History of Samurai Names

During the course of his life, the samurai could expect to be known by a series of names. Sometimes confounding to the historian, this tradition occasionally produced a myriad number of tags for a single well-known samurai. Each name carried with it a certain significance, as we will see in the following, brief overview of this topic. As the samurai of the 15th to 16th Century provide us with the best-documented examples, these will be drawn on for cases in point. Taken generally, these customs may be assumed to have been historically universal (with the exception, of course, of Christian names).

Childhood. At birth, a samurai was given a name by which he would be known until his coming of age ceremony. These were occasionally chosen to sound fortuitous or simply by fancy. In a well-known example of the former, Takeda Shingen was born Katsuchiyo, or '1000 Victories in Succession', or, simply, 'Victory Forever'.
These childhood names were often superceded to an extent within a samurai's household by a certain nicknaming custom. By tradition, the eldest son in a household was known as 'Taro', the second, 'Jiro', and the third, 'Saburo'. (Fans of Akira Kurosawa's films may remember this convention being applied in the movie Ran). These familial names might even linger into a samurai's adulthood, especially while his father was still in charge.
Famous samurai and their childhood names….
Date Masamune: Bontenmaru
Ii Naomasa: Manchiyo
Kobayakawa Takakage: Tokyujumaru
Môri Motonari: Shojumaru
Oda Nobunaga:
Sanada Yukimura: Gobenmaru
Takeda Shingen: Katsuchiyo
Tokugawa Ieyasu: Takechiyo
Tokugawa Hidetada: Nagamaru
Uesugi Kenshin: Torachiyo

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Adult Names. A samurai typically received his 'first' adult name upon the event of his coming of ag ceremony (normally conducted in his 14^th year). This almost always consisted of two characters, one of which was hereditary to his family and another that might have been given him as a gift from an exalted personage (including the shôgun), or simply by whim. The hereditary character was often but not necessarily to be found in his own father's name. Often, a number of characters might be associated with a given family, changing with the fullness of time. To illustrate this point, we shall use the Môri lords as an example (covering from the mid-14th Century until 1600)….
Torachika…Sadachika…Chikahira…Motoharu…Hirofusa…Mitsufusa…Hiromoto…Okimoto…Motonari…Takamoto…Terumoto
The Môri also provide an example of 'gifting' characters. Môri Okimoto (the more famous Motonari's elder brother) received the Oki in his name from the powerful Ouchi YoshiOKI, a daimyô whose lands lay just to the west. Môri Takamoto, Motonari's son, recived the Taka in his tag from Yoshioki's son YoshiTAKA. Terumoto received the Teru in his name from the Shoôgun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. However incapacitated the Ashikaga shogunate may have been as a political power, it WAS nonetheless considered an honor to receive the award of a character from the shôgun's name.
Other well-known daimyô that received the honor of a shôgunal character….
Asakura YOSHIkage
Date TERUmune
Imagawa YOSHImoto
Matsunaga HisaHIDE
Shimazu YOSHIhisa
Takeda HARUnobu (Shingen)
Uesugi TERUtora (Kenshin)
Some samurai, especially lords, might opt to change the characters in their name at some future date, often as a result of the sort of reward mentioned above. Occasionally this name change might be made to mark a fortuitous event, or for political expediency. This could even extend to family names. Date Masamune, for example, was given the honorific family name Hashiba by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During the 1590's he became close to Tokugawa (Matsudaira) Ieyasu and as a way of demonstrating his loyalty in a unsubtle gesture, he changed his family name to Matsudaira.Uesugi Kenshin provides us with a nice example of the various reasons a daimyô might change his name around. Originally called Nagao Kagetora, Kenshin later changed his name to Terutora when he was honored by the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru (Kenshin being exceptionally filial to the Ashikaga). He changed his name again, to Masatora, when he was adopted by Uesugi Norimasa around 1551.
Religious names. Of course, the name Kenshin is the best known, and this provides us with an example of a Buddhist name. Many samurai - both daimyô and retainer - adopted Buddhist names at some point in their life, at least nominally taking up a monk's habit and shaving their heads. Some daimyô took this much more seriously then others (Kenshin being one of those), while a certain few, including Ôtomo Sorin, went from layman to Buddhist monk to Christian - and sometimes back again to Buddhist monk.
The following are some better-known daimyô who adopted Buddhist names (their secular names in parenthesis)...
Asakura Soteki (Norikage)
Hôjô Soun (Nagauji)
Ikeda Shonyû (Nobuteru)
Maeda Gen-I (Munehisa)
Miyoshi Chokei (Nagayoshi)
Ota Dôkan (Sukenaga)
Ôtomo Sorin (Yoshishige)
Takeda Shingen (Harunobu)
Uesugi Kenshin (Terutora)
Yamana Sozen (Mochitoyo) In a practice unique to the mid to late 16th Century in Japan, samurai who had converted to Christianity were baptized with a western name. These are, of course, rarely used today in reference to any given figure, but were not uncommon. The following are examples of famous samurai and their 'Christian' names…
Gamo Ujisato: Dom Leao
Konishi Yukinaga: Dom Agostinho
Kuroda Yoshitaka: Dom Simeo
Omura Sumitada: Dom Bartolomeu
Ôtomo Sorin: Dom Francisco
Takayama Ukon: Dom Justo Finally, certain well-known samurai names include titles or positions they held. These are not names in the truest sense, but might be applied to them as such. The following are some examples…
Furuta Oribe (Shigenari)
Takayama Ukon (Shigetomo)
Yamamoto Kansuke (Haruyuki)
Yamanaka Shikanosuke (YukiMôri) Occasionally, a samurai might be referred to by the province he 'held' as the result of the honorific title 'lord of…' (…no kami). Baba Mino no kami Nobufusa might therefore be referred to as Baba Mino, or simply Mino…although only be those of at least equal social standing.
The final name a samurai would assume was his death name, given to him posthumously-essentially, a spirit name, and in some cases to mark his deification. This would be used in ceremonies and observances regarding ancestor worship. Here are some famous samurai and their 'ancestor names'…
Ôtomo Sorin: Sanhisai
Takeda Shingen: Hôsho-in
Tokugawa Ieyasu: Tosho-daigongen
Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Hokoku daimyôjin
Uesugi Kenshin: Sôshin

