What Does Your Kanji Tattoo Mean?
April 10, 2009
The mysterious and beautiful Kanji tattoos from Japan are rapidly becoming very popular in the Western world as those wishing to tattoo their name or a memorial on their shoulder or arm flock to the tattoo artist.
Kanji tattoos, however, have a built-in negative side that should be given serious consideration before putting one on your body.
One thing to remember is that Kanji tattoos come from a language that is not Western and the literal meanings you might be used to do not apply with Kanji. Kanji symbols do not represent individual characters, but are graphic depictions of complete ideas or concepts. What looks like a simple character could actually be more than 20 or 30 separate strokes and have several meanings, depending on the script style of Kanji used.
Kanji scripts have three styles of expression to consider when you are looking for the perfect Kanji tattoo for your body art.
Japanese Kanji characters and symbols originated in China and are used for nouns like peace, morning or determination. Kanji writing, over time, developed into part of the Japanese system of using ideograms to express whole concepts.
Katakana characters, on the other hand, are used for foreign words and names. Adjectives and grammar will be expressed with the Hiragana script.
Just wanting a name, yours or a loved one, as a tattoo would probably be done with Katakana characters, which easily convert from Japanese to Western names or initials without the more complicated underlying meanings found in the Kanji scripts.
Just visiting your tattoo parlor and picking out characters from a wall poster or book of designs could be a mistake. The letters that might represent your name could also represent complete thoughts that would be negative or belittling to your image.
They would be understandable only by those who speak Japanese, which, considering the numbers of Japanese businessmen & women in most industrial countries, should be a concern of yours if you are a business professional or planning on becoming one. If you believe your tattoo spells your name and don’t investigate the underlying total concept, you might also be wearing a tattoo that says you have “ugly dog breath,” for example. Your Japanese supervisor would not be impressed.
The point to remember here, before decorating your body with a tattoo you might regret, is to investigate your Kanji tattoo meanings BEFORE getting them permanently applied to your body. There’s several translation services online that can do the job for you. Spending a little time checking out the meanings behind Kanji tattoos might save you embarrassment later.
Live The Myth With A Dragon Tattoo
April 10, 2009
The dragon can be found in the mythology of hundreds of cultures and featured on ancient drawings and carvings from every corner of the globe. Because of the diversity of each culture’s beliefs, there’s lots of meanings behind this beautiful tattoo.
Depending on the cultural history of the dragon tattoo you are going to have inked on your body, you could be wearing a symbol of gentle wisdom and kindness or a fire-eating enemy ready to do battle. Legend has always depicted a hero slaying the dragon and saving the castle or the village from total destruction and winning the heart of a fair maiden.
In Chinese cultures, the dragon symbolizes lightning, thunder and rain, which, in their ancient understanding, represented the uniting of the earth and water elements or fertility. Traditional Japanese tattooing is often about balance and the various characteristics of yin and yang. The dragon, in Japanese tattooing, is often portrayed with other symbols that represent both the balance and duality found in yin and yang.
Another aspect of dragons, in the Far East (China & Japan), is their representation of either the four points of the compass or the nature symbols of water, earth, the underworld and the sky.
The Gnostics, who started a philosophical and religious movement in pre-Christian times, believed in the spiritual nature that lives in all of us and relied on their understanding and knowledge of God. Their belief about dragons revolved around the chaos of nature and the Spirit of God. Their fiery dragon could conquer all things.
Ancient Emperors and Celtic kings believed the dragon symbolized an existence that brought order and prosperity to their kingdoms. Very old documents and drawings about these powerful leaders often described them as heavenly dragons seated on a throne.
Dragons thought to be born of water can be credited with pleasant and benign activities, like bubbling springs and waterfalls, but they also drown people according to ancient understandings. Great horned dragons live underwater, beckoning people to their watery graves, if you read the beliefs and myths of Eastern Native Americans.
Water dragons possessing a glittering jewel flashing lightning bolts can be found in legends from Cambodia. Thunder and its power to bring rain was often believed to come from a pearl held in the dragon’s mouth. The medieval paintings of St. George are full of dragons resembling sea serpents.
When reading these ancient beliefs and thinking, “How could people be so naïve?” keep in mind our current myths about dragons: the Loch Ness monster in Scotland and Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia.
We’re not so far removed from believing in flying, fire-breathing dragons.
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