Reference for Actresses' Names

[jugulear]

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The unraveling of unfamiliar JAV actresses process can sometimes be frustrating, what with multiple AKA names and trying to figure out the most correct English spellings (I usually use the excellent English language site Asian Screens for the definitive spelling, but not always; for example, they like Maki Houjoh for what most would prefer as Maki Hojo).

I ran into a page that may be worth a bookmark; not all of the names may have the best English spelling, but you've got loads of actresses handily in one shot, including some of their AKA names as well as the names in Japanese. It may cut down on your research time:

http://www.actionjav.com/models_all.cfm

Also may be helpful in determining, during those times of confusion, the correct order of the name; that is, which part is the Japanese lady's surname, and which part is her Christian name.


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[abbath]

Well, dmm.co.jp/en (english version) is a great help for me, but there are times names are not properly spelled in English such as AV actress Saho Minami. In DMM her English name is South Lawn something. If this is the case, I'll go check it either on javjunkies.com or asianscreens.com.

 

[Nick_Wells]

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The unraveling of unfamiliar JAV actresses process can sometimes be frustrating, what with multiple AKA names and trying to figure out the most correct English spellings (I usually use the excellent English language site Asian Screens for the definitive spelling, but not always; for example, they like Maki Houjoh for what most would prefer as Maki Hojo).

I ran into a page that may be worth a bookmark; not all of the names may have the best English spelling, but you've got loads of actresses handily in one shot, including some of their AKA names as well as the names in Japanese. It may cut down on your research time:

http://www.actionjav.com/models_all.cfm

Also may be helpful in determining, during those times of confusion, the correct order of the name; that is, which part is the Japanese lady's surname, and which part is her Christian name.


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Not to be a pedant, jugulear, but both of those spellings are technically inaccurate. In Japanese (kanji) her name is written 北条麻妃, which breaks down in hiragana as ほうじょうまき or ho-u-jo-u ma-ki. That means if you're transliterating 100% directly, it's Maki Houjou or if you use Hepburn Romanization (which I prefer), it's Maki Hōjō. You'll see it commonly romanized as Maki Hojo because most non-Japanese speakers don't see a difference because the they'd pronounce it the same either way.

Aside from that, I agree that Asianscreens is generally the most useful English JAV resource. They do tend to be very strict in their transliterations, though. Most of the time that's a good thing, but it can be confusing for those unfamiliar with some of the anomalies of Japanese-English transliteration. For example, Asianscreens often translates アリスas Arisu but this name is normally romanized as Alice. But generally, yes, their website is good.

As far as Actionjav, I tend to find them all over the place on accuracy. Also they tend to use older names for performers who changed them over the years. For example, Rio is still listed as Tina Yuzuki and they still have Hotaru Akane as Anna Aizuki. I do find it to be useful on occasion when I just can't find some bit of info anywhere else. The best thing about that site, however, is how it can be accessed via sneaky cookie tricks - see this thread - unfortunately the pics are gone but if you msg the OP he might still have them.

When it comes to research, my primary sources are http://ja.wikipedia.org/, www.dmm.co.jp, http://www.minnano-av.com/, the aforementioned http://www.asianscreens.com/ and finally the official Studio/Label website that pertains to whichever Title/Performer I'm researching.

And as far as the whole name order issue, it can be assumed that when in Japanese, the "family" name (surname) always comes first, followed by the "personal" (Christian) name. If you aren't working from the original Japanese source, it's hard to say if it was transliterated accurately. For instance, Actionjav lists 優希まこと as Yuuki Makoto which should really be Makoto Yuuki (Yūki) as Makoto is her "personal" name. This can be confusing because Yūki is actually more common as a "personal" name than as a "family" name. A lot of people sometimes do this on purpose (to seem more Japanese) even though it's confusing. The rule of thumb is this, when writing Japanese names in the roman alphabet put them in Western order. For example: Yoko Ono, Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Watanabe. These are all written in the opposite order when using Kanji/kana but that sounds odd to us because we know those people by their western name order.

Sorry for the linguistic discourse. I just think it's helpful for people to understand the info on these sites so they can properly interpret it - and hopefully not perpetuate some of the common misconceptions about transliterations.

Anyway, hope it was helpful.

-Nick

 

[Nick_Wells]

Well, dmm.co.jp/en (english version) is a great help for me, but there are times names are not properly spelled in English such as AV actress Saho Minami. In DMM her English name is South Lawn something. If this is the case, I'll go check it either on javjunkies.com or asianscreens.com.

I don't recommend using the English version of DMM in any circumstance... ever. You're much better off learning just a little Japanese or at the very least how to identify/manipulate Japanese writing and combine it with Google Translate than deal with the abomination that is dmm.co.jp/en. I don't even use it when placing an order through DMM... and I don't actually read Japanese.

