The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Presents

Usagi Yojimbo Pronunciation Guide

One of Stan Sakai's biggest problems when at conventions is when people come up to him and ask "Is that pronounced 'You-saji'?" or "Who is this 'Tomo Amy' I keep hearing about?". Okay, it may not be such a big problem, but it can be embarrassing at times when you want to be able to pronounce an Usagi Yojimbo character's name, but come up a bit short or get tounge-tied. That was the idea when I came up with this page. Of course, I'm no master at pronouncing Japanese names/words correctly, so if you spot anything 'wrong' here, drop us a note on the DojoBoard. These are, of course, the English pronunciations of Japanese names/words, so beware!

CHARACTER NAMES

Miyamoto Usagi.........."mee-yah-MOE-toe oo-SAH-gee" ('gee' as in 'geese')
Tomoe Ame..............."toe-MOE-eh AH-meh"
Gennosuke..............."gen-NOS-keh"
Noriyuki................"no-ree-YOU-kee"
Zato Ino................"ZAH-toe EE-no"
Mariko.................."MA-ree-ko"
Kenichi................."Keh-NEE-chee"
Jotaro.................."joe-TAH-roe"
Katsuichi Sensei........"kah-tsoo-EE-chee SEN-seh" (soft 't')
Mifune.................."mee-FOO-neh"
Kazumi.................."kah-ZOO-mee"
Tsuruichi..............."tsoo-roo-EE-chee" (very soft 't')
Hikiji.................."hee-KEE-jee"
Shingen................."SHEEN-gen"
Hebi...................."HEH-bi"
Chizu..................."CHEE-zoo"
Kitsune................."keet-SU-neh"
Jei....................."JEH"
Gunichi................."goon-EE-chee"
Mataichi................"mah-TIGH-chee"
Torame.................."TOE-rah-meh"
Tamakuro................"tah-mah-KOO-roe"
Oyaneko................."oh-yah-NEH-koh"
Yagi...................."YAH-gee"
Gorogoro................"GOH-roh-goh-roh"
Shubo..................."SHOO-boe"
Hatsu..................."HAH-tsoo" (soft 't')
Inukai (Stray Dog)......"ee-NOO-kigh"
Fujii..................."foo-JEE"
Inazuma................."ee-nah-ZOO-mah"
Nakamura Koji..........."nah-kah-MOO-rah KOH-jee"

CLAN NAMES

Neko...................."NEH-koe"
Mogura.................."moe-GOO-rah"
Geishu.................."GEH-shoo"
Komori.................."koe-MOE-ree"

WEAPONRY

Katana.................."kah-TAH-nah"
Wakizashi..............."wah-kee-ZAH-shi"
Shuriken................"shoo-REE-ken"
Bokken.................."BOE-ken"

OTHER NAMES

Shinobi................."shee-NOE-bee"
Tokage.................."toe-KAH-geh"
Samurai................."SAH-moo-righ"
Ronin..................."roh-NEEN"
Daimyo.................."DIGH-myoh" (soft 'm')
Shogun.................."SHOH-goon"
Yojimbo................."yoh-JEEM-boh"

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Last change: 05. Sep 2002

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.