Japanese Tattoo Designs

In recent years, there has been resurgence in the Japanese tattoo designs. This revival can be understood, as the Japanese art can be very beautiful. Some things can be traced back for thousands of years! These days, they are popular for both men and women. If you are a woman interested in Japanese tattoo design, here are some tips that will help you with your choices.

Understanding history

Tattoos are a tradition in Japan that dates back to several centuries. For centuries most people, the art was not accepted by most people. Even in the ancient Japanese tattoo designs is usually associated with criminals. There are even some brands associated with criminals. branding was kept during the time of Yakuza (gang). The gangsters will get tattoos to mark their chosen lifestyle.

In recent decades, many young Japanese people who are not associated with gangs have been getting tattoos, as art becomes more and more mainstream. This will be through a kind of art or the rebirth of Japan and the broader trends that spread to Europe and North America. Now, many men and women of all ages started to get a Japanese tattoo designs.

Design for women

Here are some of the most popular design that looks great on women. You are free to choose the design you want, of course, although there are certain images that most women tend to prefer.

It's cherry blossom

Perhaps the most popular flowers in Japan, the cherry blossoms are admired for the beauty and delicacy. They symbolize how life can be fragile and beautiful. Even Samurai will admire the cherry blossom and write a poem about flowers. These days, most women who choose to get a cherry blossom tattoo. Just looking for pictures of interest and you will understand why they are so admired!

Geisha tattoo

Men and women are both included in their Japanese geisha tattoo design. They are more than just a "pinup" model, they are very classy, cultured women who are trained to bring the tradition of Japanese culture. They were beautiful and very talented. They were taught to dance, sing, play instruments, pouring tea with perfection, and entertaining in general.

Some tattoo designs reflect both the Samurai and Geisha meetings, often sit facing each other and drink tea. If you want pictures, strong women as part of your tattoo, then you could always consider the Geisha.

Koi fish

This fish has many positive qualities. It is a symbol of perseverance, strength and spirituality. There is a myth that koi fish often swim upstream to the gates of heaven, where they turned into a flying dragon and take to the sky forever. This amazing fish is seen as individualistic because they dared to resist the natural flow and eventually were given awards for their courage.

Japanese tattoo designs koi fish are usually taken in bright orange and gold colors, combined with the sparkling blue waves in the background. Clearly, this is a beautiful blend of color, so if you want something that stands out, then this is something you should consider getting.

Japanese Style Koi Tattoos

The koi fish is one of the most beautiful, popular and recognisable Japanese tattoo symbols. In addition to its natural beauty, it has come to represent advancement and aspiration. Arguably one of the most important aspects of successful tattoo design is the quality of the initial black line work.

At the end of it all, when colour and shading are complete, if the line work of the tattoo is not crisp, uniform and sharp, the results will be less than impressive.

Illustrator’s brushes are the ideal tool for such a task; they provide flexibility, control, and lend themselves well to a non-linear workflow. When tracing your initial sketch, a template layer will give you the opportunity to keep your sketch visible in Outline or Preview mode. This way you can toggle between modes as you work, and have a constant visible guide.

In the first part of this three-part series I’ll be showing you step-by-step how to create beautiful outline art, but be sure to check out the next instalment so that you can learn how to add colour, work with symbols and master the art of working with clipping masks.

Japanese Arm Tattoo Design for Girl

Japanese Arm Tattoo Design for Girl

Tattoos come out of hiding

'There are tattoos that you can show and ones that you should hide," says Shura, an Osaka tattoo artist. "Traditional tattoos are only OK to show at festivals, certain public baths and during fights.

"The cute, fashionable ones, they are OK to show whenever."

That sentiment is now well established in a country that has long felt conflicted about tattoos, often revealing its feelings in officially sanctioned public prejudice.

In many ways, women are leading the way. Tattoos on starlets such as Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki are thought of as stylish by a younger, pop culture- hungry generation, while overseas fashion trends have made "getting ink" much less of a radical lifestyle choice.

U.S. reality-TV shows set in tattoo studios have made the art form so popular there that tattoo artists are baffled at its new high profile. The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2006) found in a survey that 24 percent of its respondents between 18 and 50 were tattooed. In Britain, ink shares a similar popularity, especially among women.

"I see more women wearing ink than guys these days," says Neil Dalleywater, the editor of top U.K. tattoo magazine Skin Deep. "It is a big part of the tattooing industry. Women are realizing that tattoos can be very feminine and sexy, and they like it that if a tattoo is in a discrete position, they can either show off their ink or keep it covered.

"Tattoos can also be therapeutic, and many women have wonderful tattoos covering mastectomy and other scars."

Women have a strong presence in the Japanese tattoo industry: Most editors of tattoo magazines are female, and female artists are increasingly common.

