Japanese symbol for “prison”
刑務所
けいむしょ
Romaji: keimusho
prison; jail; gaol; penitentiary
In Japanese, prison 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
Other Japanese words for “prison”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 監獄 | かんごく kangoku | prison |
| 別荘 | べっそう bessou | prison; jail |
| 牢獄 | ろうごく rougoku | prison; jail; gaol |
| 牢 | ろう rou | prison; jail; gaol |
| 拘置所 | こうちしょ kouchisho | prison; detention house; detention center |
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 |
See also: Chinese symbol for “prison”.
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.