Japanese Kanji Tattoos

One of Most Japanese Tattoos design are Kanji Tattoos. Japanese Kanji Tattoos are fast becoming the most popular tattoo design. Japanese Kanji characters are so incredibly artistic. When you think about the best qualities of a tattoo many words come to mind such as symbolic, mysterious, and meaning. The beauty of Japanese Kanji tattoos is that each Kanji symbol is an ideographic character, which means is represents an entire object. Japanese Kanji symbols have such elaborate definition; each stroke of the symbol must be done in the correct direction and order. Japanese Kanji Tattoos can easily represent nearly any meaning you want. Words such as love, peace, freedom, strength, unity are very popular Japanese Kanji tattoos, as well as loved one's names.

Before visiting your tattoos artist it is a good idea to research your Japanese Kanji Tattoo to the magazine or internet. There are many reasons for you why you must do this? firstly, Kanji is a different form of language to English, and if you were to choose a Kanji sentence, the order of the words will be in different order to English. Secondly, many tattoo parlors have Japanese Kanji tattoo designs which have been altered by westerners and you will not know until it is too late. Finally, some Japanese Kanji characters have several meanings, and you may think your symbol means one thing, where in fact it means something completely different. Luckily there are websites out there that can help you get the perfect translation.

Although some younger people may consider tattooing as trendy, the majority of the Japanese population still considers it as something connected to the underworld of mafia gangsters or a bad low class habit at the best. Younger people who consider tattoos as iki - a minority among Japanese youth - tend to use partial tattoos in Western style on their upper arms, where it is not directly visible.

A History of Tattoos

Perhaps the most famous archaeological discovery was that of the discovery of the Iceman who had 57 tattoos on his body. Tattooed mummies have also been unearthed in the permafrost of Altai. Tattooing was a prominent part of ancient Chinese culture and paintings that have been discovered from ancient Egypt suggest that tattooing was a part of life in the prehistory of this country. In ancient times, tattoos were used to mark slaves and criminals. The tattooing skills achieved by the Japanese and the Maori people of New Zealand had yet to be surpassed.

The practice of having pictures and designs tattooed onto the skin was reintroduced to the West by seamen returning from America in the 16th and 17th centuries. Numerous tattoo establishments set up business in both Europe and the US. Samuel eilly, an American, invented the first electric tattoo machine in 1890. This invention sparked a renewed interest in the art of tattoo. It was a common practice among sailors who frequently had their arms and chests tattooed with hearts, military insignias and religious symbols.

Henna and Mehndi were and still are the main materials used in making the colors for the tattoo ink in India, North Africa and parts of the Middle East. In Japan, tattoos were used for various purposes at various times during the country history. In Samoa, the tradition of applying tattoos by had has not changed from early times. Here tattoos are still applied using a tool, called an au, which is a comb made by fastening boar?

In Samoa, the tradition of applying tattoos by had has not changed from early times. Here tattoos are still applied using a tool, called an au, which is a comb made by fastening boar? teeth together onto a wooden handle and a portion of a shell. It takes many weeks to complete a tattoo in this manner and it is a very painful process

Irezumi - Japanese Tattoo Style

You'll find that there are many different styles of tattooing out there. One of the most popular Japanese Tattoos style is Irezumi.

Irezumi is the word for tattooing in Japan, and once you have seen the bold colorful designs of Japanese tattoos, you'll be able to recognize it anywhere! The art style used is very similar to the art that appears on Japanese woodblock prints, and the designs are meant to flow with your body. These designs can be very large, taking up whole limbs, and in some cases, the entire body.

Tribal - Japanese Tattoo Style

Whether you have a bunch of them, have always wanted them, or you think that they look great on other people, you'll find that there are plenty of reasons to love tattoos! People have discovered evidence that tattooing goes back literally thousands of years, and if you admire these permanent markings then you certainly won't be surprised. You'll find that there are many different styles of tattooing out there, so take a look at a few popular ones Like a Tribal Style.

Bold, black, abstract designs are indicative of the tribal style of tattoos, and you'll find that these tattoos are heavily inspired by the tattooing of such groups as the Maori of New Zealand. You'll find that these tattoos can suit a wide range of skin tones and are quite striking.

Graywork - tattoo style

Graywork

When you are looking for a tattoo that can give you a great deal of realistic detail, whether it is the face of a person, or even something as delicate as a feather, you'll find that you should take a look at graywork, which is a style of tattooing that is done entirely in delicate grays. This makes it easier for your tattooist to put in a large deal of shading and detail, and the results can be simply stunning when it comes to the amount of detail that is retained from the original.

Graywork - tattoo style

Graywork

When you are looking for a tattoo that can give you a great deal of realistic detail, whether it is the face of a person, or even something as delicate as a feather, you'll find that you should take a look at graywork, which is a style of tattooing that is done entirely in delicate grays. This makes it easier for your tattooist to put in a large deal of shading and detail, and the results can be simply stunning when it comes to the amount of detail that is retained from the original.

