森山
A few of you may have noticed that the name I write under on this journal is 森山亜仁, or Moriyama Ani. I long ago adopted Moriyama as my surname when I realized that it had the same meaning as my actual surname. ("Woudenberg" means "forests and mountains" in Dutch; "Moriyama" means the same in Japanese. (Can you see the three trees in Mori, creating a forest: 森, or the three mountain peaks in Yama: 山?))
So what are the benefits to having an adopted surname? Well, the first and most obvious benefit is ease of pronunciation by the natives. "Woudenberg" provides no small challenge to the Japanese tongue; the closest I get to a decent approximation is ウォデンバーグ, Wuodenbaagu. Needless to say, the majesty of the original Dutch pronunciation is somewhat... diminished by the limitations of Japanese.
Another somewhat less obvious but more important benefit is the ease of buying hanko, or name stamps. Hanko are used for all official documents, such as opening a bank account or signing a lease. Since Moriyama is a very common Japanese surname, it's rather easy (and cheap) to find hanko to use.
Dr. Hayashi called me a few days ago to inform me that he was starting phone and internet service in my name, as Andrea 森山 Woudenberg. I had completely forgotten that I had told Dr. Hayashi about my kinship with the Moriyama clan, so this information made me nearly giddy. Fare thee well Anna, you have been replaced by a far cooler and more practical middle name.
I actually already have a hanko that I made myself at Ferris. It was really interesting being able to pick out the stone, design the stamp, and meticulously carve the pattern into the stone. I'll admit to more than a few slips of the knife. It was considerably more difficult than the street vendors in China make it look! But after much blood, sweat, and tears, I had my very own stamp, with my very own "name":
So what are the benefits to having an adopted surname? Well, the first and most obvious benefit is ease of pronunciation by the natives. "Woudenberg" provides no small challenge to the Japanese tongue; the closest I get to a decent approximation is ウォデンバーグ, Wuodenbaagu. Needless to say, the majesty of the original Dutch pronunciation is somewhat... diminished by the limitations of Japanese.
Another somewhat less obvious but more important benefit is the ease of buying hanko, or name stamps. Hanko are used for all official documents, such as opening a bank account or signing a lease. Since Moriyama is a very common Japanese surname, it's rather easy (and cheap) to find hanko to use.
Dr. Hayashi called me a few days ago to inform me that he was starting phone and internet service in my name, as Andrea 森山 Woudenberg. I had completely forgotten that I had told Dr. Hayashi about my kinship with the Moriyama clan, so this information made me nearly giddy. Fare thee well Anna, you have been replaced by a far cooler and more practical middle name.
I actually already have a hanko that I made myself at Ferris. It was really interesting being able to pick out the stone, design the stamp, and meticulously carve the pattern into the stone. I'll admit to more than a few slips of the knife. It was considerably more difficult than the street vendors in China make it look! But after much blood, sweat, and tears, I had my very own stamp, with my very own "name":