Baka Gaijin needs help with kanji tattoo....

[Bl4cK32]

Howdy to all those in Japan

I need some help with a tattoo idea....yes you say, another stupid round eye with kanji symbols....

Anyway...after reading numerous articles on deciding what i want...i need to take the obvious things into consideration, and need some help with design (sorry, for better explanation lets say proper stroke technique, and font of the characters)

Soo....I wanted some help to make sure it reads as i intend it to...

The words i need translated are "inner strength"

It doesnt matter which of the three writing systems is used...just comes down to translation, and what looks the best

So if any of you could have the words "inner strength" written down for me it'd be great

check out this link : http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20031006.html

I like the baka gaijin one too...lol, but would like mine written like the one pictured that reads "modified soul". If any of you guys in japan know any links to better types of fonts, let me know too....

Thanks for your time

[Rezz]

Disclaimer: I hold absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY for any misinterpretation, either through the kanji posted below, or through using the kanji as a guide. Use the following kanji at your own risk (of looking like a jackass). By reading my post, you have agreed to the above disclaimer, and will not take any action against me due to any unforseen circumstances.

"Inner Strength":

:D:D

In the words of the honourable Keanu Reeves "Don't do it"...

[Bl4cK32]

cheers Rezz

I know, its always the same thing. If you do some research, everyone who knows the language says the same....

I always liked the ink paintings...might have to get a small one done of the tsunami waves drawn japanese style.....U know the ones i mean?

Getting a dragon done too.....should scrap the lot and get the Baka Gaijin one done...tell everyone it means "What happens when you want to have a Japanese style tattoo, but everyone tells you what it will look like"

[Rezz]

I always liked the ink paintings...might have to get a small one done of the tsunami waves drawn japanese style.....U know the ones i mean?

This one?

[Bl4cK32]

yup only want a small scaled down one of the crest of the wave..sort of a chopped down version.

How hard is it for a gaijin to get irezumi done?....id imagine fairly hard....

[Rezz]

How hard is it for a gaijin to get irezumi done?....id imagine fairly hard....

Ask DaiOni, I believe he 's had one done.

[Bl4cK32]

cool...ill sit back till hes online...

[DaiOni]

it's funny you should post that tsunami print (which is by hokusai, btw) - I toyed with the idea of using that as the background for an upper arm sleeve - didn't end up going that far though (kinda wish I did)

if you want some real japanese work done - I can hook you up if you are willing to come all the way here!

I can see why rezz added that disclaimer - japanese is a language that relies heavily on context - if I saw that on you, I'd interpret it directly as 'inner self's strength' - which would make me think WTF? But that's partly because I've seen more than a few dopey kanji on gaijin (some hilarious ones, actually)

If I were you, I would look for something with similar meaning (to you), but which could be expressed in a single kanji (though nothing springs to mind). Thanks for posting that btw, rezz, nice to learn a little new vocab (inner self - naimen)

I actually considered a kanji tattoo - and went through about 800 kanji trying to find something that I could relate to (failed!) - but was finally discouraged when my tattoo artist told me that kanji tattoos are seen as a little silly in japan - of course, they love seeing all the gaijin who have complete babble carved into them. On the flipside, if you go through the tattoo mags here, they are full of baka nihonjin with really bad engrish tattoos

tibetan kanji is quite popular here atm too (not sure what the tibetans think!)

I will get a small section of kanji done before I leave - but not now - don't want any of the locals laughing at me!

[Bl4cK32]

lol....yeah i have noticed that alot. Hence why this thread started. I dont want to end up with a few characters strung together that can be taken out of context...but as you know, its hard to settle on something

Maybe instead of going for two words that requires multiple symbols...go for something like a single word...like peace? (I dont know if this still requires one or two symbols)

I have seen very funny examples of pieces gone wrong....inlcuding one that was inked on in reverse

Going for the one below on the left lower leg on the outside. Wanted something smaller like kanji...or the tsunami crests on the right forearm.....

