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This Japanese Seal Holds an Epic 108 Characters
What’s the longest name you can fit on a traditional Japanese seal? How about the nom de plume of a legend with 22 middle names?
5 min readJul 27, 2023
By Himari Semans
How many middle names would be too much? The US doesn’t place any limits on the number of middle names you can name your kid, but some states have a cap on character numbers.
Middle names are illegal in Japan. But if a Japanese person really wants to give their kid a middle name, there’s a loophole. Japanese children born overseas can come back with middle names. So, one trip to the US at nine months pregnant will do it.
Jugemu’s mom would’ve made the trip.
The legend of Jugemu — now in an inkan!
Jugemu is a fictional child character whose name is so long that rakugo (落語) performers recite it in their opening acts. Technically, Jugemu (寿限無) has 22 middle names.
If this kid were real, they’d have one honkin’ passport.
