Japanese Tattoos - article about Japanese Tattoos

The Eternal Elegance Of Japanese Tattoos

Japanese letters are works of ancient art in ink and paper. They take years to learn and even longer to master, just like with any other art field. They elegantly dance into view like stalks of grass bending to the wind. They are a popular choice for Westerners who want a discrete, beautiful tattoo that won’t change much over the years and is relatively quick for the artist to “draw” on. Some Japanese tattoos of calligraphy based on powerful words or your name can also be the most economical tattoo choices in terms of money and pain spent.

Just Letters?

There are more designs that tattoo artists might call “Japanese tattoos”. These include designs of samurai, ninjas, Japanese temples or characters from the uniquely Japanese art form called “animae”. But the calligraphy is one of the most popular of the Japanese tattoos.

Japanese calligraphy, called Shodo, comes in three acceptable “handwriting” styles. There is a blocky style (like print handwriting in English, called kaisho), a semi-cursive style (gyosho) and the full cursive style (sosho). So not only do you have to pick what is going to be said in your tattoo, but what style it should be in. You might also want the letters done in a different color, or have the calligraphy accompanies by other designs common to Japanese tattoos, like the flag or koi swimming in pond. You could look at Japanese art for your perfect tattoo design, or check out tattoo websites like Tattoo Johnny.com. Take your time deciding. The results of your choice will stick with you for perhaps the rest of your life. Take just as much time picking your tattoo artist. Make sure their premises are clean and sterile.

Stencil This

Although your selected tattoo artist might already have designs of Japanese tattoos he or she is used to doing, you need to bring a clear picture of what you want to the artist. He or she will then make a stencil, or outline, of the design onto your skin. They do it with needles and machines that have needles in them to place ink in your skin. Yes, it does hurt. No pain, no gain, huh?

It might take more than one session in the tattooing chair for you to get your entire Japanese tattoo. Find this out in advance, if you can, so you know what you’re getting into. The tattoo will look awful in the parlor, but your skin is angry about being poked by so many needles. It will take about a month to heal and reveal the true results.

And, if all of this seems too daunting, many toy stores and gift shops sell temporary tattoos, even of Japanese calligraphy. They fade off in a few days.

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