The contemporary Japanese script was derived from Chinese characters which since then have evolved into a logographic writing style. The kanji script today as we understand stands for Japanese writing style which originally has been adopted from Chinese symbols. If you translate the kanji script you will find Hans character from which it was developed.

So what is the real story behind Chinese kanji symbols and how come they are attributed to Japan today? Well, it all started out when Chinese articles started coming into Japan as imports with Han character inscriptions on them.

The history bears evidence to this fact from many examples such as the Han dynasty ruler had presented a gold seal with Hans’ inscription to the Japanese. What we still wonder is that how and when the Hans characters were started to be used in Japan and developed.

The most believable account is that the first people to make use of the Chinese Kanji script symbols in Japan were actually Chinese immigrants. Otherwise the Japanese had no real means of understanding or comprehending and even learning the Chinese script.

With the passage of time the ties between the two countries became stronger. There was a constant need of written record that was to be transferred between both the countries. Hence a formal body of people known as the fuhito was set up which was trained to handle the documents written in the Chinese script. This paved the way for the acceptance of the Chinese Kanji script in Japan.

Chinese Kanji script carried the idea of formal writing script in Japan which did not have one at that time. They began to use Chinese script for writing initially and slowly shaped their own writing system with things taken from the Chinese script and then reshaping them to fit the Japanese grammar.

The Japanese adopted the Chinese symbol characters in their script and wrote the Japanese language with Chinese symbol naming it as Kana syllable. It was a distinct achievement as far as Japanese script was concerned. To further the easy acceptance of their script the Japanese introduced phonetics in their script where as in China Chinese symbols had no phonetics whatsoever.

The use of Kanji symbols is still far greater in China as compared to in Japan. Contrary to popular belief the kanji script used in both the countries are not precisely the same. Although they may seem quite similar the Chinese kanji symbols are quite different with regards to their structure.

The difference between the Chinese and Japanese script also extends into the way that they are read. As mentioned above the Chinese would treat the kanji characters as entire symbols whereas the Japanese would read them according to their phonetic value.

Dragon symbols from China are a good option for a tattoo. If you would like to read further on Chinese peace symbols please follow the links.

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