Japanese symbol for “stark”

殺伐

さつばつ

Romaji: satsubatsu

brutal (atmosphere, society, etc.); savage; fierce; violent

In Japanese, stark is 殺伐, read さつばつ (satsubatsu).

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

adj-na, adj-t, adv-to brutal (atmosphere, society, etc.); savage; fierce; violent; bloodthirsty; stark

Kanji and stroke order

殺

kill, murder, butcher

on: サツ、サイ、セツ
kun: ころ.す、-ごろ.し、そ.ぐ、あや.める

10 strokes · JLPT 2

伐

fell, strike, attack

on: バツ、ハツ、カ、ボチ
kun: き.る、そむ.く、う.つ

6 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “stark”

Word	Reading	Meaning
冷厳	れいげん reigen	grim; stern; stark

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
殺人	さつじん satsujin	murder; homicide; manslaughter
自殺	じさつ jisatsu	suicide
殺す	ころす korosu	to kill; to slay; to murder
暗殺	あんさつ ansatsu	assassination
虐殺	ぎゃくさつ gyakusatsu	slaughter; massacre
殺し	ころし koroshi	murder; killing; murderer
伐採	ばっさい bassai	felling timber; cutting down trees; logging
間伐	かんばつ kanbatsu	periodic thinning (e.g. forest)

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.