Shimura Trouble

Japanese Family Names

IN THE SHIMURA family, several variations of family titles are used to express relationships such as grandfather, grandmother and uncle. Respect to elders is shown by incorporating the prefix ‘o’ and the suffix ‘-san’ into most family titles. However, Japanese people who settled in Hawaii mostly spoke peasant dialects, and their descendents still carry on with more casual titles.

Ojiisan : Most typical way of addressing a grandfather. Variations are ojii-sama (super polite) and jii-chan (most informal)

Ojisan (with a short ‘i’ sound): Uncle

Okaasan : Grandmother. A variation used in this book is the more casual kaa-chan

Okasan (with a short ‘i’ sound): Aunt

Otoosan : Father

First names are often followed by the suffix -chan, meaning “little one’, or “-kun’ (‘guy’). This affectionate suffix is widely used for children, teenagers, and now between friends in their twenties and thirties. Thus, Rei Shimura is called Rei-chan by all family members older than she is, and she sometimes addresses her male cousin Tsutomu as Tom-kun.