Family name origins & meanings
- Japanese : there are two names with this pronunciation, written with different characters. The one written with characters meaning ‘turf’ and ‘rice paddy’ is found mainly in eastern Japan and is from the Tachibana family. The other, written with characters meaning ‘brushwood’ and ‘rice paddy’, is found chiefly on the island of Kyūshū and along the southeastern seaboard, and is from the Seiwa-Genji. Both forms occur in the Ryūkyū islands.