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2. Law of the Fist Karate / Kempo Karate
3. Karate-Do
5. Kempo Karate / Law of the Fist Empty Hand
14. Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai
15. Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate-Do
16. Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do
17. Shito-Ryu Ki-Me-Kan Karate-Do
18. Goju Ryu
20. Tang Soo Do / Tang Hand Way
21. Karate
23. Kyokushinkai
24. Wado-Ryu
25. Shinyo-Kai
27. Wado-Kai
28. Daoism / Taoism
29. Taido
一心流空手道 is the full title for Isshin-Ryu Karate-Do.
The literal meaning is “one heart method empty hand way.”
There are other ways to translate this, but if you are looking for this title, you already know that.
This would make a great wall scroll for your dojo or private studio if you study this form of Japanese (technically from Okinawa) Karate.
Because this is a specifically-Japanese title, I strongly recommend that you select our Japanese Master Calligrapher to create this artwork.
The first two characters mean “fist law” which is Romanized from Japanese as “Kenpo” or “Kempo.”
The last two are a secondary way to express “karate.”
Notes:
The more common way to express “karate” is literally “empty hand” (meaning “without weapons in your hand”). This version would be translated literally as “Tang hand” (as in the Tang Dynasty) or “China hand” (sometimes “Tang” means “China” in Japanese). Even though the character for “Tang” is used instead of “empty,” it's still pronounced “kara-te” in Japanese.
拳法唐手 is not commonly used in China - so please consider it to be a Japanese-only title.
Many Japanese people will say the last two Kanji are the old and antiquated way of saying Karate. This fact does not stop this title from existing, as these four characters are often seen in Kenpo / Kempo Dojos around the western world.
The literal meaning of 空手道 is “empty hand method” or “empty hand way.”
Credit is given that karate started in China but migrated and became refined and vastly popular in Japan.
Karate is a martial art that uses no blades or weapons other than the “natural weapons” God gave to humans (fists and feet). The last character somehow became optional, but the meaning of that character is “method” or “the way” as in Taoism / Daoism.
Karate-Do reached Korea, where it is known as 공수도 which can be romanized as “Kong Soo Do” or “Gong Su Do.”
団結空手道 is the title for Danketsu Karate-Do, a dojo located in Stroudsburg, PA.
団結 (danketsu) means union, unity, or combination.
空手道 (karate-do) means “empty hand way.”
If you need you martial arts school/dojo/academy added to my database, just give me the info (actual Chinese/Japanese text if you have it).
空手拳法 is the Kanji title for Kempo Karate.
The first two characters mean “karate” - technically they express “empty hand.”
The last two express “fist law” which is Romanized from Japanese as “Kenpo” or “Kempo.”
That “empty hand” translation can be understood better when you grasp the idea that karate is a martial art without weapons (other than the weapons organic to your body, such as your foot, hand, fist, etc). When you practice karate, you do so with empty hands (no weapons).
Note: There is also an antiquated way to write karate. It has the same pronunciation but a different first character which means “Tang” as in the Tang Dynasty. Some dojos use that form - let us know if you need that alternate form, and we'll add it.
鬆濤館空手道 art the Japanese Kanji that make up the title for Shotokan Karate.
This should be considered a Japanese-only title. It does make sense and is pronounceable in Chinese and Korean but only as a title for a building (perhaps a martial arts hall) surrounded by pine trees - followed by the characters for “The empty hand method” (kong shou dao / Karate-do). Also, the first two characters were simplified in both Japanese and Chinese. The third character was simplified in Chinese but not Japanese.
Upon request, we can offer the fully traditional Chinese version but be sure you know what you are asking for.
Note: This would be understood in Chinese and Korean Hanja by a person from those cultures familiar with martial arts and various schools of Japanese karate.
Japanese Genbu Karate Club
日本空手道玄武會 is the title for Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai.
A Japanese karate association of the Genbu school.
Note that while this title does make perfect sense in Chinese, it is really a Japanese title. In fact, the first word is “Japanese/Japan.”
If you’d like your martial arts school, dojo or club added to our calligraphy database for easy ordering of a custom calligraphy wall scroll, just contact me.
鬆林流空手道 is the Japanese title for the Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do school of martial arts.
If directly translated, it means “Pine Forest Style Empty Hand Way.”
