Japanese language students will know that “coffee” is usually written in katakana:

コーヒー

However it does have a kanji! (Or rather, it’s made of 2 kanji):

珈琲

These kanji are what is known as ateji – kanji which are used to phonetically represent foreign loan words.

In many cases, the ateji are chosen primarily for their pronunciation with little regard for their semantic meaning. However in the case of 珈琲, they were chosen because they are associated with traditional Japanese hair accessories. It was thought that coffee beans on the tree look like the beads on hair accessories.

These kanji are still used in situations where a traditional atmosphere is desired, for example the coffee chain Ue Shima Kō Hī (Ueshima Coffee) uses the kanji in their name: 上島珈琲

The below calligraphy work was the original design for a client’s tattoo pictured at the top of this article. If you would like to commission a unique Japanese calligraphy work (for a tattoo or otherwise), feel free to check out the Purchase a Work page to take a look at the options and prices.