Kanji for makoto

Hi! So I wanted to get a tattoo with the bushido symbol for "truth". Can anyone help me out? There are two that I found and I want to know the difference between them: one is �^ and the other is �½. Which one is more suited in the context of Bushido?

Also, since I'll be tattooing it on my forearm, would the symbol change if it is oriented differently, like upside down or laterally inverted?

Any information would be a great help! Thanks!

�½ is the one among the Bushido principles.
�^ is true in the sense of something being true versus false/not true, and �½ is true to your words, being faithful, to someone or to your words in your actions.

I am generally against tattoos in a language/writing you don't fully understand, but if you must, please be sure to find a tattooist who can choose a good font/calligraphy styling, know the kanji stroke order properly, and can execute it right. Of course the direction matters.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%9C%9F
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%AA%A0

Other Makoto included two letters.
https://mnamae.jp/p/307e30533068.html?ln=
https://mnamae.jp/p/307e30533068_1.html

Hey! Thanks so much for the reply. I really like this idea and want to get a tattoo of it, hence, I want it to be Japanese to maintain the authenticity of it.

Could you advice me on a good font or calligraphy?

Thanks!

How about super old style?
http://www.chineseetymology.org/

Others.
https://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&q=%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97+%E...

�½ as Shinsen-gumi/�V�ï‘g outer jacket Haori/‰H�D back symbol.
https://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&q=%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97+%E...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsengumi
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E9%81%B8%E7%B5%84#/media/File:...

I guess you wouldn't listen to AK. So much for authenticity. Oh, well. Hmm, I might start calling you people "the oh-well-guys".

What's wrong with wanting it to be in Japanese? In my opinion, it is authentic that way. Pardon me for liking the culture and the idea... how does that make me an 'oh well' person?

There's nothing wrong with wanting it to be in Japanese or authentic. And AK is suggesting just that - authenticity. She's saying that to have it authentic you should talk face to face with a reliable tattoo artist, which I agree.

But you keep on asking for advice to anonymous internet users. Oh, well, AK and I are anonymous internet users. Oh, well, people keep coming here for tattoo ideas, and they don't know who to trust so they choose the wrong ones and get stupid tattoos. Oh, well. I know I should keep my mouth shut and let kids look how ever stupidly as they want. Oh, well.

So how do you know which poster is giving you "authentic" advice?

Oh well, thank you for your abundant albeit sarcasm laden concern. If I had a real live person with enough knowledge of Kanji then I would not be posting on forums and asking for advice from anonymous people. I, unfortunately, live in a country where there are no Japanese people and no one with even a smattering of knowledge as to how to guide me on this. Hence, my search for faceless samaritans to aid me. I am genuinely interested in the culture and have educated myself as much as I could with the meager resources at my disposal. Also, I'm not stupid enough to pick up a random word from a huge poster of characters that I don't understand, and of course, I neither intend to nor will I end up looking stupid with a tattoo that makes no sense.

Thanks to AK for the explanation (that was genuine gratitude). You did solve my main query. The rest of the posts was just for some extra information.

I'm sorry to have been sarcastic, but it's just that (as many agree) we keep seeing so much sad "Japanese" tattoos on non-Japanese people, although most of us are polite enough to avoid telling that directly to the tattoo-holder. I just couldn't help warning you when you have the choice to ink non-Japanese tattoos or no tattoos at all.

Anyway, my genuine advice is to not follow any of the links that noias posted, except that the last flag pop-up can be tolerated. I'm also sorry that, despite AK's advice, you don't have access to an artist who know the strokes.

All in all, I sincerely don't want you to get non-authentic tattoos believing that it is. It really makes us sad. It does. And you don't have to believe me.

It's the Shinsengumi flag that lead me here in the first place. I wanted to make sure I understood it properly before I made a tattoo. I was planning on using that only but just wanted to know if there were any alternatives. While searching, I came upon the other character of 'truth', hence the question. Thanks for the advice tho, I know it was it good faith. I should be okay if I just get that right, the one on the flag?

I should be okay if I just get that right, the one on the flag?

Well, with all due respect keeping in mind your love for our culture, I hope you're not asking that question to me, because I don't think it's okay at all to get a tattoo in a language you don't fully understand.

I'd also like to add that the samurai class, which is the class the Shinsengumi members so longed to belong to and finally did, despised tattoos. In those days, tattoos belonged to criminals, craftsmen and tribal people, which unfortunately were considered as lower class to the samurai. It was out of the question for them to get tattoos.

But let me mention this, and I'm trying to be positive, by the way. I guess it doesn't matter, because you seem to be living in an environment where you won't encounter real Japanese people anyway. However, some day you will hopefully go out into the real world, and then you might get to know real Japanese people, and they might frown or laugh at your tattoo on your back, because (A) it's not a type of design that a Japanese would get as a tattoo and (B) it may be un-true to the ideal design because that's what very often happens when people without knowledge of the character try to mimic it, even if (s)he is a professional tattoo artist.

But (here comes the positive part) be proud of your tattoo if you're going to ink it into your skin forever. The tattoo is going to represent you at that moment when you did you best to gather all the limited information you could to spend your precious money to engrave something eternal on your beautiful skin. That is you, and no one can interfere with that. At least I'm trying to look at it that way.

Thanks for explaining that to me. I'll definitely think about it before I decide to get inked.