Comments on: Oh. My. God. (Unbelievably bad kanji tattoos) http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/ Podcasts & Videocasts from an American salaryman. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:45:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Anonymous http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-22046 Anonymous Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:42:30 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-22046 hey there are good ones....ones that were made by people who can actually speak japanese and write kanji.....I've actually seen a couple that were successful in their kanji and its interpretation.... hey there are good ones….ones that were made by people who can actually speak japanese and write kanji…..I've actually seen a couple that were successful in their kanji and its interpretation….

]]> By: teddeler http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-21592 teddeler Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:41:56 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-21592 I am new to studying kanji but I actually see an intelligent joke in the tatoo in the picture above: 1st character (kanji) - "coin" 2nd (2 hiriganan characters) - boo-koo 3rd (hirigana) - 'A' 4th (kanji + 1 hirigana character) - "pain" + 'i' pronounced 'ee' 5th (kanji) - "romance" Now think boo-koo as in bookoo (buku) bucks - lots of money. And pain+ee = penny. And you get "Buku coins for a penny romance." Yes, if the maker wanted pure Japanese/Chinese then it's jibberish but I see a fairly witty wordplay in two languages (possibly three, I'm not sure of the origins of 'buku'). You might want to reserve judgement on the guy's intelligence (though possibly not on the guy's relationship to women). I am new to studying kanji but I actually see an intelligent joke in the tatoo in the picture above:

1st character (kanji) – "coin"
2nd (2 hiriganan characters) – boo-koo
3rd (hirigana) – 'A'
4th (kanji + 1 hirigana character) – "pain" + 'i' pronounced 'ee'
5th (kanji) – "romance"

Now think boo-koo as in bookoo (buku) bucks – lots of money.
And pain+ee = penny.

And you get "Buku coins for a penny romance."

Yes, if the maker wanted pure Japanese/Chinese then it's jibberish but I see a fairly witty wordplay in two languages (possibly three, I'm not sure of the origins of 'buku').

You might want to reserve judgement on the guy's intelligence (though possibly not on the guy's relationship to women).

]]> By: Kelley http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-21370 Kelley Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:41:58 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-21370 No Bob. The last character is not hen (変) it is koi (恋) which does mean love, but a different kind of love from the character ai. No Bob. The last character is not hen (変) it is koi (恋) which does mean love, but a different kind of love from the character ai.

]]> By: Bob http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-20789 Bob Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:00:16 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-20789 The last character "変" is hen, not ai ”愛” The last character "変" is hen, not ai ”愛”

]]> By: lip http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-19740 lip Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:10:11 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-19740 ur shit lad lol its gud lad ur shit lad lol its gud lad

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-18720 Anonymous Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:23:41 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-18720 [troll]its THEIR bodies, shut the FUCK up if you dont like it winin pussies [troll]its THEIR bodies, shut the FUCK up if you dont like it winin pussies

]]> By: Bill Chapman http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-16259 Bill Chapman Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:00:49 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-16259 Rich, My wife tells me that, even though all Chinese dialects use a common written language, they have different meanings (and of course, different pronunciations). So those tattoos may be correct in Cantonese or Mandarin or Taiwanese. Then, new words, such as computer, were derived differently due to cultural separation. For example, in Taiwan, the Mandarin for "computer" is a combination of "electric" and "calculator," but in China, the word is constructed from radicals meaning "electric" and "brain." -Bill Rich, My wife tells me that, even though all Chinese dialects use a common written language, they have different meanings (and of course, different pronunciations). So those tattoos may be correct in Cantonese or Mandarin or Taiwanese. Then, new words, such as computer, were derived differently due to cultural separation. For example, in Taiwan, the Mandarin for "computer" is a combination of "electric" and "calculator," but in China, the word is constructed from radicals meaning "electric" and "brain." -Bill

]]> By: Jesse http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-16257 Jesse Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:55:43 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-16257 Meaning tattoos like this are dumb, no matter what language you write them in. Meaning tattoos like this are dumb, no matter what language you write them in.

]]> By: Jesse http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-16256 Jesse Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:45:11 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-16256 Well it would look pretty retarded for you to get "fire" for instance tattooed on you back. I would assume that would be the same for a Japanese person to have tattooed on themselves in Kanji. Well it would look pretty retarded for you to get "fire" for instance tattooed on you back. I would assume that would be the same for a Japanese person to have tattooed on themselves in Kanji.

]]> By: Rich Pav http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15954 Rich Pav Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:31:56 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15954 @Mark: I was wondering the same thing. After seeing so many bad ones, I wonder what they look like when done right. Try <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=ja&safe=off&q=%E5%85%A5%E3%82%8C%E5%A2%A8&btnG=%E6%A4%9C%E7%B4%A2&lr=" rel="nofollow">this search</a> in Google on the Japanese word for tattoo. @Mark: I was wondering the same thing. After seeing so many bad ones, I wonder what they look like when done right. Try this search in Google on the Japanese word for tattoo.

