My Gang of Swordsmen Chapter 1: Tachibana Aoto’s Full Name: A Guide to Minamoto T

Many readers might be wondering—why is Aoto’s full na "Minamoto Tachibana Aoto Moriharu"? Why is his full na so long? What do Minamoto and Moriharu signify?

The author is here to enlighten you with a post about the na culture of Ancient Japan.

First of all, to get straight to the point—in Ancient Japan, samurai nas were always that long. The famous nas like Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kondo Isami, Chokata Toshisuke, and even the protagonist’s na "Tachibana Aoto" are only the short forms of their real nas.

A samurai’s full na typically consists of at least four components. I’ll use Aoto’s full na "Minamoto Tachibana Aoto Moriharu" as an example.

"Minamoto" is the [Shi], the na of an ancient Japanese clan. The well-known nas "Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara, Tachibana" are all clans, and Aoto is a descendant of the Genji Clan, hence he takes Minamoto as his clan na.

"Tachibana" is the [Miao Character]. During the Nara and Heian eras, people commonly used "clan na" to address each other, like Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, Taira no Kiyomori.

However, as the Samurai Class expanded, each clan branched into many families, so samurai began to abandon "clan na" and created "miao character."

In informal settings, they used "miao character na" for address. In Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu’s nas, Oda and Tokugawa are their miao characters.

"Aoto" is the [Tsuisho], similar in function to ancient Chinese "Zi" (courtesy na), as Ancient Japanese thought that the True Na should only be used by those incredibly close to them, thus they created a common na for others to use.

"Moriharu" is the [True Na], a na only close friends could call you by. Calling soone by their true na randomly was seen as extrely rude, tantamount to provocation.

Because only a select few could call a person by their true na, during the Edo Era, samurai would introduce themselves only with their miao character and tsuisho na.

Hence, in this book, when Aoto introduces himself to others, he only says, "My na is Tachibana Aoto," stating only his miao character and tsuisho, without imdiately revealing his true na.

After the iji Restoration, the iji governnt issued the "Mandatory Miao Character Decree," abolishing this complex naming system, retaining the miao character as a surna, and the true na as the given na.

Depending on the habitual naming conventions of different eras, a person could have different forms of address.

In the Heian Era, which used "clan true na," Aoto would be called "Genji Moriharu."

In the Edo Era, which used "miao character tsuisho," Aoto would be called "Tachibana Aoto."

In the modern era, which uses "miao character true na," Aoto would be called "Tachibana Moriharu."

By the way—Chokata Toshisuke’s full na is "Fujiwara Chokata Toshisuke Harumasa," and Kondo Isami’s full na is "Fujiwara Kondo Isami Changyi."

And this is not yet the extre length of an Ancient Japanese na. In their naming system, there were also terms like "Eight-color Surnas," "Legal Titles," and various other complicated elents, which will be explained in more detail later when there is ti.