Notes:
1. 松林流 can be pronounced Matsubayashi-Ryū or Shōrin-Ryū. This can be confusing as Shōrin can also represent 少林 which refers to the Shaolin (little forest) style.
2. 松 can also be written in the traditional form of 鬆.
少林寺拳法 is a specific type of martial art in Japan that claims origins in the Kung Fu practiced in the original Shaolin Monastery of China.
The first three characters mean “Shaolin Monastery,” and you might notice the Japanese is pronounced in a very similar way. The reason is, many words were “borrowed” from the original Chinese when Japan did not have a written language and simply absorbed Chinese characters into their language around the 5th century. When a Japanese word did not exist, the Chinese pronunciation was often absorbed as well as the written form.
The last two characters mean “fist law” or “method of the fist.” It has long been argued as to whether the Japanese for these characters should be Romanized as “kempo” or “kenpo.” The official method should be “kenpou” but it's common to drop the “u” that comes after the “o.”
I imagine if you are looking for this title, you already know what it means, so the above is simply extra information that a student of Shorinji Kempo might want to know.
唐手道 is the alternate title for Karate-do.
This title uses a character, 唐, which represents the Tang Dynasty of China. Thus, this is often translated as the “Tang Hand Way” or incorrectly, “Tang Fist Way.”
I have also seen some call it “China Hand Way.”
Many in Korea refer to and romanize these characters as “Tang Soo Do” (당수도) where these characters refer to a kind of Korean style of Karate.
There is not a lot of information on this title but some believe that a simplified form of Kung Fu that started in China and ended up very popular in Japan used this title initially. It was later changed in Japan to a different Karate title which means “Empty Hand” (as in, without weapons).
Note: When used in Korean, this is pronounced 당수도. This title is often romanized as “Tang Soo Do,” “Tangsudo,” “Dang Su Do,” or “Dangsudo.” The last two romanizations on that list are the official Korean government romanization, though martial arts schools tend to use other non-standard versions.
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.
This is the martial arts title Zendokai.
The first two characters refer to Zen ascetic practices or Zen teachings. Noting that Zen or 禅 means meditation and Dou/Do or 道 means way.
Kai or 会 (originally written 會) in this context means society, association, or club.
Zendokai Karate beyond the normal fighting skills invites the practitioner to notice and observe their own body with mindfulness and self-awareness and can re-acquire and hone their genuine self.
Style of Karate or Jujitsu
和道流 or Wado-Ryu is a style of Karate or Jujutsu (Jujitsu).
Note: Many will argue whether this is a style of Karate or Jujutsu.
While some find Wado-Ryu similar to Shotokan Karate, enough differences exist in perspective and technique that it stands by itself.
Breaking down the characters into the proper Japanese Romaji, you have “wa dou ryuu” or “wa dō ryū.” The meaning is roughly-translated as “Harmony Way Style” or “Peace Method Style.” The first Kanji should probably be read as harmony rather than peace in this case.
See Also: Wado-Kai
一心会 is the Japanese martial arts title “Isshinkai” or “Isshin-Kai.”
It literally means “One Heart Association” or “Single-Heart Club.” This title is often associated with Isshin-Ryu Aikido and Isshin-Ryu Karate-Do. This title is appropriate for the name of a dojo that teaches these styles.
Wado-Kai is used as a title for styles of Karate and Aikido.
Breaking down the characters into the proper Japanese Romaji, you have “wa dou kai” or “wa dō kai.” The meaning is roughly-translated as “Harmony Way Club” or “Peace Method Association.” The first Kanji should probably be read as harmony, rather than peace in this case.
See Also: Wado-Ryu
Literally: The Way or Road
道 is the character “dao” which is sometimes written as “tao” but pronounced like “dow” in Mandarin.
道 is the base of what is known as “Taoism.” If you translate this literally, it can mean “the way” or “the path.”
Dao is believed to be that which flows through all things and keeps them in balance. It incorporates the ideas of yin and yang (e.g. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)
The beginning of Taoism can be traced to a mystical man named
Lao Zi (604-531 BC), who followed, and added to the teachings of Confucius.
More about Taoism / Daoism here.
Note that this is pronounced “dou” and sometimes “michi” when written alone in Japanese but pronounced “do” in word compounds such as Karate-do and Bushido. It's also “do” in Korean.
