Arata (name)

Arata is both a Japanese and Italian surname, and a masculine Japanese given name. As an Italian surname, it means "plow", while in Japanese, its meaning depends on the kanji used to write it.

Surname

In Japanese, Arata is typically written using kanji meaning "uncultivated field" (荒田) or "new field" (新田), though dozens of other ways of writing it also exist.^[1] People with these surnames include:

• Yukie Arata (荒田 雪江, 1914–?), Japanese swimmer
• Yoshiaki Arata (荒田 吉明, born 1923), Japanese fusion power researcher
• Hideyuki Arata (新田 英之, born 1980), Japanese academic in the fields of engineering and physics
• Tomoyuki Arata (荒田 智之, born 1985), Japanese football striker in the J-League
• Mackenyu, full name Mackenyu Arata (新田 真剣佑, born 1996), American actor of Japanese descent

Arata is also an Italian surname, from a southern Italian word for "plow".^[2] People with this surname include:

• Luis Arata (1895–1967), Argentine stage and film actor
• Ubaldo Arata (1895–1947), Italian cinematographer
• Tony Arata (born 1957), American singer-songwriter
• Michael Arata (born 1966), American actor and film producer

Given name

As a given name, Arata is typically written using a kanji meaning "new" (新), though other ways of writing it are also seen (e.g. 新太).^[1] People with these given names include:

• Hamao Arata (濱尾 新, 1849–1925), Japanese politician and educator
• Arata Endo (遠藤 新, 1889–1951), Japanese architect
• Arata Isozaki (磯崎 新, born 1931), Japanese architect
• Arata Kochi (古知 新, born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and public health expert
• Arata Furuta (古田 新太, born 1965 as Takafumi Furuta), Japanese actor
• Arata Iura (井浦 新, born 1974), Japanese actor and model
• Tamanoshima Arata (玉乃島 新, born 1977), Japanese sumo wrestler
• Arata Sugiyama (杉山 新, born 1980), Japanese football defender in the J-League
• Arata Fujiwara (藤原 新, born 1981), Japanese marathon runner
• Arata Izumi (和泉 新, born 1982), Japanese football midfielder in the Indian Super League
• Arata Kodama (児玉 新, born 1982), Japanese football defender in the J-League
• Arata Nishikiori (錦織 新, born 1991), Japanese female team handball player

Fictional characters with these given names include:

• Arata Wataya (綿谷 新), a main character in the 2000s and 2010s Japanese manga series Chihayafuru
• Arata Kasuga (春日 アラタ), a main character in the 2010s Japanese manga series Trinity Seven

References