| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Male
Pronunciation: kah-ee-shuu [ká.ì.ɕɨ̀ᵝː]
Variant transliterations: Kaishu, Kaishuu
Etymology and/or ways to write:
The most commonly used form of this name is 海舟, individually meaning “sea, ocean” and “ship, boat.” Most of the other kanji used for this name can be seen in the table below:
| kai (かい) | shū (しゅう) |
| 快 “pleasure, delight” | 秀 “excellence” |
| 魁 “pioneer, leader” | 州/洲 “state, province” |
| 凱 “triumph, victory” | 周 “circumference” |
| 介 “mediation” | 修 “discipline” |
| 開 “opening” | 秋 “autumn” |
| 櫂 “paddle, oar” | 柊 “false holly” |
| 改 “revision” | 集 “collection, compilation” |
Popularity:
Overall usage for this name is very uncommon with much of its usage being concentrated on those born in the Heisei period (1989-2019) onwards (from telephone book data, the overall percentage is calculated at around 0.0003%).
The rise of this name in the Heisei period was initialised by the jidaigeki ‘Katsu Kaishū’, broadcast at the end of 1990 which chronicled the life of the Bakumatsu era (1853-1868) statesman and naval engineer (his nickname Kaishū written as 海舟). By 1991, around 0.004% of boys received this name, compared to 0.001% in 1990 and almost zero in 1989. From 1993 to the late 2000s, percentages rose above 0.008%, occasionally rising above 0.015%.
Based on Baby Calendar rankings data as well as my 2014-20 names research, the average percentage from 2017-20 is over 0.015%, rising back after a brief dropdown in the first half of the 2010s.
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Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 