Name Written in Chinese / Japanese...

天照大神 is the Japanese Shinto deity often referred to as the Sun Goddess.

The full name is often romanized as Amaterasu Oomikami/Omikami.
Sometimes also written as 天照大御神 (just the addition of 御 near the end) or 天照皇大神 (with 皇 added in the middle).

艾福洛迪特 is one of a couple of ways the name Aphrodite, Goddess of Love is written in Chinese characters.

孫子兵法 is the full title of the most famous book of military proverbs about warfare.

The English title is “Sun Tzu's The Art of War.”

The last two characters have come to be known in the west as “The Art of War,” but a better translation would be “military strategy and tactics,” “military skills” or “army procedures.”

Note: Sometimes the author's name is Romanized as “Sun Zi” or “Sunzi.”

It's written the same in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.

See Also:  Military | Warrior

梓香 is the Japanese female given name Azuka.

Sometimes this name is written in Hiragana form, as あずか.

万歲 is the modern Japanese way to write banzai.

We've made two almost identical entries for this word, with just a variation on the first character. In the last century, 萬 was simplified to 万 in Japan and China. The new generation will expect it to be written as 万 but the old generation can still read the more traditional 萬 form. You must make your determination as to what version is best for you. If your audience is mostly Japanese, I suggest 万歲.

While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.

Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. This is what all of the people would yell to their leader in respect.

So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.

To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.

Other translations: hurrah, long life, congratulations, cheers, live long.

Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other. Further, Bonzai is not a word at all - although it would make a great name for a calcium supplement for older people.

巴里 is the name Barrie transliterated to Mandarin Chinese.

In a bit of a twist, this is how Paris (as in Paris, France) is written in Japanese.

美 is often used to describe the beauty of a woman.

However, when applied to a man, it can mean handsome. It's also the first character in the word for “beauty salon” which you will see all over China and Japan.

This can be used as the given name for a girl (spell it or say it as “Mei” or “May”).

For a bit of trivia: The title for the “USA” in Chinese is “Mei Guo” which literally means “Beautiful Country.” This name was bestowed at a time before Chairman Mao came to power and decided that China didn't like the USA anymore (even though we fought together against the Japanese in WWII). But these days, Chinese people love Americans (but have a distaste for American politics and policy). But I digress...

美 is also how “Beautiful” is written in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja. 美 can also mean: very satisfactory; good; to be pleased with oneself; abbreviation for the USA; fine; handsome; admirable; madhura; sweet; and/or pleasant.

See Also:  Beautiful Woman | Beautiful Girl

身土不二 (Shindofuni) is originally a Buddhist concept or proverb referring to the inseparability of body-mind and geographical circumstances.

This reads, “Body [and] earth [are] not two.”

Other translations or matching ideas include:
Body and land are one.
Body and earth can not be separated.
Body earth sensory curation.
You are what you eat.
Indivisibility of the body and the land (because the body is made from food and food is made from the land).

Going further, this speaks of our human bodies and the land from which we get our food being closely connected. This phrase is often used when talking about natural and organic vegetables coming directly from the farm to provide the healthiest foods in Japan.

Character notes: 身(shin) in this context does not just mean your physical body but a concept including both body and mind.
土 (do) refers to the soil, earth, clay, land, or in some cases, locality. It's not the proper name of Earth, the planet. However, it can refer to the land or realm we live in.

Japanese note: This has been used in Japan, on and off, since 1907 as a slogan for a governmental healthy eating campaign (usually pronounced as shindofuji instead of the original shindofuni in this context). It may have been hijacked from Buddhism for this propaganda purpose, but at least this is “healthy propaganda.”

Korean note: The phrase 身土不二 was in use by 1610 A.D. in Korea, where it can be found in an early medical journal.
In modern South Korea, it's written in Hangul as 신토불이. Korea used Chinese characters (same source as Japanese Kanji) as their only written standard form of the language until about a hundred years ago. Therefore, many Koreans will recognize this as a native phrase and concept.

See Also:  Strength and Love in Unity

ボッシュ is the name Bosch written in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

無事 is a Zen Buddhist term meaning no problem and no trouble.

無事 is the Zen state of perfect freedom from troubles and leaving secular affairs behind.

Sometimes this is used to describe the state of satori and complete tranquility of mind.

Written as 無事に with an extra Hiragana at the end, this becomes an adverb to describe something in the condition of safety, peace, quietness, and without troubles.

