01
信仰→信念
The meaning shifts
“Faith” in yourself became religious faith. Apps pick one word; Japanese has several.
Kanji tattoo review
Before you ink it,
ask a Japanese typographer.
A wrong kanji tattoo is permanent. Send us the characters you plan to wear. A Japanese designer with 30 years in typography checks the meaning, the form and the size before the needle does.
Native check by a Japanese designer · Free during launch · Reply within 48 hours
The simplified Chinese form of “love” drops 心, the heart. In Japanese, love keeps its heart.
Five mistakes we see
on real skin.
None of them are rare. Most come from a translation app, a font file, or a sketch copied one too many times.
02
爱→愛
Chinese, not Japanese
Simplified Chinese forms slip in. To a Japanese reader, they look foreign.
03
→心Strokes lost in tracing
A hook or a dot disappears when a screen font is traced by hand. The character stops being a character.
04
気勇→勇気
Read in the wrong order
“Courage” flipped when a horizontal word was stacked vertically on the spine.
05
→
It looks like a menu
Correct, but set in a default screen font. Lettering should be drawn, not typed.
What translators won’t tell you
Small tattoos blur.
Complex kanji blur first.
Ink spreads under the skin over the years. A character with many strokes, worn small on a wrist, can close up into a dark smudge. We match the stroke count and the style to where you wear it and how large.
心
4 strokes · stays clear
龍
16 strokes · needs room
鬱
29 strokes · closes up
Top: day oneBottom: years later, worn small
Every week our designer creates a new kanji: first the design thinking, then the brush. Watch the hand before you trust it with yours.
Who checks your kanji
Kutouten（くとうてん）
A small Japanese design studio in Aomori, in northern Japan. Our designer has spent 30 years drawing Japanese letters for packaging, books and brands. Not a translator — a person who looks at how every stroke sits.
- iF Design Award
- Good Design Award
- Lahti International Poster Triennial — Selected
- Japan–Germany Calendar Exhibition — Silver Award
Awards received for our designer’s work
How it works
- 1
Send your kanji
Type the characters or upload your sketch. Tell us what it should mean, where it goes and how big.
- 2
Get a clear answer in 48 hours
Correct, or not — and why. If something is off, we show what to change. In plain English.
- 3
Hand your artist a file they can trust
Optional. Tattoo-ready lettering with correct strokes, ready to print as a stencil.
We design it.
You choose who inks it.
Every plan ends with something you can hand to the tattoo artist you trust.
NATIVE CHECK
$0, regularly $9.
LAUNCH SPECIAL · FIRST 20 REQUESTS
- One word or phrase
- Meaning, form and reading order
- Size and placement advice
- Answer by email in 48 hours
TATTOO-READY LETTERING
Recommended
$29
Native check included · Ready in 48 hours
- Your kanji set in 3 styles
- Vector file + print-ready stencil
- Size guide with the smallest safe size
- A meaning card to keep and share
HAND-BRUSHED
$89, regularly $149.
EARLY PRICE · FIRST 10 ORDERS
- Brushed by hand in our Aomori studio
- Shaped for your placement and size
- A video of your kanji being written
- One round of revisions
- Ready in 7 days
For your tattoo artist
Bring this file to the artist you trust.
We don’t arrange or recommend artists — that choice is yours. This is what you hand them.
HAND-BRUSHED
TATTOO-READY LETTERING
勇気Light
勇気Regular
勇気Bold
SIZE GUIDE
勇気2 cm
勇気4 cm
勇気6 cm
Smallest safe size: 4 cm per character
勇気
MEANING CARD
yūki — courage. The heart to act, even when afraid.
Questions
Are Japanese and Chinese characters the same?
Many look alike, but forms and meanings often differ. We check that yours reads naturally in Japanese.
Can I get my name in kanji?
Yes. Try the KANJI QUEST name finder, then send the result here and we’ll review it.
Can you check a full phrase or a proverb?
Yes. The free review covers one word or phrase. Each additional phrase is $9.
What if I’m not happy with the lettering?
Tattoo-ready lettering ($29): if you’re still not happy after one round of revisions, we’ll refund you in full. Hand-brushed ($89): full refund before we start brushing. Once brushing begins, one round of revisions is included, but no refund.
What if you can’t take on my request?
If we can’t take on your request, you get a full refund.
Can you recommend a tattoo artist?
No. Choose the artist whose work you love. We design the lettering and give you a file they can use.
Review my kanji
Reviewed by a native Japanese designer. Regularly $9 — free for the first 20 requests. We reply by email within 48 hours.
正 — correct, true.