Talk:Nisio Isin

Name formatting
While Ishin Nishio is the standard romanization for his name, it is consistently given as NisiOisin on the copyright page at the back of his books, and should be spelled accordingly. 67.183.123.111 17:52, 29 December 2006 (UTC)


 * While this is true, it is given in the Summary section that NisiOisin (well, Nisio Isin) is his pen name. Articles regarding Japanese people should use the Wikipedia standard romanization (Hepburn) in the article title, if I recall. You can change the section regarding his Pen Name to read NisiOisin but the rest of the article should stay the way it is. Nique1287 18:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Should his books be translated, they would be required to match the spelling to the copyright page. Which is actually Nisio Isin, now that I look at it. 67.183.123.111 09:53, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Bringing back this topic. Upon seeing all the Vertical's releases of Nisio's novels, it seems the preferred stylized name is NISIOISIN instead of NisiOisiN. The latter looks to be a misunderstanding of his stylized name. It was always NISIOISIN (all capitalized) but with an emphasis on the design on the letter "O" rather than only some parts capitalized. Also, since the release of Faust vol. 1, one of the first translations in English featuring Nisio, the use of NISIOISIN is the actual stylized choice in the text, and it continues that until nowadays, seeing how Vertical always cites him in releases and social media. That's also how the Japanese Wiki explains his name. Crosswrm (talk) 04:28, 23 October 2020 (UTC)

Style section
The section on style appears to be a direct translation of the Japanese language entry. I added at least one citation for it, since someone tagged it... Doceirias 03:51, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Nisio and light novel
I translated this section from the original in Japanese. Crosswrm (talk) 01:54, 29 July 2020 (UTC)

Career
I translated this section from the original in Japanese. Crosswrm (talk) 15:26, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Move request

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

No move Duja ► 15:11, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and asked that this page be moved. Since his name was specifically designed to be a palindrome in English, and appears as Nisio Isin on the copyright page at the back of all his novels, is seems absurd to force the name to conform to irrelevant formatting conventions. Doceirias 02:05, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I disagree entirely. Just because he uses the spelling of his name in Japanese order as a palindrome, with non-Hepburn romanization, does not justify breaking Wikipedia's policy on Japanese naming. Since his name is not a pseudonym on the books and such, just a non-standard romanization, the article should remain Ishin Nishio, with the notes (multiple) currently contained within the article about his use of Nisio Isin in his writing. You can, and should, create as many single-redirects as required for the page, including Nisio Isin and Isin Nisio, but the page itself should still conform to Wikipedia's policy on the matter. Nique1287 02:37, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't follow your arguement at all. What does "his name is not a pseudonym on the books" mean? It seems sort of arrogant to me to impose a policy over the wishes of the author, and the legal spelling that the publishers would require for any future translations of his books. I have copies of his books in Japanese, and can try to find a scanner to prove that this is the name his works are copyrighted under, if that will help... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Doceirias (talk • contribs)