Alternate translations and meanings: road, way, path; truth, principle province.
Important Japanese note: In Japanese, this will generally be read with the road, way, or path meaning. Taoism is not as popular or well-known in Japan so Daoist/Taoist philosophy is not the first thing a Japanese person will think of when they read this character.
See our Taoism Page
Taidō (The Way of the Body) is a style of Karate practiced in Japan and popular worldwide.
Taidō or 躰道 traces a lineage from Genseiryū (玄制流), which came from Shuri-te (首里手), one of the original martial arts schools of ancient Okinawa.
The first character 躰 is a variant of the original Chinese character 體. In modern Japan, they tend to use 体, a more simple character form. 体 is also the modern Simplified Chinese form of 體.
The 躰 character is correct for this 躰道 martial arts title. But it can be confusing with so many variants out there, not to mention other homophonic Japanese words that also romanize as Taidō or Taidou.
To have a bit more fun with this 躰 character, it has a 身 radical on the left, which sets it apart. The meaning doubles up on the “body” as 身 (shin) is a character that also means body in Japanese and Chinese. On the right is 本, which often means root, stem, origin, source, or fundamental (but can also mean “book” in some contexts). This has deviated from the original 體 which was 骨 (bone) + 豊 (vessel). Hence, the body was your “bone vessel” in ancient Asia.
The meaning of 躰, as well as 體 and 体, is usually translated as the body. When related to the physical body, it can also refer to the torso, trunk, build, physique, or the constitution of a person. As an extension of this, it can also refer to someone's health (good body = good health).
However, depending on the context, it can encompass other meanings such as form, style, system, experience, aspect, corpus, corporeal, substance, or essentials.
The second character, 道, is recognized and well-known as the “Way” and is the same “do” as in Karate-do or Aikido.
拳法 is a form of martial arts that can be translated in several ways.
Some will call it “fist principles,” “the way of the fist,” or even “law of the fist.” The first character literally means fist. The second can mean law, method, way, principle, or Buddhist teaching.
Kempo is really a potluck of martial arts. Often a combination of Chinese martial arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu with Japanese martial arts such as Karate, Jujutsu (Jujitsu), Aikido, and others. You may see the term “Kempo Karate,” which basically means Karate with other disciplines added. In this way, Kempo becomes an adjective rather than a title or school of martial arts.
These facts will long be argued by various masters and students of Kempo. Even the argument as to whether it should be spelled “kenpo” or “Kempo” ensues at dojos around the world (the correct Romaji should actually be “kenpou” if you precisely follow the rules).
The benefit of Kempo is that the techniques are easier to learn and master than pure Kung Fu (wu shu). Students are often taught basic Karate moves, kicks, and punches before augmenting the basic skills with complex Kung Fu techniques. This allows students of Kempo to achieve a level where they can defend themselves or fight in a relatively short amount of time (a few years rather than a decade or more).
Because the definition of this word is so fluid, I should make some notes here:
1. Purists in Okinawa will claim that “Okinawa Kenpo” or “Ryukyu Hon Kenpo” is the original and true version of this martial art from the old kingdom. It is actually little or no connection between Okinawa Kenpo and the way the word is used elsewhere.
2. In Chinese, where these characters are pronounced “quan fa” (sometimes Romanized as “chuan fa” because the Chinese-pinyin “q” actually sounds like an English “ch” sound), these characters do not hold the connotation of being a mixed martial art. It is simply defined as “the law of the fist.”
3. My Japanese dictionary oddly defines Kenpo as the “Chinese art of self-defense.” I personally don't feel this is the most common way that people perceive the word but just something you should know.
柔術 has been somewhat incorrectly spelled and pronounced “Jujitsu” for some time in the English-speaking world. The correct Japanese Romaji is Jujutsu or Juujutsu.
A little background on the word: By combining the Kanji pronounced “Ju” (which means flexible, pliable, gentle, yielding) with the Kanji pronounced “Jutsu” (which means art or technique), we get a meaning that can be translated as “flexible technique,” “gentle art” or “yielding technique.”
柔術 does make sense in Chinese as well, although pronounced “rou shu” in China.
The Jujutsu system has a history in Japan that started well before the 1600s. Some see this style as a variation of the “Empty Hand Method” (Karate-do). Even the samurai of old used some Jujutsu methods in defending themselves with their unarmed hands against weapons that could pierce their heavy armor.
