Ten’, Haruka

     Although an appears after an n in Haruka’s surname, the two sounds are not to be pronounced in the same syllable.  That is why some people write an apostrophe between those two letters.  The kanji that means field or wilderness () is not in Haruka’s surname!  The first kanji in the surname () represents the sound ten.  It means sky or heavens⁴².  The second kanji () represents the sound (long o), and it means king or ruler⁴³.  The two kanji () can be found in the name Ten’mae ()⁴⁴.  Those kanji can also represent the surname Tenno⁴⁵.

     The Japanese write Haruka’s personal name as .  There is a Japanese word haruka, which means distant or remote⁴⁶.  Haruka’s name may literally mean distant or remote, but it is being used as a personal name.

     The two kanji that make up Haruka’s surname () are also the first two kanji in Tennsei, which is one of the Japanese names for the planet Uranus⁴⁷.  The kanji literally mean sky king, and in Haruka’s case, this sky king would be Uranus, a Graeco-Roman god of the sky.  Haruka has the ability to become Sailor Uranus.  Sailor Uranus’ powers are associated with the sky and outer space.

     Sailor Uranus performs a special maneuver called World Shaking in the anime and manga continuities.  Some fans have suggested that since the word world appears in the name of the maneuver, Sailor Uranus controls the power of the earth.  However, the anime and manga sources show that the World part of World Shaking is actually short for sky world⁴⁸.  Furthermore, the words world and earth are not always synonymous.  English, Japanese, and even Greek make distinctions between the two concepts⁴⁹.  The characters in red are clickable.

Kai, Michiru

     The second kanji in Michiru’s surname () should be familiar to those who have seen the kanji used for Haruka’s surname.  It represents the sound , and it means king or ruler.  The first kanji () represents the sound kai, and it means ocean⁵⁰.  Kai, when it is written with the kanji , is a real Japanese surname⁵¹.  When writing her name in Roman letters, there is no need to write an apostrophe between the i and in her surname because it is clear that those two vowels are not to be pronounced in the same syllable.

     When the Japanese write Michiru’s name in their script, they use the characters .  The Japanese word michiru is a verb that means to be full or to rise (in this case, a tide does the rising)⁵².  Michiru’s name may be etymologically related to the Japanese verb, but in her case, it is being used as a personal name.

     Sometimes the Japanese call the planet Neptune Kaisei⁵³.  The first two kanji in that name are also the same kanji found in Michiru’s surname ().  Literally, they mean ocean king.  They may refer to Neptune, a Roman god of the seas.  Michiru has the ability to become Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Neptune controls the powers of the seas.  Therefore, her surname hints at her role as Sailor Neptune.  It also indirectly refers to the planet Neptune and the Roman god Neptune.

Mei, Setsuna

     Setsuna’s surname also contains the kanji that means king or ruler ().  That kanji represents the sound in the surname.  The first kanji () means dark, and it represents the mei sound⁵⁴.  There is not necessary to insert an apostrophe between the i and because those two vowels are not to be pronounced in the same syllable.  Mei, when it is written with the kanji , is a real Japanese surname⁵⁵.

     The characters are used by the Japanese to write Setsuna’s personal name.  That personal name sounds like the Japanese noun setsuna, which means instant or moment⁵⁶.  Many English-language sources claim that the Japanese word setsuna means momentary, but momentary is an adjective.  Therefore, momentary would not be an accurate translation of that Japanese word.  The adjectival form of setsuna is setsunateki, which is an adjective and may be translated as ephemeral⁵⁷ or momentary.  Setsuna’s name may be etymologically related to setsuna, but in her case, it is being used as a personal name.

     One of the names that the Japanese use to refer to the planet Pluto is Meisei⁵⁸.  The first two kanji in that name () are the same two in Setsuna’s surname.  When those two kanji come together, they can mean dark king.  In Setsuna’s case, the epithet dark king refers to the Graeco-Roman lord of the underworld, Pluto.  Setsuna has the ability to become Sailor Pluto, the guardian of the underworld ( meikai no bannin⁵⁹).  Although she inherited the powers of time and space from her father (the god of time Chronos⁶⁰), she also performs the special maneuver called Dead Scream, which reminds us of the god Pluto, who was called the ruler of the dead.  Setsuna’s personal name indirectly hints at her role as the daughter of Chronos.  Her surname hints at her role as Sailor Pluto, and it indirectly refers to the name of the planet Pluto and the god Pluto.

Tomoe, Hotaru

     When Ms. Takeuchi decided to give a surname to her Sailor Saturn, she used one that contains a kanji that refers to the Asian element Earth ()⁶¹.  However, the surname that she came up with was not Tono ()!  Instead, she gave her new character the surname Tomoe ().  The kanji that means field or wilderness () is not used in the surname.  The second kanji () in Tomoe represents the sound moe, and it means to germinate or to sprout⁶².  Hotaru’s surname also does not contain the kanji for king or ruler () kanji that is seen in Haruka’s, Michiru’s, and Setsuna’s surnames.

     The characters are used to write Hotaru’s personal name in Japanese.  The Japanese word for firefly is hotaru⁶³.  The name Hotaru may be related to the Japanese word, but in Hotaru’s case, it is being used as a personal name.

     The Japanese often refer to the planet Saturn as Dosei, which means Earth Star⁶⁴.  The first kanji () in that name can also be found in Hotaru’s surname ().  Hotaru’s surname hints at the name of the planet Saturn, but it does not directly hint at her special powers.  Hotaru has the ability to become Sailor Saturn, the soldier of ruin⁶⁵.  Sailor Saturn’s powers have to do with ruin and death because she holds the Silence Glaive ( Sairensu Gureibu⁶⁶), which is often called the Scythe of Silence ( Chinmoku no Kama⁶⁷).  In classical Greek mythology, the wily god Cronus used a scythe to castrate his tyrannical father Uranus.  Cronus and his Roman counterpart Saturn are often depicted holding scythes.  The scythe is also a symbol of the Grim Reaper, who represents death.  It is not difficult to see that the image of the Grim Reaper came from the image of the god Saturn holding his scythe.