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In feudal Japan, ninja or shinobi (literally, "one who is concealed" or "one that endures") were sometimes assassins and agents of espionage. The ninja, like samurai, followed their own special code of conduct.
The role of the ninja has been romanticized in many American movies (and to a lesser extent in Japanese movies). Because the ninja-craze has taken off in the west, Japan has followed the trend and you'll see plenty of ninja-related imagery in Japan.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 that form. Our Chinese calligraphers can also write it in the Japanese form but only if you request it (in the special instructions about your order during checkout).
忍 is just the first character of "Ninja".
It means to beat, to endure, or to tolerate.
Some use this as the short form of "Ninja" but it would be more correct to use the two-character version in most cases (and for clarity). Other definitions of this Kanji include: to bear, put up with, conceal, spy or sneak. It is also a character in Korean Hanja and Chinese but not well-known with this meaning but rather a definition like "patience".Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write it 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).
忍び (Shinobi) is a term often associated with ninjas of ancient Japan.
忍び really means stealing (into), a spy, a sneaking thief, stealth, or a surreptitious visit to a house of ill repute. However, 忍び is sometimes used to refer to an outcast ninja.
This term was somehow given a better report when various video games, TV series, and even a movie came out with this Shinobi title.
忍び are sometimes Romanized as two words: Shin obi, or Shin-obi.
Note: The first character can be written as or
.
忍法 is Ninpo which can be translated as "Ninja Arts" from Japanese.
If you want this to mean "Ninja Arts", you should consider this to be Japanese only. In Chinese, someone might read this as "patience law" or "the art of patience".
The first character can be associated with "Ninja" since it is the "Nin" of "Ninja". But the literal meaning is patience or perseverance. The second character means "law" or "method". Often this is extended to mean or be translated as "arts".
Within a Buddhist context (especially Chinese Buddhism), this is the method or stage of patience, the sixth of the seven stages of the Hīnayāna in the attainment of arhatship, or sainthood.
忍術 is the "art of the ninja" in Japanese. Most Japanese people associate ninjas with some degree of romance and reverence to Japan's ancient past. But most will accept that the ninja is an idea or way of life whose time has passed. However, this has not stopped floods of movies about ninjas and dojos offering Ninjutsu training from keeping the idea of the ninja alive in modern times.
My modern Japanese dictionary defines this term as "assassination, stealth and combat techniques", or "fighting art of the ninja".
Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character in the form shown to the right. Because this is specifically a Japanese title, we only suggest our Japanese master calligrapher for this selection - and you will get the form shown to the right if you do that (please ignore the fact that some of the images you see during the following pages in the options process will be the Chinese/alternate form).
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Ninja | 忍者 | ninja | rěn zhě / ren3 zhe3 / ren zhe / renzhe | jen che / jenche |
Ninja | 忍 | nin | rěn / ren3 / ren | jen |
Shinobi Ninja Outcast | 忍び | shino-bi | ||
Ninpo | 忍法 | nin pou / ninpou / nin po / ninpo | rěn fǎ / ren3 fa3 / ren fa / renfa | jen fa / jenfa |
Ninjutsu Ninjitsu | 忍術 忍术 | ninjutsu | rěn shù / ren3 shu4 / ren shu / renshu | jen shu / jenshu |
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. |
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Ninja search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
忍び see styles |
shinobi / しのび | ![]() More info & calligraphy: |
忍法 see styles |
rěn fǎ / ren3 fa3 jen fa ninpou / ninpo / にんぽう |
![]() More info & calligraphy: (忍法位) The method or stage of patience, the sixth of the seven stages of the Hīnayāna in the attainment of arhatship, or sainthood: also the third of the four roots of goodness; stage of patience in regard to phenomena |
