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When Yato named Yukine, he gave him three names - Yuki, Yukine, and Setsuki.
What's the point of the different names?

senshin
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ton.yeung
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  • As far i remember, Yuki/Yukine is the human form's name and Setsuki(?)/Sekki the blade form's name. In episode 9 - "Name" , Yato explain why he gave the name "Yukine" .. for remember his humanity ? – Septian Primadewa Jul 14 '14 at 05:26
  • this [Noragami wiki about Shinki](http://noragami.wikia.com/wiki/Shinki#Creation_of_a_Shinki) might help – Darjeeling Jul 15 '14 at 02:59

2 Answers2

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The character 雪 ("yuki" in kun'yomi), has an alternate reading (on'yomi), "setsu."

Sekki (雪器) is a combination of this alternate reading with the character 器 (ki).

His actual true given name is "Yuki." (Yato's true name is Yaboku, 夜卜, using the kanji 卜 instead of the kana)

His weapon name is "Sekki." (the "tsu" runs into the next consonant, making "Sekki," instead of "Setsuki") The gods all seem to give their weapons names using the alternate readings and the "-ki" suffix (e.g., Sekki, Hanki, Chouki)

The common (nick)name he goes by everyday (e.g. Charlie, instead of Charles), is "Yukine," with "-ne" (音) being the suffix Yato gives to all his Regalias (e.g., Yukine, Tomone). Tenjin-sama uses "-yu" (喩) (e.g., Tsuyu, Mayu, Nayu). Kofuku uses the prefix "dai-" (大) (e.g., daikoku).

In folklore, one's true name should not be given out easily, as it reveals the person's true nature. Therefore many people take a common name similar to their true name. The weapon name is somewhat akin to a stage name, and is typically used when conducting business-related activities.

кяαzєя
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  • The interested reader might like to know that the 器 _ki_ in Sekki/Hanki/etc means something like "vessel" or "tool". – senshin Dec 07 '14 at 00:18
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Each name is for a facet of the Shinki.

The Shinki as a tool.

The Shinki as a "person".

In the specific case of Yukine, the names are:

Yuki - The japanese pronunciation of the Shinki ideogram.  
Yukine - the full name of the Shinki in human form.  
Setsuki - the name of the Shinki in weapon form.

The wikia page has the breakdown of the names including the Kanji play they do with the Japanese and Chinese readings.

Kanji | Japanese | Chinese  | Human         | Weapon
      | Reading  | Reading  | Name          | Name
雪    | Yuki     | Setsu     | Yukine (雪音) | Sekki (雪器)

Also, the names are the magic words to trigger the Shinki transformation to and from person.

Mindwin Remember Monica
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  • Can you elaborate on the meaning of Yuki as it relates to the shinki "ideogram"? The other two meanings are pretty obvious. – ton.yeung Jul 17 '14 at 01:24
  • @ton.yeung Done. But just following the link to wikia should've done it too. – Mindwin Remember Monica Jul 20 '14 at 16:58
  • that's true, but please read this [link](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/8231/are-answers-that-just-contain-links-elsewhere-really-good-answers) for more information on why I asked for clarification. *see what I did?* – ton.yeung Jul 21 '14 at 02:43
  • Totally right, @ton.yeung. I was aware of that meta, if the linked content goes dead answer value drops to zero. Well done. – Mindwin Remember Monica Jul 21 '14 at 17:34