Evangelism Using Kanji

Here’s a simple method I use to tell Japanese people about Christ. You only need to show them two characters, gi (犠) and sei (牲), which together mean ‘sacrifice’.

First I explain that this one word sums up the whole Bible message, especially the Old Testament. Then I share that shortly after Noah’s Flood, mankind decided to stick together and live in one place instead of filling the whole earth, as God had commanded. Because of their disobedience, God chastised them by suddenly making them speak different languages, causing them to disperse.

The Chinese went east. It seems they still remembered much about the true God when they made up their writing system, because it is possible to make Biblical connections using the modern Japanese characters, most of which came originally from China. I only give someone as much of the following information as time and their receptiveness will permit. It enables me to demonstrate clearly that Christian faith is based firmly in world history.

The kanji for gisei is made up of four parts: cow, sheep, me/I, and ‘to live’.

犠

For the first character, gi.

First comes cow (牛).

Then on the upper right, sheep (羊). I explain that in gi, ‘sheep’ has lost its tail (羊 has become 𦍌). I go on to say that the tail is a simplification of four dots (灬), which denoted ‘heat’ in the original character(羔). This original character means ‘lamb’.

Under ‘sheep’ comes I/me (我).

To tie the pieces together, I say that if I put myself under the Lamb of God (Jesus), I become ‘righteous’ — exactly what ‘me’ under ‘sheep’ (義) means in Japan and China to this day.

I go on to mention that cows and sheep were the animals most commonly required by God as sacrifices to temporarily cover sin until Jesus would come as the perfect sacrifice to do away with our sin once for all.

Without the cow at its side, the word gi, written as ‘I/me’ under ‘lamb’ (meaning both righteous and righteousness), is not an everyday word for Japanese people, nor for us. But I share that it is a vital Biblical legal term. When repentant sinners put themselves under God’s Lamb (Jesus), God gives us a status of righteousness that is far better than just being forgiven or cleansed from sin. I explain that being pronounced righteous by God means that the repentant person gets a clean slate; it’s as if they’d never sinned. In Japanese it’s 前科がない (zenka ga nai) — nothing is left on your record of ever having sinned.

牲

Then we proceed to sei, the second character of gisei, which again starts with ‘cow’. But now, because I have put myself by faith under the Lamb of God, I will live forever, as the last part of the character, meaning ‘to live’, says.

Sooner or later I show them or quote for them John the Baptist’s earth-shattering announcement when he points to Jesus and says, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 NIV). I also include verse 36 where John repeats this shocking statement.

Evangelism isn’t easy in Japan, but this is one way to use Japanese culture and language to win people to the Saviour. 

1. For more information on gisei, see Bible Stories Hidden in Chinese Characters, p30, published by Tsukuba Christian Center, Tsukuba, Japan.