Banzai

What does "Banzai" mean?

"Banzai（万歳）" literally means ten thousand years (of life). It is written with the combination of the kanji characters for "ten thousand（万）" and "age（歳）."

"Banzai" is a Japanese cheer that can be translates as "Long life!" or "Hurrah!" It is usually repeated three times to express enthusiasm, celebrate a victory, applause and favor on happy occasion while raising both arms. It is commonly done together with the large group of people.

Foreign people seem to confuse "Banzai" with a war cry. It is probably because the Japanese soldiers shouted "Tennouheika Banzai!(天皇陛下万歳!)" when they were dying during World War II. In this context what they meant was "Long live the Emperor" or "Salute the Emperor".