Moshi-moshi!The Home of Animé!
Yes, Japan! That little island country off of Asia that I love so very, very much!
But what's the 411 on Pokémon in the country where it was born? What are the character's names? Do they have meaning? And where does it all come from? This and more from the site that brought you, "The Animé Café" and "Love Connections"... Dee's Rocket Corner!
Japan Names
Names names... so many names.
How do you pronounce them? Who's who? Hey, we don't call this "pointless crap" for nothing!
Ash Ketchum- Satoshi Tajiri (pronounced Suh-toe-she Tuh-zher-ee). Ash, "star" *cough cough* of the show, is named after the creator of this marvelous Animé! Personally, if I was the creator, I woulda named Jessie or James after me... maybe Brock... but whatever. Also- and this is kinda cool- according to my sources "Sato" means home, and I know for a fact "shi" means four. Ash was the FOURTH to leave HOME...
Misty- Kasumi (pronounced Kuh-sue-me) means "mist"- betcha didn't see that one coming!
Brock- Takeshi (pronounced Tuh-keh-she; NOT take-she, Haley!) means "brave," which Haley likes to point out often. ^_^;;
Jessie- Musashi (pronounced Moo-sah-she). I recently found out that the number four is considered unlucky, because it's pronounced the same way as death in the Japanese language. Four (and death) is the word, "shi." It may explain Jessie's bad luck, and Ash's when he first started on his journey. But that's just a theory.
James- Kojiro (pronounced Koe-zhee-roe)
Meowth- Nyasu (pronounced Nya-sue... I think). Here's something kinda cool: "Nya" means "meow!"
Butch- Kosaburo(pronounced Koe-suh-bur-o)
Cassidy- Yamato(pronounced Yuh-ma-toe). Yamato was a period of Japanese history, though I don't know if that has any relevance. It was also a warship during WW2, as was "Musashi." CrAzY, ain't it?
Giovanni- Sakaki (pronounced suh-cock-ee... haha, laugh it up!). Sakaki was the name of Kojiro's (the samurai... scroll down to read about that) father! O.o Is there a connection? No, but it's still pretty weird!
Gary- Shigeru Ookido (Shee-gay-ru O-key-do). This is another theory, but Shigeru Miyamoto is the name of the Nintendo big-wig, so it might have a little meaning there. Who knows? It also means "luxurious," according to online sources. Makes sense to me.
Tracey- Kenji (Ken-jee). *Smothers laughter* Well, at first I wasn't sure if it was Kenji or Kenjii, so when I went to this Japanese dictionary I typed in first "ken," then "jii..." Heehee... IT MEANT THE RIGHT TO MASTURBATE! DAHAHAHAHAH! *Takes breath* But then I typed in "Kenji," and it meant "stalwart youth," among a few other things. Blah, how boring.
The Name Game... Oriental Style!
This is only gonna be about the 3 J's (Jessie, James, and Jessebelle) 'cause the site I steal things from- Rocket Asylum of course- didn't talk about the other Japan names. Here we go!
Kojiro (James) Kojiro, in Chinese (which is like Japanese, sorta) means "master of love; one who attracts women of satan." Now, who could the Satan woman (Succubus) be... maybe... JESSEBELLE!?!? I guess this would also explain the roses... after all, roses are the flowers of l'amour (is that how you spell it?)
Rumika (Jessebelle) In Japanese Rumika means "theif of hearts; battler with the sky angel Masashi." Hmm... now doesn't Masashi sound a WHOLE lot like Musashi(Jessie)?? This one makes sense- she's trying to steal James', pardon, Kojiro's, heart. Lucky for us it ain't working. Well, since we're on the subject of Masashi- and since it sounds like Musashi...
Masashi means "sky angel; destroyer of the Satan prostitute, Rumika;(I knew J-Belle was one!) princess of the clouds." But the best is yet to come. In Chinese, Masashi means, "dancer of the wind," and here's the best part... "WIFE OF KING KOJIRO!!" Sweeeeeet!!
What's Up With Musashi and Kojiro?
Okay, here's the deal. Musashi Miyamoto (hence Jess' mom's name) and Kojiro Sasaki were two Samurai warriors. Musashi was the greatest, and Kojiro was his rival. Musashi eventually killed Kojiro on Ganryu Island, but regretted it because Kojiro was a very worthy opponent. Let's hope that doesn't foreshadow events that'll happen on Pokémon! So Why Did You Tell Me All This Crap Again?
Why? WHY?? BECAUSE THIS IS USELESS CRAP, THAT'S WHY!!! Also, I have a point, or something like one. For real, I do. Doncha think it's sorta funny how Masashi and Musashi sound so much alike, and how Masashi is Kojiro's wife?
Coincidence? I think not!
I know, you're thinking, "Well, her name isn't Masashi... it's Musashi," but I'm not done yet! The creators wanted the villains to be named after a duo, correct? Sure, they coulda named them Masashi and Kojiro, but that was a little obvious for Chinese and probably Japanese viewers. Plus, this sounds as if M&K were good guys, nice guys... they couldn't have that! So they named 'em after fierce Samurai warriors... but, they named 'em near the Masahi-Kojiro thingy.
Could this be a sign of the future for J&J? (or M&K... whichever) Or a trick that the creators thought they're play on us, just to screw with our Rocketshippin' minds. Maybe we'll never know... More Crap!
Cut the Crap!
