Japanese symbol for “yumi”

和弓

わきゅう

Romaji: wakyuu

yumi; Japanese-style bow

In Japanese, yumi is 和弓, read わきゅう (wakyuu).

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 yumi; Japanese-style bow
n Japanese-style archery

Kanji and stroke order

和

harmony, Japanese style, peace

on: ワ、オ、カ
kun: やわ.らぐ、やわ.らげる、なご.む、なご.やか

8 strokes · JLPT 2

弓

bow, bow (archery, violin)

on: キュウ
kun: ゆみ

3 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
平和	へいわ heiwa	peace; harmony
昭和	しょうわ shouwa	Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7)
緩和	かんわ kanwa	relief; mitigation; alleviation
和解	わかい wakai	reconciliation; amicable settlement; accommodation
和平	わへい wahei	peace
調和	ちょうわ chouwa	harmony; accord; reconciliation
弓道	きゅうどう kyuudou	kyūdō; kyudo; Japanese archery
弓矢	ゆみや yumiya	bow and arrow

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.