The name The End 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).

アーメン is the Japanese Katakana (phonetic Japanese) for Amen.

This sounds just like the “Amen” said in English at the end of prayers.

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

像水一樣 is a short quote from a much longer statement by Bruce Lee.

He summarized how people should be flexible to all circumstances, attacks, or situations. In the end, he exclaims, “Be like water, my friend.” 像水一樣 is the “Be like water” part alone since that seems to be what most people want.

The Bodhi or 菩提 is the moment of completion in Buddhism.

It is when all things become known and you have completed your journey to enlightenment.

The reference is to the Bodhi tree where Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man who established the Buddhist religion) achieved enlightenment. Sometimes this is referred to as “the tree of enlightenment,” but if you want the full version with the character for a tree at the end, please see the Bodhi Tree entry.

See Also:  Buddhism | Buddha | Nirvana | Enlightenment

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.”

臀 is the most simple way to write butt, buttocks, behind, rump, bottom, last place, or end in Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

臀 is not appropriate for calligraphy. Also, the two-character word 屁股 or pigu, is also very common in China for butt or ass.

卡桑德 is another transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Cassandre.

This happens to be the French version. This is the Cassandre with pronunciation that ends abruptly without a “rah” sound at the end.

選擇生活 can mean to choose life instead of death (or suicide) or to choose to live life to the fullest.

I think of it as the key phrase used by Renton (Ewan McGregor) in the movie Trainspotting. While Chinese people will not think of Trainspotting when they see this phrase, for me, it will always be what comes near the end of this colorful rant:

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin can openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on-hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.

是生滅法 is a Buddhist term for “the law of arising and ceasing,” or, “the law of creation and destruction.”

Everything has a beginning and an end, birth and death, etc. All things follow this law.

This Chinese philosophy tells of how we continue to learn throughout our lives.

This proverb can be translated in a few ways such as “Study has no end,” “Knowledge is infinite,” “No end to learning,” “There's always something new to study,” or “You live and learn.”

The deeper meaning: Even when we finish school we are still students of the world gaining more knowledge from our surroundings with each passing day.

See Also:  An Open Book Benefits Your Mind | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

永 is the simplest form of eternity or “always and forever.”

永 can sometimes mean forever, always, perpetual, infinite, or “without end,” depending on context.

Note: Not often seen as a single Kanji in Japanese. Best if your audience is Chinese.

See Also:  Forever | Ever Lasting

花落 means flower fall (closes and loses its petals).

It suggests nearing the end of something. A time that some might call “The sunset of life.” 花落 often follows 花開 or “flower open” to talk of the cycle of life.

We offer this as a possible companion to a “flower open” scroll (to be placed side by side or at either side of a doorway to say “things come and go” - a cool metaphor for a doorway). If placed in a doorway, it could be used to suggest to your guests that things bloom when they arrive through your door but wither when they leave (a great compliment).

See Also:  Flowers Bloom

杰拉爾 is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male French name Gérard or Gerard.

This is the French version as it has a more silent “d” sound at the end.

工合 is one of those Asian words that is used more in English than in the original Chinese.

Gung Ho was originally used to speak of Carlson's Raiders, a group of “Gung Ho” U.S. Marines who went on an island-hopping campaign of death during WWII.

A movie called Gung Ho came out in the mid-1940s and was later re-released in the 1950s depicting the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, and brought this word to the mainstream.

It is still sometimes used today within the U.S. Marine Corps brotherhood to refer to a unit or group that works well together or is otherwise efficient and motivated (has good morals).

In 1986, there was a movie called Gung Ho about a Japanese company taking over an American automotive factory. They completely ignored the fact that this was a Chinese title.

It should be noted that this title actually means a condition, state, manner, or the health of something in Japanese.

Language and pronunciation notes:
Like many Asian words absorbed into common use in English, this one is drastically mispronounced. The official Romanization is “gong he” but that doesn't tell you enough. The vowel sound on the first character is like the English word “own,” now just add the g-sounds to the beginning and end. The second character is misleading, as you might think it is like the English word “he.” In reality, the vowel sound is more like the “u” in “up.”

It should also be noted that the current generation in China no longer uses or recognizes this as a common word or slogan.

Note: This can be pronounced and is a word in Japanese, though seldom used. Japanese will use a variation of "具合" instead. But still, not common.

八幡神 is the Japanese God of War.

He is often known by the short name “Hachiman.” This version has the “God” title “jin” at the end, completing the idea of “God of War.”

想像 is the shortest word for imagine, visualize, or imagination.

It can also mean “to guess,” (which is why I favor the 3-character version of imagination (just a third character is added to the end, which clarifies it).

無窮 is the Chinese and Korean word meaning infinity, eternity, infinitude, infinite or endless.

無窮 literally translates as “without [ever becoming] exhausted/poor,” and in that context, can mean “inexhaustible” or “boundless” but this is usually read as “without end.” Some extended definitions include eternity, infinitude, or immortality.

In certain contexts, it can mean “immortality.”

The first character means “never” or “not.” The second means “exhausted,” “finished,” or “ending.”

