Magnificent character, rarely chosen, and it means exactly what it says.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Sharp and slightly noble. Far less common on foreigners than dragon or tiger, which works in its favour.

Literally: hawk
Actually: Hawk or falcon. Falconry was a samurai pursuit, so the bird carries an aristocratic-martial flavour.

Naturalness●●●●●

Normal word.

Coolness●●●●●

24 strokes of dense, layered structure. As a large piece it's genuinely spectacular.

medium24 strokes. At small size this becomes an unreadable black block within a decade as the ink spreads. Minimum 10cm, and pick an artist who understands line weight.

鷹

Orientation: vertical

Mincho at large scale. Brush is risky here — too many internal strokes to lose.