Ken
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Contents |
[edit] Name
- In English, Ken is a shortened form of Kenneth.
- In Japanese, Ken is a common male given name, written variously as 謙、健、憲、拳、賢、研、顕、...
[edit] Geography
[edit] Persons
- Ken Kutaragi, Currently the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, the videogames division of Sony Corporation. He is known as "The Father of the PlayStation"
- Ken Kitamura, famous J-Rock guitarist known simply by his stage name "ken". He's Lead Guitarist of L'Arc~en~Ciel as well as Lead Guitarist/Vocals for SONS OF ALL PUSSYS and his new side-project, KEN.
- Ken Thompson is one of the primary creators of Unix.
- Ken Jennings is a well-known contestant on the game show Jeopardy!
- K E N is the alias for musician/composer/performance artist, Ken Christianson.
- Ken Livingstone, often referred to as 'Our Ken', 'Red Ken' or just plain 'Ken' depending on the speaker's political affiliations, is the ex-leader of the now extinct Greater London Council and is now (2006) mayor of London and leader of the Greater London Authority.
- Ken Kesey, Author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Ken Nomura, considered to be one of the most popular characters in the drifting scene, and one of the biggest names in the premier D1 Grand Prix series.
- Ken Casey, also known as Lord Kenneth, lives in Austin, Texas, the home of the SXSW festival.
- Ken Akamatsu, Japanese manga artist, author of Love Hina and numerous other works with ecchi undertones and characteristics of harem anime.
- Ken Hirai, is a J-pop singer known for the hit songs "Hitomi wo Tojite" and "POP STAR."
- Ken Shimura is a famous comedian who is a member of the Drifters.
- Ken Anderson is a professional wrestler, better known by his current ring name, "Ken Kennedy".
- Ken Schrader is a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver, currently driving the #21 Ford Fusion.
[edit] Characters
- Ken Barlow is the only current character on the British soap opera Coronation Street to have also appeared in the very first episode, in 1960.
- Ken is also part of the American Barbie doll collection.
- Ken Masters is a character in the Street Fighter series.
- Ken is the shortened name of Kenshiro, the hero of Fist of the North Star manga.
- Ken Ichijouji was both a hero and a villain in the second season of the Digimon anime.
- Ken Schoolland is an austrian economist and author of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey
[edit] in Japanese
- Ken was a rare type of Tantō. This double-bladed weapon was mainly used in Buddhist ritual. The blades had either parallel or double concave edges.
- the on'yomi reading of 剣 "sword".
- the on'yomi reading of 県 "prefecture", see prefectures of Japan.
[edit] Variations
- Kenneth
- Kenasz
- Kenny
[edit] Meanings
- Ken is also perception or understanding, one's range of vision, or sight. This particular term, of Scots origin, tends to be used often in religious circles. When one speaks of a "higher ken" often it is a reference to an omniscient deity or being.
- It is used in various works of fiction, including Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series. It also is used as the form 'understanding' in Ian D. Bush's poem:
Twinkle, twinkle little star I don't wonder what you are, For by spectroscopic KEN, I know that you are hydrogen.
(For an explanation of this poem, see the book Hyperspace, by Michio Kaku, copyright 1995).
[edit] Musical Instrument
- Ken is also the name of an instrument used in traditional Vietnamese music. The ken has a double reed and a short wooden body that tapers gradually from the bell at the bottom to the mouthpiece at the top, and produces a powerful and penetrating high-pitched sound similar to the Persian/Indian shehnai. The best-known player of the ken is perhaps Nguyen Ngoc Khanh (b. 1956), a.k.a "Khanh of the ken."