Japanese Tattoos - Brian Ashcraft

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be seen inscribing characters on a courtesan with a needle.

      For courtesans, their kimono, their musical ability, and their appearance were essential to their livelihoods. This hand-colored woodblock print, which dates from the 1660s, shows a courtesan playing for her lover.

      Written Japanese

      Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji

      The written Japanese language uses four different writing systems. There are the two native syllabaries: the curvy hiragana and the angular katakana. Originally, hiragana was referred to as onna-de, meaning “woman’s hand,” as court ladies used the script to write poetry. Today, the script is widely used by all Japanese, and the feminine connotations have subsided. Katakana was originally used by Buddhist monks, but these days it’s largely reserved for phonetic renditions of foreign words and onomatopoeia. Romaji, which literally means “Roman letters,” is typically used for company or product names and acronyms. Finally, there’s kanji, the pictographic characters imported from China in the fifth century. Japanese uses kanji much like English uses Latin and Greek: as root words and linguistic building blocks.

      The curvy hiragana and angular katakana are Japan’s indigenous writing systems. Small children first learn hiragana before learning katana. After mastering both, they begin studying basic kanji characters, such as “ichi” (一, one) and “yama” (山, mountain).

      In Japanese, each kanji character can have several different readings, and some kanji can sound the same, but have totally different meanings. For example, the Japanese word 花 (hana) means “flower,” while 鼻 (hana) means “nose.” Then there are the kanji that look similar, such as the character 人, which means “person” and 入, which refers to entering. This is where errors often arise in tattoos, with the incorrect characters being used.

      The kanji used in modern China and Japan look different—so please, do not mix them! Mainland China uses simplified, modernized versions of kanji, while traditional kanji continue to be used in Japan (and also in Hong Kong and Taiwan). Japan also has its own homegrown kanji, called kokuji (国字, or “native script”) that aren’t used in China.

      While Confucianism might not have been hip to tattoos, it did not equal puritanism. There were plenty of places for adult men to blow off steam, including the licensed pleasure quarters, where high-class courtesans would entertain clients. With marriage more like a business partnership than a romantic arrangement, the late 1500s saw the pleasure quarters rise in Kyoto and Osaka (and later, in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district), creating a venue for proclamations of love and pledges of devotion. Sex wasn’t always the main object; if the clients wanted that, they could always frequent the unlicensed prostitutes for a far cheaper experience. High-class courtesans had the right to refuse johns they weren’t into, so clients would primp to look their best, buying new kimonos and carrying new swords just to impress the ladies. Once the client became a regular patron, he forfeited his right to see other courtesans. Violating this understanding could result in a beating by the brothel’s muscle.

      Mottoes and Mantras

      Japanese Sayings to Live By

      Try to find Japanese idiomatic expressions, mottoes, or mantras that sound cool, instead of trying to shoehorn in some shoddy computer software translation of an English idiom. Japan has its own sayings, and many of them make suitable tattoos.

      悪因悪果

      AKUIN AKKA “Cause evil, create evil.” This essentially means “You reap what you sow.” The phrase encompasses Buddhist ideals of karma.

      知者不惑刺青

      CHISHAFUWAKU “A wise person doesn’t waver.” Quoted from the Analects of Confucius.

      千代

      CHIYO “A thousand years.” This tattoo can be seen in a mid-19th-century woodblock print by the artist Munehiro Hasegawa. The kanji can also be written as 千世. Another option is 千代に八千代に (chiyo ni yachiyo ni) or, loosely, “For eternity.”

      出たとこ勝負

      DETATOKO SHOUBU This means “leaving things to chance.”

      一期一会

      ICHIGO ICHI-E Literally “one time, one meeting,” this phrase has been translated as “once-in-a-lifetime encounter” or even “Treasure every meeting, because it won’t happen again.” Steeped in Zen Buddhist notions of transience, the centuries-old phrase even appeared in the Japanese title of Forrest Gump.

      命

      INOCHI “Life.” There is a historical precedent for putting a lover’s name in front of this kanji—for example, 上田 様命 (Ueda sama inochi, or “My life for Mr./Ms. Ueda.”) There are also reports of tattoos with the lover’s name in front of the phrase “My whole heart for my whole life” (一心命 or “isshin inochi”) during the Edo period.

      確乎不抜

      KAKKOFUBATSU Determined or steadfast. Quoted from an ancient Chinese text.

      起死回生

      KISHI KAISEI To come back from a hopeless situation. Be aware that this is actually the name of a move in mah-jongg as well as in Pokémon.

      南無妙法蓮華経

      NAMU-MYOUHOU-RENGE-KYOU “Hail Lotus Sutra,” from one of Buddhism’s most important teachings, the Lotus Sutra.

      南無阿弥陀仏

      NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU “I sincerely believe in Amida Buddha.” Chanting this prayer can lead to rebirth in the Pure Land.

      七転び八起き

      SHICHITENHAKKI or NANAKOROBI YAOKI Literally, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight times.” In short, don’t give up. Be aware that when tattooed, the endings “bi” (び) and “ki” (き) are often omitted, leaving just these five characters: 七転八起.

      七生報国

      SHICHISHOU HOKOKU Loosely, “Seven lives of patriotism,” indicating an undying devotion to one’s country. The phrase continues to have strong nationalistic connotations, but originally appeared in the 14th-century Japanese text Taiheiki in reference to the Buddhist concept of being reborn several times, and is associated with reverence for the emperor. In 1970, when writer Yukio Mishima tried to stage a military coup and restore the imperial throne to power, he wore a bandana bearing this motto. Mishima was unsuccessful and committed ritual seppuku.

      その日を摘め

      SONO HI WO TSUME Literally, “to pick up or hold the day,” equivalent to carpe diem. The phrase いまを生きる (ima wo ikiru), also translated as “carpe diem,” is the Japanese title of the film Dead Poets Society. Unless you are a huge fan of that movie, perhaps this phrase is best avoided. Japanese people would probably be more inclined to get the original Latin text instead of its Japanese translation.

      雲散霧消

      UNSAN MUSHOU “Scattering clouds, disappearing mist,” or “to vanish without a trace.” Also translated, however, as “going up in smoke.”

      我事において後悔せず

      WAGAKOTO NI OITE KOUKAISEZU “No regrets,” or literally, “As for personal matters, have no regrets.” This was written in 1645 by swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, a week before he died, in his collection of maxims titled Dokkoudou (The Path of Self-Reliance). Other doozies in the same work include 身を浅く思い、世を深く思う (mi wo asaku omoi, yo wo fukaku omou, “Consider

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