 * His name is not a false name or an assumed name, it's simply a non-standard romanization. As such, it should not be considered a pseudonym, which would be the only reason to make the page's title Nisio Isin as opposed to Ishin Nishio, as per Wikipedia's policy on Japanese pseudonyms. Since it is not a pseudonym, the page's title should remain Ishin Nishio, and redirects should be made, if they are not already in place, to direct viewers to that title. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough about that in the first place. ^^; Nique1287 02:47, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It isn't the name he was born with, though. It's a pen name, and he's given interviews to that effect. This is from the Nisio Isin Chronicle guide book, but he has admitted choosing his name because he heard the question author's are most often asked is how they devised their pen name, and he wanted to pretend he didn't know it was a palindrome. But then nobody has ever asked, and he was very disappointed. Doceirias 02:56, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It's still just a romanization, and it's still just a non-standard romanization at that. Unless you're implying that even the kanji are not his birth name, which is not stated in the article at all (and I would assume that it would have been added by now, by someone), the name Nisio Isin is just a non-standard romanization, and thus not a true pseudonym. Since there's a statement to this effect ("also known under his kunreishiki pen name Nisio Isin") in the very first sentence of the article, and because of (again) Wikipedia's policy on the naming of modern figures, I must oppose the move in question, in favour of redirects. Nique1287 03:02, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The kanji are a pen name! The entire name is made up! Isin spelled with those kanji (the same kanji as the revolutionary group the Ishin-shi-shi) is not a standard name at all. His real name is unknown, but when I say pen name, I mean the entire thing. Doceirias 03:08, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Again, the article does not state that the kanji are assumed AT ALL. You can check for yourself, quite easily, there are only two sections that talk about his life and self anyway, the intro and the Style section. The article only states that his pen name is Nisio Isin, and it gives the kanji as his birth name with NO indication that they were assumed. Unless you have a source that states that even the kanji are assumed, I still have to oppose the move. EVEN if you give a source that states it, I have to oppose the move, per policies stated above. If I were to create novels, music, or visual art under, say, the name モ二ック as opposed to Monique, and I then became famous enough to warrant my own Wikipedia page, would you then propose that, instead of using the name's standard spelling, the article be titled Monikku? The same goes for romanization of kanji. Even if the kanji are a pseudonym, it's the kanji that are the pseudonym, and the romanization remains simply non-standard. Nique1287 03:18, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Check the Japanese page, where it clearly states: "西尾維新というペンネーム" -- His penname, Nisio Isin. I started this discussion over on the naming policy talk page, but the discussion died out quickly. I want to do this properly, get that policy changed if it needs to be. I don't see that your example really relates to this one, but I have a couple that work the other way. Otsu-ichi -- Also a penname (kanji and spelling) but kept in the Japanese order with a hypen because that's what's on the copyright page, and that's how the English edition of Calling You was required to keep it. Likewise Sigusawa Keiichi (which I moved today incorrectly, will have to move all the way to Sigsawa soon) is a penname (kanji too) designed to resemble Sig Sauer, and the English edition of his book spells his name Keiichi Sigsawa. I mean, if the Wikipedia policy says we have to contradict the spelling of the name their books are published under in order to standardise, then the Wikipedia policy needs to be changed. This isn't about working under a katakana spelling, but it would be like changing, um...Steven to Stephen, or Sean to Shawn. Can't think of any real examples of celebrities with strange spellings of normal names, but do you get my point? Even if this were his real name, if the man himself has his name as Nisio Isin legally on the books, requiring that it be spelled that way on all editions of his books forever, then why would we want to contradict that? We know how to spell his name better than he does? Better than the legal copyright? Doceirias 03:34, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose move Ishin Nishio is more commonly used in English. On a personal lever, I re-assert the similarities of this name to e. e. cummings spelling his name in lowercase.  Another example would the the symbol that "Prince" used for a while before picking another pseudonym.  It's artistic statement/marketing gimic that Wikipedia should not perpetuate, but we do need to describe.  The contents of a "copyright page" does not dictate the usage of names on wikipedia. There is nothing legally binding about the way a name can be spelled on a book. "Copyright" pages (aka the t.p. verso) can contain data from a variety of sources.  i.e. The Library of Congress or the British Library often supply cataloging-in-publication data for such volumes.  In fact, if we use libraries as an example, the name is romanized as Ishin Nishio.  But this is all fluff...  Let's get down to the meat...
 * WP:NAME:
 * "Convention: Name your pages in English and place the native transliteration on the first line of the article unless the native form is more commonly recognized by readers than the English form.
 * Convention: Except where other accepted Wikipedia naming conventions give a different indication, use the most common name of a person or thing that does not conflict with the names of other people or things. [Note: WP:MOS-JA is an "other accepted Wikipedia naming convention"]
 * The generally accepted practice is to use a google test to determine the most common usage of modern-day figues. For Englsih language pages only, ignoring Wikipedia entries, Nishio Ishin is quite popular with 15 hits, Ishin Nishio gets 21, Nisio Isin gets 9. --Kunzite 04:54, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * e. e. cummings is not relevant, since that is a matter of capitalization, and not spelling. If we were arguing about matching the cover logo and spelling it NisiOisin, or if E.E.Cummings spelled his name with an o sometimes, it might have some bearing, but otherwise it just seems weird to me to pretend wikipedia knows how to spell things better than the author himself.
 * I certainly don't pretend to have an advanced knowledge of copyright law. But with Boogiepop I understand the editors wanted to keep all names in Japanese order, but copyright requires we keep the author and artist's names in Western Order. Also see the examples above with Otsu-ichi and Sigsawa Keiichi. My point is: there is precedent for the eventual English edition matching the spelling used on the copyright page, and that copyright page is the only official English spelling until then. Nothing by Nisio Isin has been published in English so far (the Death Note novels seems very likely, though) so perhaps the debate will be better off shelved until something actually is. Doceirias 07:58, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Comment. With the level of Ghits we are talking about (15? 21? 9?) it is clear that none of the names have been adequately established for "common usage" to be an adequate argument here. Dekimasu 02:32, 27 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Support move Nique misquotes policy; the policy says:
 * Macron usage in the name of a modern figure should adhere to the following, in order of preference:
 * Use the official trade name if available in English/Latin alphabet;
 * Use the form found in a dictionary entry from a generally-accepted English dictionary;
 * Use the form publicly used on behalf of the person in the English-speaking world;
 * Use the form publicly used on behalf of the person in any other popular Latin-alphabet-using language (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Dutch, or variations); or
 * If none of the above is available, use the macronned form.

