Steps to writing a Fanfic set in Japan or using a Japanese theme, Part III

Okay, here's the last (for now) of my little tips for authors writing a fanfic set in Japan or using a Japanese theme.  Oh, and I forgot to mention in the previous parts that you don't necessarily need to use all of these tips, but it would be nice if you knew a couple.

In Part II, I mentioned basic honorifics.  To start off this part, I'll mention some family honorifics.

• Chichi (父), father.  Otou-san (お父さん), when referring to one's own father.
• Haha (母), mother.  Okaa-san (お母さん), when referring to one's own mother.
• Gifu/Gibo (義父/義母), father-in-law and mother-in-law, respectively.
• Ani (兄), one's own older brother.  Onii-san (お兄さん) and Onii-chan (お兄ちゃん) are also used by children when addressing an older male.  A slang form of older brother is Aniki (兄貴).
• Ane (姉), one's own older sister.  Onee-san (お姉さん) and Onee-chan (お姉ちゃん) are also used by children when addressing an older female.
• Imouto (妹), one's own younger sister.  Imouto-san (妹さん), someone else's younger sister.
• Otouto (弟), one's own younger brother.  Otouto-san (弟さん), someone else's younger brother.
• Oji (叔父), uncle, younger than one's parent.  Oji (伯父), uncle, older than one's parent.
• Oba (叔母), aunt, younger than one's parent.  Oba (伯母), aunt, older than one's parent.
• Itoko, meaning cousin.  This term (従兄弟 means male cousin, while THIS term (従姉弟) means female cousin.
• Sofu/Ojii-san (祖父/お爺さん), grandfather.
• Sobo/Obaa-san (祖母/お婆さん), grandmother.

When making a character guide or guide in general to your fic, be sure to list the Japanese translation, both kanji/kana and Romaji, of the important people, places, and things in them.  For example, if your main character was named Taro Yamada, it would be written as 「山田太郎」 in kanji, Yamada Tarō in Romaji, and (optionally) 「やまだ たろう」 in hiragana.  Also, if you're using foreign (non-Japanese) words/phrases/etc. in your Japanese-based fic, be sure you know how the word is pronounced before you write it in katakana.  For example, Hallwings would be written as 「ホールウイングズ」 (Hōru'uinguzu) in katakana.

Calendar dates in Japan are written 「yyyy年mm月dd日」.  Often, the "era name" is used for the year.  Eras of modern Japan are listed below.

• Meiji (明治):  October 23, 1868-July 30, 1912 (明治元年10月23日〜明治45年7月30日)
• Taisho (大正):  July 30, 1912-December 25, 1926 (大正元年7月30日〜大正15年12月26日)
• Showa (昭和):  December 25, 1926-January 7, 1989 (昭和元年12月25日〜昭和64年1月7日)
• Heisei (平成):  January 8, 1989-April 30, 2019 (平成元年1月8日〜平成31年4月30日)
• Reiwa (令和):  May 1, 2019-present (令和元年5月1日)

That's all for now.  Keep an eye out for more STUFF soon.