Looking for a confirmed Japanese Kanji for Ninjutsu and Jūjutsu

[CrossStealth]

I practice these arts and will be getting them as tattoos at the end of the month. Can someone show me how they would be written in hi res images if possible?
Thank you very much
(Oh and a lot of people say don't get kanji, I am aware of peoples dislike)

 

[Glenn]

Your computer can't display Japanese text? Here are the characters in large text (it seems like there's no way your computer can't display it...)

Ninjutstu -- 忍術
Juujutu -- 柔術

 

[Half-n-Half]

There's also Shujutsu -- 手術

Sorry, couldn't resist! Anyway, hope your tattoo turns out well.

 

[AJBryant]

And be sure and stop at hanzismatter !

 

[CrossStealth]

My computer can display Japanese text the reason I was asking for high res pictures of them is the text looks very blocky and pixelated I was looking for one that I can use for a tattoo so it doesn't get messed up and say something different Lol if anyone has some accurate pictures that would be greatly appreciated

 

[Glenn]

Yeah, I tried a Google search but didn't see much useful. I don't know how to find images of characters. Sorry.

 

[CrossStealth]

How do these look to you guys. Looking at the font you posted it looks identical to me but I just want someone with a keen eye to confirm it
Jujitsu
www japancalligraphy.eu/es/kanji/jujutsu .htm
Ninjutsu
www japancalligraphy.eu/kanji/ninjutsu .htm
Does Ninjutsu directly translate to the art of stealth? If so what does Jujitsu translate to. Or would these Japanese kanji be directly read to ninjutsu or jujitsu
For some reason it wouldn't let me post the link I hope this is acceptable to do if not let me know and I will gladly remove them

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I'll post them to help out.

Hope they show OK.

 

[Glenn]

How do these look to you guys.

They look OK to me for the most part, but I'm not much of a juudge of handwriting, much less calligraphy.

Does Ninjutsu directly translate to the art of stealth?

Pretty much.

If so what does Jujitsu translate to.

I guess the art of softness.

Or would these Japanese kanji be directly read to ninjutsu or jujitsu

That's how I'd read them, and that's how Japanese people would read them. Chinese people might read them rěnshù and róushù, respectively. Not sure how Koreans would read them. I'm not sure I'm understanding the question, though.

 

[CrossStealth]

I think you understood it pretty well. I just wanted to see how they would be read by someone who understood Japanese so I don't meet someone one day who can read Kanji and have them read something crazy I didn't know I had on me. Just trying to be as careful as possible. Thank you for all your time and replies so far guys I truly appreciate it

Oh and thank you for posting them in a way everyone could see them without going to the links ^_^

 

[Mike Cash]

Any tattoo artist who didn't grow up writing kanji is pretty much guaranteed to put something on your body that will elicit gales of laughter, no matter how skillful an imitator he may be. Please be sure to post photos for us.

 

[AJBryant]

And post it quickly to hanzismatter, as well. So *everyone* can giggle.

 

[Glenn]

Well, that aside, I have seen some kanji tattoos that have been done to look pretty much exactly like the font they were going for, and he is asking about it in advance and being sure about the meanings. He definitely is way ahead of the normal crowd, who usually come after the fact and ask "does this say what I think it says?"

I assume he probably knows how to find a reputable tattooist, which is something I doubt any of us could help him with, but it is good to know ahead of time that there are those who can't do a good copying job so that he can think about that when choosing one. I think he's doing a good job of researching and making sure he has his stuff in order so that he gets what he wants.

 

[CrossStealth]

Mike Cash I can see how you would have that opinion since calligraphy seems to be a very very difficult art and everyone has their own handwriting. None the less I think i will be happy with the outcome. AJBryant I am sorry you feel that way but to be honest I do not find that reaction to a Kanji tattoo that surprising. If my tattooist does make a mistake then I would like to know about it. I promise I will post it when I get it done. Glenn I very much appreciate your understanding. I really am trying my hardest to get as much information as I can before i do anything permanent. I believe I have found a very good tattooist by the way and I have known him for over 2 years and have liked his work so far. Anyway I just wanted to thank you for understanding.

 

[Toritoribe]

I 'm very sorry but the calligraphy you linked above seems like a child work or the artist(I doubt s/he is not a native Japanese) is not good at writing at all...

 

[epigene]

I 'm very sorry but the calligraphy you linked above seems like a child work or the artist(I doubt s/he is not a native Japanese) is not good at writing at all...

I second that.

If you are truly interested in a "good" kanji tatoo, you'll need a Japanese with good calligraphy skills to write them for you and take it to the tattoo shop.

Otherwise:
(1) Download this Japanese handwriting style font (freeware):
Kouzan Mouhitsu Font (click the download button on the page)
「衡山毛筆フォント」のページは移転いたしました
(2) Install the font in your PC.
(3) Type "ninjutsu" and/or "juujutsu" on a Microsoft Word document or equivalent in that font. (Hope you know how to type and convert into kanji)
How to Type Japanese
(4) Print out the four kanji characters and take them to the shop.

