Hanako is a female
Japanese given name
in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...
. The name can have different meanings, one of them being 花子, meaning "flower girl", and another being 華子 (華 is a
kanji
are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
of many uses - 'splendor', 'flower', 'petal', 'shine', 'luster', 'ostentatious', 'showy'. 'ko' is the second kanji, meaning 'girl (child)').
It is often seen as an
archetypal name
An archetypal name is a proper name of a real person or mythological or fictional character that has become a designation for an archetype of a certain personal trait. It is a form of antonomasia.
Archetypal names are a literary device used to all ...
for females. It was a popular name for female elephants in Japan imported in the late 1940s and early 1950s; the first part of the name, ''Hana'', could be taken as reference to an elephant's nose.
People
*Hanako Tsugaru, later
Hanako, Princess Hitachi
(born ; 19 July 1940), is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the wife of Masahito, Prince Hitachi, who is the younger son of Emperor Shōwa and the only brother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. By marriage, she is the aunt of Emperor ...
of Japan
*
Hanako Footman (born 1994), British-Japanese actress
*
Hanako Honda (1909–1968), Japanese politician
*
Hanako Miura (born 1975), Japanese gymnast
*
Hanako Jimi
is a Japanese politician who has served as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies, and Minister for the World Expo 2025 since Sept ...
, Japanese politician
*
Hanako Muraoka
was a Japanese novelist and translator. She is best known for translating ''Anne of Green Gables'' by Lucy Maud Montgomery, L.M. Montgomery into Japanese.
Early life and education
Muraoka was born on June 21, 1893, in Kōfu, Kofu, Yamanashi ...
(1893–1968), Japanese novelist and translator
*
Hanako Nakamori
, better known by her ring name Hanako Nakamori, is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time in the Japanese promotions JWP Joshi Puroresu and Pure-J.
Professional wrestling career Indepe ...
(Hanako Kobayashi, born 1988), Japanese professional wrestler
*
Hanako Oku
is a pop singer famous in her native Japan for her piano ballads. She rose to fame after performing the end-title track for the Madhouse (company), Madhouse film ''The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006 film), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'' in ...
(born 1978), Japanese singer/songwriter
*
Hanako Oshima
is a Japanese singer and the daughter of actress Yukiko Kashiwagi and singer Kyu Sakamoto.
Biography
Oshima was born in Tokyo, and is a graduate of Toyo Eiwa University. When she was 11 years old, her father, Kyu Sakamoto, was killed in the A ...
(born 1973), Japanese musician
*
Hanako Takigawa (born 1988), Japanese actress
*
Hisa Ōta
was a Japanese stage actress who spanned the Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō period, Taishō periods of Japan and was known by the name Hanako (花子). The ''kanji'' given for her name when born were 飛佐 (''Hisa''), but she did not use thos ...
(1868–1945), Japanese actress whose stage name was "Hanako"
Fictional characters
*Hanako (ハナコ) or Delia Ketchum, the mother of protagonist Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) in the ''
Pokémon
is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' anime
*Hanako, a character of the manga ''
Hanako and the Terror of Allegory
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. It was serialized in the publisher Kadokawa Shoten's magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Ace'' from April 2004 to September 2005. The series of individual chapters were compiled into f ...
''
*Hanako, a character of the drama ''
Hanako to Anne
is a Japanese television drama series, the 90th Asadora series broadcast on NHK. It debuted on March 31, 2014, and was broadcast Monday through Saturday mornings, ending on September 27, 2014. It is based on the novel ''An no Yurikago Muraoka Hana ...
''
*Hanako Ikezawa, a heroine with debilitating social anxiety derived from her burn scars from the visual novel ''
Katawa Shoujo
is a ''Bishōjo game, bishōjo''-style visual novel by Four Leaf Studios that tells the story of a young man and five young women living with varying disabilities. The game uses a traditional text and sprite-based visual novel model with an AD ...
''
*Hanako Ichiro, a
Shiba Inu
The is a breed of hunting dog from Japan. A small-to-medium breed, it is the smallest of the six original dog breeds native to Japan. The Shiba Inu was originally bred for hunting. Its name literally translates to "brushwood dog", as it is us ...
owned by Inuyashiki Ichiro, from the manga ''
Inuyashiki
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Evening'' from January 2014 to July 2017, with its chapters collected in 10 volumes. The story follows two people, who via ...
'' by
Hiroya Oku
is a Japanese manga artist, who is the creator of ''Gantz'', '' Gigant'', ''Hen'', and '' Inuyashiki'', the first two of which have been serialized in ''Weekly Young Jump''. Originally influenced by Katsuhiro Otomo and Ryoichi Ikegami,
*Hanako-kun (ghost), formerly Amane Yugi, the title character from the anime and manga series ''
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
is a Japanese manga series written by Iro and illustrated by Aida, which results in their conjoined name 'AidaIro'. It has been serialized in Square Enix's magazine '' Monthly GFantasy'' since 2014. It has been collected in 23 ''tankōbon ...
''
*Hanako Ohmuro, a character from ''
YuruYuri
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Namori. The series began serialization in Ichijinsha's ''Comic Yuri Hime S'' magazine on June 12, 2008, before being moved over to ''Comic Yuri Hime'' in September 2010. An anime ...
''
*
Hanako-san
Hanako-san, or , is a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako who haunts lavatories. Like many urban legends, the details of the origins of the legend vary depending on the account; different versions of the story incl ...
,
yokai in the girl toilet in
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
and
Tuesday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
*Hanako Sonoyama, a character from ''
Little Battlers Experience WARS''
*Hanako Urawa, a character from ''
Blue Archive
''Blue Archive'' is a 2021 real-time strategy role-playing game developed by the South Korean developer MX Studio under the management umbrella of Nexon Games (formerly NAT Games). The player and protagonist is a Sensei who was summoned ...
''
*Hanako Yamada, a character of the video game ''
Yandere Simulator
''Yandere Simulator'' is an upcoming stealth action video game for Windows. The story follows obsessively lovesick schoolgirl Ayano Aishi, nicknamed " Yandere- chan", who takes it upon herself to eliminate (through either violent or non-viole ...
''
*Hanako Yumadagi, a character of anime series ''
Ongaku Shoujo''
Other
*
Hanako (elephant)
Hanako (; 1947 – May 26, 2016) was a female Asian elephant who lived in Japan. Born in Thailand, she was brought to the Ueno Zoo as a young elephant, the first elephant to be imported into the country after World War II. She was joined shortl ...
(1947–2016), an elephant who lived in Japan
*
Hanako (fish)
Hanako ( Japanese: ) (purportedly 1751 – July 7, 1977) was a scarlet koi fish reportedly owned by several individuals, the last of whom was Komei Koshihara. She was reported to be the longest-lived koi fish ever recorded, having died at the ag ...
, a fish which lived to be more than 200 years old
See also
*
References
{{given name
Japanese feminine given names
Feminine given names