Japan Kanji Tattoo Tips: Avoid Becoming A Laughing Stock

Kanji, or Hanzi in Chinese, has gained cult status. Almost every day I come across something with Kanji. Unfortunately, they often contain blatantly ignorant errors. Clothing stores sell t-shirts with random Japanese letters attached, as if they were legible. Furniture stores offer matching furniture, bed covers, cushion covers, and even curtains with mirrored and reversed Kanji. I once saw a BWM with Kanji stickers proudly decorating both side doors. It said “Viagra” in Chinese… However, these errors are nothing compared to the errors I have seen on various parts of the body as “kanji tattoos”.

It is really flattering to know that the kanji and the Japanese and Chinese languages ​​have gained so much prominence and status among tattoo fans. However, if you are going to engrave something on your body, show respect for yourself as well as our language and culture, and learn a thing or two about the language and art of Asian calligraphy before doing so. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself secretly sweating every time a Japanese girl comments on your tattoo, wondering “did she really mean it? Or was it sarcasm in her voice?” Or worse yet, you could end up on one of the many Japanese websites that display the incomprehensible Kanji tattoos they have found.

How can you avoid ending up with a Kanji tattoo that screams “amateur”?

  • Not having Western names translated into Kanji and inked. Kanji are symbols that often have multiple meanings. When someone “translates” Western names into kanji, they’re simply fishing for kanji that have the correct phonetics, kanji that sound similar to the word they’re trying to translate. Take the name “Stacy” as an example. When translated into Japanese, it becomes a 5-letter Japanese word (su-te-i-shi-i, since the word is divided into syllables, as it should be said in the Japanese language). To translate it into Kanji, you would have to find five Kanji that sound like the five syllables of the name. Of course, the translator would (or should) make sure to choose Kanji with positive connotations, like “poem” instead of “death” (both words are pronounced “shi” in Japanese), but keep in mind that if you ask ten people to translate their name into Kanji, you’ll probably get ten different results. It is that subjective, the art of “translating” names into Kanji. If you still insist on having a name inked, do it in Katakana instead of Kanji. At least then it would be an objective symbolism of the name, that is, without the translator’s “interpretation” of her name in symbols (Kanji). However, if you are convinced that you have Kanji, then my next suggestion would be to keep it short. Have the name translated into a single Kanji, for example for the first syllable of the name, and then ink the Kanji into a Hanko stamp design. This is much more elegant, artistic, and aesthetic than having several random Kanji that have the phonetics to sound like a western name. To a native speaker, such kanji strings seem extremely strange and usually need to be explained before they can be understood.
  • keep it simple. Don’t even think about translating an entire sentence or phrase. Most likely, the meaning will be lost in translation. If you are interested in conveying a certain message with your tattoo, consult a native speaker and convey what it is you want to convey and see if an original Chinese or Japanese proverb can convey the same point. David Beckham’s famous Chinese proverb tattoo is a great example. Direct translations should be avoided for obvious reasons.
  • Consult a trusted native speaker — or two, to get different opinions and input. Don’t trust a non-native or just walk into a tattoo parlor and choose from their Kanji catalogs without any research. Many of the online catalogs and tattoo parlors are full of mistranslations, missing strokes, crooked kanji that you have to tilt your head to read, and unappealing, lopsided kanji that clearly weren’t written by someone with calligraphy skills. . Also, the selection is extremely limited, considering the fact that there are thousands of Japanese and Chinese Kanji to choose from.

Having said all that, let me leave you with a thought: the Japanese are wary of tattoos as we associate them with Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. In fact, most bathhouses and Onsen (hot spring baths) in Japan have specific rules prohibiting people with tattoos from bathing there. It’s the politically correct way of saying “Yakuza are not welcome.” As flattering as it is that the western world has adopted our language and incorporated it into their tattoo culture, keep in mind that you will rarely find a Japanese with a kanji tattoo, let alone a tattoo. It’s just not our culture.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *