Living in Japan I see the English language mutilated on a daily basis. Nonsensical English on clothing, advertisements, stationary and catch phrases repeated ad nauseam. Then again, I have to give Japanese credit for not tattooing these on their bodies. We can't say the same for many in the west who, despite their best intentions, just can't seem to get it right the first time, which when you think about it is pretty imperative considering the temporary nature of a tattoo.

Personally I think Kanji tattoos are silly, but if you feel the need to show your individually in a foreign language please, please, make sure and double check your usage by those who actually speak the language. And when consulting with a native speaker be sure to watch for raised eyebrows and signs of held back laughter.

Update: Looks like the website I linked to above Hanzi Smatter, a website dedicated to the misuse of Chinese characters in Western culture, ran out of bandwidth. A little googling came up with Jeremy's take on Kanji tattoos, and a few words of caution on character stroke order.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember info?
YesNo
Comments: