What is the difference between Japanese kanji and katakana?
Japanese katakana are phonetic Japanese characters, each representing a particular sound. Katakana is typically used for words not familiar to the Japanese language. Your English (or non-Japanese) name will typically be translated using katakana. Japanese kanji are traditional Japanese characters, each with a meaning. It is not typical to translate your name into Japanese kanji, but if your name’s meaning is available, it is possible. For your name in kanji, please specify this in the Special Instructions section. Other words that are familiar to the Japanese language will be translated using kanji.
