刺青

    Tattoo's in Japan, to the Japanese known as Irezumi (入れ墨, 入墨, 紋身, 刺花, 剳青, 黥) have been around since the paleothic period. In Japan this form of permanent drawings on the body are for decorative and spiritual purposes. The pictures you see below are traditional Japanese forms of tattooing which take 3x as much  as regular tattoos in America, tattooing in Japan is a very different dilligent process as you can see the woman tattooing with the hot needle, most people who want great tattoos done travel all the way to Japan because they do such nice work. These Japanese artists take their jobs seriously, they're trained for many years by their master, and often live in the master's house, they practice their tattooing on their own flesh, they even get a new name by their master once they're done with their training, Japanese people with tattoos rarely ever show them which is very interesting. Most people in the United States with sleeves resort to wearing cut off shirts for the rest of their lives. These Japanese tattoos are really awesome looking, I also love how vivid the colors are in the first picture. I look at tattoos much differently now. here's alot of symbolism you might find on Japenese tattoos.

Mythological beasts and monsters: Dragons, Kirin, Baku, Foo Dogs, Hō-ō (鳳凰, Phoenixes)

Animals: Birds, Koi (Carp), Tigers, Snakes

Flowers: Peonies, Cherry Blossoms, Lotuses, Chrysanthemums
Other plants: Bamboo, Maple leaves

Characters from traditional folklore and literature, such as the Suikoden

Images of the "Floating World" inspired by ukiyo-e prints: geisha, samurai

Buddhas and Buddhist deities such as Fudō Myō-ō and Kannon

Shinto kami (deities) such as tengu
Backgrounds: clouds, waves, wind bars.

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