Kanji Market is a dynamic online store that offers products to people all over the world who have an appreciation for Japanese culture, language and design. We only carry original designs that you cannot find anywhere else. We offer a variety of stylish Kanji T-shirts, mugs, totes, pillows and posters.
A Japanese designer creates all of our products so you can feel confident knowing you are making a statement, even if you are not fluent in Japanese. Do you remember the Chinese or Japanese symbols tattoo trend that was popular about 10 years ago? How many of those people or their tattoo artists, spoke the language or knew the meaning of the symbols that they were inking their body with? I knew a guy once who had a tattoo that he thought meant “powerful” but really meant “hemorrhoid”. Don’t be that guy. We guarantee you would be comfortable wearing one of our T-shirts while walking through the streets of Tokyo and nobody would think that you are a walking billboard for a hemorrhoid cream.
Now that you are comfortable enough to stay around and shop for a while, browse through our products and discover what we have to offer. Go ahead and purchase that T-shirt that you have had your eye on. While you’re at it, why don’t you add a throw pillow for your bed or a tote bag to carry your groceries in? Don’t forget about your friends and family. Do you know a coffee addict? We have a mug for that. How about a friend who has an empty wall space? You could fill it with a unique Kanji poster. The possibilities are endless.
How much do you know about Japanese language?
Kanji is so striking that when you wear one of our T-shirts or drink from one of our mugs, your friends are bound to ask about the meaning of these elegant symbols. Let us fill you in on a little bit of Japanese cultural history so that you will be able to impress them, not only by your sense of style, but also by your linguistic evolution story telling skills.
Kanji is one of the three character sets, along with Hiragana and Katakana, used in Japanese writing. Kanji is elaborate and decorative whereas Hiragana and Katakana are simple and basic. Language flows over borders. That’ s why Americans celebrate fiestas and put Sriracha on their breakfast burritos. It’s no different on the other side of the world and it happened well before the United States became an independent country. Elegant Chinese symbols were first introduced into Japanese writing as far back as the 5th century. Like anything else adopted from another culture, these symbols evolved over time, acquired different pronunciation than their Chinese ancestors, and became Kanji.
Kanji is very popular, and the majority of our products are Kanji. However, Katakana is rapidly emerging as a cutting-edge style. Katakana is being seen on runways and used by top-name designers and so we have incorporated some Katakana designs into our collection. We strive to provide products that align with trends but the heart and passion of our designs will always remain Kanji.
