faker-ja-with-kana

A Japanese name extension for Faker.js that provides Japanese names with kanji, kana (hiragana), and Hepburn romanization.

Installation

npm install faker-ja-with-kana

Usage

Direct Import of fakerJA

If you want to use only the Japanese name generator without importing other modules, you can directly import fakerJA:

import { fakerJA } from 'faker-ja-with-kana';

// Generate Japanese names
const firstName = fakerJA.person.firstNameWithKana();
const lastName = fakerJA.person.lastNameWithKana();
console.log(firstName, lastName);

Basic Usage with fakerJA

import { fakerJA } from 'faker-ja-with-kana';

// Use fakerJA directly - person module is already replaced with Japanese names
const firstName = fakerJA.person.firstNameWithKana();
console.log(firstName);
// Output: { kanji: "太郎", kana: "たろう", hepburn: "TARO" }

const lastName = fakerJA.person.lastNameWithKana();
console.log(lastName);
// Output: { kanji: "田中", kana: "たなか", hepburn: "TANAKA" }

// Generate gender-specific names
const maleName = fakerJA.person.firstNameWithKana('male');
const femaleName = fakerJA.person.firstNameWithKana('female');

Custom Faker Instance

import { faker } from '@faker-js/faker';
import { createFakerJA } from 'faker-ja-with-kana';

// Create a custom fakerJA instance
const myFakerJA = createFakerJA(faker);

const fullName = {
  first: myFakerJA.person.firstNameWithKana('female'),
  last: myFakerJA.person.lastNameWithKana()
};

console.log(`${fullName.last.kanji} ${fullName.first.kanji}`);

Standalone Japanese Person Module

import { faker } from '@faker-js/faker';
import { createJapanesePerson } from 'faker-ja-with-kana';

// Create standalone Japanese person module
const jpPerson = createJapanesePerson(faker);

const firstName = jpPerson.firstNameWithKana();
const lastName = jpPerson.lastNameWithKana();

Advanced Usage

import { faker } from '@faker-js/faker';
import { JapanesePerson } from 'faker-ja-with-kana';

// Direct instantiation
const jpPerson = new JapanesePerson(faker);

// Generate full name
const fullName = {
  first: jpPerson.firstNameWithKana('female'),
  last: jpPerson.lastNameWithKana()
};

console.log(`${fullName.last.kanji} ${fullName.first.kanji}`);
console.log(`${fullName.last.kana} ${fullName.first.kana}`);
console.log(`${fullName.last.hepburn} ${fullName.first.hepburn}`);

Features

• Authentic Japanese Names: Uses real Japanese name data with kanji and kana readings
• Gender-specific Generation: Generate male or female names, or random selection
• Multiple Formats: Returns kanji, hiragana kana, and Hepburn romanization (uppercase)
• Phonological Accuracy: Applies proper Japanese phonological changes in romanization:
  • Consonant changes: np → mp, nb → mb, nm → mm
  • Long vowel simplification: uu → u, ou → o, oo → o, ee → e, aa → a
  • Examples: ようこ → YOKO, ゆうた → YUTA, しゅうへい → SHUHEI, しょうへい → SHOHEI, いいだ → IIDA

API

firstNameWithKana(sex?: 'male' | 'female'): NameWithKana

Generates a Japanese first name with kanji, kana, and Hepburn romanization.

• sex (optional): Specify 'male' or 'female' to generate gender-specific names. If not specified, randomly selects from both male and female names.

lastNameWithKana(): NameWithKana

Generates a Japanese last name (family name) with kanji, kana, and Hepburn romanization.

NameWithKana Interface

interface NameWithKana {
  kanji: string;    // Japanese kanji characters
  kana: string;     // Japanese hiragana reading
  hepburn: string;  // Hepburn romanization
}

Data Source

This package uses Japanese name data from the included data files:

• family_name.dat - Japanese family names
• male_given_name.dat - Japanese male given names
• female_given_name.dat - Japanese female given names

Each name entry contains both the kanji representation and the corresponding hiragana reading.

Dependencies

• @faker-js/faker - The core Faker.js library
• hepburn - For converting hiragana to Hepburn romanization

Data

• Data source: Wikidata (CC0-1.0)
• Data files: Data files in the data/ directory

License

• Code: MIT License
• Name data: Wikidata, CC0-1.0 License0