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Personalize your custom “武士” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “武士” title below...
1. Warrior
2. Bushido / The Way of the Samurai
3. Bushi Kai
6. Heart of a Warrior / Samurai Heart
7. Bushidokan
12. Peaceful Warrior
13. Silent Warrior
14. Bushidokan Dojo
The first character, 武, is the spirit or essence of a warrior. The second character, 士, means soldier, officer, or official. 武士 is also used appropriately enough to describe a piece of a chess game. 武士 can also be translated as a soldier, cavalier, palace guard, or samurai, and sometimes as a knight. I've occasionally seen this translated as strong man or tough man (gender not necessarily implied).
By far, 武士 is the most common way to write warrior in Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Note: In Japanese, this is Bushi, as in Bushido.
武士道 is the title for “The Code of the Samurai.”
Sometimes called “The Seven Virtues of the Samurai,” “The Bushido Code,” or “The Samurai Code of Chivalry.”
This would be read in Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja as “The Way of the Warrior,” “The Warrior's Way,” or “The Warrior's Code.”
It's a set of virtues that the Samurai of Japan and ancient warriors of China and Korea had to live and die by. However, while known throughout Asia, this title is mostly used in Japan and thought of as being of Japanese origin.
The seven commonly-accepted tenets or virtues of Bushido are Rectitude 義, Courage 勇, Benevolence 仁, Respect 礼(禮), Honour 名誉, Honesty 誠, and Loyalty 忠実. These tenets were part of oral history for generations, thus, you will see variations in the list of Bushido tenets depending on who you talk to.
覺醒武士 is not a commonly used title in Chinese but is sometimes used in Martial arts and military contexts to refer to a warrior who seems always to be fully aware, enlightened, knowledgeable, noble, and just.
The first two characters are a word that means: to awaken; to come to realize; awakened to the truth; the truth dawns upon one; scales fall from the eyes; to become aware.
The last two characters mean warrior but can also refer to a samurai, soldier, or fighter.
平和の武士 can be read as “Peaceful Warrior” or “Warrior for Peace” in Japanese. This sounds like an oxymoron in Japanese, so it's a weird title. Expect Japanese people to be perplexed when they see it.
Character breakdown:
平和 (heiwa) peace; harmony.
の (no) possessive particle.
武士 (bushi) warrior; samurai; soldier.
This Japanese proverb simply reads, “[In] Flowers it's Cherry Blossoms, [In] Men it's Warriors.”
花は櫻木人は武士 is meant to say that of all the flowers in the world, the cherry blossom is the best. And of all men in the world, the Samurai or Warrior is the best
This proverb has been around for a long time. It's believed to have been composed sometime before the Edo Period in Japan (which started in 1603).
Some will drop one syllable and pronounce this, “hana wa sakura hito wa bushi.” That's “sakura” instead of “sakuragi,” which is like saying “cherry blossom” instead of “cherry tree.”
The third character was traditionally written as 櫻. But in modern Japan, that became 桜. You may still see 櫻 used from time to time on older pieces of calligraphy. We can do either one, so just make a special request if you want 櫻.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
武士の一言金鉄の如し is an old Japanese proverb about the value of the word of a warrior.
Here are a couple of versions of how this can be translated:
A warrior's single word is as unchanging and reliable as gold and steel.
A warrior's promise is as dependable as gold, and his [scabbard contains] untarnished steel (a sword).
Note: Sometimes this phrase is written as 男子の一言、金鉄の如し (danshi no ichigon kintetsu no gotoshi)
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 武士 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
武士 see styles |
wǔ shì wu3 shi4 wu shih mononofu もののふ |
More info & calligraphy: Warrior(poetic term) warrior; soldier; samurai; (place-name) Mononofu |
武士道 see styles |
wǔ shì dào wu3 shi4 dao4 wu shih tao bushidou / bushido ぶしどう |
More info & calligraphy: Bushido / The Way of the SamuraiBushido; samurai code of chivalry |
花は桜木人は武士 see styles |
hanahasakuragihitohabushi はなはさくらぎひとはぶし |
(expression) (proverb) the best flowers are the cherry blossoms, the best individuals are the samurai; as the cherry blossom is first among flowers, so is the samurai first among men |
