Do Jessie and James have pun names in Japan?

Question

Jesse and James of Team Rocket take their monikers from the famous American outlaw Jesse James. Likewise, their counterparts in Team Rocket, Butch and Cassidy, take their names from the equally notorious Butch Cassidy.

However, this is only the case in English. Do their Japanese names have any clever twists to them? Are the Japanese names also taken from Jesse James?

Answer 1

His Japanese name, Kojirō, is taken from 佐々木小次郎 Sasaki Kojirō, a prominent Japanese swordsman most famous for being killed by his rival, 宮本武蔵 Miyamoto Musashi, the namesake of Jessie. Also, 二郎 Jirō is a name meaning "second son," while 三郎 Saburō means "third son." Kojirō takes advantage of Jirō, while the Japanese name of Butch, Kosaburō, takes advantage of Saburō.

Her Japanese name, Musashi, is taken from 宮本武蔵 Miyamoto Musashi, a famous Japanese swordsman. In his most famous duel, he defeated his rival, 佐々木小次郎 Sasaki Kojirō, after whom James got his Japanese name. However, one can argue that she is also named after the Japanese battleship Musashi, as her rival Cassidy's Japanese name is based on the Japanese battleship Yamato.

Sources: This and this.