Champion League Group Draw

The 2010-11 UEFA Champions League group stage is now set after the draw took place in Monaco on Thursday and it proposes some interesting match-ups and intriguing possibilities.

Group A	Group B
Inter	Olympique Lyonnais
Werder Bremen	Benfica
Tottenham Hotspur	Schalke
Twente	Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C	Group D
Manchester United	Barcelona
Valencia	Panathinaikos
Rangers	FC Copenhagen
Bursaspor	Rubin Kazan
Group E	Group F
Bayern Munich	Chelsea
Roma	Marseille
Basel	Spartak Moscow
CFR Cluj	MSK Zilina
Group G	Group H
AC Milan	Arsenal
Real Madrid	Shakhtar Donetsk
Ajax	Sporting Braga
Auxerre	Partizan

Arsenal Signing New Defender

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has today confirmed the signing of French centre-back Sebastien Squillaci fromSevilla.

The Spanish club had announced at the weekend that a £6.5 million deal had been agreed between the clubs, nd today the Gunners have announced the capture of the French international

The 30-year-old centre-back will not be available for the weekend game against Blackburn Rovers but he will be eligible for the Champions League campaign, after he was left out of Sevilla's play-off with Sporting Braga.

Speaking in a press conference today, Wenger stated that he is in no doubt the Gunners have acquired a fine player who will suit the fast-paced style of the Premier League.

"We needed a centre-back of quality and experience if possible, and at the right price - he was all of that," Wenger told reporters.

"He is a real defender and is good in the one against one, good in the air, and can score goals on set-pieces as well.

"I believe he will be suited to the English game. He will train with us tomorrow morning, but will not be involved on Saturday."