無事 (Buji) can also be a given name in Japan.

This has more meaning in the Japanese Zen Buddhist community than in China or Korea, where it can mean “be free” or “nothing to do or worry about.”

切格瓦拉 is the name “Che Guevara,” as written (transliterated) in Mandarin Chinese.

Once revered by Chinese people as a Socialist rebel, he's now just a historical figure that school children briefly learn about in China.

切格瓦拉 is because China used to be a truly-Communist/Socialist nation, and thus, other Communists and Socialists were heroes.

In modern China, with its free-market economy, those former heroes fade a little.

We are not offering the “Che” character alone, as few would associate it with Che Guevara, so you need the full name to be clear (minus Ernesto, which is his real first name).

周 originally represents the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) of ancient China.

It has become a surname in China that romanizes as Zhou from Mandarin, Chou in Taiwan, and often written as Chow from Cantonese.

The actual meaning is circle, circumference, lap, cycle, all, thorough, or perimeter. It is used in Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja with that meaning - though it can also be used as a name in those languages as well.

呉爾羅 was one of the original ways that Godzilla was written in Japanese Kanji.

However, the characters are used for their phonetic value rather than meaning. Later, Godzilla was written in Katakana (a specifically-phonetic character set in Japan) as ゴジラ. Either way that romanizes as Gojira. The name or title Godzilla is really the English version.

草 means grass or straw in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

Depending on the context, this can also mean a manuscript, draft (of a document), or rough copy. In the botany context, it can also refer to weeds, herbs, thatch, or plants.

草 is also the first character of caoshu or sōsho, the Chinese and Japanese wild cursive script style of calligraphy.

Sometimes written in variant form 艸.

This can be the surname Sou/Sō, or the given name Kusa in Japanese (there are also other romanizations for this Kanji).

This is the Japanese given name 独 which romanizes as Hitori or Doku.

Originally this was written as 獨 but was simplified/modernized in Japan at some point.

独 can also be an abbreviation for Germany.

The actual meaning is alone, independent, single, sole, only, or solitary.

This is also a Simplified Chinese character, but most Chinese calligraphers would prefer to write the Traditional Chinese of 獨 instead of 独.

本田 is the Japanese name, Honda, which is both a surname and the car company.

However, the full name of the Honda Motor Corporation is 本田技研工業株式会社. The short version is 本田技研工業. The two Kanji, 本田, would be the shortest way to write Honda, but it can be confused with other Honda names (surnames and given names).

本田 also be pronounced Motoda, Honden, or Honta (various surnames in Japan written the same way, but pronounced differently).

Technically, the word honda means rice paddy.

耶和華 is the Mandarin Chinese name for Jehovah.

This is the biblical name for God. Originally this was YHWH or Yahweh from Hebrew, although Yahweh is usually written 雅威 (Ya-wei) in Mandarin. Also, this is not the same as God which is 上帝 (Shang-di).

This is a Japanese personal name that romanizes as Kakeru.

駆 actually means “gallop,” and was formerly written as 驅 from original Chinese.

This is the most common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Kaylee.

Note: You will also see this written in the Simplified Chinese way as 凯丽.

基圖 is the name Kittu in Chinese (Mandarin).

It can also be written as 基图.

高知 is the Japanese place name, Kouchi or Kochi, a prefecture of Japan in the Shikoku region.

Often written as 高知県 (Kochiken). The added character, 県, or “ken,” just means prefecture.

來 means to come or to arrive.

In Japanese, this can be the female given name Rai or the surnames Takagi or Kuru (and a few other rare names). Often written 来 instead of the original 來 in modern Japanese.

In the Buddhist context, this can mean the coming or refer to the future.

雌獅 is how to write “lioness” in Chinese.

Note: 雌獅 is not a very common title for a wall scroll in China. Perhaps because lions are not indigenous to China. Though oddly enough, the rarity of lions made them very prized - and lion dances are a popular festival attraction.
If you see the name of this animal species written on a wall scroll, it's more likely to be the masculine form of “lion.”

This is the Japanese name for the Chinese island of Macao (also sometimes written as Macau).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

See Also:  China | Hong Kong | Taiwan | Asia

This is a common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Maine.

This is also how the state of Maine in the USA is written in Mandarin.

マルコ is another way to write Mark in Katakana (phonetic Japanese).

