Kanji for “rebirth”

Renewal, comeback or reincarnation; the most literal word also means media playback.

再生 saisei

Closest natural translation · misunderstanding risk High

Reading: saisei — Common compound reading
About the reading: A standard word, but its most common daily use is not the one you mean.
Literal meaning: Regeneration, playback
What it suggests: Coming back to life or being restored — and also the word on every play button in Japan, and the word for recycling.
When to use it: For renewal or recovery, knowing the everyday sense sits alongside it.
On its own: Natural as a complete noun.
In compounds: Natural in 再生医療 (regenerative medicine) and 再生紙 (recycled paper).
As a tattoo: Correct, but many Japanese readers will first think of pressing play or of recycling.
Worth knowing: 再生 is the standard label for media playback and for recycling; that reading is hard to avoid.

復活 fukkatsu

Related meaning, not a literal translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: fukkatsu — Common compound reading
About the reading: The ordinary word for coming back, and the word for the Resurrection.
Literal meaning: Revival, resurrection
What it suggests: Returning after being gone — a comeback, a revived tradition, and in Christian contexts the Resurrection itself.
When to use it: For a comeback or return from defeat.
On its own: Natural as a complete noun.
In compounds: Natural in 復活祭 (Easter).
As a tattoo: Strong and clear; the religious sense is available but not forced.

転生 tenshō / tensei

Symbolic choice, not a literal translation · misunderstanding risk Medium

Reading: tenshō / tensei — Common compound reading
About the reading: A Buddhist term that modern fiction has taken over almost completely.
Literal meaning: Reincarnation, transmigration
What it suggests: Being reborn into another life. Genuinely Buddhist, but for anyone under forty it now signals the isekai genre first.
When to use it: For reincarnation, if the pop-culture association is acceptable.
On its own: Natural as a noun.
In compounds: Natural in 輪廻転生 (the cycle of rebirth).
As a tattoo: Serious in origin, but many readers will think of light novels.
Worth knowing: Now strongly associated with reincarnation-into-another-world fiction.

Before it is permanent: have a fluent Japanese speaker check the exact characters in the final stencil, not in an email. Fonts substitute look-alike characters, and a shop that cannot read Japanese cannot catch it.

Check characters you already have