The Japanese word for bat is kōmori. Below is a list of common bat species found in Japan and their translations.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bat コウモリ | Kōmori | 蝙蝠 | |
| Kitti’s hog-nosed bat ブタハナコウモリ | Butahana kōmori | 豚鼻蝙蝠 | |
| Lesser roundleaf bat カグラコウモリ | Kagura kōmori | 神楽蝙蝠 | |
| Horseshoe bat コキクガシラコウモリ | Kogiku atama kōmori | 小菊頭蝙蝠 | |
| Brown long-eared bat ウサギコウモリ | Usagi kōmori | 兎蝙蝠 |
The kanji for bat explained
The kanji for “bat” is 蝙蝠, which is made up of two characters: 蝙 (kō) and 蝠 (fū). The 蝙 kanji is made up of 虫 (chō, meaning “insect”) and 冫(hyō, a variant of the character 冰, meaning “ice”) and it is believed to depict a bat with its wings outstretched, as if frozen in ice.
The kanji on the right, 蝠 is made up of 虫 (chō, meaning “insect”) and 服 (fuku, meaning “clothes”) and is believed to depict a bat with its wings folded, as if it is dressed in clothes. Together, 蝙蝠 (kōfū) literally means “dressed insect” and is used to represent the bat.
Interesting facts about bats in Japan
There are 37 bat species in Japan and they symbolize not only happiness, but also chaos and unrest. If you’re interested, you can visit here to see a list of species found in Japan.