-Nick

 

[elgringo14]

Japanese DMM usually gives the names of actresses in hiragana behind the kanji name, like with our example:

http://www.dmm.co.jp/mono/dvd/-/list/=/article=actress/id=29949/

Personally I use the site for hentai mangas authors names, but this is the same idea. :cigar:

Hiragana are easy to translate as it is a phonetic alphabet, unlike the kanjis that can have different sounds depending on the context.

As Nick_Wells said, Hōjō Maki (last name coming first, as japanese do) is the only way to reproduce faithfully the japanese long vocal sound, but it's not well implemented because of the non-standard formatting it requires. So you could write Houjou Maki, Hohjoh Maki, Hoojoo Maki that it would not be completely wrong, and sometimes it is used by japanese themselves to represent their names in latin alphabet.

 

[jugulear]

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Hiragana ... Kanji... why are we bringing up the Greek language, here? I dunno, it's all Greek to me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for improving ourselves by learning new things. And I'm always impressed by Professor Nick Wells' lessons (glad you're back for now, Nick... I think you were gone again, for a while), and I'm not a little envious of his mastery over a language he does not really know (ditto, Smart Cookie Elgringo14), but we have to be realistic. Basically, we are in it for the smut, and the smut-seeker will often leave you wanting if one expects the ranks of the intellectual elite. It would be unrealistic to expect all but a handful to take the trouble to get a handle on the Japanese basics.

Of course, we are always going to get different variations, like Hojo vs. Houjou vs. Houjoh vs. Hohjoh... it's wonderful to get technical as to which one would be the most representative of the original Japanese, but for our base level, none is inaccurate. Our goal is to try and select the most popular usage.

Is Asian Screens one hundred percent authoritative? 'Course not. Actionjav? Sure, they are going to blow it once in a while, like mixing up the order of Makoto Yuuki's name. Yet very often we want to get a quick and dirty answer, and what I like about the page that I recommended was that "ALL" of the ladies are there in small print. Hit Control + F (for "Find"), and you're in business. (Doesn't mean the name will always be right, but it will give you something to go on.)

The dilemma I find myself in is precisely why I would not resort to DMM, English version or not, or other sites that are outwardly in English (such as Javlibrary). We need someone who knows English and can make human decisions, not an automatic translator. This is why I've chosen to go with Asian Screens most of the time.

I come across a film (on say, DMM or Sougouwiki), and I throw the cast in the translator, and a good percentage of the names come out what appears to be correct, thank goodness. (Sometimes you've gotta deal with nuances, such as, is it Hibiki Ohtsuki or Hibiki Otsuki? No need to get technical, I can make a no fuss decision either way; sometimes I like Yu Kawakami, sometimes Yuu Kawakami.)

What gives me the sinking feeling is when the translator comes up with the goofy ones, such as the example Abbath pointed to, "South Lawn something." So what do you do there?

What I am forced to do is something I don't like to do, because it is so time-consuming. I open up South Lawn something's cast page, and I look at the DVD codes of her works, and I throw the likeliest ones (by now I have an idea which ones Asian Screens prefer) into Asian Screens. This can take a lo-oo-ong time, because picky little Asian Screens is very selective about what they list, and when you finally have one they do list, they can give you the old unnamed "Various Amateurs" bit on their "Multiple Actress" section. This means I have to continue with the next DVD code.

Sometimes I translate the headings of the actress' Sougouwiki page, which can provide a whole gobbledygook of AKA names, and I might be able to narrow it down to the likeliest candidate. (But I still have to go to Asian Screens to see what they decided to call the name. It's the DVD code search and destroy mission all over again.)

Sometimes the goofy translations keep coming back at you. For example, when I run into "New mountain maple," I have already made a note of it, and I know it's really Kaede Niiyama.) Sometimes throwing the goofy translation into a regular Google search can net you the answer more quickly.

I haven't done this yet, but the way the Actionjav "All Models" page can help me is that I can take the mystery actress' Japanese name and "Control + F" it on the Actionjav page. Voila - I would then hope to get a good idea of the lady's English name. (Cross-checking with Asian Screens' version could become easier, because putting the newfound English name in their search box can sometimes lead to the actress' Asian Screens page.)

While I won't be making use of the Japanese Wikipedia site Nick suggested (I don't want to contribute to making a harmfully biased site even more popular; it's tempting to go to Wikipedia for answers, but I try to go with alternatives first), thank you, Nick, for suggesting the Minnano-av one; I never heard of it. (Clicking on the link now, I see it's in Japanese. Sigh! It simply is no fun to be dumb and iggerent.)


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[chrisfallout]

odds of get true translation is hard to come by now days. since to many translations programs are not same and do not come out right for some. where just lucky that actionjav does a pretty good job. other thing is they do not have carry a lot of people. so it going to be hard to get some people names. do to fact of there so many people work in business. some only just do about 3 or so films and other do tons films. also fact actionjav can not afford or want to carry all movies too. since so many get made each month and year.