As a foreigner with a Japanese name, what are the implications of writing my name in katakana or kanji?


I'm a foreigner, and my name is Shiori. I've heard of a several Japanese
people with this name, and they write it with kanji (of course).

I know that when you are a foreigner, you are supposed to write your name in
katakana, but since my name is Japanese, is it possible for me to use kanji?

[According to wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiori); the most
common ways of writing Shiori are 栞, 撓 and 詩織. I know that foreigners should
avoid kanji for their name because even if it sounds like your name, the
_meaning_ comes out as weird. But these kanjis for Shiori are already used for
names, so the meanings don't come out as weird..?

So even if my name is Japanese, should I use シオリ or any of the kanjis?




This sounds tautological, but the fact is, having a foreign-looking name in
this largely homogeneous country _strongly_ signals that you are foreign. A
big question is whether you want to be broadcasting this signal.

Growing up among many _[haafu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C4%81fu)_ and
other mixed-race kids, I know first-hand how annoying it can be. Of course,
once in a while someone will compliment you on your cool katakana or otherwise
foreign name, but in day-to-day life, it can be pretty inconvenient. People
read out your name like it’s a question, you have very little anonymity since
your name is so conspicuous, and in the worst case you get picked on or mildly
discriminated against. Some of us have kanji versions of our names, so we use
them along with the Japanese parent’s surname whenever that is possible and
more convenient.

This is one reason why some foreigners here adopt a Japanese-looking [common
name](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A%E5%90%8D), or settle on a kanji
transliteration upon naturalization.

In your specific case, having a Japanese-sounding name like that in katakana
will most likely signal that you are a
[nisei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisei) of some sort, or that you
actually have a kanji name but are stylizing it in katakana for coolness or
pseudonymity.

So really, it is up to you, whether you are going to live in Japan or are just
studying in different country. Your name is your identity, and if you think a
kanji version of it represents your identity better, go for it!