七武士 see styles |
qī wǔ shì qi1 wu3 shi4 ch`i wu shih chi wu shih |
Seven Samurai (movie) |
上武士 see styles |
kamitakeshi かみたけし |
(place-name) Kamitakeshi |
下武士 see styles |
shimotakeshi しもたけし |
(place-name) Shimotakeshi |
古武士 see styles |
furutsuwamono ふるつわもの kobushi こぶし |
old soldier; veteran; old hand; (1) feudal warrior; samurai; (2) old soldier; veteran; old hand |
奥武士 see styles |
okubushi おくぶし |
(place-name) Okubushi |
富武士 see styles |
toppushi とっぷし |
(place-name) Toppushi |
岡武士 see styles |
okatakeshi おかたけし |
(person) Okatake Shi |
朝武士 see styles |
asamushi あさむし |
(surname) Asamushi |
武士俣 see styles |
bushimata ぶしまた |
(surname) Bushimata |
武士刀 see styles |
wǔ shì dāo wu3 shi4 dao1 wu shih tao |
katana |
武士又 see styles |
bushimata ぶしまた |
(surname) Bushimata |
武士団 see styles |
bushidan ぶしだん |
band of warriors (often formed from related or dependent families); group of samurai |
武士川 see styles |
bushigawa ぶしがわ |
(personal name) Bushigawa |
武士平 see styles |
bushidaira ぶしだいら |
(place-name) Bushidaira |
武士彠 武士彟 see styles |
wǔ shì huò wu3 shi4 huo4 wu shih huo |
Wu Shihuo (7th century), father of Tang empress Wu Zetian 武則天|武则天 |
武士末 see styles |
bushisue ぶしすえ |
(surname) Bushisue |
武士橋 see styles |
takeshibashi たけしばし |
(place-name) Takeshibashi |
武士池 see styles |
bushiike / bushike ぶしいけ |
(place-name) Bushiike |
武士沢 see styles |
bushizawa ぶしざわ |
(place-name, surname) Bushizawa |
武士泊 see styles |
bushidomari ぶしどまり |
(place-name) Bushidomari |
武士澤 see styles |
bushizawa ぶしざわ |
(surname) Bushizawa |
武士田 see styles |
bushida ぶしだ |
(surname) Bushida |
武士詞 see styles |
bushikotoba ぶしことば |
(rare) samurai words and phrases |
武士郎 see styles |
bushirou / bushiro ぶしろう |
(male given name) Bushirou |
井上武士 see styles |
inouetakeshi / inoetakeshi いのうえたけし |
(person) Inoue Takeshi (1894.8.6-1974.11.8) |
古武士然 see styles |
kobushizen こぶしぜん |
(yoji) having something of the old-time samurai about one |
大和武士 see styles |
yamatotakeshi やまとたけし |
(person) Yamato Takeshi |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Warrior | 武士 | bu shi / bushi | wǔ shì / wu3 shi4 / wu shi / wushi | wu shih / wushih |
Bushido The Way of the Samurai | 武士道 | bu shi do / bushido | wǔ shì dào wu3 shi4 dao4 wu shi dao wushidao | wu shih tao wushihtao |
Bushi Kai | 武士會 武士会 | bu shi kai / bushikai | ||
Dragon Warrior | 龍武士 龙武士 | ryuu bu shi ryuubushi ryu bu shi | lóng wǔ shì long2 wu3 shi4 long wu shi longwushi | lung wu shih lungwushih |
Quiet Warrior | 靜武士 静武士 | jìng wǔ shì jing4 wu3 shi4 jing wu shi jingwushi | ching wu shih chingwushih |
|
Heart of a Warrior Samurai Heart | 武士心 | bu shi kokoro bushikokoro | wǔ shì xīn wu3 shi4 xin1 wu shi xin wushixin | wu shih hsin wushihhsin |
Bushidokan | 武士道館 武士道馆 | bu shi dou kan bushidoukan bu shi do kan | wǔ shì dào guǎn wu3 shi4 dao4 guan3 wu shi dao guan wushidaoguan | wu shih tao kuan wushihtaokuan |
Enlightened Warrior | 覺醒武士 觉醒武士 | jué xǐng wǔ shì jue2 xing3 wu3 shi4 jue xing wu shi juexingwushi | chüeh hsing wu shih chüehhsingwushih |
|
Quiet Warrior | 靜謐武士 静谧武士 | jìng mì wǔ shì jing4 mi4 wu3 shi4 jing mi wu shi jingmiwushi | ching mi wu shih chingmiwushih |
|
Warrior for Peace | 和平武士 | hé píng wǔ shì he2 ping2 wu3 shi4 he ping wu shi hepingwushi | ho p`ing wu shih hopingwushih ho ping wu shih |
|
Bushi-Ryu Jujutsu | 武士流柔術 | bu shi ryuu ju jutsu bushiryuujujutsu bu shi ryu ju jutsu | ||
Peaceful Warrior | 平和的武士 | píng hé de wǔ shì ping2 he2 de wu3 shi4 ping he de wu shi pinghedewushi | p`ing ho te wu shih pinghotewushih ping ho te wu shih |
|
Peaceful Warrior | 平和の武士 | hei wa no bu shi heiwanobushi | ||
Silent Warrior | 沉默的武士 | chén mò de wǔ shì chen2 mo4 de wu3 shi4 chen mo de wu shi chenmodewushi | ch`en mo te wu shih chenmotewushih chen mo te wu shih |
|
Bushidokan Dojo | 武士道館道場 武士道馆道场 | bu shi dou kan dou jou bushidoukandoujou bu shi do kan do jo | wǔ shì dào guǎn dào chǎng wu3 shi4 dao4 guan3 dao4 chang3 wu shi dao guan dao chang wushidaoguandaochang | wu shih tao kuan tao ch`ang wushihtaokuantaochang wu shih tao kuan tao chang |
In Flowers the Cherry Blossom, In Men the Samurai | 花は櫻木人は武士 花は桜木人は武士 | hana wa sakuragi hito wa bushi | ||
The Warrior’s Word, Dependable as Gold and Steel | 武士の一言、金鉄の如し | bushi no ichigon kintetsu no gotoshi | ||
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.