Translating Japanese Symbols & Tattoos
Are you researching information on Japanese names or Japanese symbols? Maybe you are considering translating a Western name into Japanese kanji. It is so easy to get the WRONG Japanese symbols or get the wrong Kanji tattoo design if you are NOT a fluent speaker of Japanese.
As is the case for other transliterations, writing Japanese names in English poses several issues, mainly romanization and name order issues. Transliteration quite simply is the mapping from one system of writing into another. It attempts to be 'lossless' so that an educated reader can reconstruct the original spelling of unknown transliterated words.
Japanese names are usually written in kanj. Kanji's are literally Chinese characters used in Japanese and can be one of the five character sets used in the modern Japanese writing system, the other four being hiragana, katakana, the Roman alphabet (rômaji), and Arabic numerals. A name written in kanji may have more than one common pronunciation, only one of which is correct for a given individual.
Japanese symbols - Japanese kanjis - Japanese Symbols - Japanese Scripts - Japanese Characters
Sample of different Japanese symbols
An example of this is female names which often often end in the syllable ko, written with the kanji meaning "child". This was quite common up until the 1980s, and still continues. Male names occasionally end with the syllable ko, but very rarely using the kanji. If a male name ends in ko, it ends in hiko, using the kanji. Common male name endings are -shi and -o; names ending with -shi are often verbs.
Kanji names in Japan are governed by the government's rules on kanji use. As of 2004 there were officially 2,232 "name kanji" used in personal names, and the Japanese government plans to increase this list by 578 kanji. The reason for this is to ensure that names can be written and read by those literate in Japanese. There are also rules governing names considered to be inappropriate; for example, in 1993 two parents who tried to name their child Akuma (devil) were prohibited from doing so.
100% Accurate Japanese Symbols - Kanji Tattoo Design
Readings and Interpretations of Japanese Symbols
A kanji character may have several (in rare cases ten or more) possible pronunciations, depending on its context, intended meaning, use in compounds, and location in the sentence. These pronunciations, or readings, are typically categorized as either on'yomi or kun'yomi (often abbreviated on and kun).
On'yomi (Chinese reading)
The on'yomi of a kanji (also called its on reading or Chinese reading) is based on the Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced. Some kanji were reintroduced from different parts of China at different times, and so have multiple on'yomi (and often multiple meanings as well).
Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
The kun'yomi of a kanji (also called its kun reading, Japanese reading, or somewhat misleadingly its native reading) is a reading based on the pronunciation of a native Japanese word, or yamatokotoba, that closely approximated the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced. Again, there can be multiple kun readings for the same kanji, and some kanji have no kun'yomi at all.
To the non Japanese speaker all this information on Japanese symbols can seem very daunting. It is best to speak to a native speaker who is not just literate in Japanese but understands the difference between readings of kanjis and the different styles of Japanese symbols.
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/japanese-symbols.html
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Maori Tattoos
Ta moko - traditional tattoos of the Maori people
There has been a huge revival of traditional Maori tattoos, ta moko and other Maori cultural traditions. Since the cultural revival ta moko tattoo designs are becoming more and more what can be considered mainstream. A lot of non-Maori people are getting moko designs tattooed on their faces as well as other parts of their body, many of which have improper significance. Robbie Williams and Mike tyson have gotten Maori tattoos much to the annoyance of many Maoris.
Maori tattoos have been practiced for over a thousand years, and have not only withstood time and but also colonization by Europeans. Maoris are the original inhabitants of New Zealand, known to them as Aotearoa or the land of the long white cloud. Ta moko (literally meaning to strike or tap) was used as a form of identification, rank, genealogy, tribal history, eligibility to marry, and marks of beauty or ferocity.
Ta moko weren't merely tattooed upon their wearers; they were finely chiseled into the skin. The art preceded wood carvings, so accordingly the first of these wood carvings copied moko designs. Ta moko are most recognizably done on the face, although other parts of the body are also tattooed.
Tattoo by Inia of Moko Ink © Tao of Tattoos
Women were traditionally only allowed to be tattooed on their lips, around the chin, and sometimes the nostrils. A woman with full blue lips was seen as the "epitome of Maori female beauty." Men, on the other hand, were allowed to have a full facial moko. Those of higher rank, like chiefs and warriors, were usually the only ones who could afford it, but at the same time were the only ones who held a position that made them worthy of getting a moko in the first place.
The choosing of the design was not, however, an easy process. Unlike getting a mundane tattoo now, Maori tattoos took months of approval and planning on the part of the elders and other family members. First the elders decided whether one was worthy of receiving a moko. One of the questions they need answered with an unwavering yes was: "are they committed to wearing their tribal identity on their body for the rest of their life?" Then the design process would begin by taking into account the tribal history, which was the most important component of the moko.
