Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Japan/Archive/October 2014

Minor changes to Navbox
I'd like to suggest two minor changes to WikiProject Japan/Navbox. Currently two of the headers are long, so they run into the little [show] boxes on the right and one displays on 2 lines. I'd like to change them as follows.

Current headers: New headers:
 * Descendant project links
 * Other related pages
 * Child projects
 * Related pages

That should leave plenty of space on the right of the headers. Appreciate any comments before I go ahead and do this. Thanks. --Margin1522 (talk) 05:24, 24 September 2014 (UTC)


 * ✅ Done. – Margin1522 (talk) 08:34, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

New banner (from back in June)
I'm sure most people have noticed it by now, but I made a new banner for the project so it could be used for Wikiproject Leaflets. The old one was too low resolution. It incorporates blues often seen in old ukiyo-e, as well as an image of Mount Fuji, the rising sun, and the Pleiades. Enjoy. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 19:59, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Comment on the WikiProject X proposal
Hello there! As you may already know, most WikiProjects here on Wikipedia struggle to stay active after they've been founded. I believe there is a lot of potential for WikiProjects to facilitate collaboration across subject areas, so I have submitted a grant proposal with the Wikimedia Foundation for the "WikiProject X" project. WikiProject X will study what makes WikiProjects succeed in retaining editors and then design a prototype WikiProject system that will recruit contributors to WikiProjects and help them run effectively. Please review the proposal here and leave feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask on the proposal page or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you for your time! (Also, sorry about the posting mistake earlier. If someone already moved my message to the talk page, feel free to remove this posting.) Harej (talk) 22:47, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Correct name.
I saw a page with all these names for the same person: Syouhuu Oohashi, Syoufu Ohashi, Syofuu Ohashi, Syofu Oohashi.

Correct is Syōfū Ōhashi? Is "Syōfū" a name? Thanks. --109.49.230.250 (talk) 22:55, 26 September 2014 (UTC)
 * A google search tells me his name is 大橋松風, so in Hepburn that would be Shōfū Ōhashi. It's a really weird first name! --Prosperosity (talk) 02:13, 27 September 2014 (UTC)


 * That is a strange name. Is it the video game designer for Capcom? If it's a real-life given name, my guess is that it's pronounced Matsukaze Ōhashi. If it's a professional name, it could be either. In practice, when you don't know how to pronounce a name, people often just go with the on reading, which would be Shōfū. The various spellings are adaptations of the romanization system they teach in Japanese schools, so originally they might have come from game fans in Japan. --Margin1522 (talk) 03:39, 27 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks everyone. Yes, it is a Capcom designer. Matsukaze? --109.49.230.250 (talk) 21:44, 27 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Usually 松風 is read matsukaze, but there were absolutely no google results for that for this person's name. All the websites suggest variations of 'Shōfū', so that's almost probably right! --Prosperosity (talk) 00:51, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. :) --109.49.230.250 (talk) 03:01, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, you won't go wrong with Shōfū. About Matsukaze, it's quite a poetic name that goes a long way back in Japanese literature. It means "Wind in the Pines". You can read about it in our article on Matsukaze. --Margin1522 (talk) 06:07, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

Assured, it should be Shofu in this context. Soseki, Ogai, Basho ... almost every male pseudonym for writing or painting is read in this way: not Kunyomi, but Onyomi. --Aphaia (talk) 11:34, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Those people, yes. But that's assuming the person is male and using a pseudonym. I really know nothing about game designers. But [here] is a list of Capcom designers for one game. They all seem to be going by their real names, and many of them are young women. I think this is a case of, if you really need to know how to pronounce the person's name you'd have to ask Capcom. --Margin1522 (talk) 15:36, 28 September 2014 (UTC)


 * What games has this person worked on? If there are English versions, you could find someone with the game and see if he's listed in the credits in the booklet. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 20:01, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

takana?
Is there an article for takana, the spicy vegetable condiment? If so, I can't find it.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 11:01, 26 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I don't think there is, but you can find takana in the article Brassica juncea. タカナ is a variation of カラシナ. Oda Mari (talk) 16:02, 26 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I added a disambiguation tag at the top of Takana. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 20:07, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

Correct names, Part II
I happened to visit the page Hirado Domain and found its lord family is called Matsuura widely in Wikipedia. There are some articles already, others are still red, but all of them are called Matsuura. cf. http://matsura.or.jp/history/index.html Matsura Historical Museum

