A Parent's Prayer Called a Name

Kanryo (Kumiko) Mizuno

Translated by: Google Translate

Published Nov. 17, 2024 comments

23 Stars

Nice to meet you. I am Mizuno Katsuaki's mother, Mizuno Kanryou, also known as Mizuno Kumiko.

Mizuno Katsuhide is pronounced "Mizuno Katsuhide."

Mizuno is the surname I was born with, but my family home is a temple, so there is a bit of a connection to how I ended up with the name Mizuno.

My grandparents were adopted sons-in-law and young daughters who married into a temple where a monk with the surname "Mizuno" had no children, and they were adopted into the temple. My grandfather's maiden name was Kojima and my grandmother's was Hasuike, so if my grandparents had had a normal marriage, I might have ended up as Kojima Kumiko (Kojima Kanryo).

Let's go back to my son.

My daughter, son and I all have my family name on the family register. I am a single mother.

When my son was born, I was advised that the Mizuno surname would bring good fortune if the two kanji characters had 12 strokes each. There are so many kanji characters with 12 strokes, so I gave up a little and left it.

I've always kept a notepad and pen by my bedside. This is because ideas often come to me the moment I wake up (maybe half asleep?). As for the name, I was hoping that maybe... and after a few days, at dawn,

"Do you know about the vowel theory? It's said that it's good if the name contains all of the sounds a, i, u, e, and o. Mizuno has (i), (u), and (o), so the only sounds left to add are (a) and (e)."

"For example, Eita or Katsuhide."

It was like I was having a conversation with someone.

Perhaps the vowel theory was information I had acquired somewhere and had been lying dormant in my subconscious, but I immediately wrote it down, applied the 12-stroke kanji, and the one that popped out was Katsuei. However, Ei is not pronounced Hide, so it is a phonetic spelling...

Notes from that time

It may be a parental desire or obsession in the form of a wish for their child to be blessed with good fortune, but this name was chosen in the hope that the child would grow up to be healthy, honest, and loved by all.

My son is now 17 years old and is currently devoting himself to his ballet career. He has entered competitions and won scholarships, and has studied abroad for short periods at the ballet schools of national ballet companies in Estonia, Canada, and Kazakhstan.

In every country, the "hide" in "Katsuhide" is said to be difficult to pronounce, so overseas he was called "Katsu." Based on the vowel theory, his name was given with the sounds "a, i, u, e, o," but it seems that this is not accepted worldwide.

Starting in January 2025, I will be studying at the Kazakhstan National Ballet School for six months, and I think I will continue to be called "Kats" as a nickname.

Either way, I hope that he will be loved by everyone and that he will be able to accomplish the things that can only be done when he is young and healthy.

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About this series

What’s in a Nikkei name? Ten years ago, we read your wonderful stories about names that connected families, reflected cultural identity, discussed struggles, and more. Now we’re returning to that theme with Nikkei Chronicles #13, Nikkei Names 2: Grace, Graça, Graciela, Megumi?, which explores the meaning and origins behind Nikkei names.

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About the Author

Kanryo (Kumiko) Mizuno @kunsan

Her Buddhist name (dharma name) is Kanryo, and her secular name is Kumiko. She was born in a Jodo sect temple. She started learning classical ballet at the age of seven. She graduated from the Western Dance Course at the Department of Theater, College of Art, Nihon University. She taught at an acupuncture school in Tokyo and worked at a hospital before coming to her current position. She completed her master's degree in social welfare studies. She is the mother of two children. She trained at the head temple, Chion-in, and became a Jodo sect nun. With 20 years of experience as a doctoral student and 13 years as a nun, she provides treatments that are attuned to the body and mind of each patient. She is also one of the few people in Japan who has inherited the technique of tapping acupuncture, and she incorporates this technique into the acupuncture clinic she runs.

Updated November 2024