"tattoos that make no sense to anyone at all."

Well, if the person believes it means something to them, then it still makes sense to them. Its the humpty dumpty principle.

I enjoyed Neon Genesis Evangelion even though the name is itself is cultural gibberish, the use of kabalah in the series is pretty much for just its cool exotic sound.

I'm with the guy who knew he just liked the shapes of the characters and didn't care what they say. If ethnic Asians are tempted to laugh at him for purported ignorance, they can consider it a test of their inter-ethnic tolerance :)

Also I think the issue with a chinese character is the gestalt of the 'single symbol' meaning something. Nobody seems to be getting katakana characters, they get kanji only. A fancy calligraphic English word can always be broken down by the viewer into its constituent meaningless letters. 

How about hieroglyphs? Can I get an ankh because I think its a symbol of life without performing gibberish because i don't know exactly what it represents (nor does anyone else, according to wikipedia)

Seems only fair--in Japan, they've been slapping random English words on T-shirts for decades.  Here are some examples:

http://www.bootstrappin.com/?p=116

(I just found that in a quick search, and yes, that title is offensive and the guy is a jerk.)

Occasionally, you get one that is intentionally funny:

http://www.zazzle.com/funny_japanese_t_shirt_tshirt-235363911103597239

The effective translation from Japanese is, "I don't know what is written on my t-shirt."

 "It is quite trendy in the U.S. to get a word that means something to you in English (“love,” “strength” etc.) tattooed in Japanese or Chinese characters."
It's not trendy.  It used to be, especially in the late 90's, early 00's, but not anymore.  Tattoos with Chinese or Japanese characters are currently considered tacky and dated - what the British refer to as "naff".  But here's an interesting contemporary trend:

http://thegloss.com/beauty/english-tattoos-now-trendy-in-china-728/ 

Perhaps getting  something meaningful in another language (or what you think is in another language anyway) is a way to both  display and hide the statement?  So you're doing something "meaningful" but no one is going to come up to  you on the train (in an area where few people speak Mandarin) and say "I think it's dumb that you have 'warrior' tattooed on your arm" as they might if it were in English?   Or you can have something slightly pretentious (like "warrior") and no one will call you on it?

I see a lot of tattoos of sentences in English or Spanish (anyway, whatever language is locally spoken) on the fashionable kids today.  It seems like phrases are more fashionable than either images or single words at the moment. On the whole, this seems to have pushed people to more thoughtful choices - I've seen a few that I found very slightly shallow or pretentious in sentiment, but nothing like the tacky "I'm a warrior!" sort of stuff from the nineties. 

In general, it seems a little harder to appropriate when you're replicating a line from a poem or an essay - it seems like even if a white person had a sentence from Lu Xun or something similar, it wouldn't carry the same "I am tattooing myself with the Mystery of the East" vibe that hanzi do, and I haven't even really noticed a lot of that sort of thing anyway.

Why do you say that meaning (of a symbol) comes from something other than intent?

A tatto means exactly what it is intended to mean, and it doesn't matter if it is in the shape of glyphs used by others to mean different things.

Just don't expect to avoid confusion when people try to read something that appears to be readable, but isn't.

A few years ago, there was a comedy that addressed this.  Can't remember the name, but the conversation was hillarious:

"I like your tattoo.  Do you know what it means?"
"Yup!  It means 'powerful warrior'!"
"Uh....not exactly...."
"Oh, yeah, what does it mean?""It means: of the two men that are married, you are the wife."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5170898/Chinese-craze-for-English-tattoos.html

I got a Japanese word for a tattoo, but then I wanted to show my appreciation for kinbaku - which is the word I got tattoed. That's hopefully a slight case of appropriation at most...

When I was in college I practiced Shaolin-Do.  We did our belt testing in Lexington, Ky with Grandmaster Sin.  One year he wrote our names in Chinese symbols on the backs of our gis.  I know my name does not translate easily to Chinese.  To this day, I'm not really sure exactly what he wrote on the back of my gi.  I always had a vague thought that he wrote "girl who tried but would never be great" :-)

While I do like to imagine the flipped situation and think of how ridiculous native English speakers might fine seeing someone with random (and sometimes nonsensical) English letters tattooed across one's body, I do think while tattooing English isn't particularly popular, there are similar things going on when looking at cute stationary, t-shirts, and restaurant decor in Japan, China, and Korea. I do think there is overlap in how these languages are used. Exoticizing happens in all of these regions, so I do think that aspect isn't necessarily harmful to any particular group of people. However, there is a difference in how these languages are considered.

