Japan in Japanese is written 日本 and read nihon or nippon. Two kanji, not one: 日 means sun and 本 means origin or root, so the name says “where the sun comes from.” Nine strokes in total. Both readings are correct, and Japanese speakers use both every day.
Japan in Japanese
Japan in Japanese is 日本, read nihon in ordinary speech and nippon in formal or emphatic contexts. 日 (sun) plus 本 (origin) gives “sun origin,” the source of the country’s English nickname, the land of the rising sun. A Japanese person is 日本人 (nihonjin); the language is 日本語 (nihongo).
To write it, put 日 first and 本 second, either stacked vertically or left to right. There is no single-kanji way to write the country. 和 (wa) works as shorthand for things Japanese, as in 和食 (washoku, Japanese food), but 和 alone is not the name.
The Kanji for Japan: 日本
- Characters: 日 + 本
- 日: sun, day. 4 strokes. On’yomi ニチ (nichi), ジツ (jitsu); kun’yomi ひ (hi), か (ka)
- 本: origin, root, book. 5 strokes. On’yomi ホン (hon); kun’yomi もと (moto)
- Readings of 日本: にほん (nihon), にっぽん (nippon)
- Stroke count: 9 in total
- General meaning: Japan, literally “sun origin”
Japanese Symbol for Japan
The symbol for Japan is two pictures placed side by side, and both are readable once you know what they show.
日 began as a circle with a mark in the middle, an oracle bone drawing of the sun. Chinese brush writing has no comfortable way to draw a circle, so the circle squared off and the mark became the horizontal bar you see inside the modern character. Everything about time in Japanese runs through it: 日曜日 (nichiyoubi, Sunday), 今日 (kyou, today), 毎日 (mainichi, every day).
本 is 木 (tree) with a short horizontal stroke added low on the trunk. That extra mark is not decoration, it is a pointer: it marks the base of the tree, the roots, the origin. Characters built this way are called 指事文字 (shiji moji), indicative characters, where a plain mark points at part of a picture. The meaning “book” came later, out of the same sense of source or foundation, which is why learners keep tripping over 本 meaning two apparently unrelated things.
Put them together and 日本 reads, quite literally, as the root of the sun. The name was adopted around the seventh century, when the Yamato court began describing itself to the Chinese mainland as the country to the east where the sun rises. The red disc on the flag, 日の丸 (hinomaru), is the same idea in cloth.
How to Write Japan in Japanese
日 takes four strokes. Write the left vertical first, top to bottom. Second, the top horizontal and the right vertical as one stroke, turning the corner without lifting. Third, the short horizontal across the middle. Fourth, the horizontal that closes the bottom.
本 takes five. Write the top horizontal, then the long vertical down the centre, then the left-falling diagonal, then the right-falling diagonal, and finally the short horizontal low on the vertical. That last stroke is the one that turns 木 into 本, so it is the stroke to check on any stencil.
Stacked vertically, 日 goes above 本. Written horizontally, 日 goes on the left. Both arrangements are standard in modern Japan.
How to Say Japan in Japanese
Nihon is “nee-HON,” two clean beats, with the h fully pronounced. Nippon is “NIP-pon,” and the doubled p matters: there is a small hard stop before it, which is what makes the word sound emphatic. In kana the difference is written にほん against にっぽん, that small っ marking the pause.
Some ordinary sentences:
- 日本から来ました。(Nihon kara kimashita.) I came from Japan.
- 日本語を勉強しています。(Nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu.) I am studying Japanese.
- いつか日本に行きたいです。(Itsuka nihon ni ikitai desu.) I want to go to Japan one day.
- 日本の文化が好きです。(Nihon no bunka ga suki desu.) I like Japanese culture.
- 私は日本人ではありません。(Watashi wa nihonjin dewa arimasen.) I am not Japanese.
Words and Compounds With 日本
| Word | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 日本語 | nihongo | the Japanese language |
| 日本人 | nihonjin | a Japanese person |
| 日本刀 | nihontou | Japanese sword, the katana category |
| 日本酒 | nihonshu | sake, Japanese rice wine |
| 日本料理 | nihon ryouri | Japanese cuisine |
| 日本海 | nihonkai | the Sea of Japan |
| 日本一 | nihon-ichi | the best in Japan |
| 日本銀行 | nippon ginkou | the Bank of Japan |
日本酒 is worth a note, because sake in Japanese simply means alcohol of any kind. If you want the rice wine specifically, 日本酒 is the word to use in a Japanese bar.
