Idk if it’s as prevalent, but some Americans definitely wear shirts with random gibberish in Japanese because they like the aesthetic
Back when I was learning hanzi and kanji more often, I met a college classmate who had the character 力 emblazoned on his arm. White guy. I ask him, “So, what’s with the tattoo? It says power” trying to make conversation, and he looks at me like I just insulted his mother, his jaw drops. He replies, “It doesn’t say power at all. It says strength.”
I didn’t talk to him after that. I’ve also met people who had tattoos of characters that don’t say anything at all, like completely fictional characters made of random strokes
One of my Japanese friends tells the story of a white Midwestern exchange student at his university who one day proudly showed off his new Kanji tattoo. My friend looks at it and asks him “what’s it supposed to say?”
White guy looks confused and says “it says, 挑戦 (chousen) - Challenge”.
My friend nods and says “Yeah it does say chousen, but the Kanji is 朝鮮 - North Korea.”
That was the last time my friend ever saw the exchange student. He thinks he withdrew from the exchange program out of shame.
This is the best. I also think it’s interesting how the North is Chousen and the south is Kankoku. It reflects the Korean thing of Joseon vs Hanguk.
Do you know if communists in Japan would possibly call South Korea by like 南朝鮮 (minami chosen)? Reflecting how north Koreans call the south 남조선 “namjoseon” instead of Hanguk.
and why would his jaw drop, those are basically synonyms! it’s not it translates to “american who eats cheeseburger”
