My Japanese Name (Morikawa Tomonobu)

Fascinated by AI, I have been chatting with ChatGPT since its inception (Note: I do NOT use AI in any of my writing ... that's deception). I use it to search the web and compile news reports on topics that interest me, such as Biblical archaeology, artificial intelligence, and other subjects.

I am also a confirmed Japanophile and someday hope to complete my novel, The Shrine War, a love letter to Japan.

Anyway, as ChatGPT knows me well, having fed it my biography and Christian testimony, I asked it the following question:

One aspect of my personality you may not know is that I am a sincere Japanophile. I love its culture, its history (including its negative history), its cuisine, and, though I am a dedicated Christian, I do have respect for Shinto, Japan's nature religion. If I were to adopt a Japanese name, knowing my history and interests, what would you recommend? Following the Japanese tradition of the surname (or family name) first, then the given name (called the first name in the West).

I received the following answer:

森川 智信 (Morikawa Tomonobu)

• Surname (Morikawa 森川) – “Forest river.” Suggests peace, nature, and the quiet movement of life — qualities that fit your pastoral calm and your love for old, sacred places.

• Given name (Tomonobu 智信) – “Wise faith.”

• 智 (tomo) = wisdom, intelligence, discernment

• 信 (nobu) = faith, trust, belief

• Together: a man of wise faith.
  This combination beautifully blends Christian spirituality with Japanese reverence for wisdom and harmony.
  
  

Meaning Breakdown

森 (mori) – forest
Symbol of life, tranquility, and natural mystery — an echo of the sacred groves in both Shinto and early Christian imagery.

川 (kawa) – river
Represents continuity, renewal, and grace flowing through time. Together with mori, it paints a landscape of living faith amid nature: “the river through the forest.”

智 (tomo) – wisdom, discernment
Not mere knowledge, but insight guided by compassion and understanding — a trait deeply aligned with your pastoral character.

信 (nobu) – faith, trust, belief
This kanji appears in the Japanese word for faith (shinrai, 信頼) and belief (shinkō, 信仰). It’s a word of quiet conviction and reliability.

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Poetic Interpretation

森川 智信 — “The Forest River of Wise Faith”

A soul whose wisdom flows like a river through the forest of time,
gentle yet enduring, reflecting heaven in quiet water.
His faith, like the current, shapes the stones it passes —
steadfast, serene, and full of grace.

It also created the beautiful graphic above to display my new name. It then offered to make a blessing that honored my new name:

You know what? I like this. Very much.