The copyright would come under #3; as would an English translation. So move, and if his English publisher disagrees, move back. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 23:13, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * This is not a matter of macron usage. This does not apply. --Kunzite 00:35, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Here's another example for you: Oh! great -- just like Nisio Isin, a pen name designed to have a specific effect in the English spelling. All English editions and the Wikipedia entry reflect this. Doceirias 21:15, 1 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose as there is no established "common usage" in English. Therefore, we should use the default version at WP:MOS-JA and list the pen name. Basically, the article already does this, and there are redirects in place for anyone searching under the other possibilities. ··· 日本穣 ? · Talk to Nihon joe 18:57, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose &mdash; Nishio does not publish any work in English, so the pen name (which is different from a trade name) is effective in Japan only. Even this MSN-Mainichi Daily article spells it "Ishin Nishio".  So WP:MOS-JA tells us to use the standard romanization like for anybody else: "Ishio Nishin".--Endroit 15:01, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Looks like most people would prefer to follow the Wikipedia policy until common usage dictates otherwise. Fair enough; I'll propose the move again once something of his is translated. Assuming I'm right, and the translated editions do spell his name Nisio Isin. I still think we can safely predict what the common usage spelling will be, and WP:MOS-JA policies should be changed to reflect this, but that's a different arguement. Doceirias 01:28, 5 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I disagree. It's not the place of Wikipedia to speculate as to future publishing decisions. It might be obvious to some, but without a source, it's simply unverfied. -- Exitmoose 03:10, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested move
This is a complicated one, as the discussion on the former move proposal suggests. The author's pen name is normally romanized as Nishio Ishin, or Ishin Nishio. But this name was chosen specifically because it is a palindrome under an alternate system of romanization. (I have an interview with him on the subject if we need a source.) The earlier discussion concluded that we could not predict how the name would be spelled in English, and should follow tradition. But Amazon is now listing the Death Note novel with NISIOISIN as the name. Amazon Listing I don't for a moment support putting the name in all capital letters, obviously; and keeping the two names separate gives us Nisio Isin. Is a move justified at this point? Doceirias (talk) 03:11, 19 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I would be fine listing it as Nisio Isin (西尾 維新), with an explanation of the palindrome. ··· 日本穣 ? · Talk to Nihonjoe 01:23, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

I think a move would be perfect. Ishin Nishio never sounded right to me anyway, and it doesn't preserve the palindrome (I prefer the spelling of NisiOisiN, actually, but I'm sure that's against about a thousand different Wikipedia rules).

(Incidentally, how come no one ever brought up Tite Kubo, whose real name is Taito Kubo? It's sort of a similar situation, is it not?) Chibi Gohan (talk) 13:25, 31 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi. I've been working on requested moves, and I noticed this request in the backlog. The discussion above is a bit complicated, and I don't know any Japanese, but I'm aware that the WP:MOS-JP project has adopted standards regarding romanizations and the proper way to treat people's names, depending on the year of the person's birth. I gather that this is a case in which the older style of ordering the parts of a name is the style in common use, and the one in which the palindrome works. If I've mistaken any of these details, please do correct me. It appears from the above discussion that the question could hinge on whether or not the name Nishio Ishin is a pseudonym, or simply a stylistic choice of how to write the writer's name, a la bell hooks, who chooses to de-capitalize her name. If it is a pseudonym, and that is the name by which the writer is commonly known, then we would go with it; otherwise, we would be inclined to follow the word order indicated by WP:MOS-JP, as a style issue. Again, I hope I have the details correct there. If I'm understanding the issue properly, then I'm willing to move the page to Nishio Ishin if we have evidence that it is a pseudonym. That seems fair to me - do others agree that a consensus would support that interpretation of the rules? -GTBacchus(talk) 00:06, 3 January 2008 (UTC)


 * It is a pseudonym, as confirmed by the author is several interviews (and readily apparently by the fact that Ishin is a word meaning Restoration, and not a name). WP:MOS-JP policy does not impose standards when the official romanizations contradict them, but we now have proof that Nisio Isin will be the official English spelling of his name. (I translated the Death Note novel by this author, and have my comp compies already; I can confirm that it is spelled this way on the book itself.) Doceirias (talk) 05:50, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

Hell, one look at the English cover (shown on Amazon and other sites) shows us that they kept the NisiOisiN (or Nisio Isin) spelling. Do the copyright pages write it as one word, though (Nisioisin)? Or like Nisio Isin?