However, the majority of people who are using Moko inspired designs didn’t take the time to learn anything about its origins or significance. It is understandable why some Maori are offended by the use of bits and pieces of their culture. Wouldn't you be upset too if someone copied something uniquely yours without your permission, didn’t know anything about its origin, and didn’t use it in the appropriate manner?
Hopefully, the Maori people will continue their efforts to keep this beautiful and interesting cultural art alive, the rest of the world can come to respect this sacred cultural ritual, and the two can come to an agreement about its use in today’s society.
Marilyn Manson Uncovered
Tattoos, Music, Self Mutilation
Marilyn Manson - Music, Tattoos, Satanism
In the Bible, the word Antichrist is only used as a description of people who don't believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is not described as one satanic entity - as the beast of Revelation which many people believe - but as a person, any person, who deviates from the Christian orthodoxy. But through years of myth-making and fear sowing, Christianity metamorphosed antichrists into a single Antichrist, an apocalyptic villain. After years I began to realize that the Antichrist is a character - a metaphor...The apocalypse doesn't have to be fire and brimstone. It could happen on a personal level.
- Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson is correct in this view even though he makes so many people feel uncomfortable. It would be too easy to agree with America's right wing and TV evangelists who have been decrying Manson's effect on America's young people since he debuted at number three on the pop charts with Antichrist Superstar in 1996 and went on to sell millions of albums, or to dismiss him as a Gothic rock icon who just sets out to shock.
Manson's art is a self-conscious satire on American culture, a country that aborts its own young by the tens of millions, a culture that doesn't care for its youth, youth who in turn do not care about anything. Manson has simply told the truth. In his own sick, twisted, ironic way, he has told the truth and has given millions of young people what they want: a New Age Messiah.
Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson grew up in Canton, Ohio, the son of Episcopalian parents. An early girlfriend's family were members of healing evangelist Rev. Earnest Angely's church where Warner attended services each week. He also attended Heritage Christian school in Canton. Manson tells of his sixth grade teacher, Ms. Price, warning him about the coming Antichrist, "If you do deny Christ and take this tattoo on your hand or forehead, you will be allowed to live. But you will have lost eternal life."
According to Manson - "It was then that I began having nightmares - nightmares that continue to this day. I was thoroughly terrified by the idea of the end of the world and the Antichrist. So I became obsessed with it, watching movies like The Exorcist and the Omen and reading prophetic books like Centuries by Nostradamus, 1984 by George Orwell and the novelized version of the film A Thief in the Night, which described very graphically people getting their heads cut off because they hadn't received 666 tattoos on their forehead.
Manson's describes himself as an adolescent "worm" with no self-esteem, surrounded by a thoroughly dysfunctional family, a cross-dressing grandfather, an alcoholic Agent-Orange affected Vietnam veteran father, and hypocritical emotionally abusive Christians at school and church.
Self-mutilation soon became a trademark of both Manson and his fans. Blood letting on stage and scarring of the skin and numerous tattoos of demonic figures began to appear on his body. Marilyn Manson is a rarity in the world of rock - an epistemologically consistent Satanist. "I believe I am God. I believe everyone is their own God. I dreamt I was the Antichrist, and I believe it."
What will the 21st century hold? Manson offers, "We can't go any further without starting over. It's like, what sexual positions are left, what other violence can you show, what other drugs can you do, what other things can get pierced? It's all been done. Sickly enough, maybe what America needs is for everyone to become a Christian so we can all be excited by the taboos once again."
The aspect of Manson's lyrics that offends most Christians is their brutal obscenity. We are also disturbed by the mirror reflection of the culture of death, his popularity with millions of youth. Yet these are not so frightening as the picture of where this generation of young people may be headed without Jesus Christ.
Parodying the storm that erupted amongst fundamentalist in the 60's when John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were "more popular than God," Manson mentions the success of Antichrist Superstar: "Now I was bigger than most of the musicians I used to idolize. To some people, I was even bigger than Satan."
"Each age has to have at least one brave individual that tried to bring an end to Christianity. No one has managed to succeed yet, but maybe through music we can do it" says Marilyn Manson.
Marilyn Manson - Music, Tattoos, Satanism
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/marilyn-manson.html
Marilyn Manson - Music, Tattoos, Satanism
In the Bible, the word Antichrist is only used as a description of people who don't believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is not described as one satanic entity - as the beast of Revelation which many people believe - but as a person, any person, who deviates from the Christian orthodoxy. But through years of myth-making and fear sowing, Christianity metamorphosed antichrists into a single Antichrist, an apocalyptic villain. After years I began to realize that the Antichrist is a character - a metaphor...The apocalypse doesn't have to be fire and brimstone. It could happen on a personal level.
- Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson is correct in this view even though he makes so many people feel uncomfortable. It would be too easy to agree with America's right wing and TV evangelists who have been decrying Manson's effect on America's young people since he debuted at number three on the pop charts with Antichrist Superstar in 1996 and went on to sell millions of albums, or to dismiss him as a Gothic rock icon who just sets out to shock.
Manson's art is a self-conscious satire on American culture, a country that aborts its own young by the tens of millions, a culture that doesn't care for its youth, youth who in turn do not care about anything. Manson has simply told the truth. In his own sick, twisted, ironic way, he has told the truth and has given millions of young people what they want: a New Age Messiah.
Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson grew up in Canton, Ohio, the son of Episcopalian parents. An early girlfriend's family were members of healing evangelist Rev. Earnest Angely's church where Warner attended services each week. He also attended Heritage Christian school in Canton. Manson tells of his sixth grade teacher, Ms. Price, warning him about the coming Antichrist, "If you do deny Christ and take this tattoo on your hand or forehead, you will be allowed to live. But you will have lost eternal life."
According to Manson - "It was then that I began having nightmares - nightmares that continue to this day. I was thoroughly terrified by the idea of the end of the world and the Antichrist. So I became obsessed with it, watching movies like The Exorcist and the Omen and reading prophetic books like Centuries by Nostradamus, 1984 by George Orwell and the novelized version of the film A Thief in the Night, which described very graphically people getting their heads cut off because they hadn't received 666 tattoos on their forehead.
Manson's describes himself as an adolescent "worm" with no self-esteem, surrounded by a thoroughly dysfunctional family, a cross-dressing grandfather, an alcoholic Agent-Orange affected Vietnam veteran father, and hypocritical emotionally abusive Christians at school and church.
Self-mutilation soon became a trademark of both Manson and his fans. Blood letting on stage and scarring of the skin and numerous tattoos of demonic figures began to appear on his body. Marilyn Manson is a rarity in the world of rock - an epistemologically consistent Satanist. "I believe I am God. I believe everyone is their own God. I dreamt I was the Antichrist, and I believe it."
What will the 21st century hold? Manson offers, "We can't go any further without starting over. It's like, what sexual positions are left, what other violence can you show, what other drugs can you do, what other things can get pierced? It's all been done. Sickly enough, maybe what America needs is for everyone to become a Christian so we can all be excited by the taboos once again."
The aspect of Manson's lyrics that offends most Christians is their brutal obscenity. We are also disturbed by the mirror reflection of the culture of death, his popularity with millions of youth. Yet these are not so frightening as the picture of where this generation of young people may be headed without Jesus Christ.
Parodying the storm that erupted amongst fundamentalist in the 60's when John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were "more popular than God," Manson mentions the success of Antichrist Superstar: "Now I was bigger than most of the musicians I used to idolize. To some people, I was even bigger than Satan."
"Each age has to have at least one brave individual that tried to bring an end to Christianity. No one has managed to succeed yet, but maybe through music we can do it" says Marilyn Manson.
Marilyn Manson - Music, Tattoos, Satanism
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/marilyn-manson.html
Religious Tattoos
Celtic Cross Tattoos to Sacred Hearts
Religious tattoos have been around for thousands of years but they haven't always been accepted as they are nowadays. During the Roman Empire the practice of tattooing was almost eradicated in so called civilized culture. Barbarians were the only ones that had tattoos, and to be seen with a tattoo was an offence punishable by death.The Romans believed that the body was to remain in its purest form and tattoos had no place in this belief. Roman soldiers came across many tattooed barbarians in the expansion of the Roman Empire and as a result soldiers began bringing tattoos back into the civilised world.
View More Religious Tattoos Here >>
As Christianity emerged it brought with it the secrecy of an underground religion in a Roman state of intolerance. Christians began tattooing crosses on the underside of their forearms as a secret sign to other Christians. This was a bold statement of their faith, although secret, a Christian caught with a cross tattoo would be killed immediately.
Throughtout history it has become commonplace for tattooed individuals to be set apart or outside society. But times have changed. There is a new breed of modified bodies who call themselves evangelical Christians. More than a millennium after church authorities condemned tattooing as a sin, evangelical Christians are inking their bodies with images of crosses, sacred hearts and angels.
For a small but growing subculture within evangelical Christianity, religious tattooing is becoming more and more a form of expression of individuality, identity and faith. Abiding by the principle that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, conservative Christian churches have often set limits on bodily expressions. As far as tattoos go, the Bible has different decrees open to different interpretation.
For example Leviticus says:
nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
In his Letter to the Galatians, Apostle Paul says,
because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus
Other biblical passages from Exodus to Revelation describe divine symbols being placed on the bodies of believers. Since the Emperor Constantine banned the practice in the third century because it violated God's teachings, attempts by religious authorities to prohibit tattooing have met with limited success.
