You might sense that Psy-san and myself are discouraging about tattoos. You seem to have reservations as well.
But I presume your friend is an adult and his body is his to decorate as he wants to.
I've seen worse and uglier things than kanji. I've also seen some beautiful and stunning work. I can't say I understand either.
However as he has no links to Japanese or Asian culture he may as well get a Klingon or Elvish tattoo if he needs something strange and exotic to obscure his meaning.
Why not use English? at least his meaning will be clear. In a nice florid italic perhaps?
If he goes ahead I hope he has a skilful tattooist.
(I hand-write kanji almost everyday and my writing still looks quite childish even when tracing examples. I also make transcription errors and at least I have some idea what I'm doing)
Good looking kanji are all about balance and brushwork and the little unrepeatable "flaws" and are deceptive in the skill needed to write them properly. Simple kanji can be beautiful but it needs skill.
A simple circle is striven after by some calligraphers. The really good stuff in grass style or running style is pretty unreadable compared to the square style I find.
The "drunk" 酔 kanji in the link from my first post above looks good, and is the exception, but I wonder if it's a tattoo because of the way it feathers out; it's in stark contrast to the spiderwebs in the same picture.
I dare say your friend will end up with something looking like the Japanese equivalent of Times Roman rather than calligraphy if/when he goes ahead.
As to "Money, power, respect" (sure you won't change your mind again, this stuff is permanent..?) you'd think it's simpler but I wonder.
what sort of money? power? respect?
金、力、敬、might be what you'd find in a dictionary and would make a certain amount of individual sense. But overall lack subtlety.
I might offer 現金、暴力、失敬 when I feel much more evil than Psy-san.
Just a slight embellishment of the base kanji....
（hard cash, (can also mean mercenary or calculating); violence (also how Yakuza are referred to 暴力団); bad mannered, (also goodbye and steal) )
It reminds me of when a Japanese friend gave me a T-shirt with a drawing of a bonsai tree on it and the kanji 凡才 rather than 盆栽 both are read bonsai but 凡才 means mediocre.
... Did I mention what a bad idea this all is?
How about a nice T-shirt instead?
. I have just completed my first course in Japanese, japanese 1 my school calls it. So far I am loving it. The class along with this website as helped me get much better with my spoken japanese.