日本銀行 is worth a second note, because it is one of the clearest places to see the nippon reading in the wild. Look closely at a Japanese banknote and you will find NIPPON GINKO printed on it, including in the microprinting used as a security feature.
Japan in Japanese Culture
The two readings are not a mistake anyone needs to fix. Nihon is softer and everyday. Nippon is harder, older, and more emphatic, which is why it turns up on currency and stamps, in the names of national institutions, and in the chant of a stadium crowd cheering for the national team.
This has been tested formally. In 2009 a member of the House of Representatives asked the government to settle on one official pronunciation. The government declined, replying that both were in wide use and that there was no reason to rule in favour of either. A country with a single written name and two spoken ones, officially.
The English word “Japan” comes from the same two characters by a long route. Early European travellers heard 日本 through Chinese and Malay pronunciations rather than Japanese ones, which is why Marco Polo wrote Cipangu and why the Portuguese arrived at Japão. Every version traces back to those two kanji.
As a Tattoo
日本 is a clear, honest, two-character piece with no hidden meaning and no bad reading. What you see is what it says: Japan.
Consider what that actually communicates. To a Japanese reader, a foreigner wearing 日本 reads roughly the way a stranger wearing the name of your country would read to you. It is not offensive, and people are generally warm about it, but it is a statement of affection for a place rather than a statement of philosophy. If you want something that says why you love Japan, a concept character or a phrase will do more work.
There is no script problem to worry about. Both characters are written identically in Japanese and simplified Chinese, though in Chinese 日本 is read Rìběn.
For placement, two characters give you a real layout choice. Stacked vertically with 日 above 本 is the traditional arrangement and reads naturally to a Japanese eye. Horizontally, left to right, is also standard in modern Japan. The vertical stack suits the spine, the forearm, and the outer calf. The horizontal suits the collarbone and the ribs.
Neither character has a dangerous look-alike, but 日 and 目 (me, eye) differ by one internal stroke, and 本 and 木 (ki, tree) differ by the small horizontal bar near the base. Check the stencil at full resolution.
Confirm with a native speaker before you ink. Set the pair in vertical and horizontal layouts with the Japanese Tattoo Generator, and read the wider background in our guide to japanese tattoo meanings.
Related Kanji
FAQ
How do you say Japan in Japanese?
Japan in Japanese is 日本, said either nihon (“nee-HON”) or nippon (“NIP-pon”). Both are correct. Nihon is the everyday reading used in conversation and most compounds. Nippon is more formal and emphatic, heard on currency, in institution names, and in sports chants.
How do you write Japan in Japanese?
Write 日本, two kanji: 日 (sun, four strokes) followed by 本 (origin, five strokes), nine strokes in total. Stacked vertically, 日 sits above 本. Written horizontally, 日 comes first on the left. In kana it is にほん or にっぽん.
Is it nihon or nippon?
Both are correct and both are current. In 2009 a member of the Japanese House of Representatives asked the government to standardize one reading, and the government declined, saying both were in wide use. Nihon is the common everyday form; nippon is the formal, emphatic one.
Why is Japan called the land of the rising sun?
Because that is what the name says. 日 means sun and 本 means origin, so 日本 is “the origin of the sun.” When the Yamato court corresponded with China in the seventh century, it described itself as the land to the east where the sun rises. The flag’s red disc comes from the same idea.
Can I write Japan with a single kanji?
Not properly. 和 (wa) is used as shorthand for things Japanese, as in 和食 (washoku) for Japanese cuisine and 和紙 (washi) for Japanese paper, and it carries the added meanings of harmony and peace. But 和 alone does not mean the country. The name of the country is 日本.
Why does 本 mean both origin and book?
本 is 木 (tree) with a short mark added low on the trunk, pointing at the roots. The original sense is root, base, origin. “Book” grew out of the same idea of a source or foundation of knowledge, and both meanings are still fully active: 日本 uses the first, 本屋 (honya, bookshop) uses the second.