Re: [tlug] [Fwd: Search MySQL for Japanese Names]

[黒鉄章 <akira@example.com>]

Yeah, +1 on needing a furigana field for names.

Using Mecab you can probably pull the _most likely_ reading of any
given kanji name, but there's so much variance in the readings used
that it's not even vaguely good enough. (Using Mecab would be no
better than using an ordinary names dictionary, actually.)

Ask the user for (kanji) name and furigana. Let the user input in
hiragana, katakana, or half-width katakana but change it all katakana.
(If you're using PHP mb_convert_encoding() is the function you want.)

>From hiragana or katakana you can also romanize at any time. Remember
to use the Hepburn romanization system if you're doing that.

Cheers,

Akira