Saturday, July 12, 2008

Kanji And Stuff


This website does a good job of explaining the Chinese and Japanese symbols used in many modern tattoos. Many Westerners are intrigued by these Asian alphabets, and gladly wear tattoos with these symbols--even when the wearer doesn't really know what the symbols mean.

The author of the website, a Chinese woman who does tattooing, explains the intricasies of the Chinese and Japanese symbols and languages. In brief, the word kanji describes symbols in the Japanese alphabet which were adopted from Chinese symbols many centuries ago. The same symbol might be pronounced differently in the two languages. Or may have meaning in one, but not the other, language. The author of the website has a mild bias in favor of the Chinese use of the symbols, but I have the impression she would do a decent job if all you are interested in is the Japanese side of the story.

I do not know the author of the cited website and have never had contact with her. I get the impression she is quite thorough and careful. She certainly presents a great deal of complex information in a clear manner. If you are interested in using her services, please do thorough research on your own before making decisions. Ask around. Find out if she is really as good as the impression she makes on her website. Let me know your experiences with her.

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