Want a Kanji tattoo? Read before you ask!

If it is insulting to Japanese Culture for people to have Kanji Tattoos then I think, the best would be to put up an Announcement to enlighten members Of why they should not get Kanji Tattoos done and I am sure the ones who truly love and Respect Japanese People and its Culture will surely understand and never make such a request in the future...

Keep in mind that kanji is a borrowed alphabet from China. There is more to consider than whether the tattoo would be accepted or rejected within Japanese culture.

Most of the people in the navy or marines would be pissed at the people who say that tattoos are immoral.

Well I'm in the US Navy and I have 2 tattoos. I'll say that it is frustrating to me for someone to say that tattoos are immoral. I figure if a person wants to pass judgment on me over it, then it speaks more about their character than my own. Yes, I've mentioned appreciating natural beauty more than inked skin. However that is my personal preference on physical attraction and doesn't influence my opinion of people. In case if anybody is wondering why I would get tattoos if I am not attracted to them. I was 13 and 16 when I got my tattoos. It wasn't until I got into my early 20's that I noticed (for my own preference, I don't speak on behalf of anybody else) I am more attracted to women without tattoos. This isn't to say I won't date a woman who has tattoos. I have and would again.

As for me, tattoos are okay but I hate to see the people with massive amounts of tattoos. I've seen ones that were cool/decent and placed on the shin of a leg so as long as pants were on you could never see, some on bicep as a cross that I thought...why not a necklace? and then lower back tattoos (tramp stamps) and ankle tattoos.

I myself want one, a small one, on my left upper bicep...

If you want one, you should get one. I'm sure many people would be concerned that you make the right choice on which kind you get. Cause age is kind to wine, but not to tattoos. Your personality will change, your body will change; these factor into the opinion you will have of your tattoo years down the line. If you're comfortable with that fact, then by all means, get a tattoo. On an optimistic point, here are some pro-tattoo suggestions I recommend you to consider...

1) Think about how much you want people to see the tattoo. My first tattoo I got is on my left shoulder and I was bummed out that most of the time nobody could even see the tattoo unless I was shirtless or wearing a tank top. So I got my 2nd one on my right wrist so people could see it all the time. I don't wear a watch on my right wrist and thus it is seldom covered unless I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt.

2) Consider the conversation starters the tattoo will bring. If you get something with any sort of writing on it (latin, Spanish, Japanese, etc..) you ARE going to be asked about it often if people can see it. Even if it is in English and you are around primarily English speaking strangers. They may ask why you chose the phrase that you did. If this sounds annoying to you, then consider yourself warned.

3) Put on a fake tattoo in the spot that you want the real tattoo. It'll help you see how much you like the idea of having a tattoo in that spot. Put on clothes, see if it reveals the tattoo enough or not enough to your liking. That way you won't get something permanent and later wish you had it placed just a tad more to the left/right/up/down.

4) Consider if there is a fad appended to the tattoo or not. As cool as some tattoos might be, you might be drawing yourself in to a crowd that you didn't realize exists. Maybe barbed wire might make you seem like a jock, or a symbol of a skull and roses has you pegged as a biker. These aren't facts, just outlandish examples I'm making to advertise the point. Besides, you might want to be original. How often have you seen tattoos of batman, Mickey Mouse, anchors, hearts, etc..

5) Finally, shop around. It seems like no matter how hard you look, you'll always see a tattoo that you think is cooler than the one you chose. This is why tattoos can be addicting for people. Basically, don't let your urge to get a tattoo rise too far above your preference for what you want the tattoo to be about. Check out a few tattoo parlors and thumb through their albums. Get some ideas, don't be shy to ask for modifications or adjustments to the designs you see. These artists are usually talented people and can draw just about anything you can imagine. The designs they offer are more of a template for you to decide upon.
 
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Speaking solely on the subject of Kanji Tattoo questions, I don't necessarily feel too bad about the type of responses they get that is considered harsh by some.
After all, the subject matter is nothing of importance : cosmetics. I think it is good that they get to hear the types of reactions people may have towards someone who sports/looking to sport tattoos in languages they don't have a good grasp of, one of which is Ridicule.
Another thing is that many of these people with tattoo questions tend not to listen to good advices offered by those who knows the language.
Example. Some kid wants a tattoo that says "The One Who Carries The Sword Of Darkness". A good hearted member tells them that a literal translation would be long and sound weird and s/he offers an alternative. The kid answers, "...but it is really really important to me and I have to have the whole thing in Japanese!". The kind member gives them the whole thing in Japanese. The kid then goes, "...but the whole thing has to be in Kanji characters! Isn't there a way to say it all in Kanji?? It just perfectly describes who I am as a person and I want it tattooed on my body. Why can't anyone just help me!?" .....and it just goes on and on....
I usually just stay away from those Qs. 😌


Quoted for truth.

I think If these questions come up again, all they need is one, kind and simple answer. If they keep going on about it, just leave the thread alone.

For some reason, kanji tattoos are popular...atleast people are willing to ask about a tattoo in kanji than get one that looks cool. At school, there is this girl with 父 on her neck...I would tell her what it means but....nah.
 
Are you kidding? Ask her what the tattoo means, see what her response is. I hope she says "Queen" or "Princess" or "Dead" or something, lmao.
 
