JAV actresses with western first names

maelstrom9999

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2022
480
417
Hi, not a very important topic. Just my curiosity. Do certain JAV actresses use western pseudonyms for marketing purposes, i.e. perhaps because it makes them seem exotic to Japanese viewers, or have the Japanese adopted certain western names? I notice a pattern with western names in JAV, that certain ones are favored, like Julia, Jessica, Karen, and Erica. So I'm wondering if certain Japanese girls are given those names these days. Anyone know?
 

intrepid8

レズぺニバン Enthusiast
Oct 10, 2009
735
516
Guess the most common Western stage names are going to fit into the Japanese phonemes more easily.

Predicting that there isn't one called Hillary. Bet that's a bitch to pronounce for many Japanese.
 

maload

Active Member
Jul 1, 2008
697
145
short name is easier for remember i guess.
of course there may be somebody who into it .
 

branbran726

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2021
554
710
Guess the most common Western stage names are going to fit into the Japanese phonemes more easily.

Predicting that there isn't one called Hillary. Bet that's a bitch to pronounce for many Japanese.
Hirata Rina, also known as Hirarii, would like to have a word with you.

=========

Many Western names which follow the phonetic rules of Japanese get back-translated as though they were Western to start with. A name normally romanized as 'Erika' would become 'Erica', for example. There's also the curious case of @YOU and other people whose names are pronounced [yuu] turning into second-person pronouns.

398066l-jpg.2786080


In recent decades, there has been a rise in the frequency of names with unorthodox readings of kanji characters. The readings are twisted to make Japanese-looking names that are pronounced quite differently than orthography would indicate. For example, she's not an adult actress, but there's an idol named Murakawa Bibian (Vivian).

Clipboard01.jpg
 

maelstrom9999

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2022
480
417
Hirata Rina, also known as Hirarii, would like to have a word with you.

=========

Many Western names which follow the phonetic rules of Japanese get back-translated as though they were Western to start with. A name normally romanized as 'Erika' would become 'Erica', for example. There's also the curious case of @YOU and other people whose names are pronounced [yuu] turning into second-person pronouns.

398066l-jpg.2786080


In recent decades, there has been a rise in the frequency of names with unorthodox readings of kanji characters. The readings are twisted to make Japanese-looking names that are pronounced quite differently than orthography would indicate. For example, she's not an adult actress, but there's an idol named Murakawa Bibian (Vivian).

View attachment 2964550

Not totally following here, but then again I can be slow on the uptake. Is "Erika" a Japanese name which is being translated to a sort of similar western name, but the western version would be a mispronunciation?
 

branbran726

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2021
554
710
Not totally following here, but then again I can be slow on the uptake. Is "Erika" a Japanese name which is being translated to a sort of similar western name, but the western version would be a mispronunciation?
Erika is a Japanese name, or just as importantly it can be made following Japanese phonetic conventions and using Japanese kanji or kana characters. For example, Sato Erika was a tall & leggy JAV actress in the mid-late 2000's. In Japanese, her name is not abnormal and the kanji use standard phonetic readings.

h_068mxgs049pl.jpg 62vipd344pl.jpg 15send120sopl.jpg

Notice how the third DVD cover gives her name as "Erykah". There are certain conventions on how to take a word from phonetic Japanese characters into romanized characters, but it's not like the Spelling Police are going to come banging at your door in the early morning to correct/jail you.

Suppose that that was her real name. On her passport, there would be a line reading {ERIKA SATO} or {ERIKA SATOH}, because she would have to make her romanized name following those certain conventions. Any other transliteration -- for example, 'Erica' or indeed 'Erykah' -- reflects a choice to stylize her name as non-Japanese.
 

maelstrom9999

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2022
480
417
Erika is a Japanese name, or just as importantly it can be made following Japanese phonetic conventions and using Japanese kanji or kana characters. For example, Sato Erika was a tall & leggy JAV actress in the mid-late 2000's. In Japanese, her name is not abnormal and the kanji use standard phonetic readings.

