This reminds of a list I’ve been compiling for the past couple of years: English-language software and products with names taken from Japanese. I find them inte

This reminds of a list I’ve been compiling for the past couple of years: English-language software and products with names taken from Japanese. I find them interesting because there has long been awareness, discussion, and controversy in Japan about the opposite phenomenon—English words used in Japanese. The following examples all came from HN: Koi Pond, a load testing tool. Koi (鯉) means “carp.” https://slack.engineering/load-testing-with-koi-pond/ https://slack.engineering/load-testing-with-koi-pond/ Anki, a flash card tool often mentioned in HN discussions. Anki (暗記) means “memorization.” https://apps.ankiweb.net/ https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Bento, a framework for development of Linux kernel file systems. A bento (弁当) is a meal in a box. https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.09723 https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.09723 Umami, a website analytics tool. Umami (旨味)’s original meaning is “taste, flavor, deliciousness”; it now also refers to a particular basic taste sensation. https://umami.is/ https://umami.is/ Senpai, a gaming assistant. Senpai (先輩) means “someone senior to or older than one, typically in an educational or workplace hierarchy.” https://senpai.gg/ https://senpai.gg/ Shodan, a search engine. Shodan (初段) means “first-level ranking in a skill, etc.” https://www.shodan.io/ https://www.shodan.io/ YubiKey, an authentication device. Yubi (指) means “finger.” https://www.yubico.com/ https://www.yubico.com/ Asahi Linux. Asahi (朝日, 旭) means “morning sun.” https://asahilinux.org/about/ https://asahilinux.org/about/ Neko, a virtual browser. Neko (猫) means “cat.” https://github.com/m1k1o/neko https://github.com/m1k1o/neko Kaitai Struct, a declarative language for binary data structures. Kaitai (解体) means “disassembly.” https://kaitai.io/ https://kaitai.io/ Hikari, a custom logon script engine for Windows. Hikari (光) means “light.” https://github.com/NoenDex/Hikari https://github.com/NoenDex/Hikari Hikari, a Wayland compositor. https://hikari.acmelabs.space/ https://hikari.acmelabs.space/ Hikari, a thread manager and dispatcher. https://artificialilliteracy.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/introducing-hikari-multithreading-for-unity/ https://artificialilliteracy.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/introd...