How Japanese Boys are Named.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 29, 17 July 1902, Page 6

How Japanese Boys are Named.

A Japanese boy is never very sure what his name is, for every little while he receives a new one The first is given him when h« is a month old. He in then taken to the temple, where three different n^mes are written upon slips of paper ; these are tossed into the air while prayers are made to the particular god of the family. The first name that reaches the holy floor is the one by which the Uttle fellow is known until he is three years old. At that time his baby clothes are laid away, »nd with his new garmt nt", b< und by a tight girdle, he gets a fresh name and his education begins. At 15 he attains his majority, «nd is thought to be a man ; fo, naturally, another name is given him ; and at the slightest advancement in office or position, and especially at his marriage, the name :s changed once more. His last name, the one that never changes, is bestowed upon him when he dies.