View attachment 2964733 View attachment 2964734 View attachment 2964732

Notice how the third DVD cover gives her name as "Erykah". There are certain conventions on how to take a word from phonetic Japanese characters into romanized characters, but it's not like the Spelling Police are going to come banging at your door in the early morning to correct/jail you.

Suppose that that was her real name. On her passport, there would be a line reading {ERIKA SATO} or {ERIKA SATOH}, because she would have to make her romanized name following those certain conventions. Any other transliteration -- for example, 'Erica' or indeed 'Erykah' -- reflects a choice to stylize her name as non-Japanese.

So you're saying those are Japanese names which coincidentally happen to sound sort of like western names, and then they are further westernized in transliteration by way of spelling? Hmm.
 

branbran726

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2021
554
710
So you're saying those are Japanese names which coincidentally happen to sound sort of like western names, and then they are further westernized in transliteration by way of spelling? Hmm.
Yes. There are names like Erika, Karen, Maria, Nana, and Mona which can be transliterated without alteration into Western names. There are also names like Jun (June), Mei (May), Hana (Hannah), Eri (Elly), and An (Ann) which are pronounced very close to Western names; this is usually intentional, and done with the assumption that it is easier to use overseas as a result.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jeff0064

maelstrom9999

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2022
480
417
Yes. There are names like Erika, Karen, Maria, Nana, and Mona which can be transliterated without alteration into Western names. There are also names like Jun (June), Mei (May), Hana (Hannah), Eri (Elly), and An (Ann) which are pronounced very close to Western names; this is usually intentional, and done with the assumption that it is easier to use overseas as a result.

Also Aimee, I assume.

But I think it isn't coincidental. The gender specificity pretty much proves it. If it was coincidental, the name "Erika" could just as likely be a man's name as a woman's. The more likely scenario is that they picked up some western names sometime after WWII when occupied by the US. Much like they picked up baseball. I bet there weren't any "Erikas" there 100 years ago. I'm also curious if they picked up the male version of that name, which is "Eric" or "Erik."

Hehe, they probably don't know that "Karen" has taken on some pretty bad connotations of late. I don't think it's going to be a popular name in the west much longer.
 
Last edited:

branbran726

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2021
554
710
Also Aimee, I assume.

But I think it isn't coincidental. The gender specificity pretty much proves it. If it was coincidental, the name "Erika" could just as likely be a man's name as a woman's. The more likely scenario is that they picked up some western names sometime after WWII when occupied by the US. Much like they picked up baseball. I bet there weren't any "Erikas" there 100 years ago. I'm also curious if they picked up the male version of that name, which is "Eric" or "Erik."

Hehe, they probably don't know that "Karen" has taken on some pretty bad connotations of late. I don't think it's going to be a popular name in the west much longer.
Regarding gender specificity, consider instead how few traditionally Western male names end in a vowel -- which is required for every Japanese word that doesn't end in [n]. It's just easier to get traditionally female names to fit, though male names are not unheard of.

Fun Fact: Baseball has been in Japan since the late 1800s, and been played professionally there since before WWII.
 

maelstrom9999

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2022
480
417
Regarding gender specificity, consider instead how few traditionally Western male names end in a vowel -- which is required for every Japanese word that doesn't end in [n]. It's just easier to get traditionally female names to fit, though male names are not unheard of.

Fun Fact: Baseball has been in Japan since the late 1800s, and been played professionally there since before WWII.

Cool. Love to learn new things. So they did get it from America, or at least, from an American, but in 1872. I always just assumed they picked up the sport post war. I thought it was kind of odd to have it exported to Japan that early, but then I just did some wiki reading on baseball history, and evidently Americans somehow introduced the sport to China in the 1860's, the Phillipines around 1900 (due to American occupation), and Korea in 1905 (American missionaries).

I don't think the sport has much popularity outside the US, apart from Japan. It's everywhere, just not a huge sport anywhere except those two countries. Then again, I could be wrong on that one too. :)
 

intrepid8

レズぺニバン Enthusiast
Oct 10, 2009
735
516
Cricket was introduced in the 1860s in Yokohama too. Didn't take off like it did in British colonies like Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, New Zealand etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: branbran726