The first of the bushidō virtues. Dense, serious, real.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Weighty and old-fashioned in a good way. Reads as someone with a code. The yakuza association exists via 仁義 but is faint for the character alone.

Meaning

Literally: sheep over I
Actually: Righteousness — doing the right thing because it is right. The first virtue in the classical bushidō set, and the 義 in 仁義 (the code of honour, including among yakuza).

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Real character with a real philosophical history.

Coolness●●●●●

13 strokes, strong horizontal structure. One of the best single-character choices available.

Watch out

lowIn compounds it also means 'artificial' — 義手 (prosthetic hand), 義理 (in-law relations). Alone, the virtue reading dominates completely.

On skin

義

Orientation: either

Bold brush or Mincho. The stacked horizontals need even spacing — a sloppy hand will make it look like a smear.