This probably is the best possible alternative if you can't find a calligraphy master.

 

[CrossStealth]

It is disappointing to hear the images are low quality. Its kind of funny because they were on a site being sold as Kanji art lol

On the other hand I am glad I found this out before it was permanently part of my body. So thank you for pointing it out and confirming it.

I downloaded the font but unfortunetly I am unable to translate the English text into Japanese kanji. If it isnt a bother can you please give me a quick guide? Do I need to go to a site or download a translator? or is there a way right from the word document I have open.

Thank you in advance ^_^

I took the Kanji listed in the first reply to this thread by Glenn and copied and pasted them into a document and then changed the font to KouzanBrushFont. It looks pretty good. Is this what you were asking em to do?

 

[Mike Cash]

Mike Cash I can see how you would have that opinion since calligraphy seems to be a very very difficult art and everyone has their own handwriting.

I have that opinion based on viewing lots of photos of wretchedly horrid kanji tattoos. You either end up with something that looks exactly like a font off your computer or some travesty which represents the tattoo artist's best effort at replicating handwritten kanji. Artistic ability doesn't always translate into ability to render kanji well and it rarely seems to matter how gifted the person may be in producing other tattoos. Either way, the result is almost universally laughable. If you want one done well, you really need to have it done by somebody who grew up writing kanji.

Why not just tattoo, "I'm A Ninja " on your body in English?

 

[CrossStealth]

I would love to find someone who grew up in Japan who can effectively draw kanji who happens to be a tattoo artist but it all seems a bit unlikely. Unfortunately I do not understand or speak Japanese but I can respect it. I believe its ok to not understand something but still have respect and admiration for it.

Also to the I am a ninja comment I guess you could say the same thing to someone getting a tattoo of stars(fairly common). Why dont they just get an English tattoo that says "I Enjoy pictures of stars" instead of actually getting stars. Probably because they actually like how the stars appear. I enjoy how Kanji looks and since the art that I practice has originated from Japan I feel it has an authentic touch putting it in its Native Kanji.

I do understand why it may seem silly to some people. I mean imagine the opposite? I can just picture half of Japan getting English words tattooed on their arms saying things like Demon or mistakes and wrong words like a tough looking tattoo that says Flower Lawnmower or Sponge. Lol

Anyway I appreciate your criticism and your time on replying to my thread.

Let me use my Terrible uneducated and probably overused by people who wish they were Japanese phrase
Arigato gozaimasu

 

[epigene]

What you need to type Japanese kanji on a Windows PC is East Asian Language Support. The procedure varies by your version of Windows.
Read this how-to:

Installing East Asian Language Support Under Windows Vista
There are procedures for other Windows versions. The procedure for Vista applies to Windows 7 as well, AFAIK.

After installation is complete, read this:
Writing Japanese on the Windows Platform

Linux and Mac are Japanese-enabled from the start. If you want detailed instructions, Google is your friend.

 

[CrossStealth]

Very cool, everything is installed and the characters came out like when I copied and pasted the ones form above and changed the font. but now I can do them myself!
My girlfriend is part Japanese Vietnamese Puerto Rican and Italian(I know she is quite a mix) and has been drawing since she was able to hold a pencil or anything. She would like to get the kanji for Artist. When i type artist it comes out like this 亜r地st. Any idea how to fix this? Not sure if i did something wrong or if I need to type something else. Oh and I do have 1 last question. The 2 Kanji in Ninjutsu and Jujutsu can they be displayed vertically? I mean will it still make sense when read?

 

[Half-n-Half]

She would like to get the kanji for Artist. When i type artist it comes out like this 亜r地st. Any idea how to fix this? Not sure if i did something wrong or if I need to type something else. Oh and I do have 1 last question. The 2 Kanji in Ninjutsu and Jujutsu can they be displayed vertically? I mean will it still make sense when read?

Kanji doesn't quite work like that. It's not like the English alphabet; each kanji character doesn't represent a letter. In a sense you can think of them as pictographs that represent concepts or ideas. Certainly, even if you did find an English word that did transfer all the way to kanji, such as your "artist" example, a Japanese would not look at it and think "artist." For example, the character that came out as 窶冢 for "artist" means "earth" or "ground" and can be pronounced as "chi." PLEASE do not type something in English and take the kanji it spits out as the proper meaning as the English word.

They should still make sense vertically.

 

[epigene]

Half-n-Half is right. Don't expect English words to become Japanese just by typing the English spelling.

The word "artist" must be rendered in Japanese pronunciation form: a-(long bar)-thi-su-to
It will be converted into katakana like this アーティスト
This means you need to learn the Japanese language first to convert English into Japanese correctly.
Otherwise, what you do is just gibberish.
JFYI, "artist" in kanji is gei-jutsu-ka (芸術家）

Yes, the two words can be rendered vertically. Japanese was originally and still is written vertically.
So:
nin = 忍
jutsu = 術

juu = 柔
jutsu = 術

If you are using Microsoft Word or other word processing software, you can simply change your Text Direction setting.
("Format" on the menu bar-> Choose Text Direction)