And once again, if 久保 帯人 (Kubo Taito) can be spelled Tite Kubo, even though it is a non-standard romanization, what's wrong with Nisio Isin? Chibi Gohan (talk) 07:51, 3 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah, so we wish to move the article to Nisio Isin? It that what the consensus supports? -GTBacchus(talk) 08:02, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

That's the plan, but I'm wondering if NisiOisiN or NisiOisin would be against policy? His novel covers have it written as NisiOisiN (but with the "n" reversed). But as I have had Doceirias point out to me before, erratic capitalization is against Wikipedia policy. If that's correct, then I would just go with Nisio Isin, with perhaps a note that it's written NisiOisiN in his books. Chibi Gohan (talk) 08:08, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, I've moved the article to Nisio Isin. The stylized capitalization is a whole separate question, and one on which consensus tends to be against special capitalizations. -GTBacchus(talk) 08:12, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Right, the stylized capitalization is a separate issue, and not really important. I did add a note about it. Doceirias (talk) 18:29, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

Eh, I prefer "NisiOisiN" as this is the actual form used. He doesn't seem to use "Nisio Isin" WhisperToMe (talk) 11:24, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, but keep in mind that Wikipedia, for what ever reason, has rules against stylized names like that. For instance, CLAMP's article is called "Clamp." And xxxHOLiC is called xxxHolic. It makes no sense to me, but those are the rules. Although I would love for the article to be called "NisiOisiN" if there were some way for it to happen. Chibi Gohan (talk) 16:32, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh, it could happen. All you need to do is make another move request. See if people are for or against the move. WhisperToMe (talk) 20:53, 11 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Actually, I spelled it NisiOisin in one of the translation notes for the xxxHolic novel. Kodansha corrected it, insisting it be NISIOISIN, Nisio Isin, or just Nisio. Insider info! Doceirias (talk) 21:06, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Hmm, so maybe Nisioisin would work? WhisperToMe (talk) 21:12, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I think we're better off leaving it as two names. Doceirias (talk) 22:02, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Since when were you translating the xxxHOLiC novel? That's goooooooood news. I've just started getting into the manga, too, so I've been looking forward to the book (and I think NisiOisiN is a pretty neat guy, from the small portion of the Death Note novel I've read and what I've heard about him). But anyway, that's odd that they insisted on those spellings, when it's always written NisiOiniN on his books... Chibi Gohan (talk) 14:59, 13 January 2008 (UTC)


 * I think it should be "Nishio Ishin" per WP:MOS-JP, which dictates we use Hepburn. To: ChibiGohan, Tite Kubo is not pronounced "Tee-tay" but "Tight", like "That's tight man". moo  cows  rule 03:59, 13 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Per those guidelines, we do use the official spellings - like Tite Kubo, where the kanji are actually read Taito. Doceirias (talk) 17:22, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

How is it not clear to you, Doceirias, that 傷物語 is "Scar story"? Unless you can prove to me that it is somehow a light novel about stuff being damaged as per your translation of 'damaged goods', 傷物語 means "Scar (or a synonym of it) Story". - Anon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.7.37.60 (talk) 04:01, 20 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I reverted the Ghostory misnomer, although honestly, this page should probably use the same compromise as the actual Bakemonogatari page ended up using. Kizumonogatari...'damaged goods' isn't my translation. I thought it was an apt metaphor for what happens in the book, and the sort of word play Nisio enjoys. The scar/wound from his bite mark might also be the reason for the title, but it seemed like the meaning of it was more complex than that, and Damaged Goods got at that complexity a little better. But I'm in favor of explaining the title rather than trying to translate it, until such time as an official translation exists. Doceirias (talk) 04:19, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Katanagatari Picture Book
I am unsure the book in the heading belongs to the "uncollected works". I understand that what is considered "uncollected" are the short stories in it, but those stories are part of the book itself as companions to Take's artworks. It is more like they were published in their definitive form rightaway in the artbook, much like Medaka Box Guidebook and its own contents. I suggest to move this specific work in the "Related book" section of Katanagatari. Notifying to present the matter to its attention specifically. --PersiaF (talk) 18:30, 26 October 2021 (UTC)


 * It's an art book done by Take that happens to have short stories, and the only way to just access said short stories are by buying an art book. My understanding of "uncollected" is that. If they want to release a Katanagatari short story book with the other short story they'd be collected, even putting the drawings that accompany them. Medaka Box Guidebook is a different matter. As the name suggest, it's a guide for the series. I think it doesn't has original content (as in a new story/short story). My decision would be to keep it. Crosswrm (talk) 14:33, 30 October 2021 (UTC)