They are Matsura, not Matsuura. I am not sure if it is either an error within the English Wikipedia and only or widely English convention. So now I leave them .. but it's very embarrassing. If there are no good reason to keep and spread this errors, I'd love to correct them. I'd love to see Wikipedia spreading knowledge, not factual errors. Let share your opinion, guys. --Aphaia (talk) 11:29, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Huh, interesting. The ma-tsu/u-ra pronounciation of 松浦 has become the most widely known (probably because of Aya Matsuura and Matsuura city), but you're right, the Japanese Wikipedia lists the family as 松浦氏（まつらし）. Looking on Google Books, I can see 49 results for "matsuura clan", while only 6 results for "matsura clan", so this isn't just a Wikipedia problem. --Prosperosity (talk) 12:27, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * The Japanese Wikipedia disambiguation page for 松浦 lists 10 place names, and 9 are Matsu'ura. The one exception is the Matsura in the Hirado Domain. IMO that settles it. The Japanese Wikipedia has much better sources for these names. It's Matsura, and all the Matsu'ura instances should be fixed. --Margin1522 (talk) 16:31, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * So I'd propose to move them collectively. I was on a long wikibreak until just recent and don't know the current convention to call for vote on move or whatever. Anyone who helps are welcome. --Aphaia (talk) 08:26, 2 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I'd be glad to do some. Is there any strategy we should have, like starting from a particular page? – Margin1522 (talk) 19:44, 2 October 2014 (UTC)
 * It might be good to make a list of all the pages which need correcting, and then correct them. Since the museum page above specifically spells the name "Matsura" instead of "Matsuura" (even in the furigana), then I see no problem with just fixing all of them. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 19:56, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

I created a list of the daimyo in the table in Hirado Domain, with the all of the pages that link to those names. The list is located at Talk:Hirado Domain. Probably the first thing to do would be to move the existing pages to new names. – Margin1522 (talk) 16:24, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Nanshu and Ryukyuan languages articles
has just created several new articles on subdivisions of the Ryukyuan languages. He has split up Kunigami language and Amami language (where he initially performed major expansions to them and removed yanbaru kutuba and shimayumuta from them) into Northern Okinawan language, Okinoerabu language, Tokunoshima language, Amami languages, and Yoron language. Large swathes of the articles appear to be unreferenced now, or based solely on Nanshu's personal research into these languages/dialects. Nanshu and I have had a history of disputes between each other, so I would just like a neutral party to ake alook at what he's been doing before he inevitably insults my intelligence.— Ryūlóng ( 琉竜 ) 10:39, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

I also know that Nanshu likes to disappear for weeks at a time and ignore me entirely.— Ryūlóng ( 琉竜 ) 12:46, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Most of his new articles are based on fringe theories that draw up some alternative grouping of the Ryūkyūan languages that contrasts with the most widely accepted grouping. I'd revert it if I had the time.  ミーラー強斗武  (StG88ぬ会話) 18:59, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I've done the reverts. I've even restored Kunigami language and Amami language to states they were before he performed vast expansions that were also poorly filled with his own opinions on the languages and poorly sourced phonetics.— Ryūlóng ( 琉竜 ) 20:01, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I mean he was really planning this since September because he added a confusing tag to a section he wrote himself that goes "since the so-called Amami language is in reality a highly diversified group of languages that are known for phonetic innovativeness, it must be clarified which language is to be described in this section". He has avoided touching the Ryukyuan languages page to change anything to add his 5 new languages to the page. And he's been removing the names for the languages in the articles, simply referring to them in English and not even having one bit of Japonic text throughout the pages.— Ryūlóng ( 琉竜 ) 20:12, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
 * It was all a mess, but thank you.  ミーラー強斗武  (StG88ぬ会話) 11:09, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Japanese Gold Driver's License
Dear Japan experts: This old AfC submission was declined for lack of reliable sources. There are likely some in Japanese. Should the page be kept and improved instead of being deleted as a stale draft? &mdash;Anne Delong (talk) 18:15, 5 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I think the person who wrote it knew what they were talking about. Some of it was translated directly from the Japanese Wikipedia, and the translation is pretty good. If some of the statements in the lead could be sourced then we could keep that, delete the rest, and it would be available in the history if anyone wanted to revive it. – Margin1522 (talk) 20:47, 5 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Well, now that it's been edited, it will hang around for six months or so until someone who speaks Japanese add some sources. Thanks for your input. &mdash;Anne Delong (talk) 22:53, 5 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I added a few references to it. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 06:16, 9 October 2014 (UTC)

Meitantei translation
Can someone tell me the difference between Meitantei 名探偵 and Tantei 探偵? I understand the second one translates literally to Detective. Not sure on the former. DragonZero ( Talk  ·  Contribs ) 01:14, 11 October 2014 (UTC)
 * The character 名 is a prefix often added to words to indicate some kind of fame or notability. In this case it is probably used to indicate that this person is no "ordinary" detective, but rather a "quite famous" detective. Think of it as being written as 名-探偵. If I'm wrong, I'm sure somebody else will correct me but I think that's what you're looking for. - Marchjuly (talk) 01:43, 11 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I saw that a Japanese series used English letting "Great Detective" for Meitantei but wasn't sure how accurate that was. DragonZero  ( Talk  ·  Contribs ) 03:52, 11 October 2014 (UTC)
 * If you're talking about Case Closed, it's taken from the Japanese title for Sherlock Holmes: 名探偵ホームズ. As mentioned above, it translates to "Famous Detective" or "Great Detective" (or something along those lines. The 名 means the detective is famous or well known for some reason. ··· 日本穣 ? · 投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 06:06, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm hoping participants of the project could assess which version of nihongo is appropriate for the article Case Closed article here. Thanks. DragonZero ( Talk  ·  Contribs ) 07:44, 11 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Is this because I modified the template you use to have the title in Japanese repeated everywhere on the project? The series is officially translated as "Detective Conan". It doesn't matter that 名探偵 has any other particular nuance to it to have it literally translated as anything else.— Ryūlóng ( 琉竜 ) 07:54, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

