Anime celebrates good old days of Nanori

Nanori is a Japanese verb you can translate as ‘To Say One’s Name.’

Nanori was a common element of Bushido between the Heian and Kamakura periods (794 – 1333). Bushido governed every aspect of a Samurai’s lifestyle. The moral code shaped their speech, mannerisms, and approach to fighting.

Now, I’m willing to bet that most of you read those sentences and thought, “Uhm, why are we talking about Nanori? Why should I care?” You shouldn’t care, unless you watch anime. Anime produces diverse stories with layered character arcs and unrivaled art and animation.

But that does not explain that unique spark that accompanies even the dullest anime. Anime (and manga) stands out because the medium is a distillation of everything Japanese.

Conventional European and American cartoons differ drastically from anime because they are distinctly Western. They draw from Western mannerisms and sensibilities to create the stories your children watch.

Talk to some Japanese people, and they will manifest the many speech patterns you see in subtitled anime. You don’t have to visit Japanese cities in person; a simple Google search will show you that every traditional and culinary delight in a stereotypical anime is based on real Japanese culture.

It condenses the Japanese aesthetic into its purest form before molding a bombastic story around it. This brings us to the most amusing attribute of the medium: yelling. You have probably noticed that anime characters boastfully announce their special attacks before and during a fight.

Some are equally passionate about shouting their names when they enter a scene. Why does this happen? Manga is partially to blame. In Japanese comics (most of which are black and white), characters shouting at each other in an action scene allows audiences to identify the correct order for reading the panels; it hints at the direction in which the action in the panels is flowing.

And because anime is adapted from manga, you can see how that concept would bleed into animated adaptations of popular Japanese comics. But is storytelling practically the only explanation for this trend?

It depends on who you ask. Do you know what Japanese Samurai would do in ancient times? They would loudly announce their name, social status, and lineage before engaging in battle. They called this practice Nanori.

In the case of small armies, each side’s representative, typically a General, would step forward to boldly proclaim his name, rank, and accomplishments. The fighting could not start until both parties had said their piece.

Nanori achieved multiple objectives. First, it would boost your side’s morale while intimidating the enemy. Secondly, it allowed the speaker to justify his actions or highlight the injustices the enemy had perpetrated.

Third, Samurai could perform certain feats in battle to secure lucrative rewards. If you couldn’t acquire tangible proof of your actions (such as the enemy General’s head), shouting your name to your comrades in the vicinity was a safe alternative, along with adding distinct markings to your helmet that allowed spectators to identify you during a violent melee.

If you died in the process, witnesses would carry stories of your heroic deeds back to your friends and family. Now, Nanori only worked among the Japanese, who knew and understood the practice.

Some scholars believe that it began to fall out of favour during a Mongol invasion, where a Japanese General attempted to perform Nanori. The Mongolian army, which had no idea what the Japanese were doing or saying, used that lull in the action to attack, killing many Japanese.

They did not understand why the Japanese would just stand there and talk. Eventually, Nanori fell out of practice. One assumes that Japanese authors who write characters that repeatedly yell their names and attacks are harkening back to the olden days of Nanori.

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