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Mar 28 2007 5 Comments

Japan Unwrapped #4: Naming nonsense

Dear Tokyo Times

I’ve heard that a lot of apartments in Tokyo have English rather than Japanese ‘names’, and that many of them are a little odd. Is it true?

Thanks!

Bob B, Seattle

It is true Bob, although it’s not just restricted to English, as there is a generous sprinkling of French and Spanish names out there too. That said, English monikers are very much in the majority.

Unfortunately — at least as far as truly nonsensical names are concerned — there’s no dearth of ‘dragons’.

Japanese apartment

And certainly no lack of ‘lions’ either.

Japanese apartment

Thankfully though some landlords do have a little more imagination. A love of colour — or indeed fruit — clearly influencing the naming of this brightly coloured abode.

Japanese apartment

Others however are clearly not so sure about what they want, and invariably just end up choosing something at random, regardless of how inappropriate it is.

Japanese apartment

Yet gauging the mindset of the building’s prospective rent payers appears to play a part in the process for many property owners, with this particular dwelling hoping to attract especially laid-back leaseholders.

Japanese apartment

Whilst others actively seek out those with a rather more transparent temperament.

Japanese apartment

An interesting approach that appears to have been taken to a whole new level in the country’s second city. The picture below, taken by the always amusing An Englishman in Osaka, proving that rather than matching the moniker with the inhabitants’ mindset, it can be used to actively try and mess with it.

Japanese apartment

Categorized: Japan Unwrapped, Language, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. PkerUNO says

    3/28/2007 at 3:22 pm

    Does http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkeruno/270244847/ qualify too?

    Reply
  2. Lee says

    3/28/2007 at 3:32 pm

    Most certainly!

    Reply
  3. Gavin says

    3/28/2007 at 8:49 pm

    When I was living in Japan, mine was
    Famille Matsudo Grand Hills!

    Fancy ehh, French, English and Japanese all in one 🙂 (and we weren’t even located on some particularly grand hills)

    Reply
  4. Lee says

    3/28/2007 at 10:13 pm

    Of the several places I’ve lived, the more memorable are Green Casa and Maison D’or. The latter being being especially misleading. It wasn’t even a house, and it was about as far as you could possibly get from gold…

    Reply
  5. Ken Y-N says

    3/29/2007 at 9:32 am

    Swiss friend of mine lived in “Maison Du Fleur”, which he said is Swiss/French slang for a house of ill-repute…

    My place is called Forme, but I haven’t a clue what that means.

    Also a couple of years ago we looked at a place called “Royal Gran”; if they’d completed the Engrish by making it “Royal Gran Mansion” I’d have moved in in an instant!

    Reply

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