@lavend-lerโ replied to your post: I speak some Japanese (I major in Japanese studies lol) and here's a little correction from me - his name IS a legit name and with kanji, just as u said it's spelled like ็ๅด meaning 'one side'. it's not uncommon in Japanese translation to just use katakana for even Japanese names in media. for example Hiro and Tadashi Hamada from Big Hero 6, even if they have traditionally Japanese names, in Japanese translation they are written in katakana (1/2)
and it happens to a lot of characters from Japanese media too. all Pokemon characters in original have names written in katakana. it's a stylistic choice, more than anything else (and Japanese ppl use katakana basically everywhere) (2/2)
Hey! Hope you donโt mind me responding here; I canโt actually reply in notes as this is my sideblogย ๐ญ
I havenโt studied Japanese formally by any means. However, Iโm aware of the nuances of how katakana is really used. But for the purposes of the post, which I assumed wasnโt going to be read by many people with an understanding of / interest in Japanese, I simplified my explanation. If you think thatโs egregiously unfair Iโm happy to edit my post!
Additionally, I asked a friend of a friend who actually is from Japan as to whether or not '็ๅดโ or some variation ofย โKatagawaโ is ever used as a family name. They told me no. You also wonโt be able to find anyone with that name by going through Japanese wikipedia. Looking at English records, on the rare occasion I did findย โKatagawaโ transcribed into English as a family name, every time it was a mistaken translation ofย โKitagawa.โ