Squillaci moved to Sevilla in the summer of 2008 from Ligue 1 side Lyon, and has been capped 21 times for France.

Arsenal And Chelsea Big Won

Arsenal Vs Blackpool (6-0)

Theo Walcott scored a thrilling hat-trick as Arsenal brought ten-man Blackpool down to earth with a 6-0 thrashing at the Emirates Stadium

Reduced in number by Ian Evatt's red card for a professional foul on Marouane Chamakh, Blackpool were powerless to resist an attacking onslaught led by the brilliant Walcott. His efforts were supplemented by an Andrei Arshavin penalty, an Abou Diaby finish and a Chamakh header.

Wigan Athletic VS Chelsea (6-0)

Rampant Chelsea continued their free-scoring start to the new Premier League campaign with a 6-0 win over sorry Wigan at the DW Stadium.

Nicolas Anelka and substitute Salomon Kalouboth bagged braces with Florent Malouda andYossi Benayoun also getting on the scoresheet as the champions cantered to their second win of the new season.

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Premier League weekend previews

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea

Having opened the defence of their Premier League title with a 6-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion last week, Chelsea now face the team they beat 8-0 to secure the crown three months ago.

Arsenal v Blackpool

Arsenal have included captain Cesc Fabregas, striker Robin van Persie, midfielder Alex Song and defender Johan Djourou in the squad for tomorrow's visit of Blackpool.

However, summer signing Laurent Koscielnyis suspended after the centre-back's dismissal at Liverpool and Brazilian midfielderDenilson is still out with an abdominal injury.

Winger Samir Nasri will be sidelined for a month after minor knee surgery while youngster Emmanuel Frimpong is set to miss most of the campaign after tearing knee ligaments.

Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Everton captain Phil Neville is a slight doubt for Saturday's Premier League clash against Wolves at Goodison Park.

The former England international has a foot injury but boss David Moyes is hopeful he will be fit to feature.

Striker Victor Anichebe is unlikely to play after having an injection in the knee to ease bone bruising.

Wolves have fresh injury concerns over three of their new signings.

Forward Steven Fletcher has a bruised foot, and manager Mick McCarthy will assess his fitness.

Defender Jelle Van Damme is described by McCarthy as a "serious doubt" after twisting his ankle, Steven Mouyokolomay also miss the match with a damaged hamstring, while Dave Edwards is out with a groin injury.

However, last season's to scorer Kevin Doyle is set to return from a calf injury which kept him out of the team's opening day win over Stoke.

Stoke v Tottenham

Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones could make a swift return to action against Tottenham at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Jones, who joined the Potters earlier this month for a club record £8million fromSunderland, limped off with an ankle problem barely 10 minutes into their Barclays Premier League opener at Wolves last weekend, but a series of scans and X-rays showed the Trinidadian had suffered only minor ligament damage.

Tottenham are hit by a major injury crisis with manager Harry Redknapp admitting he is struggling to fill his bench.

Peter Crouch is Spurs' only fit striker, with Jermain Defoe (groin), Robbie Keane (knee) and Roman Pavyluchenko (ankle) all out.

Giovani dos Santos (hamstring) also picked up an injury on the artificial pitch at Young Boys on Tuesday night, Luka Modric has failed to recover from his groin strain, while Redknapp must decide whether to field Ledley King or save him for Wednesday's Champions League return match with the Swiss side.

Birmingham v Blackburn

New signing Matt Derbyshire will make his Birmingham debut in their Barclays Premier League match against Blackburn at St Andrew's.

The former Rovers striker joined the Blues this week from Greek side Olympiacos on a season-long loan.

Nikola Zigic will also be pushing for a start up front after impressing off the bench in the 2-2 draw at Sunderland last week while Kevin Phillips (thigh) is the only definite absentee.

Blackburn's David Dunn is set to miss out due to a groin problem.

The midfielder picked up the injury in last week's 1-0 win over Everton and is not expected to be fit for selection until after the match at St Andrew's.

