How to Pick a Kanji Tattoo

Kanji is the oldest of three writing systems used in Japan today and utilizing Kanji in tattoo designs remains one of the more popular things individuals choose when getting inked. Like any foreign language, there's a chance that the translation you're getting is not completely accurate, so before you pick it and stick it, be sure you know what the symbols mean.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Decide what you want the Kanji to say. You may want your name or the name of a loved one translated and used in your tattoo design or you may want a word that symbolizes something important to you, such as Patience, Serenity, Loyalty, Strength or Love. Keep in mind, many American names don't translate well in other languages and may actually translate into something derogatory. The same can be said of certain popular words, which may have more than one symbol available, but which might not literally mean what you intend.

2. Research the name or word you want inked in Kanji. Don't rely on the tattoo artist to do the research for you. Because of its popularity, many tattoo shops keep books containing Kanji on hand, but unless there's someone there who speaks and/or writes Japanese, there's still no guarantee their particular book is correct.

3. Search online for Kanji. To help with your research, the Internet is a good tool to find Kanji symbols. There are many free sites that list popular words or even provide a translation tool. Look up your particular word on as many sites as you can find to compare the similarities in the symbols each site provides to determine which is the closest to being correct.

4. Find books containing Kanji symbols. This will further your research efforts and provide more resources to compare symbols. You can then judge which symbol comes up a majority of the time and thus is most likely to be correct. If you can't find books at your local library or bookstore, visit some tattoo shops and see if they have some books they will let you look through.

5. Locate someone who knows Kanji to translate your word or name for you. If you don't know anyone personally who's fluent in the language, visit the local college and see if the language department can assist you or can refer you to a student who can translate English to Kanji.

6. Pay a service to translate your word or name for you. There are many translator services available online, but most require a fee for a translation from a person who is actually fluent in the language. Although there's a fee involved, if you don't know anyone personally who can do the translation for you, it may be worth it to get a guarantee that your Kanji is right. Most of these services do offer a guarantee for their translations.

Tips & Warnings

• Japanese Katakana is specifically used for foreign words and names, not Kanji. When translating English names to Kanji, different Kanji characters may be available for different syllables or phonetic equivalents, so a person's name may have several meanings when translated back to Japanese and all of them may not be good. Katakana is more accurate when translated correctly.
• If you're paying for a service to translate a word or name to Kanji for you, be sure the person providing the service is qualified either by having extensive training in the language, or even better is a native speaker of Japanese.
• If you're paying for a translation service, be sure the provider isn't using translation software or web-based translation programs, which you could do yourself for free and may still not be accurate. If there's a price tag involved, you want the translation to come from a human being not a machine.
• Kanji designs, when translated correctly, can be a less obvious way to immortalize your "true love's" name without actually permanently inking someone's name on your body. If the match doesn't last, nobody has to know your Kanji is their name, as long as nobody you know understands Kanji, it can mean whatever you want it to.
• The meaning of a Kanji symbol can be completely changed simply by making one line more or less slanted than it should be or shorter or longer than it should be. Each single line holds a meaning in the overall design. Something that looks unimportant may hold the entire meaning you are seeking and might literally change "mysterious" to "strange."
• You should never pick Kanji from a sheet of flash. These sheets have been copied and the translations are not guaranteed to be correct. Even if the tattoo studio can guarantee the translation is correct, you should still research it and wait until you're absolutely positive before permanently placing it on your body.
• Many tattoo shops will have a disclaimer on their consent form that states they do not guarantee the translation of anything into another language.

Resources

• Your name in Japanese
• Info on Kanji tattoos.
• Tattoo finder.
• Books on Kanji.
• Advice on Kanji.