Buy an 將軍 calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “將軍” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “將軍” title below...
将軍 or Shogun, in the simplest definition, is a General, but you could also use words such as commander, lord, overlord, highest ranking, or commanding officer.
The title “Shogun” has held some slightly ambiguous meanings at times in Japanese history.
In the west, when someone mentions “Shogun,” we may be filled with thoughts of gallant warriors. Some might even think of the TV mini-series with Richard Chamberlain. Often westerners use the words, Samurai and Shogun interchangeably, but that's really not technically correct. In the case of the Samurai, the Shogun was a designated (by the emperor) leader of a gild of Samurai. In this context, the Shogun was a Samurai lord. Or effectively, a commanding officer of a company of Samurai - to put it in modern military terms.
Sometimes a Shogun was a general; other times, he was the leader of a military government in Japan - but not a front-line warrior like a Samurai.
Variants of the same characters are used in China for the rank and title of a General of the People's Liberation Army (and the same term and characters have been used for the last 2200 years since the Qin Dynasty).
將軍 is the more Chinese and Korean Hanja version or General.
There is a slight variation in the way the first character is written compared to the Japanese Shogun (将軍) title.
So if you want to specifically refer to a Chinese or Korean General, this is the way. Japanese people would still easily identify this as “shogun.”
Note: This term is also used for Admiral in Korean in a certain context (if you need a better title for Admiral, just let me know).
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 將軍 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
將軍 将军 see styles |
jiāng jun jiang1 jun1 chiang chün |
More info & calligraphy: Chinese or Korean Army General |
上將軍 上将军 see styles |
shàng jiàng jun shang4 jiang4 jun1 shang chiang chün |
top general; commander-in-chief |
大將軍 大将军 see styles |
dà jiāng jun da4 jiang1 jun1 ta chiang chün |
important general; generalissimo |
將軍肚 将军肚 see styles |
jiāng jun dù jiang1 jun1 du4 chiang chün tu |
potbelly |
將軍鄉 将军乡 see styles |
jiāng jun xiāng jiang1 jun1 xiang1 chiang chün hsiang |
Chiangchun township in Tainan county 台南縣|台南县[Tai2 nan2 xian4], Taiwan |
韋將軍 韦将军 see styles |
wéi jiàng jun wei2 jiang4 jun1 wei chiang chün |
(韋天將軍) One of the generals under the southern mahārāja guardian in a temple. |
飛將軍 飞将军 see styles |
fēi jiāng jun fei1 jiang1 jun1 fei chiang chün |
nickname of Han dynasty general Li Guang 李廣|李广[Li3 Guang3] |
五道將軍 五道将军 see styles |
wǔ dào jiāng jun wu3 dao4 jiang1 jun1 wu tao chiang chün go dō shōgun |
A general in the retinue of the ten kings of Hades, who keeps the book of life. |
保境將軍 保境将军 see styles |
bǎo jìng jiàng jun bao3 jing4 jiang4 jun1 pao ching chiang chün hōkyō shōgun |
The guardian general of the region. |
將軍竹篦 将军竹篦 see styles |
jiàng jun zhú bì jiang4 jun1 zhu2 bi4 chiang chün chu pi shōgun shippei |
general's bamboo stick |
將軍肚子 将军肚子 see styles |
jiāng jun dù zi jiang1 jun1 du4 zi5 chiang chün tu tzu |
beer belly (complimentary) |
鐵將軍把門 铁将军把门 see styles |
tiě jiāng jun bǎ mén tie3 jiang1 jun1 ba3 men2 t`ieh chiang chün pa men tieh chiang chün pa men |
lit. General Iron is guarding the door (idiom); fig. the door is padlocked — nobody inside |
矬子裡拔將軍 矬子里拔将军 see styles |
cuó zi lǐ bá jiāng jun cuo2 zi5 li3 ba2 jiang1 jun1 ts`o tzu li pa chiang chün tso tzu li pa chiang chün |
lit. to choose a general among the dwarves (idiom); fig. to pick the best out of a bad group |
矮子裡拔將軍 矮子里拔将军 see styles |
ǎi zi li bá jiāng jun ai3 zi5 li5 ba2 jiang1 jun1 ai tzu li pa chiang chün |
lit. choose a general from among the dwarfs; fig. choose the best person available (out of a mediocre bunch) |
一個將軍一個令 一个将军一个令 see styles |
yī gè jiāng jun yī gè lìng yi1 ge4 jiang1 jun1 yi1 ge4 ling4 i ko chiang chün i ko ling |
lit. one general, one order (idiom); fig. every boss has their own rules; everyone has their own way of doing things |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Shogun Japanese General | 將軍 将军 | shougun / shogun | jiāng jūn jiang1 jun1 jiang jun jiangjun | chiang chün chiangchün |
Chinese or Korean Army General | 將軍 将军 | shougun / shogun | jiāng jūn jiang1 jun1 jiang jun jiangjun | chiang chün chiangchün |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.