Old and New School Japanese Tattoos Styele

Old School

These are the tattoos that used to be found on sailors. They are bright and often have a nautical theme, including things like anchors, ships, or swallows. Women, cars and birds are also depicted in this old-fashioned, brightly colored style, and you'll find that there are a great many people who have old school tattoos done to remember a relative or a lover who sailed.


New School

New school tattoos are as bright as old school tattoos, but you'll find that they have a significantly more modern slant. New school tattoos often feature extremely bright, neon colors, and depict things in lurid detail. You might find that the style used is often very cartoony, and the subject matter that it depicts can be quite dark. These tattoos are growing a great deal in popularity and can be seen quite often.

Most Creative and Innovative Sleeve Tattoo Designs

Sleeve tattoo designs are extraordinary popular tattoos. Irrespective of feelings, almost every tattoo fan love sleeve tattoo designs.

Behind the arising fame of tattoo design including Sleeve tattoo designs is the big influences of the media, celebrities, and bikers.

Do you understand what these sleeve tattoo designs are? In uncomplicated words, Sleeve tattoo designs are tattoos that are popular as they cover almost complete areas of tattooed area. Generally, people acquire their sleeve tattoo designs on their arms.

With Sleeve tattoo designs, you'll acquire total area of your arm or leg. Whenever you are as well with creative inclination, go for Japanese sleeve tattoo designs. Commonly women favor floral designs. Celtic tattoo patterns are additional sleeve tattoo designs. Commonly tribal tattoos are vast in size making them most sough after in sleeve tattoo designs. Sleeve tattoo designs are hard and take much time and money.

Type Of Tattoo

Tattoos are at their heart a sign of individuality, and as more and more human beings seek a path to locate themselves apart from the crowd, the popularity of tattoos as a form of self expression is only likely to grow.

One beneficial body about henna tattooing, unlike the tattoos the western culture is used to, the henna tattoo is not permanent, for it fades away in age or it comes outside after a hardly any washings.

If you contemplate on the internet there is a controversy about getting Kanji and Japanese Tattoos also. Getting a tattoo involves piercing the skin, and so there is going to be some pain involved, no complication how small the tattoo and no complication where it is on your body.A legitimate, well-trained tattooist follows strict health guidelines and is willing to answer any of your questions about tattooing procedures and concerns.

However many tattoo artists are spotting the trend and jumping on it already. The best defense in the battle of the fading tattoo is to stay outside of the sun, cover the tattoo with clothing and wear a really acceptable sunscreen.

Try to utilize some kind unscented, undedicated body lotion, as some scents may irritate the still-tender skin of your tattoo. Fortunately there are other avenues you can capture instead of getting a permanent tattoo lay on.

Snakes - japanesese tattoo

In Japan the snake is also considered an animal with a negative character, although the association between snake and sin, biblically justified with us, is naturally missing there. When applying a full body suit a good Japanese tattoo artist attends to combine snakes only with designs of blossoms which actually bloom at the seasons in which snakes do not hold their winter sleep.

Suikoden Warriors - japanesese tattoo

In an ancient Chinese novel, which was was translated into Japanese in the middle of the 18. Century under the title Suikoden (Stories of the Beach), it is told from 108 rebels who carried some japanese tattoos. The illustrations of many different Japanese artists to the adventures of these brigands were used as japanese tattoos flash. Especially the color woodcut series of Utagawa Kuniyoshi was gladly used which was published by the artist in the year 1827.

Japanese Tattoo Art

Japanese tattoo art has several names - irezumi or horimono in the Japanese language. Irezumi is the word for the traditional visible tattoo that covers large parts of the body like the back. Japanese tattoo art has a very long history.

Since the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on the Japanese culture, tattoo art has a negative connotation for the majority of the Japanese people. In the eyes of an average Japanese a tattoo is considered a mark of a yakuza - a member of the Japanese mafia - or a macho symbol of members of the lower classes.

Early History Of Japanese Tattoo Art

Archaeologists believe that the early settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, used facial tattoos. Chinese documents report about the Wa people - the Chinese name for their Japanese neighbors - and their habits of diving into water for fish and shells and decorating the whole body with tattoos. These reports are about 1700 years old.

For the higher developed Chinese culture, tattooing was a barbaric act. When Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it a strong influence of the Chinese culture, tattooing got negative connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society.

Tattoos in The Edo Period

During the Edo period - 1603-1868 - Japanese tattoo art became a part of ukiyo-e - the floating world culture. Prostitutes - yujos - of the pleasure quarters used tattoos to increase their attractiveness for customers. Body tattoos were used by laborers and firemen.

From 1720 on, the tattooing of criminals became an official punishment and replaced the amputation of the nose and the ears. The criminal received a ring tattoo around the arm for each offense or a character tattoo on his forehead. Tattooing criminals was continued until 1870, when it was abolished by the new Meiji government of the Japanese Emperor.

This visible punishment created a new class of outcasts that had no place in society and nowhere to go. Many of these outlaws were ronin - masterless samurai warriors. They had no alternatives than organizing in gangs. These men formed the roots of yakuza - the organized criminals in Japan in the twentieth century.

Crash course in Japanese tattoo history

If you are thinking of the Japanese tattoos as an ancient trademark of a culture you are wrong.

