Japanese Female Names 141 



The following and final group of female 

 names contains several queer puzzles. Japan- 

 ese girls are sometimes named after the family 

 crest ; and heraldry might explain one or two of 

 these yobina. But why a girl should be called a 

 ship, I am not sure of being able to guess. Per- 

 haps some reader may be reminded of Nietzsche's 

 " Little Brig called Angeline " : 



" Angeline they call me so 

 Now a ship, one time a maid, 

 (Ah, and evermore a maid I) 

 Love the steersman, to and fro, 

 Turns the wheel so finely made." 



But such a fancy would not enter into a Japanese 

 mind. I find, however, in a list of family crests, 

 two varieties of design representing a ship, twenty 

 representing an arrow, and two representing a 

 bow. 



NAMES DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY OR EXPLAIN 



O-Fuku 1 .... "Raiment," clothing. 



O-Fune " Ship," or Boat. 



O-Hina 2 .... "Doll," a paper doll? 



1 Possibly this name belongs to the same class as O-Nui (" Em- 

 broidery "), O-Sotne (" The Dyer ") ; but I am not sure. 



* Probably a name of caress. The word bina is applied especially 

 to the little paper dolls made by hand for amusement,. representing 