English, in Eastern Asia (as well as many other regions of the world), is sought after, and seen as necessary to learn if one wants to engage the international stage at any level. In Korea, English is a required school subject. In the US (and most other English speaking countries), being in that position of having one's native language being the internationally dominant one, many people don't feel the pressing need to study and master a foreign language.  .

Foreign languages symbolize different things for both groups. That being said, I think the tattooing of Asian letters tend to give people a feeling that they've tapped into something outlying and mysterious, which also fits the bill in terms of tattooing itself; whereas, English is seen as something that is mainstream/upper-class and enhances upward mobility in Asia, which does not fit the bill when it comes to tattoos. Meanwhile, restaurants may want to try to enhance their image as a classy place by adding English mottos to their decor.

Taking it further, if Korean people start speaking in English to those who may not have learned English enough to hold a conversation, they're considered snobby and show-offy. In contrast, if someone in the US started speaking Korean or Chinese to someone who hasn't learned it, that person would be considered uneducated, and often will be disregarded.

A Kanji tattoo when the wearer is not Japanese and has no specific
connection to Japanese culture is an example of cultural appropriation.

One thing that has not been addressed so far is that in Japan, apart from a few young people who like Western tattoos, the main stereotype of tattooed person is the yakuza, and for the main population tattoos are something that only the criminal underclass have.

It's more about the dragons, tigers, demons, and sakura petals in the wind type of tattoo that covers the back, chest or sleeves, but the image of this kind of tattoos in Japan is rougly equivalent to a teenager in California getting tattoos from the Mara Salvatrucha or any violent street gang a la Bloods and Crips. So people who are enamored enough of Japanese culture to get yakuza-style tattoos without taking  into account that yakuza are socially shunned in Japan may find themselves unable to use an onsen that denies entry to people with tattoos to keep the yakuza away, for example.

So, I guess the REAL question is, if that is what you want, where does one turn for a Reputable Source?

As a person who actually has tattoos, the idea of getting something 'wrong' or 'lost in translation' when getting a text tattoo terrifies me. I don't have a calligraphy/kanji tattoo, but I do have one in Koine Greek. It is a quote by a Roman Philosopher (the language of philosophy at the time was Greek, not Latin), so even though I am of Italian ethnicity, I can't exactly say I identify 100% with the use of Greek text. But... because that was the original language, I wanted the original message.

Before getting this tattoo, I found three separate translations to make sure I liked the phrase (because everyone translates something differently), and also ran it by someone who understood what it meant because I didn't want to get it wrong. Roughly translated, it means "Death overshadows you." In context, it is another way of phrasing 'live for today and be a good person because you could die at any moment' etc. It's a reminder to myself that I always see in a positive light... BUT, if I went to Greece wearing this tattoo, I'm not sure what people would think of me. If someone who could read Greek were to encounter me, I'm not sure what they would think of me. So, I wonder what people with calligraphy/kanji tattoos think others (who can read the language) will think of them.

When I think of my tattoo, and why I chose to get it in the original language (instead of something similar in the language I do speak)... it is not simply because I wanted to preserve the 'original' text, although that is part of it. It was also because it was a reminder for me, and only me... and although it is openly displayed, people can't read it like a book. They must ask me what it means, and this often leads to a discussion. Some may choose the calligraphy/kanji for its simplicity and overall beauty, but some may also choose it for that 'personal' quality of 'only I know what this means'. I would still do a LOT of research before getting something in a language you don't understand, however... or simply go for a symbolic image over text, if you want to 'hide' the meaning from others. Getting the Greek tattoo was really a stretch for me. I also have a tattoo in Latin, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable borrowing from any other language... except perhaps Esperanto...

Over the last 10 years I have been collecting examples of
this type of non-linguistic use of other writing systems, and I have found the “appropriation"
argument to be too simplified and easy. It doesn't even begin to account for
historical and varied uses of faux, borrowed or imagined scripts from around
the globe.

