Japanese Tattoos

Japanese tattooing keeps enchanting generations of tattooers, one after the other, with its perfectly sublimated characteristics (composition, flow, readability, how it suits the body) and its rich cultural background. Its apparent simplicity is the fruit of hundreds of years of artistic development and its rendering is always crafted with one priority in mind: standing the test of time.

Finer lines, flat colors and good use of skin create some of the best tattoos ever produced.

 

The etimology of the word Horimono (from ‘hori’: conjugation of the verb ‘horu’, ‘to sculpt or carve’, and ‘mono’, thing or object) illustrates how much importance is placed on tattooing as a craft. To better understand the japanese style it’s important to understand japanese culture, as the two are tightly intertwined.

The portrayed subjects, such as yokai, masks, dragons, koi, geishas, samurai etc. draw from a rich tradition of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the floating world’), folklore (such as the work of Toriyama Sekien and its Hyakki Yagyō, ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’), religion (various kami, Gods and Goddesses such as Fudo Myo, Fujin and Raijin, the Seven Lucky Gods and many others) and arts specific to Japan (for instance Noh and Kabuki theatre).

The elements used in composition are derived directly from their surroundings. Peonies, maple leaves, streams of water, rocks, cherry blossoms, whirlwinds are characteristics of the japanese landscape.

 

A Japanese tattoo is a classic that, both in color or black and grey, big or small, will decorate your body with its elegant and timeless appeal, getting better with time as the best tattoos do.