How does it work when somebody refers to a Sensei by their first name in the west, then adds 'Sensei' on the end? Ellis Amdur went on a bit of a hobby horse about this, saying it just sounds ridiculous to the Japanese speakers - example 'Tony Sensei'. He says it wouldn't be done, because the context of using someone's given name as oppos…
How does it work when somebody refers to a Sensei by their first name in the west, then adds 'Sensei' on the end? Ellis Amdur went on a bit of a hobby horse about this, saying it just sounds ridiculous to the Japanese speakers - example 'Tony Sensei'. He says it wouldn't be done, because the context of using someone's given name as opposed to their family name is what you might do with kids. So, 'Smith Sensei' would be correct. But what if you had two Smith's and both are Sensei, in the room, what happens then? I am not a Japanese speaker, so I just don't know.
As much as I agree that in Japan the most used pattern is to attach Sensei after the family name it's not unheard of to use given names followed by sensei. Foreigners are often referred to by their first names so when I arrived in Japan and was an English teacher most people called me Tony Sensei. When I was training at my Wado Dojo the head instructor was called Koga Sensei. After he passed away his nephew took over the dojo. His family name was Koga as well but he went by his given name and sensei to people at the dojo because the name Koga Sensei belonged to the dojo figurehead.
When it comes to there being multiple people of the same name that's actually quite common in Japan. Names like Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, and Tanaka are incredibly common and you might find yourself in a room with several people of this name. You would still generally refer to them as Family name, sensei unless you wanted to add a further indicator by saying their full name as family name, given name, sensei.
How does it work when somebody refers to a Sensei by their first name in the west, then adds 'Sensei' on the end? Ellis Amdur went on a bit of a hobby horse about this, saying it just sounds ridiculous to the Japanese speakers - example 'Tony Sensei'. He says it wouldn't be done, because the context of using someone's given name as opposed to their family name is what you might do with kids. So, 'Smith Sensei' would be correct. But what if you had two Smith's and both are Sensei, in the room, what happens then? I am not a Japanese speaker, so I just don't know.
As much as I agree that in Japan the most used pattern is to attach Sensei after the family name it's not unheard of to use given names followed by sensei. Foreigners are often referred to by their first names so when I arrived in Japan and was an English teacher most people called me Tony Sensei. When I was training at my Wado Dojo the head instructor was called Koga Sensei. After he passed away his nephew took over the dojo. His family name was Koga as well but he went by his given name and sensei to people at the dojo because the name Koga Sensei belonged to the dojo figurehead.
When it comes to there being multiple people of the same name that's actually quite common in Japan. Names like Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, and Tanaka are incredibly common and you might find yourself in a room with several people of this name. You would still generally refer to them as Family name, sensei unless you wanted to add a further indicator by saying their full name as family name, given name, sensei.