Rokurō

Rokurō (also romanized as Rokuro or Rokurou) is a masculine Japanese given name traditionally given to the sixth son. It is typically written with the kanji 六 (roku) meaning "six" and 郎 (rō) meaning "son," but other kanji combinations can also form this name.

Etymology

The name exemplifies a traditional Japanese onomastic pattern where birth order was reflected in the given name. The element rō (郎) has historically been used as a suffix for sons, while numerals like roku (六) specified the child's rank among siblings. This practice was especially common among the samurai class during the Edo period, though it also appeared in other social strata.

Notable Bearers

Historically, Rokurō has been borne by several notable figures in Japan. Yashiro Rokurō (1860–1930) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy who served as Minister of the Navy in the early 20th century. In the business world, Rokuro Ishikawa (1925–2005) was a prominent businessman and former chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The name also appears in the arts: Rokurō Mochizuki (born 1957) is a Japanese film director known for yakuza films, and Rokurō Naya (1932–2014) was a celebrated voice actor who voiced characters such as Miss Piggy in the Japanese dub of The Muppet Show.

In sports, Rokuro Takahashi (born 1909) represented Japan in rowing at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The name also appears in fiction: Rokurou Rangetsu is a character in the video game Tales of Berseria, and Rokuroh features in the air combat game The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces.

Related Names

The primary variants—Rokuro and Rokurou—reflect different romanization systems (Kunrei-shiki vs. Hepburn) or transcriptions of the long vowel in Rokurō. These spellings are used interchangeably in both historical and modern contexts.

• Meaning: "Six" + "son" (traditionally for the sixth son)
• Origin: Japanese
• Type: Given name (masculine)
• Usage regions: Japan