The Japanese Tattoo

Thinking of getting a Japanese-style tattoo? Want to avoid a permanent mistake? Japanese Tattoos is an insider's look at the world of Japanese irezumi (tattoos). Japanese Tattoos explains the imagery featured in Japanese tattoos so that readers can avoid getting ink they don't understand or, worse, that they'll regret. This photo-heavy book will also trace the history of Japanese tattooing, putting the iconography and kanji symbols in their proper context so readers will be better informed as to what they mean and have a deeper understanding of irezumi. Tattoos featured will range from traditional tebori (hand-poked) and kanji tattoos to anime-inspired and modern works—as well as everything in between. For the first time, Japanese tattooing will be put together in a visually attractive, informative, and authoritative way. Along with the 350+ photos of tattoos, Japanese Tattoos will also feature interviews with Japanese tattoo artists on a variety of topics. What's more, there will be interviews with clients, who are typically overlooked in similar books, allowing them to discuss what their Japanese tattoos mean to them. Those who read this informative tattoo guide will be more knowledgeable about Japanese tattoos should they want to get inked or if they are simply interested in Japanese art and culture.

This text offers a treatment of the history, symbolism, and social function of tattooing in Japan, from its earliest beginnings to the present day.

This richly illustrated book reveals the meaning and the secrets behind the most significant motifs from traditional Japanese tattooing--such as mythological and supernatural creatures, animals, Buddhist deities, flowers and historical characters--and turns this art form into a path toward personal knowledge and individual expression.

This book is a collection of classic Japanese tattoo imagery, as perfected by master artist, Horiyoshi III (Yoshihito Nakano).

A crimson fish wrestles a man. A horned demon stares menacingly. These vivid scenes are tattoos, created in pain, incised in the flesh of the Yakuza, Japan's feared secret society of gangsters. They are the visions of the Irezumi, the legendary tattoo artists, who spend years creating living masterpieces. Photographer Sandi Fellman describes this strange and violent world both in her text and in her stunning, large 20 x 24 inch Polaroid photographs.

This work discusses the art of the Japanese tattoo in the context of Ukiyo-e, focusing on the parallel histories of the woodblock print and the tattoo.

A journey through the elusive world of traditional Japanese tattooing, based largely on Takahiro's experiences as a client and student of the master Hiryoshi III. He and Katie trace bushido, the samurai code of chivalry, through the imagery and interpersonal dynamics of the veiled subculture. They include over 200 color photographs of Horiyoshi's work, and five unpublished prints by him in a format similar to that in his 100 Demons of Horiyoshi III. The page titled Index is blank. c. Book News Inc.

A collection of more than one hundred fifty full-color photographs of tattoos created by New York City tattoo artist Rodrigo Melo in the traditional Japanese style.