We have had numerous opportunities at grape Japan to introduce the interesting and appealing aspects of Kanji 漢字, the Japanese word for the adopted logographic Chinese characters as they are used in the Japanese writing system. From master calligraphers showing off traditional brushstroke creations or elegant writing with a ballpoint pen, to designers creating new kanji to express representations of contemporary culture, product makers ready to turn your name into a kanji hanko seal, laser etch your favorite kanji on a sake cup or or offer authentic brushstroke fonts for your computer in the style of the latest anime.

Kanji accessories by Rohoubou 露蜂房

If you're looking for a way to show your love of kanji (or simply think they look cool), and you enjoy wearing earrings, we'd like to introduce a wonderful independent accessory design brand called Rohoubou 露蜂房.

Rohoubou creates earrings, broaches, and other accessories made of acrylic. They sell their wares at their online store as well as the Kyoto variety store Rojiura 3-Tsubo Zakkaten (Teramachi Gyokoku) 路地裏3坪雑貨店 寺町京極店, RAVEL Creators Market in Koenji, Tokyo, used & vintage clothing and handmade accessories shop ak edat in Kawasaki and multi-brand "select shop" lalala in Tennoji Mio, Osaka.

Their designs are cool and cute, with stylized fonts and a variety of colors. The kanji often express themes associated with nightlife and positive messages.

Here's just a small sample of their designs:

Moon & Night (White): Stud or Clip-on 白文字月夜ピアス/イヤリング

You can read these kanji independently, moon 月 as tsuki and night 夜 as yoru or you can read them together as tsukiyo 月夜, meaning a night with a clear moon or a night where the moon shines brightly.

---

Sleep (White): Stud or Clip-on 白文字睡眠ピアス/イヤリング

The kanji compound 睡眠 suimin means sleep or sleepiness. Both kanji can independently form the verb nemuru 眠る 睡る "to sleep" and the adjective nemui 眠い 睡い "sleepy."

---

As you may have noticed, Rohoubou is fond of the night. The kanji 夜 is available in different designs.

Night A: Single earring color character: Stud or Clip-on【片耳用】カラーもじピアス・イヤリング（夜A）

Night: Single earring "Pop Dive" character: Stud or Clip-on【片耳用】もじピアス・イヤリング　ポップダイブ（夜）

---

Alcohol & Inebriation: Black character: Stud or Clip-on Set くろもじピアス/イヤリングセット（酒×酔）

These two kanji are a set. In modern Japanese, they don't form a kanji compound when read together but they are obviously closely associated with each other. The kanji 酒, meaning "alcohol," is read sake (although "sake" outside of Japan is synonymous with rice wine, the term used in Japan for rice wine is nihonshu 日本酒), and 酔 forms the noun 酔い yoi meaning "inebriation" and the verb 酔う you meaning "to get drunk."

---

Wander about (Yumekawa): Stud or Clip-on 回遊ピアス・イヤリングセット（ゆめかわ）

This is an example of some of the more complex pieces Rohoubo makes. The kanji compound 回遊 kaiyū is composed of 回 meaning "go around," and 遊 meaning "play" or "have fun." Together, they mean "wandering about" or an "excursion" but thanks to the second kanji, it always has a positive nuance. The playful font of the 遊 kanji superimposed on the 回 kanji makes for an attractive design. This version is in pastel colors for a yume kawaii look.

---

Invincible: Stud or Clip-on 無敵ピアス/イヤリング

The kanji 無 mu, meaning "nothing" and 敵 teki meaning "enemy," when combined mean "invincible." It's an interesting effect since you'll get three very different messages depending on whether you have a profile view or a direct view of the wearer.

Limitless: Stud or Clip-on 無敵ピアス/イヤリング

The kanji 無 mu, meaning "nothing" and 限 gen meaning "limit," when combined mean "no limits", "limitless" or "unlimited."

---

These are only a small sample. If you'd like to see more of Rohoubou's cute and cool earring, broaches and other accessories, and for more information about the earrings we introduced in this article, visit their online store and follow them on Twitter