The name Restaurant in Chinese / Japanese...

While known in the west as fu dogs or foo dogs, these are actually guardian lions.

These are the lion statues traditionally placed at the entrance of Chinese imperial palaces, imperial tombs, temples, and high-ranking officials' homes. These days, you are more likely to see them at the entrance to a fancy Chinese restaurant.

石獅子 means “stone lion(s).”

海 is the character often used for sea or ocean in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. In some context, this can refer to the beach, or an area near the sea, such as “Shanghai” (same hai is the second character of Shanghai).

If you are looking for a universal word for ocean or sea - or can't decide which character for ocean or sea that you want, pick this one!

海 is also a common female given name in Japan - also a good name for a restaurant as “Umi Sushi” would mean “Ocean Sushi Restaurant.”

Please note that our Japanese master calligrapher will tend to write this character in the form shown to the right (a line instead of two dots). Both versions are correct, and can be read in either language. Let us know if you have a preference when you order.

Got a 寿司/sushi restaurant and need an appropriate wall scroll? Or maybe you love sushi enough to have it on your wall. This sushi calligraphy scroll is for you.

Note that the written characters for sushi are the same in Chinese and Japanese. However, the first character is actually a modern Japanese / Simplified Chinese, so in some cases, it will be written differently in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and some older Japanese sushi restaurants where you might see 壽司 instead of 寿司.

謝謝 is how to say thank you in Chinese. It is pronounced a bit like “shea shea” as in the English word for shea butter. Except you pronounce the X like “sh” but with your tongue firmly at the bottom of your mouth.

Unless you are putting this wall scroll near the exit of your store or restaurant to thank customers for coming, it is a bit of an odd selection. A gift of thanks to another person should be a more personal selection with more meaning than a simple thank you. Although common to write xie xie inside a card or letter of thanks.

Technically, this can be pronounced in Japanese but in Japan, it’s still the Chinese way to say thank you. It’s like an English speaker saying "gracias" (Spanish word for thank you).

いらっしゃいませ is the Japanese greeting that you'll hear just about every time you enter a sushi bar, restaurant, or shop in Japan.

This calligraphy would be appropriate to hang by the entry door of your business or shop.

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