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Which is the preferred romanji: Myoan or Meian? (some third variation?)
And what makes that particular spelling the preferred version?
thanks
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Both Meian and Myôan are correct. Basically personal preference makes one or the other the preferred version. In the Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka) area in the 1970s, one heard/saw Meian the most. Now, one hears/sees Myôan as often. The first character of the word can be read either way.
According to my Japanese-English Kanji dictionary, there are over 15 different pronunciations for the character 明 depending on the context: mei, myô, min, a, aka, aki, akira, ake, asu, kira, ke, saya, sayaka, toshi, haru, mi, me.
However one pronounces it, the character still means light or bright, or something to do with light. The character is itself a combination of two characters 日 'sun' and 月 'moon'.
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Hi Bruce, I was speaking with Saori San at Mejiro once and we were talking about Myoan music or maybe a concert. Then she said something like, "They also spell it Meian don't they?"
Thanks for clearing that up Riley, - Perry
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