Before You Get a Kanji Tattoo: A 9-Point Checklist

Nazuke guide · Updated October 2026

A kanji tattoo lasts for life, and small mistakes, like a missing stroke or characters in the wrong order, are easy to make and hard to fix. Run through this list before your appointment.

1. Decide what you want it to say. Your name in katakana (マイケル) is what Japanese people will read as “Michael”. Your name in kanji (舞慧瑠) will be read as its meanings: “dance”, “insight”, “lapis lazuli”. A single word like 勇 (courage) is a third option. Know which one you are choosing.
2. Know what every character means, alone and together. Look up each kanji on its own and check that the combination does not form an unintended word. Every Nazuke result lists the meaning of each character, and links to a full page for it.
3. Ask a native speaker. Show the design to someone who reads Japanese, ideally before the artist starts drawing. Ask them what they read and how it feels, not just whether it is “correct”.
4. Pick a direction and keep it. Japanese can be written vertically (top to bottom) or horizontally (left to right). Vertical feels traditional and suits the spine, arm or ribs. Never mirror the characters or reverse the order to fit a placement.
5. Choose a lettering style on purpose. Mincho is the clean printed style of books. Brush (calligraphy) style is more expressive but harder to read. Avoid “Asian-looking” novelty fonts: Japanese readers find them odd.
6. Use Japanese forms, not Chinese ones. Some characters are written differently in Japan and in mainland China. Cherry blossom is 桜 in Japanese but 樱 in simplified Chinese. If your design came from a Chinese source, double-check each character.
7. Give the strokes room. Ink spreads over the years. A character with many strokes needs more space than a simple one, so do not shrink a dense design. If it must be small, choose characters with fewer strokes. Nazuke shows the stroke count for every character.
8. Bring a clean stencil. Do not let the artist copy from a phone screenshot or redraw from memory. Bring a large, sharp print of the exact characters so every stroke is clear.
9. Check the stencil on your skin. Before the needle touches you, check the transfer on your skin (use a hand mirror for your back) and compare it stroke by stroke with the original. A reversed or missing stroke is easy to spot at this stage.

Example names and what their kanji mean

Not sure between katakana and kanji? Read katakana or kanji? first.

Write your name in kanji →