Japanese symbol for “upstream”
川上
かわかみ
Romaji: kawakami
upper reaches of a river; upstream
In Japanese, upstream is 川上, read かわかみ (kawakami).
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 upper reaches of a river; upstream
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “upstream”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上り | のぼり nobori | upstream; uphill |
| 上流 | じょうりゅう jouryuu | upstream |
| アップストリーム | アップストリーム appusutoriimu | upstream |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小川 | おがわ ogawa | stream; brook; creek |
| 河川 | かせん kasen | rivers |
| 谷川 | たにがわ tanigawa | mountain stream |
| 川柳 | せんりゅう senryuu | senryū; comic haiku; humorous seventeen-mora poem |
| 川岸 | かわぎし kawagishi | riverbank; riverside |
| 以上 | いじょう ijou | not less than ...; ... and over; ... and above |
| 売り上げ | うりあげ uriage | amount sold; sales; proceeds |
| 上昇 | じょうしょう joushou | rising; ascending; climbing |
See also: Chinese symbol for “upstream”.
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.