There are convoluted relationships between various schools and systems of martial arts, but it's generally accepted that Jujutsu led to the development of Judo and a few other variations.
禪道 is a title used in certain contexts but is not widely known by the general population of China or Japan.
In Japanese, you will see this title romanized as “zendo,” which is the brand name of a board game, and also a title used by some martial arts studios and karate dojos. Oddly, many translate this as “zen fist,” although there is no “fist” in the title. If you literally translated this title, it would be “meditation way” or “meditation method.”
In Chinese, this would be “chan dao” with the same literal meaning as the Japanese title. It's used in China by just a handful of martial arts styles/studios.
You should only order this title if you really understand the meaning, and it has some personal connection to you (such as practicing a martial art style that uses this title, or if you love the board game Zendo). Many who see your wall scroll will not be familiar with this title, and you'll have some explaining to do.
The first character can also be written in a more complex traditional way as shown to the right. Let us know in the special instructions for your calligraphy project if you want this style.
If you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, the first character will automatically be written with an extra dot on top. This is the variant form of the original Chinese character which is commonly used in modern Japan Kanji. See sample to the right.
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Isshin Ryu Karate Do | 一心流空手道 | i sshin ryuu kara te dou isshinryuukaratedou i shin ryu kara te do | ||
Law of the Fist Karate Kempo Karate | 拳法唐手 | ken pou kara te kenpoukarate ken po kara te | quán fǎ táng shǒu quan2 fa3 tang2 shou3 quan fa tang shou quanfatangshou | ch`üan fa t`ang shou chüanfatangshou chüan fa tang shou |
Karate-Do | 空手道 | kara te dou karatedou kara te do | kōng shǒu dào kong1 shou3 dao4 kong shou dao kongshoudao | k`ung shou tao kungshoutao kung shou tao |
Danketsu Karate-Do | 団結空手道 | dan ketsu kara te dou danketsukaratedou dan ketsu kara te do | ||
Kempo Karate Law of the Fist Empty Hand | 空手拳法 | kara te ken pou karatekenpou kara te ken po | kōng shǒu quán fǎ kong1 shou3 quan2 fa3 kong shou quan fa kongshouquanfa | k`ung shou ch`üan fa kungshouchüanfa kung shou chüan fa |
Shidokan Karate-Do | 士道館空手道 | shi dou kan kara te dou shidoukankaratedou shi do kan kara te do | ||
Flying Dragon Karate-Do | 飛龍空手道 飞龙空手道 | hi ryuu kara te dou hiryuukaratedou hi ryu kara te do | fēi lóng kòng shǒu dào fei1 long2 kong4 shou3 dao4 fei long kong shou dao feilongkongshoudao | fei lung k`ung shou tao feilungkungshoutao fei lung kung shou tao |
Karate-Do Shinyo-Kai | 空手道心養会 | kara te dou shin you kai karatedoushinyoukai kara te do shin yo kai | ||
Snow Leopard Karate-Do | 雪豹空手道 | yukihyou karate yukihyoukarate yukihyo karate | xuě bào kōng shǒu dào xue3 bao4 kong1 shou3 dao4 xue bao kong shou dao xuebaokongshoudao | hsüeh pao k`ung shou tao hsüehpaokungshoutao hsüeh pao kung shou tao |
Shotokan Karate-Do | 鬆濤館空手道 松涛館空手道 | shou tou kan kara te dou shoutoukankaratedou sho to kan kara te do | sōng tāo guǎn kōng shǒu dào song1 tao1 guan3 kong1 shou3 dao4 song tao guan kong shou dao songtaoguankongshoudao | sung t`ao kuan k`ung shou tao sungtaokuankungshoutao sung tao kuan kung shou tao |
