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Modern Japanese Version
万歲 is the modern Japanese way to write banzai.
We've made two almost identical entries for this word, with just a variation on the first character. In the last century, 萬 was simplified to 万 in Japan and China. The new generation will expect it to be written as 万 but the old generation can still read the more traditional 萬 form. You must make your determination as to what version is best for you. If your audience is mostly Japanese, I suggest 万歲.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. This is what all of the people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Other translations: hurrah, long life, congratulations, cheers, live long.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other. Further, Bonzai is not a word at all - although it would make a great name for a calcium supplement for older people.
Old Japanese / Traditional Chinese & Korean
萬歲 is the traditional Chinese, Korean Hanja, and ancient Japanese way of writing banzai.
In modern times, the first character was simplified in Japan and China. So you might want to select the other entry for universal readability.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui,” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. 萬歲 is what all people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
Other translations include Cheers! (not the drinking kind), hurrah!, long live [name]!, and congratulations!
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other.
Dwarf Tree Culture
盆栽 is the word that refers to the culture, hobby, and to miniature trees themselves that have become popular around the world.
Like many things, this art migrated from China to Japan some time ago, but we tend to associate it with Japanese culture and even use the Japanese word in English.
Granted, in the present day, this hobby seems to be more popular in Japan but still has a great following in China and even a little in Korea as well.
Note: Many people confuse the title of the bonsai tree with “banzai” which is a form of “hooray” in Japanese. I have also seen it misspelled as “bansai.” The correct Romanization (Romaji) is “bonsai.”
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your banzai search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
万才 see styles |
manzai まんざい |
(out-dated kanji) two-person comedy act (usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit); comic dialogue; (int,n) (1) crying "banzai" (or raising one's hands in the banzai gesture); (2) something worthy of celebration; (3) (archaism) long time; (4) (archaism) eternal life (and prosperity); (interjection) (5) banzai (a celebratory cheer); hurrah (hooray, hurray); (int,n) (1) crying "banzai" (or raising one's hands in the banzai gesture); (2) something worthy of celebration; (3) giving up; (4) (archaism) long time; (5) (archaism) eternal life (and prosperity); (interjection) (6) banzai (a celebratory cheer); hurrah (hooray, hurray); (place-name, surname) Manzai |
万歳 see styles |
manzai まんざい |
door-to-door comedic duo; (int,n) (1) crying "banzai" (or raising one's hands in the banzai gesture); (2) something worthy of celebration; (3) (archaism) long time; (4) (archaism) eternal life (and prosperity); (interjection) (5) banzai (a celebratory cheer); hurrah (hooray, hurray); (int,n) (1) crying "banzai" (or raising one's hands in the banzai gesture); (2) something worthy of celebration; (3) giving up; (4) (archaism) long time; (5) (archaism) eternal life (and prosperity); (interjection) (6) banzai (a celebratory cheer); hurrah (hooray, hurray); (surname) Manzai |
伴在 see styles |
banzai ばんざい |
(surname) Banzai |
坂西 see styles |
banzai ばんざい |
(surname) Banzai |
阪西 see styles |
banzai ばんざい |
(surname) Banzai |
バンザイ see styles |
banzai バンザイ |
(int,n) (1) crying "banzai" (or raising one's hands in the banzai gesture); (2) something worthy of celebration; (3) (archaism) long time; (4) (archaism) eternal life (and prosperity); (interjection) (5) banzai (a celebratory cheer); hurrah (hooray, hurray) |
マンセー see styles |
mansee マンセー |
(interjection) (also written as 万歳; sometimes used mockingly) banzai (celebratory or congratulatory cheer) (kor: manse); hurrah; hooray; hurray |
坂西利八郎 see styles |
banzairihachirou / banzairihachiro ばんざいりはちろう |
(person) Banzai Rihachirou |
バンザイクリフ see styles |
banzaikurifu バンザイクリフ |
(place-name) banzai cliff |
バンザイ・クリフ see styles |
banzai kurifu バンザイ・クリフ |
(place-name) banzai cliff |
Variations: |
banzai(p); banzei(ok); banzai / banzai(p); banze(ok); banzai ばんざい(P); ばんぜい(ok); バンザイ |
(int,n,vs) (1) (celebratory cheer, usu. while raising both arms in the air) banzai; hurray; hurrah; hooray; (2) something to cheer about; something worthy of celebration; (noun/participle) (3) (ばんざい only) giving up; throwing one's hands up; (4) eternal life and prosperity |
Variations: |
banzai(p); banzai ばんざい(P); バンザイ |
(int,n,vs,vi) (1) (celebratory cheer; trad. shouted while raising both arms in the air) banzai; hurray; hurrah; hooray; (2) something to cheer about; something worthy of celebration; (n,vs,vi) (3) giving up; throwing one's hands up; (4) eternal life and prosperity |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Banzai | 万歲 / 萬歲 万岁 | banzai | wàn suì / wan4 sui4 / wan sui / wansui | |
Banzai Wansui | 萬歲 万岁 | banzai / manzai | wàn suì / wan4 sui4 / wan sui / wansui | |
Bonsai Penzai | 盆栽 | bon sai / bonsai | pén zāi / pen2 zai1 / pen zai / penzai | p`en tsai / pentsai / pen tsai |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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