"Female artists are popular with girls getting tattooed who don't want to show their skin to a male stranger," said Tattoo Burst magazine editor Miho Kawasaki at a girl-only tattoo convention back in 2006 in Tokyo's trendy Daikanyama area. "They make the process less threatening by using words and concepts that a woman can more easily relate to, such as a tattoo being kawaii (cute)."

Artists such as Nattsu at Osaka's Chopstick studio have entire portfolios of super-kawaii motifs. "I get lots of girls, girls working in the fashion and beauty industries, and gay guys," she says.

Flipping through her colorful book, there are ice-cream cones, toucans, and manga-style pandas that grace the hip bones and ankles of girls who hang out in Osaka's trendy Amerika-mura area. They are drawn to her accessible style that mixes pop imagery with psychedelia.

Tattoo artist Horisho from Mindscape tattoo in Aichi Prefecture confirms a change in tattooing trends. "My clients are going from being the blue-collar workers and laborers who were my usual clientele to a sudden surge in interest from fashion people, designers, hair-dressers and many more female clients," he says.

The female-targeted magazine Tattoo Girls is a testimony to the new popularity, using photographers, stylists and models from prominent Tokyo fashion agencies. The aesthetic is decidedly hip, although the models are actually sporting fake tattoos. An ominous disclaimer at the end of each issue even states: "Although we introduce various styles in this magazine, we are not recommending that anyone get one. . . . It is important to make a judgment whether you can be responsible for yourself after you get tattoos."

For certain fans, such considerations are unimportant. Tattoos are often just another way of conforming to their chosen subculture, whether it be surfing, rock 'n' roll or a hippie lifestyle. These cultures comes with their own style, with tattoo books in Japan often categorized by such genres. The booming low-rider scene in Japan has seen kids getting tattooed in the Chicano style sported by East Los Angeles denizens of Mexican origin.

Artist Makoto from Hocus Pocus in Shizuoka says he has groups coming in all seeking works from the same genre.

"They will all want something slightly different to differentiate themselves from their friends," he says, "but it will all be from the same genre for the group. I will tattoo a group of friends who want Tibetan motifs, and then another group who want Japanese."

The growing popularity of tattoos has led to a mountain of information and a highly knowledgeable clientele who are willing to travel for their ink. Shops such as Adorned and Invisible in New York City often find that a bevy of Japanese have flown in specifically to get tattooed.

Shops such as Osaka's Three Tides and Inkrat in Tokyo's Koenji constantly host top-tier foreign artists with whom fans will book time. In a sense, such clients are collectors, who approach tattoos with almost the same fervor as brand- obsessed Shibuya gyaru (gals).

Still, the advice of Tattoo Girls magazine isn't unfounded.

"I foresee a generation of elaborately tattooed homeless in the future," says Hata from Koenji's Inkrat studio, only half jokingly. "It's hard to get bank loans and rental contracts with visible tattoos. Things haven't changed much."

From personal experience, while tattoos get positive attention overseas, showing ink outside of Osaka, and Tokyo's Koenji, Harajuku and Shimokitazawa neighborhoods is not only looked upon unfavorably, it is often seen as offensive.

"I don't walk around town showing my tattoos off with short sleeves," says Tattoo Lifestyle magazine's ex-editor Maki Furukawa. "People get scared. Still, I want people to see them in a more positive light."

For female artists such as Ryoki of the Al Haut studio in Osaka, informing clients of potential consequences is essential to her job. For many heavily tattooed people, wearing stifling clothing in the punishing summer heat is de rigueur, as commuters will — no exaggeration — give them quizzical or horrified stares on public transport. And then there's the usual prohibition from hot springs, golf courses and gyms, which reflects the fact that mainstream social attitudes concerning tattooing are not in line with its popularity among certain groups.

"Japanese youth need to age, and their kids and grandkids need to get tattooed," says Matt Shamah, an American artist who is in Japan tattooing perhaps more than any other foreigner. "That's what it takes for social boundaries to change."

Good Tattoo

Good Tattoo

Good Tattoo

Death Metal Tattoos

I wish I knew what this was, I really do. It looks like a totem pole of demons? With some kind of weird scarred-out blob in the middle. Is it a tribal-mutant batman logo? AND DO YOU SEE THE SCRATCHED UP FETUS ON HIS ELBOW? I mean really, how could you miss that? I don't even know what the stuff on his forearm is. If anyone can help decipher this, please let me know! I was staring at this guy for ages trying to figure it out.

Death Metal Tattoos

I wish I knew what was on his back, too. You can see a bit of it poking out. I bet it's incredible.

Scorpio Tattoos Of Girls Body

Scorpio Tattoos Of Girls Body