At school, there is this girl with 父 on her neck...I would tell her what it means but....nah.

She got that on her neck? That's a very risky spot to get a tattoo. She's going to come to loathe that tattoo when applying for a job where visible tattoos aren't permitted. Which as frustrating as it may be, applies to most executive jobs.
 
There is a man at my gym that has "苺 " on his right shoulder. Yeah...
 
@xtremevillan : it means strawberry... but I'm sure the guy has a perfectly reasonable reason for wanting that on his arm.
 
There is a man at my gym that has "苺 " on his right shoulder. Yeah...

There is this manga series called BLEACH that is very popular. The main character's name is ICHIGO but it's spelled 一護...

OR maybe he had meant it to say 母 (Haha = Mother). I have seen "Mom" tattooed on ppl's arms...
 
There is a man at my gym that has "苺 " on his right shoulder. Yeah...

That's hilarious.

There is this manga series called BLEACH that is very popular. The main character's name is ICHIGO but it's spelled 一護...

OR maybe he had meant it to say 母 (Haha = Mother). I have seen "Mom" tattooed on ppl's arms...

My guess would be for 一護, but who knows.

This reminds me, though, I once saw a guy with a tattoo of 蟹. I'm not sure what that was all about... Another good one (wasn't a tattoo, though) was a guy with a hat that had 足 on it. Not sure what that was about either. Oh, and there's a woman where I work with 悔 tattooed on her neck, except it's missing the vertical stroke (or the two dots, if you're shooting for Chinese).
 
That does look familiar. Great, now there'll be people arguing that 足 means "tarheel."
 
I remember Sporty Spice had a tattoo on her arm that read 女力? which I think she'd want ti mean her group's mantra, "GURL POWAH!". Now, I wonder if there is a post somewhere deep in the Japan Forum archive by a young female from the U.K. asking for a translation for a tattoo....
 
Strawberry! LOL.

Also the first thing that went through my mind when I saw 女力 was woman strength, so that one at least makes sense.

Lol @ foot
 
Strawberry! LOL.

Also the first thing that went through my mind when I saw 女力 was woman strength, so that one at least makes sense.

Lol @ foot

Except that to express that meaning most Japanese would probably say ウーマンパワー :emoji_blush:
 
Hey.
Sorry for making this thread "live" again. But there's some thing I'd like to ask.

1.) What do people in Japan think about Tattoo's in general? I mean in my country it is pretty normal to have a tattoo... You are also able to get good jobs even if you have visible tattoos. Nobody really cares, as long as you aren't tattooed all over your entire body/face.
What about this in Japan? I am thinking about making a small tattoo on my ankle. But I am also planning to go to Japan as a transferr student some day, and I don't want people there to think I am totally a punk or something.
Please don't be angry with me because of making such a stupid question, but it is a thing that makes me worry.

2) Do you see people in Japan with kanji tattoos?? Or would Japanese usually never wear a kanji tattoo?
I know there is a singer called Miyavi (or something like that) who actually has kanji tattoos. But he's the only Japanese I've ever seen with a kanji tattoo.
 
This is just my impression from when I was in Japan, but people who get tattoos there stay away from words, preferring abstract designs or pretty designs inside. Unless you are old Yakuza of course, then you see the usual shuras, dragons, tigers etc.
 
I don't have any tattoos, but I believe that if someone does decide to get a kanji tattoo that it would be wise to ask about the proper kanji and get several designs to see if it is the right kanji word/expression.

I would never just go right into a tattoo place and say I want the kanji tattoo for some word, etc and trust that the tattoo artist will always know what is correct.

I have seen different kanji even for the same word as one was of a Chinese expression and the other Japanese so you may end up with a Chinese word when actually wanted Japanese.

I can understand that an Asian person, who's natural language and alphabet consists of kanji, does not get a kanji tattoo. For them it isn't different or "exotic" just as an American would think a tattoo of an English word tattoo is all that special or different.
So do Japanese people get tattoos of English words? German? Spanish etc? I don't know, I wonder.
 
So do Japanese people get tattoos of English words? German? Spanish etc? I don't know, I wonder.

Yup. And the get approximately the same kinds of results:

engrishtattoo-1.webp
 
Personally, I don't recommend having a tattoo on your body. Many public bathhouses in Japan explicitly state that people with tattoos are not allowed.
 
...but in special I hate girls who put tattoo and most of those girls who made tattoo in some point in their body like in the lower of their stomach or their back .......
it's really not moral and not for females !!! :eek:

So, although we have never met before, iceman, you are saying that you hate me? Simply because I have a tattoo? (Not in the places you described, but it is on my back, just not the lower back)

sakaeyellow said:
Personally, I don't recommend having a tattoo on your body. Many public bathhouses in Japan explicitly state that people with tattoos are not allowed.

Whaa?! T___T Are there some that don't care. I'm aware of the reputation of tattoos in Japan, but I thought that they were becoming more socially acceptable, in slow progress?
 
hi, i'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but i do want to get a tattoo, my husband is japanese but he's not very good with the writing so i'm looking for some help. i want to get a tattoo of our babies' names, Kai and Naomi. Also maybe our last name which is Miyamoto....any help would be appreciated
 
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