Douchebag ex machina. Please post pics.
There’s gotta be a limit to this, though - last year at Splashin’ Safari (a water park) I saw a burly, shirtless guy with a large, detailed portrait of Adolf Hitler on his gigantic chest, and “Heil Hitler” in Gothic script on his arm.
Now, maybe it’s not “my business” but I couldn’t help making a negative judgment about the owner of this tattoo. Was I going to say anything about it to him? No, I’ll leave that to someone bigger and stronger than I. Actually, I have to grudgingly have sort of a perverse admiration for anyone with the guts to go around with Hitler on his chest, despite being in complete disagreement with his ideological message.
(I’d also have admiration for someone who was to kick this guy’s ass - I mean, come on, he’s got to be asking for it.)
Massive cool points to anybody who gets this tattoo:
刺青は最低。
Contextual Translation: “Tattoos are terrible”
Note that this would need to be on a woman, since it’s “girl talk.” A guy could substititute 馬鹿馬鹿しい after the は althought it not exactly the same meaning.
I gained proficiency with my Japanese by talking with a girlfriend, so I tend to use more feminine Japanese as a result ^^; I have heard it said by males though, although they were just schoolkids.
Your idea is good too.
Unfortunately this happens a lot to guys. Japanese women talk and men talk is quite different, and it’s easy to tell when foreign guys have learned Japanese from their girlfriend or wife. More unfortunately, it can sound gay, or rather the Japanese stereotypical オカマ gay.
Remember だ is your friend, so it’s 綺麗だよ and not 綺麗よ。
Well, I’d hate to sound like an honorable kettle 
Yes, I understand your point, and, while there are times I enjoy talking brusquely and casually, most of the time the use of ‘da’ grates my ear. More than half the time my Japanese is more of an instinctive thing and overusing ‘da’ makes me wince. It’s hard to explain…
Okay, I have no dog in this fight since I don’t really care all that much for tattoos, nor do I care all that much what people do to their bodies. (yes, I may find it odd, but generally I’m going to be polite and ignore their self-imposed oddities).
However, I find the argument against symbol tattoos, as stated above a bit illogical.
So, by that same argument, does that mean that no one, unless they are Asian, or have an “understanding of Japanese culture and/or language” can even so much as put up a shoji screen as part of their home decor? (oh, and I don’t have a dog in that fight either, my home doesn’t have so much as a smidgen of Zen or Asian influence in its decor).
And while we’re on the subject, what is the definition or minimum level one needs to “have an understanding…blah de blah”? Do tell.
Most of us DO “have an understanding” of Japanese/or Asian culture. We have all had Social Studies in school, and for those of us who went to college, even more education on other cultures and likely even actual exposure to people from other cultures. Of course perhaps in YOUR specific definition of “understanding” maybe a person has to actually be Asian, and can’t simply be educated, have traveled there, have family who are Asian.
Oh yeah, I DO have that going for me, I have a full-on Korean Aunt, have had for about 40 years now. My uncle on my mom’s side married her way back in '66 or so and brought her here to America, where she lived with us for several months while she got her visa. Oh yeah, and back in the 80s, I had a Chinese roommate for about a year (also worked at a flight kitchen where there were about 10% whites and the remainder of the employees were all different nationalities, mostly Asian.
So, if I got a wild hair, and changed my mind about perhaps getting an tattoo maybe in honor of Auntie Kim, would that satisfy your rules, regulations and requirements for “understanding of Japanese culture and/or language”?
Again, personally I think tattoos aren’t all that attractive and are a silly (and permanent) way to accessorize, but it’s far sillier, and a damned sight more arrogant, to decide who is "allowed’ to have what sort of tattoo.
Sure, if you’re used to talking principly to women then guy talk sounds harsh. Back when I learned Japanese as a missionary, we only used formal *desu / masu * language and casual Japanese seemed strange to me. The language is much more situational than English, and one should adjust the politeness and casualness depending on the situation. The same thing with guy talk and girl talk. If your talking to your girlfriend then そよ away, but throw in the だ with the guys.
Why do I always come into the best shit late?
I have wanted to jump all over someone’s shit for years on this stupid, elitist idea that tattoos have to be anything more than pretty. I’m especially over the notion that its omg so ignorant for anyone to consider getting a tattoo in a language they don’t understand. People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons, but I suspect that many folks do it because they love art, and they love art so goddamn much that they want to be art. One of my favorite works by Salvador Dalí is ‘‘Eggs on a plate, without the plate’’ because it’s just so fucking absurd yet magnificently rendered at the same time.
I have a tattoo in a language I do not speak. It is the Sanskrit word anitya. .
Why do I have a tattoo of a word in a language I don’t speak?
Because I am in complete awe of the way this concept has transformed my life.
And, as I suspected, having it there on my wrist (tucked under my watch when I need to be professional) reminds me to be more mindful.
Why is it in Sanskrit?
Because Sanskrit was a liturgical language of Buddhism.
Again, why in Sanskrit?
Because it’s pretty.
I’m adding anātman and dukkha soon, because these are all part of the Three Marks of Existence.
You (OP in particular***) need to get over yourselves. It’s just a fucking tattoo.
***Though to be perfectly honest I’d rather hear it from Operation Ripper than those elitist pricks who are actually tattooed and act like getting a bad tattoo is a violation of their most deeply held moral beliefs. :rolleyes: ***
I don’t have any Asian tats, and don’t particularly love them. But, I do understand why someone would get it for the art of it. I mean, the Japanese consider good calligraphy art, right? So why should it be an issue for someone to appreciate that art and have it placed on their bodies? I don’t imagine that the Japanese artists that specialize in calligraphy intend for their art to only be appreciated by the Japanese.