The Japanese has 2 sets of writing system. The Kana (which in itself has 2 sets of writing system too) and the Kanji. This page explains the meanings of the kanji words found in the Naruto anime. If you found any Kanji word in the anime or manga that you wish us to translate, please contact us to let us know! We will also update this page often so be sure to come back from time to time.
Let's start the lesson with a brief introduction of the Japanese Language . As most people know, Kanji words are Chinese words. The origin of the Chinese written language dates back to as far as 16 century BC. The Chinese writing 1st started as pictographs and over the centuries, evolved into a more advanced system. Around the 4th century AD, the Chinese writing system along with many elements of the Chinese culture entered Japan by way of the Korean peninsula trade. Japan at that time did not have its own writing system so adopted the Chinese way and most of the Chinese culture. So we can technically say that the Kanji is the oldest form of the Japanese language writing system. The Kana is actually the simplified version of writing the Kanji as the Japanese at the end of the Nara period and the beginning of the Seiin period (794 - 1185) found it too tedious to write the distinctive strokes of the Chinese words. But that's another lesson for another day.