The same applies to Vince Grella (calf) but boss Sam Allardyce hopes to have both back for next week's Carling Cup encounter with Norwich City

Spain Rampage: Bull jumps, charges into crowd injuring 40 at bullfight

40 people were injured in northern Spain on Wednesday when a raging bull jumped into the packed grandstands of a bullring and ran amok. The terrifying incident happened in Tafalla, in the northern region of Navarra, and occurred when the animal leapt over the fence and climbed up the stairs of the stands knocking over people, including young children

France FA Bans 4 player in World Cup at South Africa

The Disciplinary Committee of the French Football Federation (FFF) has finished their examination of the player's involved in France's debacle at the World Cup 2010 in South Africa

• Nicolas Anelka handed an 18-match ban in International games

• Patrice Evra has been ban 5 match
  

Franck Ribery 3 match ban for international games.

• Jeremy Toulalan has been one match.

During the tournament, Evra, who captained the side, led the team in refusing to train in protest of Anelka being sent home after he insulted then coach Raymond Domenech during half-time of the 2-0 group stage loss to Mexico.

Recently, new boss Laurent Blanc did not include any of the players who featured in South Africa in his first list of call-ups for a friendly against Norway, which les Bleus lost 2-1.

Real Madrid Sign another new star Ozil.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have announced the signing of Germany international playmaker Mesut Oezil from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for an undisclosed fee. The length of the contract hasn't been revealed either.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 21-year-old's father confirmed that they had agreed personal terms with Madrid, andAllofs later threatened that if Madrid wanted to sign Oezil, then they must do so before Wednesday or else they would include the Germany star in their squad for the Champions League first leg play-off match against Sampdoria.

Oezil has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital since the end of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, in which he helped Germany reach the semi-finals. He had just one year left on his contract with Werder and could have signed for a new club for free at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Man U defeat the Newcastle U 3-0

Manchester United win the first game in the season over the last championship champion The Newcastle United. In this games The Red devil controlling games 8o% . first goal Red devil from Berbatov, the second goal from Flatcher and the last goal from the veteren player Ryan Giggs

