Japanese symbol for “cremation”
火葬
かそう
Romaji: kasou
cremation
In Japanese, cremation is 火葬, read かそう (kasou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, vs, vt cremation
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cremation”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 荼毘 | だび dabi | cremation |
| 焼骨 | しょうこつ shoukotsu | cremation |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 火災 | かさい kasai | conflagration; fire |
| 花火 | はなび hanabi | fireworks |
| 火山 | かざん kazan | volcano |
| 噴火 | ふんか funka | eruption; volcanic eruption |
| 火力 | かりょく karyoku | heating power; thermal power |
| 火事 | かじ kaji | fire; conflagration |
| 葬式 | そうしき soushiki | funeral |
| 葬儀 | そうぎ sougi | funeral; funeral service |
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.