]]> By: Mark http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15945 Mark Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:43:54 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15945 This is the opposite of the theme of this post, but has anybody seen similar websites that show tattoos that actually are true to their intended meanings? I always see the horrible ones, I wonder if anybody is actually getting them right. This is the opposite of the theme of this post, but has anybody seen similar websites that show tattoos that actually are true to their intended meanings? I always see the horrible ones, I wonder if anybody is actually getting them right.

]]> By: Rich Pav http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15922 Rich Pav Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:21:26 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15922 @Hage: You should see some of the other tattoos on that site. Many people have kanji written on themselves either upside-down or backwards, or written so poorly it looks like Klingon. I don't know if I'd be able to hide the look of horror if I met someone with a tattoo like that. I can't believe that rocket scientists and quantum physicists can be of the same species as the colossally stupid people who get these tats. The rift in intelligence between the two poles is just too great. If I were to go back to school, I think I'd learn how to do laser tattoo removal and retire very wealthy. It can't be that difficult. BTW, "abuku zeni" means "easy money," like lottery winnings or money given to you for free. http://zokugo-dict.com/01a/abukuzeni.htm @Hage: You should see some of the other tattoos on that site. Many people have kanji written on themselves either upside-down or backwards, or written so poorly it looks like Klingon. I don't know if I'd be able to hide the look of horror if I met someone with a tattoo like that. I can't believe that rocket scientists and quantum physicists can be of the same species as the colossally stupid people who get these tats. The rift in intelligence between the two poles is just too great.

If I were to go back to school, I think I'd learn how to do laser tattoo removal and retire very wealthy. It can't be that difficult.

BTW, "abuku zeni" means "easy money," like lottery winnings or money given to you for free.

http://zokugo-dict.com/01a/abukuzeni.htm

]]> By: Zaren http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15918 Zaren Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:06:49 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15918 Well, I did my research before commiting to ink, and then I only inked the back of a denim vest I wear :) (http://spielberg.grossman.com/~jschmidt/peace.jpg - just offering the link to an image, since I dunno if linking is allowed here) I was wearing it at a store in Indianapolis a few years ago, and one of the workers there, an elderly Japanese man, came walking down my aisle. He stopped, looked at my back, looked me over, and said "What's that say on your back?" I looked at him and said "As far as I know, it says 'peace'." He gave me a bit of a look with one squinted eye and said "And who told you that?" Suddenly feeling a bit concerned that I wrote something wrong, I explained that I researched the characters online, and found several places that referenced the same characters, so I hoped it was right... He paused for a few uncomfortable seconds, then grinned and said "Yep, that's exactly what is says!" He then turned and walked back down the aisle, chirping to himself - "Peace, huh? You no like war? Good, that's good..." I've got the katakana for my wife and kid's names painted onto the jean jacket I wear as well - no way I could get actual tats, so I went with the paint on my second skin. Well, I did my research before commiting to ink, and then I only inked the back of a denim vest I wear :)

(http://spielberg.grossman.com/~jschmidt/peace.jpg – just offering the link to an image, since I dunno if linking is allowed here)

I was wearing it at a store in Indianapolis a few years ago, and one of the workers there, an elderly Japanese man, came walking down my aisle. He stopped, looked at my back, looked me over, and said "What's that say on your back?"

I looked at him and said "As far as I know, it says 'peace'."

He gave me a bit of a look with one squinted eye and said "And who told you that?"

Suddenly feeling a bit concerned that I wrote something wrong, I explained that I researched the characters online, and found several places that referenced the same characters, so I hoped it was right…

He paused for a few uncomfortable seconds, then grinned and said "Yep, that's exactly what is says!" He then turned and walked back down the aisle, chirping to himself – "Peace, huh? You no like war? Good, that's good…"

I've got the katakana for my wife and kid's names painted onto the jean jacket I wear as well – no way I could get actual tats, so I went with the paint on my second skin.

]]> By: Hage http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15881 Hage Sun, 02 Sep 2007 22:20:46 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15881 I think he actually meant to use 泡　(abuku) with money to mean bubbling over with money... Maybe he was thinking it would be read bottom to top? Love hurts, but I am bubbling over with money??? Regardless it doesn't make sense.... I think he actually meant to use 泡　(abuku) with money to mean bubbling over with money… Maybe he was thinking it would be read bottom to top? Love hurts, but I am bubbling over with money??? Regardless it doesn't make sense….

]]> By: Ventura http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god-unbelievably-bad-kanji-tattoos/comment-page-1/#comment-15862 Ventura Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:25:40 +0000 http://www.herroflomjapan.com/2007/09/03/oh-my-god/#comment-15862 No comments.. No comments..

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