I always feel a little weird around this topic, because I have a tattoo in a language most English-speakers can't read, but I can read it. I speak the language (although it's not my native one) and just wanted to keep my tattoo private, because it's for me, not for others to read their own meanings into it. If I had a tattoo in Chinese or Japanese, I think I would feel awkward and uncomfortable coming up against actual Chinese or Japanese speakers... as it is, when I'm wearing something that shows my tat (it's on my back), people sometimes come up to me and address me in the language it's in, which I don't mind because I can respond.

That Hanzi Smatter blog is awesome. Thanks for linking to it, Wendy!

Apart from any cultural appropriation issues, as someone who has studied Chinese for many years, the major issue for me with most of the tattoos on that blog is that they are woefully written. A drunk 3 year old Chinese child writing with his/her foot could produce more attractive characters than most of these allegedly professional tattoo "artists".

Haven't read all the comments yet, so I suppose someone might have brought it up already - in which case, my apologies for the repetition - but Chinese and Japanese aren't the only languages getting used as 'exotic' and 'spiritual' tattoo material, Hebrew gets that, too. You can see similar disasters here:
http://www.badhebrew.com/

In both cases, I think the main issue is that the writing gets imbued with the positive stereotypes of the culture: thus, Hebrew is mostly used when people are looking for something 'spiritual', often with Biblical/religious undertones, and Chinese or Japanese are used both for the 'spiritual' value and for more general 'bad ass' (Japan has ninjas, and samurai, and giant robots, right?) or 'exotic' appeal. I doubt if people use Hebrew to look bad-ass.

Could someone point me out to some text/article that show good reasons of why cultural appropriation would be bad, specifically in a case in which we don't have one culture overtaking the other. 

Every time this topic shows up on Sociological Images the arguments presented leave me feeling that the writers are against cultures mixing, and I don't suppose that's the case.

There are some of things to think about with this article.

First, the author assumes that this "cultural appropriation" of language is a unidirectional phenomenon. A recent article in the Telegraph discusses the growing number of Chineseindividuals who get English tattoos, many for similar reasons. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5170898/Chinese-craze-for-English-tattoos.htmlWhile these are not as recognizably unintelligible as some of the Mandarin and Japanese examples, they are not perfect glosses of the English language: "I belong to the god and it bless me," is an example. I do not doubt the idea of cultural and linguistic appropriation at all, especially from a critical standpoint. But if both Chinese individuals get strange English language tattoos, and English-speaking individuals get strange Mandarin tattoos, this might highlight the ways languages are locally transformed in rich ways when they are brought into new contexts. The topic of World Englishes highlights this beautifully. There are many different varieties of the language, each with their local distinctiveness. It would seem wrong to assume that there is one "right" English among them, or to disregard the political economy that comes with certain varieties. Would it be wrong to consider orthography, and aesthetic representations of that orthography, in the same light? The second point to consider is that the author takes a critical reading of tattoos and does not include a single voice from anyone who actually has a tattoo. Many people I know would take much of what she says as ill-informed and downright offensive. As diverse as we may be as humans, there is an equally diverse number of reasons for why people get them in the first place, and what they mean to them over time.There was much controversy over an Op-Ed article in the University of Buffalo's student newspaper entitled, "Why put a bumper sticker on a ferrari?" http://www.ubspectrum.com/opinion/why-put-a-bumper-sticker-on-a-ferrari-1.2755789#.T4oTIJq3CpYI recommend reading some of the comments at the bottom of the page in response to this Op-Ed, and then consider how those individuals would consider the cultural appropriation piece here. I think we should be concerned not only about the asymmetric relations inherent in cultural appropriation, but also be keen on the multiple ways this process happens from all sides of the aisle, and especially how this process plays out in the lives of the people who make it possible.

There are some of things to think about with this article.

First, the author assumes that this "cultural appropriation" of language is a unidirectional phenomenon. A recent article in the Telegraph discusses the growing number of Chineseindividuals who get English tattoos, many for similar reasons. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5170898/Chinese-craze-for-English-tattoos.html

While these are not as recognizably unintelligible as some of the Mandarin and Japanese examples, they are not perfect glosses of the English language: "I belong to the god and it bless me," is an example. 

I do not doubt the idea of cultural and linguistic appropriation at all, especially from a critical standpoint. But if both Chinese individuals get strange English language tattoos, and English-speaking individuals get strange Mandarin tattoos, this might highlight the ways languages are locally transformed in rich ways when they are brought into new contexts. 

The topic of World Englishes highlights this beautifully. There are many different varieties of the language, each with their local distinctiveness. It would seem wrong to assume that there is one "right" English among them, or to disregard the political economy that comes with certain varieties. 