Shito-Ryu Karate-Do | 糸東流空手道 糸东流空手道 | shii tou ryuu kara te dou shiitouryuukaratedou shi to ryu kara te do | ||
Goju Ryu Karate-Do | 剛柔流空手道 刚柔流空手道 | gou juu ryuu kara te dou goujuuryuukaratedou go ju ryu kara te do | ||
Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do | 上地流空手道 | ue chi ryuu kara te dou uechiryuukaratedou ue chi ryu kara te do | ||
Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai | 日本空手道玄武會 日本空手道玄武会 | ni ppon kara te dou gen bu kai nipponkaratedougenbukai ni pon kara te do gen bu kai | rì běn kōng shǒu dào xuán wǔ huì ri4 ben3 kong1 shou3 dao4 xuan2 wu3 hui4 ri ben kong shou dao xuan wu hui | jih pen k`ung shou tao hsüan wu hui jih pen kung shou tao hsüan wu hui |
Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate-Do | 沖縄剛柔流空手道 沖縄刚柔流空手道 | oki nawa gou juu ryuu kara te dou oki nawa go ju ryu kara te do | ||
Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do | 松林流空手道 | matsu bayashi ryuu kara te dou matsu bayashi ryu kara te do | ||
Shito-Ryu Ki-Me-Kan Karate-Do | 糸東流氣目館空手道 糸东流気目馆空手道 | shito-ryu ki-me-kan karate-dou shito-ryu ki-me-kan karate-do | mì dōng liú qì mù guǎn kōng shǒu dào mi4 dong1 liu2 qi4 mu4 guan3 kong1 shou3 dao4 mi dong liu qi mu guan kong shou dao | mi tung liu ch`i mu kuan k`ung shou tao mi tung liu chi mu kuan kung shou tao |
Goju Ryu | 剛柔流 刚柔流 | gou juu ryuu goujuuryuu go ju ryu | ||
Shorinji Kempo Kenpo | 少林寺拳法 | shourinji kenpou shourinjikenpou shorinji kenpo | shào lín sì quán fǎ shao4 lin2 si4 quan2 fa3 shao lin si quan fa shaolinsiquanfa | shao lin ssu ch`üan fa shaolinssuchüanfa shao lin ssu chüan fa |
Tang Soo Do Tang Hand Way | 唐手道 | kara te do / karatedo | táng shǒu dào tang2 shou3 dao4 tang shou dao tangshoudao | t`ang shou tao tangshoutao tang shou tao |
Karate | 空手 | kara te / karate | kōng shǒu kong1 shou3 kong shou kongshou | k`ung shou kungshou kung shou |
Zen Do Kai Zendokai | 禅道会 | zen dou kai zendoukai zen do kai | ||
Kyokushinkai | 極真會 極真会 | kyoku shin kai kyokushinkai | ||
Wado-Ryu | 和道流 | wa dou ryuu wadouryuu wa do ryu | ||
Shinyo-Kai | 心養會 心养会 / 心養会 | shin you kai shinyoukai shin yo kai | ||
Isshin-Kai Isshinkai | 一心会 / 一心會 一心会 | isshin kai / isshinkai / ishin kai | ||
Wado-Kai | 和道會 和道会 | wa dou kai / wadoukai / wa do kai | ||
Daoism Taoism | 道 | michi / -do | dào / dao4 / dao | tao |
Taido | 躰道 | tai dou / taidou / tai do | ||
Kenpo Kempo Quan Fa Chuan Fa | 拳法 | kenpou / kenpo | quán fǎ / quan2 fa3 / quan fa / quanfa | ch`üan fa / chüanfa / chüan fa |
Jujitsu Jujutsu | 柔術 柔术 | juu jutsu / juujutsu / ju jutsu | róu shù / rou2 shu4 / rou shu / roushu | jou shu / joushu |
Zendo The Zen Way | 禅道 / 禪道 禅道 | zen dou / zendou / zen do | chán dào / chan2 dao4 / chan dao / chandao | ch`an tao / chantao / chan tao |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Karate-Do Kanji Kanji, Karate-Do Kanji Characters, Karate-Do Kanji in Mandarin Chinese, Karate-Do Kanji Characters, Karate-Do Kanji in Chinese Writing, Karate-Do Kanji in Japanese Writing, Karate-Do Kanji in Asian Writing, Karate-Do Kanji Ideograms, Chinese Karate-Do Kanji symbols, Karate-Do Kanji Hieroglyphics, Karate-Do Kanji Glyphs, Karate-Do Kanji in Chinese Letters, Karate-Do Kanji Hanzi, Karate-Do Kanji in Japanese Kanji, Karate-Do Kanji Pictograms, Karate-Do Kanji in the Chinese Written-Language, or Karate-Do Kanji in the Japanese Written-Language.