This is often the way the book of Mark is written when referring to the Japanese Bible. This version is also sometimes used for the name Marco.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

念 is the simplest way to write “mindfulness” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

念 can be defined these ways: To read; to study (a degree course); to read aloud; to miss somebody (keeping them in your mind); idea; remembrance; sense; thought; feeling; desire; concern; attention; recollection; memory; to think on/about; reflect; repeat, intone; a moment.

Obviously, the context in which the character is used determines which definition or meaning is perceived. As a single character, it's open and perhaps ambiguous. Thus, it can be read with any or all of these meanings.

念 is used in a Buddhist context (often written as 正念 or “right mindfulness”) with similar meanings of thought and contemplation.

In Japanese, this character is sometimes used as the name “Nen.”

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment

This poem was written almost 1200 years ago during the Tang dynasty.

It depicts traveling up a place known as Cold Mountain, where some hearty people have built their homes. The traveler is overwhelmed by the beauty of the turning leaves of the maple forest that surrounds him just as night overtakes the day, and darkness prevails. His heart implores him to stop, and take in all of the beauty around him.

First, before you get to the full translation, I must tell you that Chinese poetry is a lot different than what we have in the west. Chinese words simply don't rhyme in the same way that English or other western languages do. Chinese poetry depends on rhythm and a certain beat of repeated numbers of characters.

I have done my best to translate this poem keeping a certain feel of the original poet. But some of the original beauty of the poem in its original Chinese will be lost in translation.

Far away on Cold Mountain, a stone path leads upwards.
Among white clouds, people's homes reside.
Stopping my carriage I must, as to admire the maple forest at nights fall.
In awe of autumn leaves showing more red than even flowers of early spring.

Hopefully, this poem will remind you to stop, and “take it all in” as you travel through life.
The poet's name is “Du Mu” in Chinese that is: .
The title of the poem, “Mountain Travels” is:
You can have the title, poet's name, and even “Tang Dynasty” written as an inscription on your custom wall scroll if you like.

More about the poet:

Dumu lived from 803-852 AD and was a leading Chinese poet during the later part of the Tang dynasty.
He was born in Chang'an, a city in central China and the former capital of the ancient Chinese empire in 221-206 BC. In present-day China, his birthplace is currently known as Xi'an, the home of the Terracotta Soldiers.

He was awarded his Jinshi degree (an exam administered by the emperor's court which leads to becoming an official of the court) at the age of 25 and went on to hold many official positions over the years. However, he never achieved a high rank, apparently because of some disputes between various factions, and his family's criticism of the government. His last post in the court was his appointment to the office of Secretariat Drafter.

During his life, he wrote scores of narrative poems, as well as a commentary on the Art of War and many letters of advice to high officials.

His poems were often very realistic and often depicted everyday life. He wrote poems about everything, from drinking beer in a tavern to weepy poems about lost love.

The thing that strikes you most is the fact even after 1200 years, not much has changed about the beauty of nature, toils, and troubles of love and beer drinking.

ニクソン is the name Nixon written in Japanese Katakana (phonetic Japanese).

This name is a bit ambiguous in Japan, as there is a Nixon wristwatch company that is more popular than the president ever was.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

諾福克島 is the Chinese name for Norfolk Island.

Note: Sometimes written with one more character that means “ocean” making it Norfolk Ocean Island in Chinese.

See Also:  Oceania

This is a Japanese personal name, Rago.

The meaning can be the intersection of the Moon's orbit with the ecliptic in Vedic astronomy (from Sanskrit Rāhu). In Buddhist context, this can be, “the demon who is supposed to seize the sun and moon and thus cause eclipses.”

This is a variant of the Chinese 羅睺. It can also be written 羅護 or 羅虎. If you need the more ancient Chinese version, just let me know.

里加 is the Chinese title for the name Riga.

This is also the way Riga, the capital of Latvia is written in Chinese.

In Japanese, these same characters can be Japanese female names pronounced Rika or Mika.

リガ is the name Riga, or the town Riga in Latvia, written in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

ロバートスン is the name Robertson written in Japanese Katakana (phonetic Japanese).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

シュミット is the name Schmidt written in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

I like this version of Shaw written in Katakana (phonetic Japanese) because it sounds more like the name when pronounced in English.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

ソヌー is the name Sonu in Japanese.

This is both a personal name in Japan, and the way the Turkish / Indian name Sonu is written in Japanese.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

This is a common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Sora.

However, this name is often associated with being of Japanese origin (and written quite differently in Japanese).

維納斯 is how the name for Venus, Goddess of Love, is written in Chinese characters.

