Are there any rules regarding Japanese names and surnames?

[mop]

Lately I've been practicing names by naming each character I doodle. I just thought it to be an important part of putting together a story. I had heard somewhere (can't remember where) that the Japanese government had some sort of law restricting which Kanji can be used to actually name somebody, so I became paranoid that there may be other rules about names that I was missing. Then, this post happened. I think everything's been cleared up now so thanks everyone for the help.

[jubeh]

I had heard somewhere (can't remember where) that the Japanese government had some sort of law restricting which Kanji can be used to actually name somebody

I can't tell if you're being serious or not but somebody mentioned that in this thread

[mop]

I can't tell if you're being serious or not but somebody mentioned that in this thread

Yes I'm aware.

I was just saying I had also heard that before I even made this thread, thus I made this thread in the first place. Since people were asking what this thread was for.

[Rio]

Article about Japanese baby name law.
Wikipedia entry about naming restrictions (look under "restrictions")

[Aether]

If this is for something you intend on writing, I would seriously re-think using Japanese names. If you use purely Japanese names in a setting that isn't even remotely Japanese it doesn't fit and is very disjointed. Now, for using the names in a Japanese setting...

Unless you really know cultures inside and out, I would stay far away from using other cultures for your setting. I mean, to a non-Japanese reader it may be the best thing for them since the invention of sliced bread. But for a Japanese reader they would pick up glaring problems within your writing that may not be such a glaring issue with a non-Japanese reader. So unless you really, and I mean really, fucking study cultures; I would stay away from it. And I'm not just saying this with Japanese settings and names and such, I'm talking about any culture that is not your own.

I think what is best for writing fantasy, because it's manga therefore it is fantasy, you would be best creating your own world and mixing in a whole lot of cultures. Take some things from Indian culture and mix it with Japanese, like housing; Japanese styled homes with Indian decoration can look really cool and there aren't really glaring issues as you're creating your own culture. Just make sure you don't go like, "I'M WRITING ABOUT A NORDIC SAMURAI FROM IRELAND WHO LIKES TO EAT PAPADAMS HUR DUR...", try and keep things within reason.

[Sylux]

You could probably get away with Chinese Names

[saboten55]

I think naming Japanese characters can be really tough for
non-native Japanese speakers...

For example, putting "...ko" at the end of girl's name makes it
sound a bit old-fashioned. (still being used though)
From my view, it is similar to
naming someone "Margarette" or "Rosemary" in English.

(btw i actually like Aether's idea!! Nordic Samurai sounds too cool to resist )

When i went to japan this winter to c my grandparents,
i couldn't read most of the newborn babies' names
on the newspaper (>~<)
and it's not because i can't read kanji...
how come 太郎 (tarou) becomes Leira????

[Aether]

(btw i actually like Aether's idea!! Nordic Samurai sounds too cool to resist )

No, it's a stupid idea. It was an example of what not to do.

[jubeh]

Im stealing the nordic samurai idea its mine

[Aether]

Im stealing the nordic samurai idea its mine

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!