Japanese symbol for “vigilante”
警察
けいさつ
Romaji: keisatsu
police
In Japanese, vigilante is 警察, read けいさつ (keisatsu).
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 police
- n police officer
- n police station
- n-suf self-appointed enforcer (of a rule, standard, etc.); busybody; vigilante; gatekeeper
Written forms: 警察. Readings: けいさつ、ケーサツ、ケイサツ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “vigilante”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自警団員 | じけいだんいん jikeidan'in | vigilante; member of a vigilante group |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 警戒 | けいかい keikai | vigilance; caution; alertness |
| 警官 | けいかん keikan | police officer; policeman; constable |
| 警告 | けいこく keikoku | warning; caution; admonition |
| 警視庁 | けいしちょう keishichou | Metropolitan Police Department (Tokyo) |
| 警報 | けいほう keihou | warning; alarm; alert |
| 観察 | かんさつ kansatsu | observation; survey; watching |
| 検察 | けんさつ kensatsu | criminal investigation; prosecution |
| 視察 | しさつ shisatsu | inspection; observation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “vigilante”.
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.