Note: 無窮 is a Japanese word but rarely used in modern Japan.

空手 is the short and widely-used-in-English version of karate-do without the “do” or “dao” at the end.

Literal meaning: Empty Hand.

劉備 is the name Liu Bei (161-223AD), warlord at the end of the Han dynasty and founder of the Han kingdom of Shu.

In Japanese, this can be the name Ryuubi or Ryūbi. Most Japanese will be familiar with the Chinese historical figure, Liu Bei.

師父 means master in Chinese (occasionally used in Korean Hanja and Japanese). In the context of Martial Arts, this is the master and teacher who instructs students.

The second character by itself means father. Thus, you get the “Fatherly Master” translation. There's an old Chinese saying that goes something like, “One who is your teacher for one day is your father for life.”

Language notes: I've often seen this romanized as “sifu,” this is actually the Cantonese romanization. In Mandarin Chinese, it's “Shifu.” The pronunciation in Mandarin is actually like “sure foo” (using typical English pronunciation). There's an “R-sound” in there, which is not obvious from the romanization. Many martial arts studios incorrectly pronounce this like “she foo” (which is actually the Japanese pronunciation). In Cantonese, it sounds like “Sea foo” (almost like “seafood,” minus the “d” at the end).

師父 is kind of a weird selection for a calligraphy wall scroll; this entry is more for educational purposes. But you are welcome to buy it if it suits your circumstances.

海王星 is the Japanese Kanji, old Korean Hanja, and Chinese title for the planet Neptune.

海王星 literally means “Sea God Star” (all planets end in the character that also means “star”).

乞灑 is the Chinese and Japanese version of the Buddhist term “kṣaya.”

乞灑 is used in the sense of omega, or the end. This implies finality or nirvāṇa.

This term is only used in the context of Buddhism. Non-Buddhists may not recognize this word.

常在河邊走哪能不濕鞋 is an old Chinese proverb that is sometimes compared to the English saying “Shit Happens.”

It's a reflection that there are risks in life, and you should not be surprised when things don't go your way.

A secondary translation might be, “When walking by a river, often one cannot avoid wet shoes.”

忍耐 is patience, the quiet hope, and trust that things will turn out right.

You wait without complaining. You are tolerant and accepting of difficulties and mistakes. You picture the end in the beginning and persevere to meet your goals.

忍耐 can also mean “to endure,” “restrain oneself,” or “forbearance,” and in some contexts, it can mean “perseverance” or “endurance.”

忍耐 is also used as a tenet of Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, and other Korean martial arts where it's titled “Endurance” and romanized as “In Neh.”

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this Kanji form (yes, it’s just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in the Japanese Kanji form).

See Also:  Peace | Harmony | Perseverance

百折不撓 is a Chinese proverb that means “Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks.”

More directly translated, it reads, “[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching.” 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).

This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan, and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.

Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.

Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest, he resigned from his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.

His tombstone reads “Bai Zhe Bu Nao” which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.

My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as “keep on fighting despite all setbacks,” “be undaunted by repeated setbacks,” and “be indomitable.”

Our translator says it can mean “never give up” in modern Chinese.

Although the first two characters are translated correctly as “repeated setbacks,” the literal meaning is “100 setbacks” or “a rope that breaks 100 times.” The last two characters can mean “do not yield” or “do not give up.”
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.

See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence

自信心 is the long title for self-confidence.

It differs from the other version, only with the addition of the character for heart or soul at the end. With that addition, you could say this means a self-confident heart.

See Also:  Confidence

四拳波羅蜜大光明 is “shiken haramitsu daikōmyō,” a famous Japanese Buddhist mantra.

四拳 = shi-ken = four fists (many translate this as “four hearts”).
波羅蜜 = ha-ra-mitsu = A loanword representing pāramitā, or entrance into Nirvana. Awkwardly, it also means jackfruit.
大光明 = dai-kou-myo = big/great light bright (great bright light).

Shiken represents four hearts:
1. The Merciful Heart - Love and caring for all living things.
2. The Sincere Heart - Pursues righteousness, or the right path - sincerely trying to do what is right.
3. The Attuned Heart - Knows that nature and fate have their ways, and thus stay in tune with the universe.
4. The Dedicated Heart - Steadfast on the chosen path to the end.

思い切り can be translated as “with all one's strength,” “with all one's heart,” “to the limits of your heart,” or “to the end of your heart/emotions.”

The character breakdown:
思い (omoi) thought; mind; heart; feelings; emotion; sentiment; love; affection; desire; wish; hope; expectation; imagination; experience
切り (kiri) bounds; limits.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

太極拳道 is the common Tai Chi Chuan title with “Dao” (the Way) added to the end.

If you're not sure, I suggest shorter titles such as “Tai Chi Chuan,” or just “Tai Chi.”

These four characters together relay the meaning that can be expressed in English as “When three people say there's a tiger running in the street, you believe it.”

Of course, there is an ancient story behind this idiom...

三人成虎 is actually a proverb that resulted from a conversation that occurred around 300 B.C.