Fast foward to modern times and witness the surge in people getting religious tattoos. Instead of worshipping religious representations displayed on stained glass windows of the local church, people find meaning in inscribing images on their own private temple of the Holy Spirit.
A lot of Christians and non Christians are getting tattooed for both personal and spiritual reasons from getting angel tattoos, Celtic cross tattoos to Mexican gang tattoos or prison style tattoos with the image of the Virgin Mary or praying hands. Or even religous imagery used in the new school style of tattoos that shows the Sacred Heart or other religious representations. There is no doubt that religious style tattoos are here to stay.
Placement of Religious Tattoos
Most people get religous tattoos such as the Virgin Mary or Sacred Heart on their upper arms or chest for both males and females. Another popular style is a Celtic Cross tattoo either on the chest or on the back.
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/religious-tattoos.html
Tattoo Art & Tattoo Flash
Searching for Tattoo Art or Tattoo Flash?
Are you scouring the internet looking for tattoo art? Finding the right designs can be an experience. Anyone who is seriously into tattoos will tell you how long it takes to choose the right one. After all they should last a lifetime so are not something to be rushed. It can take up to 20-30 hours to find the right tattoo design. But that is only the first step.
If you are serious you will want to have something that is unique and not taken from a book or or copied from a picture in a tattoo gallery. A tattoo should speak about who you are and not be ripped off someone else. Not only that but a lot of artists will refuse to copy another artists work. And quite rightly. While you can be done for copyright infringement for copying another person's work in other mediums the same rules don't seem to apply to tattoo art.
So how do you come up with original designs?
If you are like me you have looked at literally thousands of tattoo pictures and from different artists from around the world. Or maybe you keep visiting your local tattoo studio and have started getting dirty looks from the tattoo artist who thinks you are stalking him because you go there every weekend and still haven't chosen a tattoo!
There are so many different styles so you need to be really clear about what you want before you get inked. It is a good idea ot visualize the type of tattoo you want before you even get it. You need to be able to see yourself with a particular tattoo before you get it. If is a tribal tattoo on your arm imagine yourself walking down the street with the tattoo for all the world to see.
Next view some examples of different styles that you like. So if it is tribal tattoos source pictures of a particular tattoo style. If it is work from another artist do not take it to your nearest tattoo studio and ask for it to be copied onto you. Tell the tattoo artist that you like that particular style and would like a tattoo designed for YOU. This is where the visualisation exercise comes into play. Tattoo artists are very visual people and are highly talented at rendering an nebulous idea into a full on customized tattoo.
Think of the bigger picture. Don't be tempted to choose some generic tattoo flash off the wall because you can't make up your mind. Don't settle for something less if you cannot afford the one you really want. Tattoos are organic and are constantly changing and growing with you. Avoid painful mistakes!
Tattoos and tattoo flash from around the world are contained in this new ebook
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/tattoo-art.html
Are you scouring the internet looking for tattoo art? Finding the right designs can be an experience. Anyone who is seriously into tattoos will tell you how long it takes to choose the right one. After all they should last a lifetime so are not something to be rushed. It can take up to 20-30 hours to find the right tattoo design. But that is only the first step.
If you are serious you will want to have something that is unique and not taken from a book or or copied from a picture in a tattoo gallery. A tattoo should speak about who you are and not be ripped off someone else. Not only that but a lot of artists will refuse to copy another artists work. And quite rightly. While you can be done for copyright infringement for copying another person's work in other mediums the same rules don't seem to apply to tattoo art.
So how do you come up with original designs?
If you are like me you have looked at literally thousands of tattoo pictures and from different artists from around the world. Or maybe you keep visiting your local tattoo studio and have started getting dirty looks from the tattoo artist who thinks you are stalking him because you go there every weekend and still haven't chosen a tattoo!
There are so many different styles so you need to be really clear about what you want before you get inked. It is a good idea ot visualize the type of tattoo you want before you even get it. You need to be able to see yourself with a particular tattoo before you get it. If is a tribal tattoo on your arm imagine yourself walking down the street with the tattoo for all the world to see.
Next view some examples of different styles that you like. So if it is tribal tattoos source pictures of a particular tattoo style. If it is work from another artist do not take it to your nearest tattoo studio and ask for it to be copied onto you. Tell the tattoo artist that you like that particular style and would like a tattoo designed for YOU. This is where the visualisation exercise comes into play. Tattoo artists are very visual people and are highly talented at rendering an nebulous idea into a full on customized tattoo.
Think of the bigger picture. Don't be tempted to choose some generic tattoo flash off the wall because you can't make up your mind. Don't settle for something less if you cannot afford the one you really want. Tattoos are organic and are constantly changing and growing with you. Avoid painful mistakes!
Tattoos and tattoo flash from around the world are contained in this new ebook
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/tattoo-art.html
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