FUJITA Den (藤田田) opened the first McDonalds in Japan (in Ginza, of all places, back in 1971). Today is the first anniversary of his death, which was of course as a ludicrously wealthy and powerful man. But what interests me most is his name. (Consider this part 74 in an ongoing series in "Why Matt will never be rich".)

The family name, Fujita (藤田) is pretty common, but Den (田) as a given name is less so. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone else with that name. Plus, the double-田 effect is pretty striking. So what's the deal? Apparently his (Christian) mother chose the name because it looked like a cross over a mouth (十 + 口 = 田), which would in theory make him speak both piously and sparingly. Huh.