This is one of the rare surnames found in Toyama Prefecture, Hokkaido, Kanagawa Prefecture, and other areas. The character "陳" is usually read as "chin," and many people feel that it should naturally be written as "中陣" (Nakajin) given the reading "Nakajin."
Understanding the origins of such surnames is essential to understanding the family registration system of the early Meiji period. Before it was managed with printed text or digitally as it is today, the original family registers were handwritten with a brush. As a result, similar-looking kanji characters, such as "陣" and "陳," were often misspelled, and there are examples in various regions where characters different from the original became established as official surnames due to differences in the placement of dots or the omission of strokes.
The character "陣" (jin), derived from the arrangement of military camps and residences, was one of the kanji widely used in personal and place names from the medieval to the early modern period. In that process, the character "陳" (chen) was used in copying when creating family registers, and it is believed to have become fixed as a family name. What might seem like a misspelling from a modern perspective is thought to have gained legitimacy as a surname within the constraints of the system and the times.
The surname is scattered across Toyama Prefecture, Hokkaido, Kanagawa Prefecture, and other areas, suggesting that it is a surname that has been quietly passed down by a limited number of families rather than being concentrated in a specific region.
Nakajin
"中陳" is a surname pronounced "Nakajin." It is found in Toyama Prefecture, Hokkaido, Nara Prefecture, and other areas, and it is estimated that there are approximately 500 people with this surname nationwide.
What is “knowing unusual surnames”?
It is said that there are approximately 30 Japanese surnames, including different readings. We will introduce some of the most unusual surnames, their pronunciations and origins, as well as areas where they still exist in large numbers.
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