Kanji tattoos?

Question

I have a japanese character on both of my wrists. One means fate/destiny because i believe everything happens for a reason. I also have soul/spirit because i dont believe in God but i believe we all have a soul and it does go somewhere when we die. I have noticed thay alot of ppl on yahoo answers critise ppl for having them if they dont speak or are from china or japan. What are your opinions on my tattoos?

Anyone else have kanji tattoos? If so what?

By the way i got them professionally translated!!!
So they dont mean bathtup or anythn!

When i say professionally translated i mean by a japanese teacher so i know what they mean but if you had been bothered to read the question you would have seen that was not what i was asking

Answer 1

I think that it's cool that people have kanji tattoos, as long as they actually know what the kanji means. Therefore since you truly know the meaning of your tattos and you like them, it's cool.

I'm Japanese living in Tokyo, and I meet many foreigners. And MANY of them have kanji tattoos(no wonder, they like Japan stuff), but they don't know what their kanji tats mean. I think that's pretty silly.

And sometimes people get kanji tattos just because they look cool. One time this one American guy I met in Tokyo asked me what his kanji tattoo(he got that tat in the states) on his arm meant. It meant "Kitchen", but of course, I couldn't tell him that.

Answer 2

Well, show us the characters (or at least give us the kana readings of them) and then we can tell you what we think! You say the kanji mean this or that, and that they were 'professionally translated.' Well, I can't help but believe that millionaire NBA basketball players like Marcus Camby and Jason Williams also thought they were getting 'professionally translated' tattoos, as well, but they still ended up with complete gibberish.

I understand what you are trying to express from your explanation. But I would need to see the actual kanji before I could say whether or not you made a mistake.

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Additional note:

"When i say professionally translated i mean by a japanese teacher so i know what they mean but if you had been bothered to read the question you would have seen that was not what i was asking."

I guess this was directed at me. I did 'bother' to read your question. You asked 'What are your opinions of my tattoos?' How can I give you an opinion when you don't show me the actual characters?! You say they mean 'fate/destiny' and 'soul/spirit,' but I can think of four DIFFERENT kanji off the top of my head for EACH of the meanings you list! That's great that you got a Japanese teacher to translate for you, that was wise. But that fact still doesn't tell me WHICH kanji you chose. Do you expect us to read your mind? You asked for opinions about your tattoos. How do you expect anyone to give you a meaningful opinion when we don't know what the tattoo is? Or were you just looking for validation from anyone who would say that your tattoos are great even though they wouldn't have a clue as to what they actually are?

Answer 3

I have a Chinese tattoo, it means happiness and it meant a lot to me when I got it. I haven't had mine professionally translated, so I am not 100% sure that it really means happiness, but that doesn't really matter to me, it's about what the tattoo means to me, and the sentiment and underlying thoughts I had when I had it done.
I think it's rediculous for people to critisize having a tattoo in a language you don't speak, I think anyone should be able to go with whatever they like, feel comfortable with and that has a special meaning for them.

Answer 4

I think they sound very nice. Some people criticise other's on their own standards, and would probably criticise them even if they were in English. If any tattoo means something to you, then go for it regardless of symbol or meaning. At least you had them properly translated so you know you got the right meanings. I've got a tribal heart, others wear tribal tattoos but are we all members of a tribal culture?

Answer 5

They are awesome! I also have tattoos on my wrists with Chinese characters for Forgiveness and Grace. The reason I chose these is personal, but I get complimented on them a lot.

Answer 6

i have 3 tattoo's of chinese characters. i had them all translated from a chinese friend to makesure they said what i wanted. my husband and i both have the symbols for love and friendship on our wrists. its his only tattoo but i have 2 others. my tattoo's are very personal and mean something to me and i think thants what they should be, no one has a right to critisize, each to their own i say!

Answer 7

I think its a bit rediculous but who are we to criticise what you believe in I dont have any tattoos but plan to get one in the future of an aztec god I am of latin decent and feel that I should have something meaningful and part of my heritage.

Answer 8

I think your tattoos are perfect for you. They resemble what you believe. No one in their right minds should criticize you or your tattoos because they aren't from China or dont speak Chinese.

I for one think Chinese people are very cool :)

Answer 9

I don't think that it is a bad tattoo to have...but you do hear about a lot of people finding out that what you wanted the tattoo to mean isn't what it acutally says. =)

Answer 10

If they have meaning to you, who cares what anyone else thinks...that's why we get tatts in the first place because they speak to us, not to others. As a matter of fact I have Kanji tatts myself, and couldn't care less if others like them besides my son and wife because that's who they honor.