Hello, Mr. Yoshida. This is an explanation of the origin of the surname Yoshida, which is shared by your ancestors and friends.

There are two main theories regarding the origin of the name: one is based on the place name, and the other is derived from “Yoshida,” which refers to rice fields with positive connotations.

Cases derived from place names

The place name “Yoshida-cho” is said to have originated from the Muromachi period, when the area was covered with reeds and was called “Ashida” (reed field).
Since “Ashida” evoked the word “Ashi(悪し)” (bad), meaning “bad field,” the character ‘Yoshi(吉)’ (good) was used to name the area “Yoshida,” according to one theory.
However, “吉” (yoshi) is not the antonym of “悪し” (ashi); “良し” (yoshi) is the precise antonym. ‘吉’ (yoshi) is primarily a word meaning a good omen. Its antonym is “凶” (kyo).

The “good field” origin

Among the fields that were considered valuable assets, those that brought abundant and good harvests were called “Yoshida” from “good field.”
This name was derived by using the character “Yoshi(吉),” which is considered auspicious, to represent “Yoshida.”

Explanation of the calligraphy

The upper section features large pop-style calligraphy in kanji, while the lower section has hiragana on the left and katakana on the right.

Classifica dei cognomi nippo-americani (indagine dell'Ufficio del Censimento degli Stati Uniti, 1990)

Japanese surnames are the 10th most common among Japanese Americans.

	Cognome	Kanji	Supplemento
1	Tanaka		4° in Giappone
2	Yamamoto		8° in Giappone
3	Nakamura	・・・	7° in Giappone
4	Watanabe	・・・	6° in Giappone
5	Sato		Primo in Giappone
6	Yamada		12° in Giappone
7	Kimura	(scritto in verticale)	17° in Giappone
8	Suzuki	(scritto in verticale)	Secondo in Giappone
9	Kato		10° in Giappone
10	Yoshida		11° in Giappone
11	Takahashi		3° in Giappone
12	Higa		Primo posto a Okinawa , in Giappone.
13	Kobayashi		9° in Giappone
14	Nakano	・・・	46° in Giappone
15	Hayashi		20° posto in Giappone
16	Hashimoto		24° in Giappone
17	Saito	・・・	19° in Giappone
18	Sasaki		13° in Giappone
19	Mori	・・・	22° in Giappone
20	Matsumoto	(scritto in verticale)	15° in Giappone