Contrary to popular belief they only reached their peak in the 18th century. This sadly means that samurais never had tattoos. They still remain cool though because they had weird hairdos and they used to chop limbs off.

Of course a legitimate question arises. What makes these goddamn tattoos so special anyway. The horimono or irezumi tattoos as they were called back then were quite different in concept from their Western counterparts. They were more or less almost like paintings depicting scenes with gods which happened to be popular at the moment. The whole craze would have probably died off, if by accident or rather forced Japan decided to finally cease its isolation. This means that Japanese tattoos began to spread like wildfire through the Western world.

Tzar Alexander got one when he made a visit there. This probably didn’t make him very popular with the nobility, but the rumor is that Rasputin gave him the thumb up and to be honest when that man approved something it must have been something truly awesome. Too bad that both Rasputin and tzar Alexander had a horrible, gruesome death.

After a while Japan got civilized and tattoos went underground, soon being considered as a trademark of the infamous Yakuza.

Today though this art is seeing a resurrection probably because they got tired of the manga cartoons, although this statement may be a little overoptimistic.

Try a tattoo - the Japanese style

If somehow you got tired of all the tribal and bio-mechanic tattoos that our artists have to offer, maybe you should start exploring other options.

The history of Japanese tattoos goes way back - they have been around for many, many years. This doesn’t mean however that they are necessary the right ones for you. You see there’s a catch with these tattoos. They’re very big, often covering the entire back, they are awfully expensive and they come in their own flavors, inspired by the Japanese culture.

The sad fact is that you will not find a tattoo parlor in the yellow pages who can make such incredible artwork. This tattoo requires a Japanese artist, but anyway a trip to Japan might be worth the trouble.

There is another catch. This is not the sort of tattoo to show off to your friends. Japanese are way more subtle than this. They are supposed to be shown only to your girlfriend or boyfriend, or occasionally to the local Yakuza mob. Yep you are reading right, this is what subtlety is in Japan, I have heard that they are still working on it. Nobody gets it right in the first place you know? Also these tattoos will hurt… a lot, because they are still doing the whole damn thing manually, so for every dot of the tattoo expect a needle expertly inserted in your skin, that if you’re lucky of course and through the expert hand there isn’t some sake flowing.

My guess is that this is the way they discovered acupuncture. The bottom line is that if you really want such a tattoo go ahead and do it, you will definitely be a beach attraction.

Tigers - japanesese tattoo

Although there were never any tigers living in Japan, this majestic looking motive of japanese tattoos found its way into the forming arts of Japan really early. Drafts for Japanese pictures of these sovereign and at the same time strength defying animals were probably tigers who were introduced from India. The same as carps and dragons the tiger as a japanese tattoos motive primarily is a symbol of strength and power.

Kois - japanesese tattoo

Kois - japanesese tattoo
In Japan, a koi jumping or swimming up a waterfall is a symbol of strength, the ability to assert oneself and success. As a phallic symbol it stands for male strength and power.

Dragons - japanese tattoos

Dragons
The best known japanese motive is the dragon, for sure. In Japan it is regarded as a luck bringing animal. This may be justified due to the fact that the japanese dragon is a water symbol. He lives either in the clouds, from where he climbs down during thunderstorms, or also in rivers and lakes. It stands for an element which was of an enormous importance for the rice cultivation rice in Japan. Therefore dragons are highly respected and admired in Japan and weren't fought like in european tales for instance.

Kannon - japanese tattoos

Kannon
One of the legendary japanese tattoos other kiyo hime is Kannoon. If kannon is a Bodhisattva of the Mahayana Buddhism so Kiyo Hime developed a deep love to the monk . The task of the Bodhisattva is it to support humans on their way to illumination. There are Bodhisattva with several different tasks. Kannon is the Bodhisattva of sympathy and pity. In Japan Kannon is represented by a woman, usually riding a dragon. while in India, the country of origin of Buddhism, Kannon is represented by a male.

Her the history of japanese tattoos. Archaeologists believe that the early settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, used facial tattoos. Chinese documents report about the Wa people - the Chinese name for their Japanese neighbors - and their habits of diving into water for fish and shells and decorating the whole body with tattoos. These reports are about 1700 years old.

For the higher developed Chinese culture, tattooing was a barbaric act. When Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it a strong influence of the Chinese culture, tattooing got negative connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society.

Kiyo Hime - Japanese Tattoos

Kiyo Hime
One of the popular japanese tattoos is a Kiyo Heme. The best known story of a Hannya demon is the one from Kiyo Hime. Her father owned a harborage in which a monk stopped each year. Over the years Kiyo Hime developed a deep love to the monk but her feelings could not be returned by him. One night Kiyo Hime confessed her love to him and it came to a controversy between the two of them and in which process Kiyo Hime enraged and the monk had to escape. He found shelter in a close monastery and hid himself under an enormous bell. In the meantime, in the intoxication of its hate love, Kiyo Hime had transformed into a demon with the body of a snake and a Hannya head. It sought out th? monks hiding place and melted the bell with its fire breath, thereby causing the object of its longing a painful death. Like a Hanya Mask, Kiyo Hime is the most popular japanese tattoos in the world.