Jinmeiyō Kanji
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Jinmeiyō Kanji Full List (Sorry, can't draw these!) (Sorry, can't draw these!)
| Kanji | Kana (kunyomi) | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 畢 | おわ（る）、あみ、おわ（り）、ことごとく、お（わる）、ことごと（く） | the end; finish | |
| 桧 | ひのき、ひ | Japanese cypress | |
| 紐 | ひも | string; cord; braid; lace; tape; strap; ribbon | |
| 彪 | あや、まだら | spotted; mottled; patterned; small tiger | |
| 瓢 | ひさご、ふくべ | gourd | |
| 豹 | leopard; panther | ||
| 廟 | たまや、みたまや、やしろ、おもてごてん | mausoleum; shrine; palace | |
| 彬 | うるわ（しい）、あき（らか）、そな（わる） | refined; gentle | |
| 瀕 | ほとり、みぎわ、せま（る）、そ（う） | shore; brink; verge | |
| 斧 | おの | ax; hatchet | |
| 芙 | はす | lotus; Mt Fuji | |
| 撫 | な（でる） | stroke; pat; smooth down | |
| 葡 | wild grape; Portugal | ||
| 蕪 | かぶ、かぶら、あれる、あ（れる）、しげ（る）、みだ（れる） | turnip | |
| 楓 | かえで | maple | |
| 葺 | あし、ふ（く）、ふき、つくろ（う） | thatch; cover; shingle; tile | |
| 蕗 | ふき | butterbur; bog rhubarb | |
| 淵 | ふち、かた（い）、はなわ、ふか（い）、おくぶか（い） | abyss; edge; deep pool; the depths | |
| 吻 | くちわき、くちさき、くちびる | proboscis | |
| 焚 | た（く）、や（く）、やきがり | burn; kindle; build a fire; boil; cook |
The jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字), lit. Chinese characters for use in personal names) are a set of 843 Chinese characters known as "name kanji" in English. They are a supplementary list of characters that can legally be used in registered personal names in Japan, despite not being in the official list of "commonly used characters" (jōyō kanji). "Jinmeiyō kanji" is sometimes used to refer to the characters in both the jinmeiyō and jōyō lists.
A ministerial decree of 1946 limited the number of officially sanctioned kanji for public use to the 1850 tōyō kanji. Only kanji on this list were acceptable as registered names, despite the fact that the list excluded many kanji frequently used in names up to that point. However, on May 25, 1951, the cabinet extended the set of characters usable in names by specifying the first 90 jinmeiyō kanji.
Over the years, the Minister of Justice has increased the number of name kanji, and has a plan for further addition in response to requests from parents. As of April 30, 2009, there were 985 jinmeiyō kanji, but this number was reduced to 861 in late 2010 when 129 jinmeiyō characters were transferred to the jōyō kanji list, and 5 characters were transferred from the jōyō kanji list to jinmeiyō characters.
In Japan, name kanji are taught at the junior-high level, and mastery of the name kanji is required to achieve Level 2 of the Kanji kentei, a Chinese-character proficiency test.