Names in Japanese

Japanese has two phonetic scripts, and your name can be written in either — but katakana is the standard for foreign names. Katakana was extended in modern times to represent sounds not found in native Japanese, like the “v” in Vivian. Hiragana was left largely unchanged, so some sounds must substitute — V becomes B, for example. Katakana also carries a signal: a Japanese reader seeing ハイ assumes a foreign word or name, while はい in hiragana reads as the Japanese word for “yes.” Hiragana has flowing, curved strokes — the poetesses of the Heian era created it — and many choose it for its softer aesthetic, especially in cursive calligraphy. Both are correct, but katakana was built for this purpose.

Pairing a name with the kanji for “life” is a tradition that goes back centuries in Japan. Japanese dictionaries note an older meaning of 命 (inochi, “life”): paired tattoos on the arms of lovers, a declaration of unwavering devotion. Our phrase designs draw from this tradition — your name in kana composed with a kanji phrase like “is My Life,” “is My Love,” or “is My Soulmate.” The result reads as a personal statement in two writing systems — your name and something you want to say with it.

Many names carry a meaning — Amy means “beloved,” Violet means “violet,” Hunter means “hunter.” These etymologies are researched from scholarly sources. When the meaning translates well to Japanese, it becomes a design — each an original kanji composition brushed by Master Takase. Amy’s meaning becomes 最愛, read saiai, a completely different pronunciation because this design captures what the name means rather than how it sounds.

In Japanese, names are written in kanji — characters that carry both sound and meaning at once. Kana captures how your name sounds. Kanji captures what it means. This design combines both: your name in kana alongside its meaning in kanji. Amy appears in katakana with 最愛 (saiai, “Beloved”) — the sound of your name and what it means, in one composition.