diff --git a/doc/fixes36.2 b/doc/fixes36.2
index ef5053811..ec4b0fb95 100644
--- a/doc/fixes36.2
+++ b/doc/fixes36.2
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ shop messages refer to shk by name even when shk is not visible but some
 	used pronoun "it" or "its" in same sentence; ditto for vault guards
 poly'd hero and monsters could eat through iron bars in areas where walls
 	were flagged as non-diggable
+Samurai seeing items at a distance could have them be described by their
+	ordinary names rather than by their Japanese names
 
 
 Fixes to Post-3.6.1 Problems that Were Exposed Via git Repository
diff --git a/src/objnam.c b/src/objnam.c
index 46fc3d493..ce952c36f 100644
--- a/src/objnam.c
+++ b/src/objnam.c
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ unsigned cxn_flags; /* bitmask of CXN_xxx values */
     register struct objclass *ocl = &objects[typ];
     int nn = ocl->oc_name_known, omndx = obj->corpsenm;
     const char *actualn = OBJ_NAME(*ocl);
-    const char *dn = OBJ_DESCR(*ocl) ? OBJ_DESCR(*ocl) : actualn;
+    const char *dn = OBJ_DESCR(*ocl);
     const char *un = ocl->oc_uname;
     boolean pluralize = (obj->quan != 1L) && !(cxn_flags & CXN_SINGULAR);
     boolean known, dknown, bknown;
@@ -411,6 +411,10 @@ unsigned cxn_flags; /* bitmask of CXN_xxx values */
     buf = nextobuf() + PREFIX; /* leave room for "17 -3 " */
     if (Role_if(PM_SAMURAI) && Japanese_item_name(typ))
         actualn = Japanese_item_name(typ);
+    /* 3.6.2: this used to be part of 'dn's initialization, but it
+       needs to come after possibly overriding 'actualn' */
+    if (!dn)
+        dn = actualn;
 
     buf[0] = '\0';
     /*