Japanese names of characters from “Ghostory”

Image by: Ghostory novel 1©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc,

What is the story?

Ghostory is an anime adaptation of a Japanese novel series written by Isin Nisio and illustrated by Vofan. The story follows a high school boy named Koyomi Araragi who once saved an injured vampire by giving his blood. As a result, he almost turned into a vampire himself but with the help of Meme, he regained back his humanity. Since then, Koyomi decided to help people around him struggling with ghostly troubles.

Image by: Ghostory comic 1©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc,

What is the Japanese title of Ghostory?

The Japanese title of Ghostory is ‘Bakemonogatari 化物語’ which is smartly translated in English. The title ‘Bakemonogatari’ is a combination of two words ‘Bakemono’(化物) which means ghosts and ‘Monogatari’(物語) which is a story.

Image by: Ghostory novel 1©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc,

What are the meanings behind the characters’ names?

In Japanese culture, names have significant meanings that are supposed to represent you as a person. Names can be expressed in hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Let’s find out the meanings of some names of characters in Ghostory.

Koyomi Araragi (阿良々木 暦, Araragi Koyomi)

Image by: Ghostory Ep 8 ©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc, ANIPLEX, SHAFT

Koyomi, the main character of this series was involved in a vampire attack which almost turned him into one. Since then he has an incredible healing power that allows him to regenerate any physical damages. ‘A’(阿) means shore, ‘Ra'(良) is nice, ‘Ra’(々) is a kanji repetition mark indicating that the previous kanji is used again, ‘Gi'(木) is a tree, and ‘Koyomi'(暦) is a calendar.

Hitagi Senjogahara (戦場ヶ原 ひたぎ, Senjōgahara Hitagi)

Image by: Ghostory Ep 6 ©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc, ANIPLEX, SHAFT

Hitagi, the unfortunate heroine of the series has encountered a crab-like monster that stole her weight. She is fully equipped with stationeries which she uses to threaten anyone who knows her secret. ‘Sen'(戦) means war, ‘Jyo'(場) is a place, ‘Ga’(ヶ) is a small Katakana-like letter which has no meaning itself but is often used to connect two letters, ‘Hara'(原) is a field, and ‘Hitagi'(ひたぎ) is written in Hiragana.

Tsubasa Hanekawa (羽川 翼, Hanekawa Tsubasa)

Tsubasa Hanekawa (羽川 Image by: Ghostory Ep 4 ©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc, ANIPLEX, SHAFT

Tsubasa is a very smart girl and is the class representative. She was possessed by a cat-like monster, but Koyomi and Meme saved her. Since then she declares herself as Koyomi’s only and closest friend. ‘Hane'(羽) is a feather, ’Kawa'(川) is a river, and ‘Tsubasa’(翼) is wings.

Mayoi Hachikuji (八九寺 真宵, Hachikuji Mayoi)

Image by: Ghostory Ep 4 ©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc, ANIPLEX, SHAFT

Mayoi is an 11-year-old girl who was killed in a car accident while trying to reach her mother’s place. Since she died before arriving at her destination, she became a wandering spirit who is lost forever. ‘Hachi’(八) is eight, ‘Ku’(九) is nine, ‘Ji’(寺) is a temple, ‘Ma’(真) is the truth, and ‘Yoi’(宵) is evening.

Meme Oshino (忍野 メメ, Oshino Meme)

Image by: Ghostory Ep 12 ©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc, ANIPLEX, SHAFT

Meme is a monster expert living in an abandoned building. He sounds rude but inside he is a kind-hearted man who always helps Koyomi. ‘Oshi’(忍) is to sneak, ‘No’(野) is a field, and ‘Meme’(メメ) is written in Katakana.

Interesting lines and phrases – Learning Japanese

Here are some useful phrases from Ghostory that will help you along with your Japanese studies!

Image by: Ghostory comic 1 Ep 1©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc,

EN/ ‘Oops… my mistake.’
JP/「ああ…aa… 違うわ。Chigauwa. 」

EN/ ‘What I meant was, ‘You can move but it’s very dangerous’.
JP/「動いてもいいけどUgoitemoī kedo  とてもtotemo  危険よKiken yo というのがTo iunoga 正しかったのね。Tadashikatta none.」

‘Chigau’(違う) means wrong, ‘Ugoitemo ii’(動いてもいい) means you can move, ‘Kedo’(けど) means ‘but’, ‘Totemo’(とても) is ‘very’, ‘Kiken’(危険) is ‘dangerous’, ‘Iunoga’(いうのが) means ‘to say’, ‘Tadashikatta’(正しかった) means ‘was correct.’ In Japanese, there is a gender difference in speech. ‘Yo’ or ‘Wa’ at the end of the sentence makes it sound more soft and girly.

Image by: Ghostory comic 1 Ep 1©Isin Nisio/Kodansha Inc,

EN/ ‘What I just want is your silence and apathy.’
JP/「私が欲しいのはWatashi ga hoshīnowa 沈黙と無関心だけ。Chinmoku to mukanshin dake.」

‘Watashi’(私) is a way to call yourself, ‘Hoshii’(欲しい) means to want, ‘Chinmoku’(沈黙) is silence. ‘Kanshin’(関心) means interest and ‘Mu’(無) is empty or nothing so when you put them together it becomes ‘Mukanshin’(無関心) which is apathy.
Some examples of words with ‘Mu’(無) are:
‘無’(Mu) + ‘視る’(Miru) to look = ‘無視’(Mushi) Ignore
‘無’(Mu) + ‘害’(Gai) Harm = ‘無害’(Mugai) Harmless
‘無’(Mu) + ‘作法’(Sahō) Manners = ‘無作法’(Busahō) Rude
‘無’(Mu) + ‘責任’ (Sekinin) responsible = ‘無責任’(Musekinin) Irresponsible