Warfare in Chinese / Japanese...

戰術 can mean “tactics of war,” “battle tactics” or simply “tactics” (being that warfare is implied in that English word).

This word is written in the ancient and traditional form of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

In modern Japan, the first character has been simplified or modified. If you want the modern Japanese Kanji version, just click on that character shown to the right.

霊戦士 is a Japanese title that means “Spiritual Warrior.”

The first Kanji means spiritual.

The second Kanji means war, warfare, or battle.

The third Kanji means soldier, officer, man or pawn.

虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”

This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.

Let's explore each character in more depth:

虚 was originally written 虛 (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).

実 was originally 實 in Chinese (they currently write it as 实 in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.

兵 can be used to express soldiers, troops, a force, an army, weapons, arms, military, warfare, tactics, strategy, or warlike.

The final meaning depends on context. It's also part of the Chinese title for the Terracotta soldiers. In fact, this character is usually used in compound words (words of more than one character). Sometimes this single character is the title used for the pawns in a chess game (in a related issue, this is also a nickname for soldiers with the rank of Private).

See Also:  Military | Warrior

孫子兵法 is the full title of the most famous book of military proverbs about warfare.

The English title is “Sun Tzu's The Art of War.”

The last two characters have come to be known in the west as “The Art of War,” but a better translation would be “military strategy and tactics,” “military skills” or “army procedures.”

Note: Sometimes the author's name is Romanized as “Sun Zi” or “Sunzi.”

It's written the same in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.

See Also:  Military | Warrior

戰士 is how to write “fighter” in Chinese, ancient Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

The first character means war, warfare, or battle.
The second character means soldier, officer, man, or pawn.

戰士 can also mean soldier or warrior. Usually this will be read as “fighter” or “one who fights.” 戰士 is an odd selection for a wall scroll unless you are a boxer, ultimate fighter, or otherwise participate in combat sports.

Other translations include combatant or champion.

Note that after WWII, the first Kanji was reformed/simplified. This modern Japanese version is shown to the right. If you want this version, click on the Kanji to the right, instead of the button above.