Kanji for Rising Sun

旭 (asahi) is the morning sun — the sun at the moment of rising. The character is a picture of its own meaning: 日, the sun, beside 九 lending the reading; dawn light climbing. It is a warm, auspicious character: 旭日 is the rising sun, and the given names Asahi and Akira use it for a child hoped to rise.

Japanese has near neighbours worth knowing. 昇 is the verb “to rise” itself (日が昇る, the sun rises) and appears in names as Noboru or Shō. 暁 is the darker moment just before sunrise, and 曙 the first light of day — both classic name kanji. 朝 is simply “morning”.

One caution: the specific image of a sun with rays — the 旭日旗, or Rising Sun Flag — is politically charged in parts of East Asia because of its wartime use. The character 旭 itself carries none of that; it is the flag design, not the kanji, that is contested.