Questions for Calligraphy

I want to make a calligraphy scroll for my sensei and his wife, Yuki. I want to write their names and a phrase in Japanese. I have a few questions though.

1. Sensei's name is Williard Malone, which I tried translating phonetically as Wirriardo Marone (based on the Japanese sounds). I still think it needs work. I based my translation on katakana characters that would correspond with foreign words and names.

2. I want to write "The Supreme Way Has no Hindrance", which comes from a saying from my style of karate. What would be the Japanese structure of the characters and would I write them vertical or horizontal?

If anyone could give me some advice, I would be very appreciative. Thank you!

1. Sensei's name is Williard Malone

How is the name actually pronounced? The katakana writing will depend totally on how it is pronounced.

I think it will be "Wi-ri-aa-do" for the first name (the double "a" denoting a long "aa" sound, so if in katakana, it will be "a" followed by a bar to express that the vowel is extended).

For the last name, is the last "e" really pronounced? Doesn't the last name rhyme with "alone"? Then it would be "Ma-roo-n." No "e" at the end, again with double "o" denoting a long "o" sound, so in katakana it will be "ro" followed by a bar to express the vowel "o" is extended.

2. I want to write "The Supreme Way Has no Hindrance"

I'm sure there was an original Japanese phrase for this... :) It might be better to try to find it.

I was doing further homework. I think Willard Malone would be translated as: UiRA-DO MARO-N. A friend told me that the 'Wi' sound isn't typically used in Modern Japanese.

Yuki's name will also be interesting. I've seen so many spellings that I'm now sure which would be correct for hers. I would ask her, but I want the scroll to be a surprise. She's an older lady, but I don't know if that would matter with the spelling of her name or not.

In katakana, the husband's name would be ウィラード・マローン then. "Wi" sound can be written as big "u" and small "i" in katakana, as shown.

Indeed, the name "Yuki" can be written in many different kanji.... There are some kanji combinations for names that have gotten popular only recently (so unlikely for a lady over a certain age), but there is no way to be sure, still that does not help us to identify which one hers is at all :( Is there any way you can find out directly from her or the husband, without giving the precise reason? :)

I can try. I do know her name is Yuki as in the word for snow. I'll ask my sensei if it would be spelled the same way or not.

If you know that it means snow, then it is 雪. That is THE kanji that means "snow" :)

Thanks. I was unsure if it would be spelled as the same was the word for snow or whether or not the Japanese had a more feminine way do spelling the characters.

karrit, I am unclear from your posts on whether or not you are certain that her name means "snow." Snow is one of the meanings of Yuki but if you are not certain that her name means snow then the Kanji may not be the same.

The first thing you should do is at least try to confirm the meaning of her name, and better yet get her Kanji if possible. That is the only way to be certain how to write her name correctly.

My apologies. I am certain Yuki's name means snow. I've asked her myself.

What I meant by spelling is that sometimes there are masculine and feminine ways of spelling the same name. I was wondering if it also applies to Japanese names (other than adding ko at the end of Japanese girl names).

It's most likely the kanji that AK posted then.

As for "ko" (which means child) feminizing names, it doesn't just indicate gender but changes the entire meaning of the name resulting in a new name.

For example:
Yuki = 雪 = snow
Yukiko = 雪子 = snow child