Your Name in Kanji: How a Japanese Calligrapher Chooses the Characters
Want your name in kanji? A Japanese calligrapher explains ateji honestly: how characters are chosen by sound or meaning, what to avoid, and when kanji is not the answer.
Names & Tattoos
名 na · name
Your name in Japanese and a kanji on your skin have one thing in common: they are personal, and they are easy to get subtly wrong. These guides show how names are really written in Japan and how to choose, check and prepare a kanji before it becomes permanent.
The Complete Guide to Kanji Tattoos: Get One Right (2026)
Most kanji tattoos are subtly wrong in ways their owners never learn. A Japanese calligrapher's complete guide to choosing, writing, and getting a kanji tattoo right.
How to Write Your Name in Japanese (Katakana Guide)
Your name in Japanese is written in katakana by sound, not kanji by meaning. How the conversion really works, and the mistakes that trip everyone up.
Kanji people often choose for tattoos
Each page includes what to check before the character goes on a gift or on your skin.