Music Freak Magazine
Anyone have its back issues? I have put up a request... Ryoga (talk) 17:46, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

Coastline of islands
Quite a number of Japanese islands include coastline length in the infobox. However, as explained at Coastline paradox, this is not a well-defined quantity. Basically you can make the coastline as long as you like, depending on the size of features that you measure. 86.161.61.250 (talk) 20:43, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

FYI
Move discussions involving many prefectural capitals currently ongoing: WT:MOS-JP, Talk:Shizuoka, Shizuoka. Disambiguation format for at least 10 prefectures are affected. Dekimasu よ! 07:40, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

WP:VG comments subpages cleanup
Hi, there is currently a discussion taking place at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games regarding whether it would be acceptable to permanently shift all comments subpages associated with WP:VG articles into talk. This shift would follow the recommended approach given at WP:DCS. The WikiProject Japan articles that would be affected by this action are these: If you have objections related specifically to WikiProject Japan's use of these subpages, please make this clear at the discussion so that other unrelated talk pages can be cleaned up where appropriate. Thank you. -Thibbs (talk) 15:54, 16 October 2014 (UTC)
 * KiKi KaiKai
 * Nintendo

Jōsei Toda‎
Could someone please have a look at the above mentioned article? Too much involved in the subject myself but it reads far too much as an advertisement i.e. extension of SGI. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Catflap08 (talk • contribs) 19:33, 16 October 2014‎ (UTC)

Translation 引解 and 改良仕事服
Looking for meaning/translation of 引解 and 改良仕事服 which appear in List of Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties. Thank you for any suggestions. bamse (talk) 19:13, 16 October 2014 (UTC)
 * This defines 引解 as a piece of clothing without cotton wadding in the wataire. BTW, I interpret the name of this cultural property as something like "Collection of mountain hakama (tsuketari, hikitoki, hinagata, momohiki, shitabaki, uwagi, improved work clothes)". It seems to me from the description that everything being listed is a type of yamabakama. --Cckerberos (talk) 06:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the translation. I am not sure about all of this being types of yamabakama (that's only the "trousers" no?) Perhaps some kind of accessories? In the database it also counts the items as "119点　附１点　４点　１点　１点　２点　１点" which seems to indicate that these are not yamabakama but something additional. bamse (talk) 10:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Hard to say what 改良仕事服 would have been. ja:宮本馨太郎 is the page about the folklorist who collected these garments, and [here] is the museum that houses the collection. There's a mail address, so you could ask them what they are, or if they are described in any of his books. – Margin1522 (talk) 06:21, 18 October 2014 (UTC)
 * The definition of yamabakama is here on #2. It's a kind of hakama. While hakama is a formal wear mostly worn indoors, yamabakama is outdoor work clothes and does not have koshi-ita. See also and . I think it's meaningless to use the literal translation of yamabakama. Oda Mari (talk) 07:22, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

Obachan in Osaka
Tagged to death, but there may well be a worthwhile article that could be made out of this. Could someone who can read the sources please salvage it or AfD it, whichever seems appropriate? Noyster  (talk),  15:29, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

Expert attention
This is a notice about Category:Japan/Music task force articles needing expert attention, which might be of interest to your WikiProject. It will take a while before the category is populated. Iceblock (talk) 05:36, 19 October 2014 (UTC)

uchiwa hubbub
Midori Matsushima needs updated in light of the recent scandal, can someone knowledgeable give it a touchup? Thanks--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 12:51, 23 October 2014 (UTC)

Momoko Tsugunaga
This article was referenced during a discussion about a different Wikipedia article so I just clicked on the link out of curiosity. The page appears to have several issues, but the main one seems to be a lack of reliable sources for any of the biographical information given. The page is also listed as "Rated stub-class", but its current version appears to be more than a stub. I don't know much about this person so I am curious as to what others think. She does have a Japanese Wikipedia page which has lots of cited sources, but I'm not sure how many of them would satisfy WP:RS. Should this article be tagged with BLP sources or left as is? Does she qualify for an English Wikipedia article per WP:BAND or WP:NMODEL? Thanks in advance. - Marchjuly (talk) 03:02, 28 October 2014 (UTC)