忍者 see styles |
rěn zhě / ren3 zhe3 jen che ninja / にんじゃ |
![]() More info & calligraphy: (See 忍術) ninja; person trained in ninjutsu and employed for covert purposes in feudal Japan |
忍術 see styles |
ninjutsu / にんじゅつ | ![]() More info & calligraphy: |
印 see styles |
yìn / yin4 yin in / いん |
to print; to mark; to engrave; a seal; a print; a stamp; a mark; a trace; image (1) stamp; seal; chop; (2) seal impression; seal; sealing; stamp; mark; print; (3) {Buddh} mudra (symbolic hand gesture); (4) ninja hand sign; (n,n-suf,n-pref) (5) (abbreviation) (See 印度) India; (surname) In mudrā; seal, sign, symbol, emblem, proof, assurance, approve; also 印契; 契印; 印相. Manual signs indicative of various ideas, e. g. each finger represents one of the five primary elements, earth, water, fire, air, and space, beginning with the little finger; the left hand represents 定 stillness, or meditation, the right hand 慧 discernment or wisdom; they have also many other indications. Also, the various symbols of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, e. g. the thunderbolt; cf. 因.; (度) The five Indias, or five regions of India, idem 五天竺 q. v; a seal |
艸 草 see styles |
cǎo / cao3 ts`ao / tsao takakusa / たかくさ |
variant of 草[cao3] (1) kanji "grass radical" (radical 140); (2) grass crown; (out-dated kanji) (1) grass; weed; herb; thatch; (2) (archaism) ninja; (prefix) (3) not genuine; substandard; (surname) Takakusa |
上忍 see styles |
shàng rěn / shang4 ren3 shang jen jounin / jonin / じょうにん |
Ninja clan master; highest-ranking ninja exceedingly patient |
下忍 see styles |
xià rěn / xia4 ren3 hsia jen genin / げにん |
low-ranking ninja; (place-name) Shimooshi inferior patience |
中忍 see styles |
zhōng rěn / zhong1 ren3 chung jen chuunin / chunin / ちゅうにん |
(manga slang) ninja commander middling patience |
卍刀 see styles |
mantou / manto / まんとう | ninja weapon disguised as a pair of garden shears |
吹針 see styles |
fukibari / ふきばり | Ninja spitting needles |
忍具 see styles |
ningu / にんぐ | ninja implement (shuriken, etc.) |
忍刀 see styles |
nintou / ninto / にんとう | Ninja sword |
抜忍 see styles |
nukenin / ぬけにん | runaway ninja; fugitive ninja |
細作 细作 see styles |
xì zuò / xi4 zuo4 hsi tso saisaku / さいさく |
police spy; secret agent (archaism) spy; secret agent; ninja |
苦無 see styles |
kunashi / くなし | (ateji / phonetic) (1) (colloquialism) ninja throwing knives; (2) mediaeval farming tool for digging, prying, etc.; (female given name) Kunashi |
萬刀 see styles |
mantou / manto / まんとう | ninja weapon disguised as a pair of garden shears |
軒猿 see styles |
nokizaru / のきざる | ninja (esp. those serving the Uesugi clan during the Sengoku period) |
透破 see styles |
toppa / とっぱ | (archaism) (See 忍者) ninja |
遁法 see styles |
tonpou / tonpo / とんぽう | {MA} Ninja art of escape |
遁術 see styles |
tonjutsu / とんじゅつ | {MA} Ninja art of escape |
鉤縄 see styles |
kaginawa / かぎなわ | ninja rope with grappling hook |
陰忍 see styles |
innin / いんにん | camouflaged ninja |
陽忍 see styles |
younin / yonin / ようにん | ninja working in the open; non-undercover ninja |
隠忍 see styles |
innin / いんにん | (noun/participle) (1) patience; endurance; (noun/participle) (2) undercover ninja; embedded ninja |
かぎ縄 see styles |
kaginawa / かぎなわ | ninja rope with grappling hook |
くの一 see styles |
kunoichi / くのいち | (ik) (1) female ninja; (2) (colloquialism) woman |
くノ一 see styles |
kunoichi / くのいち | (1) female ninja; (2) (colloquialism) woman |
七化け see styles |
nanabake / ななばけ | (1) (See 七変化・しちへんげ・3) kabuki dance in which the dancer quickly changes his clothes seven times; (2) the seven common disguises of ninja |
七方出 see styles |
shichihoude / shichihode / しちほうで | {MA} seven disguises of the ninja |
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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 Ninja Kanji, Ninja Characters, Ninja in Mandarin Chinese, Ninja Characters, Ninja in Chinese Writing, Ninja in Japanese Writing, Ninja in Asian Writing, Ninja Ideograms, Chinese Ninja symbols, Ninja Hieroglyphics, Ninja Glyphs, Ninja in Chinese Letters, Ninja Hanzi, Ninja in Japanese Kanji, Ninja Pictograms, Ninja in the Chinese Written-Language, or Ninja in the Japanese Written-Language.
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