What can you do if you find out your Japanese tattoo is not what the tattoo?

Question

artist says it was. Mine is supposed to say "Blessed" but after doing research it says "Felicitation".

Answer 1

hi, i'm sorry you're going through this confusion, but there are a few issues at hand here, and i hope i can help you feel more at ease.

felicitation, is pretty synonomous to blessed. a lot of times foreign languages cannot be perfectly and exactly translated. like, if you know a foreign language, like i know french and some spanish, and you watch a movie in that language with english subtitles, a lot of times, the subtitles do not exactly translate what they are saying because of the simple fact that not everything can be translated so literally because of the mass differences in the languages. so i think the translation is just fine, so feel free to breathe.

also, say that the kanji meant something like "golden showers" and you thought it meant "blessed" that would be more cause for concern, however, you most likely signed a release form stating that you approved of the artwork before it was tattooed, and that the shop cannot be held liable for anything that happens. so technically, you couldn't complain anyway.

it's best to do your own research in matters like these before making such a life long commitment. i'm not sure why you got a japanese tattoo, obviously you don't speak japanese, BUT i am not here to judge, i'm sure you had your reasons, and that's fine. you might have japanese ansestors for all i know, right? so it's all good. to each their own.

so you lucked out, wipe your forehead, take a breath. everything is okay. and there was a valuable lesson learned here. good luck with your future tattoo endeavors!

Answer 2

Kanji is a complicated alphabet because the characters are used in combination with 2 other sets of characters (hiragama and katakana) to make the Japanese written language. But each character has it's own meaning, and many have multiple meanings depending on the context in which the character is used.

I know that people have probably said it many times, but you should never get a character from another language tattooed on unless you know what it really stands for. The flash on the wall was not designed by someone who speaks Japanese and probably had little understanding of the complexities of the language and it's not the artist's fault (unless he is fluent in Japanese and was trying to deliberately put one over on you). Considering that fixing a bad tattoo is a lot harder and more expensive than getting it right in the first place. This is just one of those things that you really need to do your homework about.

Answer 3

These all look amazing, I would take these to an artist and get you both to play around with them , find out what you like about each one, and create something that is special to you. Japanese style is beautiful when done right. But that being said, Japanese is also very common, so you will need to look for an artist that loves it too, and can help you to create something unique. There is nothing worse than an artist not being into a tattoo 100%.

Answer 4

I work for a Japanese company & I think the writing is elegant so I wanted to get Japanese Kanji to add to my tats I have for my girls. So I asked 5 different co-workers to write Beloved Daughter in Japanese & then took it to other co-workers to tell me what it read. Then I got it inked on me...... You should always research what your going to get put on you - ESPECIALLY - when you don't speak the language.

Unfortunately it is not the responsibility of the tattooist to confirm what your getting is indeed what it means. Unless you had an artist doing the work they would have made sure you knew what it meant prior to doing it and confirmed in their books of reference as most reputable artist do. Yes, there is a difference here between a tattoist & an artist. An artist cares about what they create on canvas thus, your body. A tattoist takes picture puts on body and tattoos it on you. Don't get me wrong they can be good at what they do but they don't put much more thought in it than that.

I've had both types do work on me but mostly the artist because I want one of a kind tats that come from my idea not a picture from flash but I still make sure that the tattoist produces nice work. After all I believe in "word of mouth" advertisement and boy howdy do I share with everybody what I think when it comes to customer service.

Find ya a good artist that will do a great cover-up for you.

Answer 5

This is an issue that seems to crop up quite a lot. It is claimed that 40% or more of kanjis could be wrong. This has a lot to do with context and the simple fact that the artist obviously was not a fluent Japanese speaker and could not read kanji. Below is an informative article on Japanese kanji.

Answer 6

Japanese Kanji (which are actually Chinese characters) have more than one meaning depending on the context that it's used in. It's possible that character may mean both things.

If you've done thourough research and know without a shadow of a doubt that it shouldn't mean that, go back to the tattoo parlor and complain.

Also, why didn't you do the research before you got the tatoo?

Answer 7

this is the exact reason you should not get a tattoo of something if you don't know what it means. the tattoo artist wasn't japanese i'm guessing so how could he have known that it didn't mean what it was supposed to? it is always a good idea to stick with what you know. sorry. you can always have it covered up or just live with your tattoo the way it is.

Answer 8

Basically, your options are:

1. Get a cover-up tattoo over top of it.

2. Have it removed with lasers.

3. Kick yourself in the a** for even getting such a tattoo in the first place.

Answer 9

Consider this a lesson learned. Don't get the language tattooed on you unless you speak it!

I would go back and tell them that they suck and either ask for a cover up or save up money to get it removed or covered up elsewhere.

Answer 10

i looked up felicitation,a word that i had never heard before. here is the def:
the act of acknowledging that someone has an occasion for celebration
it sounds like it means the same thing as "blessed" it may be that there is not an EXACT translation of the word "blessed" into japanese. i would say learn to live with it.
p.s.-i think tats of stuff like that are dumb anyway, you are just lucky that is didn't mean "felatio" or something offensive to people.