Japanese symbol for “posterity”
後世
こうせい
Romaji: kousei
posterity; future generations; future life
In Japanese, posterity is 後世, read こうせい (kousei).
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
- adv, n posterity; future generations; future life
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “posterity”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 末 | すえ sue | descendants; offspring; posterity |
| 後代 | こうだい koudai | posterity; future generations |
| 孫子 | まごこ magoko | children and grandchildren; posterity; descendants |
| 後葉 | こうよう kouyou | posterity; future generations; descendant |
| 後人 | こうじん koujin | posterity; future generations |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最後 | さいご saigo | end; conclusion |
| 今後 | こんご kongo | from now on; hereafter |
| 午後 | ごご gogo | afternoon; p.m. |
| 後半 | こうはん kouhan | second half; latter half |
| 後ろ | うしろ ushiro | back; behind; rear |
| 直後 | ちょくご chokugo | immediately following |
| 世界 | せかい sekai | the world; society; the universe |
| 世代 | せだい sedai | generation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “posterity”.
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.