ヴィーナス is the name Venus in Japanese Katakana.

This can refer to the Roman Goddess or the planet Venus.

Sometimes also written ビーナス (biinasu) in Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

菫 is the Japanese Kanji for violet.

This can refer to any flower of genus Viola, esp. the Fuji dawn, Viola mandshurica.

This can also be the Japanese name Sumire. 菫 is also commonly written in Katakana as スミレ.

菫 is a variant of the Chinese character 堇 (jin3) which has the same meaning.

ウェンデン is the name Wenden written in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

揚子江 is the title for the Yangzi or Yangtze River (in China).

Even though it's a Chinese place name, this is also how the title is written in Japanese.

耶稣啊 is the name Yeshua in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is an approximation of the original Hebrew name for “Jesus” transliterated into Chinese.

Note: Christians in China are more likely to say “Christ” (Jidu) which holds more meaning than just sound.

This is very similar to the way Jesus (耶穌) is often written in Chinese, with the addition of 啊 which gives it the final “a” sound.

ヨランダ is the name Yoranda written in Japanese Katakana (phonetic Japanese).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

岳飛 is the name of General Yue Fei (1103-1142). He was a famous General of the Song Dynasty army in China. Many legendary stories have been written about him, and passed down through the generations.

In Japanese, this can be the personal name, Gakuhi.

諸葛亮 is the name Zhuge Liang, written in Chinese.

Zhuge Liang lived from 181 to 234 A.D.
He was a military leader and prime minister of Shu Han (蜀漢) during the Three Kingdoms period.
He was the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms.
He is considered a famous sage, philosopher, and military genius.

汶萊 is the Chinese name for Brunei Darussalam, an independent sultanate in northwest Borneo.

Sometimes also written as 文萊 or 文莱.

グアム is the name Guam in Japanese Katakana.

グアム is also how the island of Guam is written in Japanese. Although, they often add the Kanji for island at the end like this: グアム島.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

トゥートゥー is the name Tutu in Japanese Katakana.

Sometimes written as “トゥトゥ”
instead of “トゥートゥー” (The “ー” lengthens the vowel sound in Japanese).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

華盛頓 is the name Washington in Chinese.

This can refer to George Washington, Washington State, Washington, D.C., or your surname.

This is old enough that it also means Washington in Japanese (likely a borrowed word from Chinese). Most modern words are written in Katakana in Japanese these days.

ボリビア is the most common Japanese name for Bolivia.

A few other variations exist. For example, it used to be written in Kanji as 玻里非.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

神龍 or Shen Long literally means “god dragon” or “divine dragon.”

神龍 is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology that controls wind, storms, clouds, and rain. Historically, farmers in China avoid offending this dragon, as it could result in a drought or flooding of their fields.

Shen Long has blue/azure scales and appears on the beautiful robes of some Chinese emperors.

Sometimes romanized as Shen Lung and sometimes written as 神竜 in Japan with the pronunciation of Shinryū or Shenron. It can also be a given name in Japan.

天龍 can mean Heavenly Dragon (Dragon of Heaven), Sky Dragon, Holy Dragon, Celestial Dragon, or Divine Dragon.

This can be a given name in both China and Japan (天龍 is pronounced Tenryū and sometimes written 天竜 in Japanese).

In an older Buddhist context, this can refer to Brahma, Indra, and the devas, together with the nāgas. It can also refer to celestials and snake spirits.

孝靜 or 효정 is the Korean given name Hyo-Jung or Hyojung.

If you want this name written in Hangul, click the Hangul characters next to the Korean flag above (instead of the big button).

テニス is Tennis in Japanese Katakana.

Note: テニス is also how the name Dennis is often written in Japanese.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

麥金利 is the name McGinily in Chinese (Mandarin).

In Mandarin, you cannot distinguish between McKinley, McGinley, and McGinily. All three are written as 麥金利.

舍利弗塔 is the name Sariputra or Śāriputra in Chinese (Mandarin).

Often written in a shorter form as 舍利弗 (shě lì fú). This name comes from the Sanskrit शारिपुत्र or Śāriputra, and from Pali as Sāriputta.

This name comes from the closest disciple of the Buddha, Śāriputra, who helped establish the legacy of the Sangha (community of monks).

ビートルズ is the title of The Beatles in Japanese Katakana.

Sometimes written as ザ・ビートルズ with ザ (za) being a placeholder for the English word “The” - I think just the name Beatles is enough.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.