Hello!
I would like to tattoo the following characters:
https://preview.redd.it/9e5erc1dxkt91.png?width=208&format=png&auto=webp&s=b68e3a5919f6805269444a35dd486c2725d7b4a0
As far as I know they mean “Fly!” (the imperative), but can also mean “Hop!”, “Bounce!” or “Jump!”.
​
I know that there are some stylized versions of the same characters, like this for example:
https://preview.redd.it/w242nx58ykt91.png?width=152&format=png&auto=webp&s=e763601fb3fd2b0207cbe3ed6b71e52bb314ef0b
I’ve shown this to a japanese friend, because I was not sure if that is still “correct”. He said it is risky, because it looks like a child drew it and could be considered rude by some japanese people.
So my question is: Are there ways to stylize kanjis without ruining the meaning or making them look stupid to japanese people? In western languages it is quite usual that there are different “fonts” and thus different ways to write a character. Are there similar fonts for japanese characters?
5 comments
>In western languages it is quite usual that there are different “fonts”
You wouldn’t get a tattoo in Comic Sans though, right ?
You’re correct in that you can stylise kanji, hiragana and katakana (other Japanese characters like your べ). Just google Japanese business names or adverts and you’ll see TONS. But they have to have an actual style. The picture you have shown doesn’t really have a style, it really does just look badly written. You can easily go for a simple style ‘font’ just…not this.
really? A tattoo that says jump? does not seem cool in any language to be totally honest.
Do you mean that what you show here, the second photo, is ‘stylized’ kanji? I am not sure what this style is. Yes, it looks like a child’s writing. What kind of style are you looking for? Can you find an equivalent English font?
There are many stylized Japanese fonts, of course. Sorry but I am not clear on what you are asking, but of course MS Gothic is close. 飛べ？
Doesn’t 飛べ sometimes get used in a similar tone as an angry “get out”?
Japan has collectively put a lot of thought into what “good handwriting” looks like – there are lots of principles to follow and a general aesthetic sense of what works and what doesn’t. I have zero ability to give advice on that – you should find a Japanese person who has studied calligraphy (“shodo”) and get them to design you something, or study the principles of this for yourself.