Hajime

Hajime
Pronunciation	Ha-ji-mé
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/Name	Japanese
Meaning	It can have many different meanings depending on the kanji used, but generally centered around the beginning of start, or first.

Hajime (はじめ) is the Japanese word meaning "beginning" (初め, 始め). In the Japanese traditional martial arts such as karate, judo, aikido and kendo, it is a verbal command to "begin". Hajime is also a common Japanese given name for males, although it is occasionally used as a surname.^{[citation needed]}

Possible writings

Hajime can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:

• 始め, "beginning" or "start"
• 初め, "beginning" or "first"

as a given name

• 一, "first"
• 元, "beginning" or "origin"
• 始, "beginning" or "start"
• 肇, "beginning"
• 基, "fundamental"
• 創, "genesis"
• 孟, "beginning" or "chief"
• 朔, "first day of month"
• 甫, "beginning" or "great"

The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana.

People

Given name

• Hajime Fukuma (創; born 1970), Japanese electronic musician
• Hajime Funada (元; born 1953), Japanese politician
• Hajime Hana (肇; 1930–1993), Japanese musician, actor and comedian
• Hajime Iijima (肇), Japanese voice actor
• Hajime Ishii (一; born 1934), Japanese politician
• Hajime Hirasawa (創; born 1967), Japanese composer
• Hajime Hirota (一; born 1968), Japanese politician
• Hajime Hosogai (萌; born 1986), Japanese football player
• Hajime Hosokawa (一; 1901–1970), first doctor to discover the Minamata disease
• Hajime Kanzaka (一; born 1964), Japanese novelist and manga story writer
• Hajime Katoki (ハジメ; born 1963), Japanese mecha (fictional walking robots) designer
• Hajime Kawakami (肇; 1879–1946), Japanese Marxist economist
• Hajime Kazumi (肇; born 1971), Japanese karateka
• Hajime Matsumoto (哉; born 1974), Japanese activist, and a recycle shop owner
• Hajime Meshiai (肇; born 1954), Japanese golfer
• Hajime Mizoguchi (肇; born 1960), Japanese cellist and composer
• Hajime Moriyasu (一; born 1968), Japanese football player
• Hajime Nakamura (元; 1911–1999), Japanese academic of Vedic, Hindu and Buddhist scriptures
• Hajime Okayasu (肇; born 1936), Japanese anime and film editor and director
• Hajime Satomi (治; born 1942), founder of Sammy Corporation
• Hajime Sawatari (朔; born 1940), Japanese photographer
• Hajime Sorayama (基; born 1947), Japanese illustrator
• Hajime Sugiyama (元; 1880–1945), minister of war in the Imperial Japanese Army
• Hajime Takano (孟; born 1944), Japanese journalist
• Hajime Tanabe (元; 1889–1962), Japanese philosopher
• Hajime Ueda (ハジメ), Japanese manga artist
• Hajime Wakai (淑), Japanese video game composer
• Hajime Watanabe (animator) (はじめ; born 1957), Japanese animator and character designer
• Hajime Yasunaga (一; 1901–1994), Japanese amateur Go player
• Hidenokuni Hajime (一; born 1971), Japanese sumo wrestler
• Saitō Hajime (一, 1844–1915), samurai who served in the Shinsengumi
• Watanabe Hajime (samurai), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period
• Hajime no Ippo (anime/manga)

Surname

• Chitose Hajime (元; born 1979), Japanese singer

Characters

• Hajime Aikawa (始), a character in the Japanese tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Blade
• Hajime Aoyama (ハジメ), a character in the anime series Ghost Stories
• Hajime Kunihiro (一), a female character in the anime and manga series Saki
• Hajime Saitō (一), a character in the Rurouni Kenshin series

Other uses

• Hajime Yatate (肇), a pseudonym for the collective contributions of the Sunrise animation staff

See also

• Hajime no Ippo, the Japanese title of the manga series Fighting Spirit