Ayako is asteroid #4641 and also known as 1990 QT3. Ayako was discovered by the Japanese amateur astronomers Endate Kin (円館 金) and Watanabe Kazurō (渡辺 和郎) at the Kitami Observatory. Ayako’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.19 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.17, a period of revolution of 1 184 days, and an inclination of 1.7 degrees.

Ayako is named after Endate Ayako (円館 綾子). She is the wife of Endate Kin (円館 金), who co-discovered and named this asteroid. I would of course have treated Ayako and Endate together if more about them would be known publicly. But it was only a coincidence that I saw that the discoverer had also named an asteroid after his wife. This is one of the many cases, where only better software could help to cope with the big data problem, which comes together with asteroids!

The name Ayako (綾子) consists of aya (綾), which means fine pattern, and ko (子), which is often used in Japanese to turn words into female names. So ko (子) in a female name, especially at the end of it, doesn’t tell anything. The name Ayako (綾子) expresses her parents’ wish (although I don’t want to claim that parents necessarily ponder all possible names as deeply as I have to do it for the sake of finding the true meaning of an astrological force) to rise socially by a well-mannered attitude.

Ayako alone could represent having manners and other skills typical for upper class people. But an astrological force, that is part of a couple, is of course most interesting in synastries. There the different couples show different kinds of relationships. Not much is publicly known about Endate Kin (円館 金) and Endate Ayako (円館 綾子). So the most striking point here is that the asteroid named after him is named by the family-name, while the asteroid named after her, who adopted his family-name, is named after her personal name. So the type of relationship in question here is Ayako joining the family of Endate.