Top transfer player

1 Last week: 1	David VILLA	Barcelona - Valencia - €40m The blockbuster deal of the summer so far. 'El Guaje' will add more firepower to an already explosive Barcelona attack. After his successful World Cup exploits with Spain, he should be the odds on favourite to win the Pichichi.
2 Last week: 2	Marouane CHAMAKH	Arsenal - Bordeaux - Free A classic Arsenal value buy that has the potential to be an extremely saavy signing. The ex-Bordeaux striker gives the Gunners a much needed aerial presence up front and could terrorise opposing backlines this season with Robin van Persie.
3 Last week: 3	Yaya TOURE	Manchester City - Barcelona - €29m City have flexed their financial muscle this summer and the Ivorian adds more steel to an already industrial strength midfield. Will team up with brother Kolo on the defensive side for the Citizens.
4 Last week: 4	Simon KJAER	Wolfsburg - Palermo - €14m Wolfsburg pulled one the coups of the summer by luring the defensive stalwart to the Bundesliga. The German outfit beat such heavyweights as Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan to the punch to land the highly-rated Danish defender.
5 Last week: 5	ADRIANO Correia	Barcelona - Sevilla - €9.5+4m Joins former Sevilla team-mate Dani Alves at Barcelona and the wing-back gives coach Pep Guardiola another weapon to unleash against his opponents across a variety of positions.
6 Last week: 6	David SILVA	Manchester City - Valencia - €30.2m The uber-talented winger takes his trickery to Manchester after seven years in Spain. Did not play a major role in la Furia Roja's triumph in South Africa but will hope to justify his lofty price-tag by helping City qualify for the Champions League.
7 Last week: 7	Joe COLE	Liverpool - Chelsea - Free The England winger will have something to prove after his substitute's role in South Africa and his unceremonious departure from Stamford Bridge, where he was deemed surplus to requirements. Chelsea's discarded trash could prove to be Liverpool's treasure.
8 Last week: 8	Pedro LEON	Real Madrid - Getafe - €10m Makes the intra-city switch to the Merengues after helping Getafe qualify for the Europa League with a sixth-place finish. Comfortable with the ball at his feet the versatile winger could surprise many who have yet to see him play.
9 Last week: 9	Aleksandr KOLAROV	Manchester City - Lazio - €19.3m The Serb will be keen to show off his rocket of a left foot for the Citizens. His marauding runs into opposition territory will sorely be missed by Lazio fans but will be a thing to behold for the City faithful at Eastlands.
10 NEW ENTRY	Angel DI MARIA	Real Madrid - Benfica - €25m The young Argentine winger was Real Madrid's first signing this summer under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, who made it his first priority to inject width into the team by bringing in wide players. He remains Los Blancos' most expensive purchase this summer, and expectations will be high.
11 Last week: 10	Javier HERNANDEZ	Manchester United - Chivas Guadalajara -€9.7m 'Chicharito' makes the jump from Mexico to England with the Red Devils. He did his reputation no harm at the World Cup with Mexico and has already been hailed as 'first class' by new manager Alex Ferguson. Hernandez is definitely one for the future.
12 Last week: 11	FILIPE Luis	Atletico Madrid - Deportivo La Coruna - €12m The dynamic Brazilian left-back will hope to put the horrific injury he suffered last season behind him and force his way into Mano Menezes' new look Selecao squad with an impressive campaign for Atletico. Gives los Colchoneros an attacking threat from the back as they look to improve on their disappointing ninth-place finish last term.
13 NEW ENTRY	RAFINHA	Genoa - Schalke - €8m 'Little Rafa' was one of the most courted right-backs in the world last summer with Juventus, AC Milan and Bayern Munich tracking the 24-year-old and this year, Inter and Atletico Madrid joined the race. It's a huge surprise then that the Brazilian ended up at modest but ambitious Genoa.
14 NEW ENTRY	HERNANES	Lazio - Sao Paulo - €10m The highly rated midfielder was expected to join one of Serie A's top dogs with Juventus, Milan and Inter fighting over his signature at one stage. But it was Lazio who were the most willing to dish out the €10m to secure his services.
15 Last week: 12	Mehmet TOPAL	Valencia - Galatasaray - €4m The 24-year-old leaves his homeland for a Spanish adventure and will be entrusted with the task of protecting his new side's back four. The Euro 2008 participant could end up being an inspired purchase at a bargain-basement price.
16 Last week: 13	ADRIANO Ribeiro	AS Roma - Flamengo - Free 'The Emperor' will win over the hearts and minds of the Roman people if he can lead the Giallorossi to their first Serie A title since the 2000-01 campaign. He needs to exorcise the demons that haunted him at Inter to break his old club's stranglehold on the Scudetto.
17 Last week: 14	Roberto SOLDADO	Valencia - Getafe - €8m Los Che are relying on Soldado to fill the shoes of the departed David Villa. The former Real Madrid man could be the striker to fire in enough goals to eradicate the duopoly at the top of the Liga table.
18 Last week: 15	Milan JOVANOVIC	Liverpool - Standard Liege - Free The price was certainly right for the cash strapped Reds to snap up the Serbian attacker from Standard Liege. Jovanovic can win over the Anfield faithful with the type of performances that saw him win the Jupiler League's Player of the Year in 2009.
19 Last week: 16	Leonardo BONUCCI	Juventus - Bari - €15.5m Succumbed to the Old Lady's advances and has the potential to be Italy's next great centre-back. He should slot in nicely beside Giorgio Chiellini to minimise the defensive mishaps that plagued the Bianconeri last season.
20 Last week: 17	Sami KHEDIRA	Real Madrid - Stuttgart - €13.6m He was one of the first names on Germany coach Joachim Loew's team sheet in the World Cup. He used the South African jamboree as his coming out party and his solid showings convinced Real Madrid to come calling for his services.