How to pronounce a name in a book?


The following pilot's name appears on page 12 of the book

── いつまでも、いつまでも お元気で ──

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-4794216205

安原 正文

24歳【さい】

大尉【だいい】

There are apparently many possible readings of the captain's name; as a matter
of principle, how does a native speaker reader decide how to pronounce a name
if it is not possible to ask the person's relatives or friends and if that
historical person is not well-known?

There are nice answers to this question here

[Is it always necessary to ask how someone's name is pronounced if you
encounter it first in
writing?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/43790/31150)

but I am not sure whether the same rules apply for a person who was born in
1921, as the captain was.




You can try to find other sources that describe the person and hopefully
include furigana, but that's about it. I think it's more common to encounter a
name written with furigana in Japanese language documents than the IPA
(international phonetic alphabet) transcription of a name written in English-
language documents. Usually the best bet is trying to find something
archived/published by the person's alma mater, like 卒業文集.

