惇惹惺惣慧憐戊或戟托按挺挽掬捲捷捺捧掠揃摑摺撒撰撞播撫擢孜敦斐斡斧斯於旭昂昊昏昌昴晏晃(晄)晒晋晟晦晨智暉暢曙曝曳朋朔杏杖杜李杭杵杷枇柑柴柘柊柏柾柚桧(檜)栞桔桂栖桐栗梧梓梢梛梯桶梶椛梁棲椋椀楯楚楕椿楠楓椰楢楊榎樺榊榛槙(槇)槍槌樫槻樟樋橘樽橙檎檀櫂櫛櫓欣欽歎此殆毅毘毬汀汝汐汲沌沓沫洸洲洵洛浩浬淵淳渚(渚)淀淋渥湘湊湛溢滉溜漱漕漣澪濡瀕灘灸灼烏焰焚煌煤煉熙燕燎燦燭燿爾牒牟牡牽犀狼猪(猪)獅玖珂珈珊珀玲琢(琢)琉瑛琥琶琵琳瑚瑞瑶瑳瓜瓢甥甫畠畢疋疏皐皓眸瞥矩砦砥砧硯碓碗碩碧磐磯祇祢(禰)祐(祐)祷(禱)禄(祿)禎(禎)禽禾秦秤稀稔稟稜穣(穰)穹穿窄窪窺竣竪竺竿笈笹笙笠筈筑箕箔篇篠簞簾籾粥粟糊紘紗紐絃紬絆絢綺綜綴緋綾綸縞徽繫繡纂纏羚翔翠耀而耶耽聡肇肋肴胤胡脩腔脹膏臥舜舵芥芹芭芙芦苑茄苔苺茅茉茸茜莞荻莫莉菅菫菖萄菩萌(萠)萊菱葦葵萱葺萩董葡蓑蒔蒐蒼蒲蒙蓉蓮蔭蔣蔦蓬蔓蕎蕨蕉蕃蕪薙蕾蕗藁薩蘇蘭蝦蝶螺蟬蟹蠟衿袈袴裡裟裳襖訊訣註詢詫誼諏諄諒謂諺讃豹貰賑赳跨蹄蹟輔輯輿轟辰辻迂迄辿迪迦這逞逗逢遥(遙)遁遼邑祁郁鄭酉醇醐醍醬釉釘釧銑鋒鋸錘錐錆錫鍬鎧閃閏閤阿陀隈隼雀雁雛雫霞靖鞄鞍鞘鞠鞭頁頌頗顚颯饗馨馴馳駕駿驍魁魯鮎鯉鯛鰯鱒鱗鳩鳶鳳鴨鴻鵜鵬鷗鷲鷺鷹麒麟麿黎黛鼎

The 18 characters which have a variant included in the list are:

亙（亘）凛（凜）堯（尭）巖（巌）晄（晃）檜（桧）槇（槙）渚（渚）猪（猪）琢（琢）禰（祢）祐（祐）禱（祷）祿（禄）禎（禎）穰（穣）萠（萌）遙（遥）

Traditional variants of jōyō kanji (212)

The modern form (shinjitai), which appears in the Jōyō Kanji List, is given in brackets.

亞（亜） 惡（悪） 爲（為） 逸（逸） 榮（栄） 衞（衛） 謁（謁） 圓（円） 緣（縁） 薗（園） 應（応） 櫻（桜） 奧（奥） 橫（横） 溫（温） 價（価） 禍（禍） 悔（悔） 海（海） 壞（壊） 懷（懐） 樂（楽） 渴（渇） 卷（巻） 陷（陥） 寬（寛） 漢（漢） 氣（気） 祈（祈） 器（器） 僞（偽） 戲（戯） 虛（虚） 峽（峡） 狹（狭） 響（響） 曉（暁） 勤（勤） 謹（謹） 駈（駆） 勳（勲） 薰（薫） 惠（恵） 揭（掲） 鷄（鶏） 藝（芸） 擊（撃） 縣（県） 儉（倹） 劍（剣） 險（険） 圈（圏） 檢（検） 顯（顕） 驗（験） 嚴（厳） 廣（広） 恆（恒） 黃（黄） 國（国） 黑（黒） 穀（穀） 碎（砕） 雜（雑） 祉（祉） 視（視） 兒（児） 濕（湿） 實（実） 社（社） 者（者） 煮（煮） 壽（寿） 收（収） 臭（臭） 從（従） 澁（渋） 獸（獣） 縱（縦） 祝（祝） 暑（暑） 署（署） 緖（緒） 諸（諸） 敍（叙） 將（将） 祥（祥） 涉（渉） 燒（焼） 奬（奨） 條（条） 狀（状） 乘（乗） 淨（浄） 剩（剰） 疊（畳） 孃（嬢） 讓（譲） 釀（醸） 神（神） 眞（真） 寢（寝） 愼（慎） 盡（尽） 粹（粋） 醉（酔） 穗（穂） 瀨（瀬） 齊（斉） 靜（静） 攝（摂） 節（節） 專（専） 戰（戦） 纖（繊） 禪（禅） 祖（祖） 壯（壮） 爭（争） 莊（荘） 搜（捜） 巢（巣） 曾（曽） 裝（装） 僧（僧） 層（層） 瘦（痩） 騷（騒） 增（増） 憎（憎） 藏（蔵） 贈（贈） 臟（臓） 卽（即） 帶（帯） 滯（滞） 瀧（滝） 單（単） 嘆（嘆） 團（団） 彈（弾） 晝（昼） 鑄（鋳） 著（著） 廳（庁） 徵（徴） 聽（聴） 懲（懲） 鎭（鎮） 轉（転） 傳（伝） 都（都） 嶋（島） 燈（灯） 盜（盗） 稻（稲） 德（徳） 突（突） 難（難） 拜（拝） 盃（杯） 賣（売） 梅（梅） 髮（髪） 拔（抜） 繁（繁） 晚（晩） 卑（卑） 祕（秘） 碑（碑） 賓（賓） 敏（敏） 冨（富） 侮（侮） 福（福） 拂（払） 佛（仏） 勉（勉） 步（歩） 峯（峰） 墨（墨） 飜（翻） 每（毎） 萬（万） 默（黙） 埜（野） 彌（弥） 藥（薬） 與（与） 搖（揺） 樣（様） 謠（謡） 來（来） 賴（頼） 覽（覧） 欄（欄） 龍（竜） 虜（虜） 凉（涼） 綠（緑） 淚（涙） 壘（塁） 類（類） 禮（礼） 曆（暦） 歷（歴） 練（練） 鍊（錬） 郞（郎） 朗（朗） 廊（廊） 錄（録）

Actual usage in names

Usage of the Jinmeiyō Kanji in Japanese names varies widely. For example, 之, is used in over 6000 names, and the 53 kanji used most commonly in names are all in over 500 names each.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Akihiko Shiraishi, 「柿」など９字追加、「鷹」は選外　新常用漢字の修正案 ("New draft table adds 196 everyday-use kanji") in Asahi Shimbun, 23 October 2009, retrieved 25 October 2009. (Dead link as of 3 April 2016).
  2. ↑ Japan Times, Get set for next year's overhaul of official kanji, 21 October 2009, retrieved 27 February 2010.}}
  3. ↑ Kanshudo, The Jinmeiyō Kanji (人名用漢字)
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