The conversation was between the king of the Wei kingdom and one of the king's ministers named Pang Cong.

It was near the end of one of many wars, this time with the Zhao kingdom. Pang Cong was to be sent by the king to the Zhao kingdom with the king's son, who was to be held hostage. It was common at the time for a king to make his son a hostage to secure stable peace between warring kingdoms.

Before minister Pang Cong departed, he asked his king, “If one person told you a tiger was running in the street, would you believe it?.”

“No,” the king said.

The minister continued, “What if two people told you?”

The king replied, “Well, I would have my doubts but I might believe it.”

The minister continued, “So, what if three people told you that a tiger is running in the streets?”

The king replied, “Yes, I would believe it. It must be true if three people say it.”

The minister then reminded the king, “Your son and I are now traveling far away to live in the distant Zhao kingdom - much farther from your palace than the street. Rumors may fly about me in my absence, so I hope your majesty will weight such rumors appropriately.”

The king replied, “I have every trust in you, do not worry”

While the minister was gone, the king's enemies gossiped about minister Pang Cong on many occasions. At first, the king thought nothing of these comments and rumors. But slowly, as the rumors mounted, the king began to suspect ill of his minister.

Sometime later, when peace was well-established, the minister and prince were freed and returned to the kingdom of Wei. The king received his son BUT DID NOT EVEN SUMMON MINISTER PANG CONG TO THE PALACE!

Hopefully, this story will help you see how dangerous words can be when used to promote rumors or create ill will. And perhaps will inspire you not to believe everything you hear.

There is also a secondary suggestion in this idiom that gossip is as ferocious as a tiger. Some Chinese people who don't know the ancient story above may believe that this scroll means that rumors are as vicious as three tigers.

Note: This proverb appears in my Korean dictionary but is not well-known in Korea.

波の道 is the simple way to write “The Way of the Wave” in Japanese.

I added this at the request of several customers. 波の道 is not a very common Japanese phrase.

波 = Wave
の = Of
道 = Way
The word order is the opposite of English. Most Japanese phrases that end in “の道” are translated to English as “The Way of...”

Technically, you could write “波道” as a shorter version of “The Way of the Wave.” However, without context, 波道 can mean channel or suggest a path to redirect ocean flow.

詠春拳 is the title for the “Wing Chun” school of martial arts but with the addition of the character for “fist” at the end. So this is “Wing Chun Fist” or literally “Singing Spring Fist.”

There are lots of alternate Cantonese romanizations for this, such as “Wing Chun Kuen,” “Wing Tsun Cheun,” “Eng Chun Pai,” and “Wing Ceon Kyun.” The characters are the same; just the lack of a standard Cantonese romanization means that people make up their own based on what they think it sounds like.

藤 is the Japanese Kanji for wisteria (especially Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda).

藤 is also written with a longer title, 藤の花 (fuji no hana), which just adds “flower of” to the end.

藤 is really only applicable in Japanese, as it means the following in Chinese: Creepers, cane; canes; rattan; vine.

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.

極め is a transitive verb that means to carry to extremes, to go to the end of something, to investigate thoroughly, or to master.

Kiwame is a strange selection for calligraphy artwork, but many were searching for it. 極め (or just 極 without め) is used “off-definition” for some video games.

戦い抜く means “To fight to the bitter end” in Japanese.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

生老病死 means “to be born, to grow old, to get sick and to die” or “birth, aging, sickness, and death.”

This is an old somewhat-morbid Chinese proverb that is also used in Korean and Japanese. It figuratively means the fate of humankind (i.e. mortality) or suggests that we are all born to suffer.

In the Buddhist context, there are the “four inevitables in human life” or “four afflictions that are the lot of every human” known as “四苦” (literally “four afflictions”). Sometimes this proverb is written with that affliction character, 苦, at the end like 生老病死苦.

卡斯蒂尤 is the name Castillo in Chinese (Mandarin).

Even though it's not the most commonly-used transliteration, I like this version of Castillo, as it sounds more like the real Spanish pronunciation where the end of Castillo sounds like “Yo.”

This is a standard form of the name Castillo in Chinese (Mandarin).

I'm not a fan of this version, as it pronounces the “LL” instead of the end sounding more like “Yo” as it does in proper Spanish.

吾道一以貫之 is a phrase from the Analects of Confucius that translates as “My Way has one thread that runs through it.”

Other translations include:
My Way is penetrated by a single thread.
There is one single thread binding my Way together.
My Way is run through with a unifying thread.
My Way is Consistent.
And sometimes poetic license is taken, and it is translated as:
My Way is the only one; I'll treasure it and stick to it with humility until the end.

After this was said, some 2500+ years ago, another disciple of Confucius clarified the meaning by stating, “Our master's Way is to be loyal and have a sense of reciprocity.”

In Japanese, this is purported to be romanized as “Waga michi ichi wo motte kore wo tsuranuku,” though some will argue the true pronunciation.

Note: Sometimes written 吾道以一貫之 instead of 吾道一以貫之 with no difference in meaning.

This is the Mawangdui version of Daodejing chapter 54.