• NAME ANALYSIS
Ever wondered what Ukitake Jyuushirou means?
浮竹十四郎
Ukitake Jyuushirou
Now to break down his name..

浮竹 → うきたけ → Ukitake = Floating Bamboo
十四郎 → じゅうしろう → Jyuushirou = 14 "rou"

郎 = rou is a popular suffix for boy names. It doesn't' really mean anything.

You may notice that Hitsugaya Toushirou and Ukitake Jyuushirou's names sound familiar. Ukitake favours Hitsugaya because of this. They both have "しろう" (shirou) in their names. In addition the use of the same 郎 (rou).

In Ukitake's character profile you will see his name written as ウキタケジュウシロウ. That is just his name written in katakana.

Romaji...
So, what is the most 'correct' way to write "Ukitake Jyuushirou" in romaji. The main problem seems to be "Jyuushirou". There have been many ways that it has been written. Here's a list of a few

• Jyuushirou
• Jūshirō
• Juushirou

These are actually all correct if you view them syllabically. It is because "jyuu" and "rou" have a longer sound. For example "rou" versus "ro", the 'u' in "rou" is essentially a "roo". It basically elongates the "ro" sound. In addition, the reading used for 郎 is ろう (rou). "Jyuu" is the same but the second 'u' just elongates 'jyu'.

Other versions of "Jyuushirou" have also been used. For example "Jushiro", but personally I don't like it because it's not syllabically correct. For instance the use of "ro" in this particular spelling. When you read it's just "ro". You don't know whether it's a long "rou" or a "ro" which in certain circumstances can mean very different things.

Something to Consider?
Or rather, a joke. Ukitake means "floating bamboo". His division's office is called ugendou, which translates to "the hall of dried rain" and it is situated above water. According to the chant Ukitake does to release his zanpakutou to shikai form, chances are, it's most likely thunder based. Do you get it? If you don't, it's okay!

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