Would it be wrong to consider orthography, and aesthetic representations of that orthography, in the same light? 

The second point to consider is that the author takes a critical reading of tattoos and does not include a single voice from anyone who actually has a tattoo. Many people I know would take much of what she says as ill-informed and downright offensive. As diverse as we may be as humans, there is an equally diverse number of reasons for why people get them in the first place, and what they mean to them over time.

There was much controversy over an Op-Ed article in the University of Buffalo's student newspaper entitled, "Why put a bumper sticker on a ferrari?" 

http://www.ubspectrum.com/opinion/why-put-a-bumper-sticker-on-a-ferrari-1.2755789#.T4oTIJq3CpY

I recommend reading some of the comments at the bottom of the page in response to this Op-Ed, and then consider how those individuals would consider the cultural appropriation piece here. 

I think we should be concerned not only about the asymmetric relations inherent in cultural appropriation, but also be keen on the multiple ways this process happens from all sides of the aisle, and especially how this process plays out in the lives of the people who make it possible.

One way to interpret these tattoos is that they say the wearer is illiterate in several languages.

My favorite is the girl whop thought she was getting "explosive power" tattooed on her belly. What she got as "geri", which means "diarrhea".

Looking at these totally incorrect tattoos makes me sick. I am a Chinese person, do not expect to get a tattoo and pass it off as some other meaning. it is disrespectful and disparaging of my culture and my language. You're just willing to get a tattoo of any word in Chinese because it "looks cool" without an iota of knowledge or true appreciation of the characters. This kind of ignorance and disrespect offends and disgusts me. Also, even one of my favorite tv shows, One Tree Hill falls victim of this. Lucas got a tatoo on his arm that was supposed to mean "fun", but it actually means "to have". Brooke also got a skanky tattoo that had a totally incorrect meaning.

So the second example could be read to mean "bus pass?" Hilarious.

is it okay if I know Japanese and pick the kanji myself to form something with the intended meaning?

A long time ago when I was studying Japanese, I got a Japanese tattoo. I
didn't get it because it 'looked cool.' I didn't get it because it was some random design I got off a wall. I wanted a tattoo that meant something to me. Japanese was (and is, even though I unfortunately don't remember much) very dear to my heart, as was the phrase I got. (Which I cleared with my Japanese teacher, a native of Japan. I did my research.)

What I want to know is, why isn't it cultural appropriation when you get a phrase in say, German or Russian? I have never heard anyone complain about cultural appropriation when it comes to languages that aren't Asian. And I follow a lot of SJ blogs, so you'd think it would have come up at least once.

Do tell..

What's your opinions on stuff like hannya masks/oni masks, koi, etc.

I can't imagine being such a busybody that I would create a lengthy blog post which shames people for their objectively innocuous, if not poor, tattoo choices.

What if someone, who wasn't Chinese or Japanese, wanted a tattoo and actually knew exactly what it said and what it meant?

Or if they wanted lyrics from a song in a different language and knew what it meant?

Would that be okay? Or would it still be cultural appropriation?

Cultural appropriation is only bad if you claim it as your own or disrespect the culture. I'm planning on getting a Tao Tieh tattoo because I love the story behind it. and I want it as a reminder to never be greedy or gluttonous, which is what the symbol means anyway. In no way does this disrespect the culture or harm the Chinese people and I'm not claiming the beast as my own.

Tattoos do not need to have a meaning, it is simply for the ones satisfaction of who is getting the tattoo. I believe this was all just a "trend" at the time. If you notice you really don't see too many people getting that done today.

When it comes to cultural appropriation, these are the questions to be asking yourself:

1. Did my culture once oppress this culture in a way that still affects individuals today?

2. Is this cultural element meant to be used under exclusive circumstances? (I.e., temples, rites, rituals, achievements, ceremonies)

3. Do members of this culture take offense to outsiders utilizing this cultural element?

4. Does my use of this cultural element reinforce a stereotype of that culture?

5. Could my use of this cultural element contribute to it losing its original meaning?

If the answer to these questions is no, you should be in the clear, just do your best to be respectful.

Here's an article analyzing Chinese tattoos on non-Chinese people in light of these questions: https://www.sen-tattoos.com/post/are-chinese-tattoos-on-non-chinese-people-cultural-appropriation