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In the epilogue to _Ping Pong_ , we see this newspaper headline.

![newspaper headline about Kong Wenge](https://i.stack.imgur.com/U7I9R.jpg)

> Five years after naturalization, finally a ticket to the Olympics for
> Tsujido Wenge

Now, I don't know Japanese, but I can kind of read this at the very beginning
of the Japanese text:

> 辻堂文革（中国名 孔文革）

This translates to

> Tsujido Wenge (Chinese name Kong Wenge)

This suggests that Kong Wenge is known as "Tsujido Wenge" in Japan. This is
because it doesn't make sense for 中国名 to simply be referring to the Chinese
characters (the kanji) for his actual name to me, given the "中国" (i.e. "China"
or "Chinese" in the sense of nationality), but again, I don't know Japanese.

**Is there any in-universe reason for this discrepancy?** Perhaps since he
wants to play for Japan, he's better off with a Japanese surname? I think the
school Kong played for was Tsujido, and this also seems relevant.


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ping-pong
Why is Kong using a Japanese surname?


The keyword is in the **(Japanese) naturalization**.

Kong Wenge took a Japanese nationality by mean of
[naturalization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_nationality_law?oldformat=true#Naturalization).
After naturalization, he needed to have a Japanese legal name.

From [this article](http://www.turning-japanese.info/2010/07/faq-do-you-have-
to-take-japanese-name.html),

> # Do you have to take a Japanese name if you naturalize?
>
> [...]
>
> The simple answer to this question is YES, you _do_ need to take a Japanese
> name.
>
> The reality, however, is that a ["Japanese
> name"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_name) is not necessarily what
> you are thinking. **You have to follow the same rules that a Japanese parent
> has to follow when naming a baby**... [...].
>
> [...]. As you can see, some of us (like me) choose to write our existing
> names in Japanese characters. Others choose a more Japanese-sounding name
> that is similar in either sound or meaning to their original name, and
> **others choose something that is altogether different from the name they
> were born with**.
>
> You do need to write your name in Japanese characters. This can include ひらがな
> (hiragana), カタカナ (katakana), **[常用漢字 (jōyō kanji) (kanji for everyday
> use)](http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1_qI8j9F5b8XqF8k1CklBiGRDSDp7kzhTc_oM7n5DUhE),
> and/or [人名用漢字 (jimmeiyō kanji) (kanji designated for use in
> names)](http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1V0HNlUmutkYG8y1rh91KFQi9TxRFEGgnbKjo4Idimng)**,
> [...]

(Emphasis mine)

While [孔 (kō)](http://en.ikanji.jp/character/%E5%AD%94) is actually an
acceptable kanji (it's inside kanji for everyday use), given the privilege to
change his name, he chose 辻堂 (tsujido), probably to show his support to his
high school.


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