Japanese symbol for “penitentiary”

刑務所

けいむしょ

Romaji: keimusho

prison; jail; gaol; penitentiary

In Japanese, penitentiary is 刑務所, read けいむしょ (keimusho).

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 prison; jail; gaol; penitentiary

Kanji and stroke order

刑

punish, penalty, sentence

on: ケイ

6 strokes · JLPT 1

務

task, duties

on: ム
kun: つと.める

11 strokes · JLPT 2

所

place, extent

on: ショ
kun: ところ、-ところ、どころ、とこ

8 strokes · JLPT 3

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
刑事	けいじ keiji	(police) detective
死刑	しけい shikei	death penalty; capital punishment
処刑	しょけい shokei	execution
刑法	けいほう keihou	criminal law; penal code
実刑	じっけい jikkei	prison sentence (without a stay of execution)
事務所	じむしょ jimusho	office
事務	じむ jimu	office work; clerical work; administration
勤務	きんむ kinmu	service; duty; work
場所	ばしょ basho	place; location; spot

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.