I am planning on coming to Japan in the near future, so will look forward to a take home souvenier Might hold off on the kanji till then too

[DaiOni]

peace ('heiwa') is two kanji - but they're instantly recognisable - I think the meaning would be obvious

I quite like the kanji, too

[DaiOni]

btw, the guy I know does fantastic traditional dragons - he did one of the nicest dragon tattoos I've ever seen (and it was on a gaijin) - including a section near the tail which had an amazingly intricate temple (sorry, don't have a pic - should have taken one though)

like any tattooist here, his main source of income is via the yakuza - so he is a master of all the favourites - dragons, carp (+carp turning into dragons - which is how the story goes...), cherry blossums, geisha, and so on

does a pretty good oni too

[Rezz]

Yeah, the dragons are cool... there are no hidden meanings and most people would consider it art. If you really wanted to get a kanji done, yep I agree, go for a single kanji with a general meaning. Looking through that link in your first post Bl4ck32, theres a pic of a guy who got "Mike" (in katakana) on his arm... I can imagine the conversation now:

"So what does that say?"

"It says 'Mike'... I'm 'Mike'..."

[sarcasm]"Oh thats cool."[/sarcasm]

[DaiOni]

my tattoo artist has been to quite a few conventions overseas - he told me a story about one guy he met who had a kanji tattoo - he had to sadly inform the guy that the meaning of the kanji wasn't quite what he may have thought it was (can't remember the exact kanji, but it roughly translated to 'menopause' or something similar!)

[(B1) MR_fanny]

reading this thread makes me wanna get a tat from ur tatoo guy daoini. does he have any cool horse tattoos or horse that turns into a dragon tatoo?

its the same with people getting chinese characters too. just make sure u dont end up with something funny like "miso soup"...LOL:D:D

[DaiOni]

He could do whatever you wanted - my design is primarily based on a noren (curtain!) that a friend had in his house. I took a pic of that, along with some pics I had of local demon drummers - he whipped me up a sketch, then that got carved into my arm with big frickin' needles

I wanted something unique, though. If you didn't want to do that, or make your own sketch, there are plenty of traditional images to choose from

[Bl4cK32]

Could you do me a favour DaiOni...other than the one you have already helped me with?

I just want to find out if that dragon i chose is a true "Japanese style" dragon....dont wanna end up with a Chinese dragon and Japanese kanji ....oh and the kanji for dragon dont ask much do i

Last thing...I like the dragon pic i chose because it doesnt have any major detail in the body...kind of relies on the skeleton pattern of the dragon itself to make the pic. Could you see if your tattoo guy has anything similar for me?

Hard to find a design you want on the net, then get it printed out...if you know what i mean.

I will take you up on the offer though...Im most probably coming there in the next year or so

[Bl4cK32]

Just thought id show an example of a good piece done, and the same piece done, but a poorer quality....

I would be extremely dissappionted if i had the one done in the second pic. Notice the lack of car taken just behind the head, and down near the end of the tail. Compare it to the first...much more nicely inked. Might even get the tail bits done in red.

Trouble is when you start looking....you find more options like the third one pictured.

So Rezz....gunna get jabbed while your over there

Cheers to both of you for helpin me out to. I wanna get it done right, and didnt know who else to ask, but the SAU correspondants When i come over, ill take you both out for a night on the saki

[Bl4cK32]

Is it this one?....can the characters be written one on top the other?...or is their a single kanji for it too?

[Sciby]

In the words of the honourable Keanu Reeves "Don't do it"...

Or in the words of the honourable Christopher Reeves, "Hey, let's go horse riding!"...

[Sciby]

Just a sidestep about tatts... here's some dragons from Denmark (This guy is talented):

http://www.tattoo.dk/colins/ecolin_ramme.htm

I'm 1/2 danish, so I've been wanting to get over there and get that guy to do a nice back piece. Yay for not having the money to travel. Will have to get a jap one done as well... maybe have jap and danish dragons intertwined on my back.