Frequently Asked Questions

By pronunciation, not spelling. This is the only correct way to translate a name into Japanese.

English spelling is a poor guide to pronunciation. “Sean” is pronounced “Shawn” — and the Japanese translation follows the sound, not the letters. The same applies across every language we cover: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and more. Each language has its own pronunciation rules, and each gets its own correct Japanese translation.

We verify pronunciations against 20 etymology sources, including scholarly dictionaries published by Oxford University Press, and census data from 16 countries. Our database covers over 300,000 names with verified pronunciations. Other sites guess from spelling. We verify from published sources.

Because the same spelling can represent different pronunciations — and different pronunciations produce different Japanese.

“Jan” has five correct Japanese translations. In English it’s a woman’s name (ジャン). In German and Dutch it’s a man’s name with a different sound (ヤン). In Polish it’s different again (ヤン but with different vowel handling). Each is a real name, each has its own correct Japanese. Even within one language, “Andrea” can be pronounced AN-dree-uh or ahn-DRAY-uh — two different translations.

Beyond pronunciation, there’s also the choice between katakana and kanji. Katakana translates the sound of your name: Amy becomes エイミー. Kanji translates the meaning: Amy means “beloved,” which is 最愛 (saiai) in Japanese. Both are correct — they serve different purposes. We show all valid options so you can choose the right one for you.

Yes. Every translation is verified against published references, and every design is hand-brushed by Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase.

Eri Takase holds the rank of Shihan (師範), the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy, awarded by the Bokuteki-kai. She has over thirty years of professional practice. Her work has been featured at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, Johns Hopkins University, and the Osaka Museum of Arts. Each design is original calligraphy — not a computer font, not generated by software.

With an order you receive a high-resolution PDF with documentation that a tattoo artist can work from directly. Our customers have been using these designs for tattoos for over thirty years.

The name research tool is free — no ads, no account required, no limits. Search as many names as you like.

We believe you should be able to explore how your name works in Japanese without paying for anything. The research is free. The product is hand-brushed calligraphy art by Eri Takase, available as downloadable high-resolution PDFs. You only pay if you want the art.

No ads also means the page is the experience. What you see is calligraphy and information — not a vehicle for advertising revenue.

Eri Takase is a Master Japanese Calligrapher who has practiced in the Bunka-shodo tradition for over thirty years. She holds the rank of Shihan (師範) — the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy — awarded by the Bokuteki-kai, one of Japan’s most prestigious calligraphic societies.

Born and raised in Osaka, she began studying calligraphy at age six. As a member of the Bokuteki-kai she won multiple best-of-category awards in national competitions, and her work has been displayed at the Osaka Museum of Arts. She has been featured at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, at Johns Hopkins University, and on NBC’s EXTRA.

Every design on this site is her original hand-brushed work.

Yes — for behind-the-scenes work like name research, organizing what we know about a returning customer, and studying aggregate site patterns to decide which new designs to brush. We do not use AI to write replies to customers, and we do not use AI to make our calligraphy. Every reply you receive is written by Tim or Eri. Every Japanese character on this site was brushed by Eri Takase herself. We use Anthropic’s Claude exclusively for any AI work that touches your data. See our Privacy Policy for details.