Tattoos: Japanese

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Kamis, 23 Juli 2015

Jay, Josephine Baker, and More!

I met Jay at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade last month and she shared this cool Jospehine Baker tattoo on her right arm:

This was done by Cynthia Rudzis, owner and curator at Cirque du Rouge in Washington D.C.

In addition to this photo I took, Jay sent me photos of some additional work she has from Rudzis, on her back:

Jay tells us this:

"... is a tribute to my dad's Japanese Buddhist roots, [and] is actually a stylized version of one of the old Sherlock Holmes drawings that accompanied the original stories. The kanji [lower right] reads, 'every day is a good day'- my family's favorite Buddhist saying. Several of my family members also have it tattooed elsewhere on themselves.

The color piece at the top was taken from a 1930's wallpaper pattern and [is] used to connect the colors in my various pieces."

I was also delighted to see another photo that Jay sent me, considering I had recently been emblazoned with a crab myself:

Jay explained that this was done by Joey at Citizen Ink in Brooklyn and that "it's representative of my home state of Maryland, with a blue crab and the state motto, 'fatti maschii parole femine' or 'manly deeds, womanly words.' "

Thanks to Jay for sharing her cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Kamis, 16 Juli 2015

Kelly's Cool Geisha and Fan

I met Kelly last month at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and she shared this tattoo on her upper arm:

Kelly is "really big into Japanese art" and came up with this really cool concept, as it features a geisha holding up a fan to obscure her face, but the design of the fan - the face of a Japanese hannya mask, lines up with the geisha's face, producing a stunning artistic effect.

This was inked at a top-notch shop, Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massepequa, New York, by Matt Beckerich.

Thanks to Kelly for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Rabu, 27 Mei 2015

Mark's Sleeve by SkullSugar

Yesterday, we enjoyed Maria's work by Fidel "SkullSugar" Quiñones at Lucky 13 Tattoo n Norwich, Great Britain. If you missed the post, revisit it here.

I only bring it up because, when I met Maria, she was accompanied by Mark, who had a full sleeve that was the handicraft of SkullSugar.

Check it out:

Of course you have the koi, swimming up the arm for good luck, with a phoenix on the opposite side of the forearm.

Mark noted that he works for the fire service, so the phoenix is a nod to that fiery vocation.

Mark also indicated that the green and yellow behind the carp is a subtle nod to the team colors of his favorite football club, Norwich City. "I would never put football emblems," he explained, "so I have a little bit of colour...that's the only personal bit to it."

As for the genesis of the sleeve, starting up top, Mark added, "It started off as a cover-up....I like Japanese work so I just let my artist just do his thing, really... he came up with the idea of a geisha..."

The colors of the work, speckled with the occasional cherry blossom, are really quite bright and vibrant. I don't generally like to photograph full sleeves, because it's hard to do them justice in two-dimensional venue, but I was impressed by this work enough to make an exception. I think we're able to see how nice this work is.
Thanks to Mark for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Rabu, 13 Mei 2015

Maddie's Japanese Elm

Earlier this month, I met Maddie in downtown Manhattan on Broad Street after I spotted her foot tattoo:

Maddie got this about eight years ago and doesn't remember the artist's name. She also did not remember the name of the shop, although based on her description of the location, it was most likely The Chicago Tattooing Company.

The tattoo depicts a Japanese Maple tree. "I went in wanting to get an oak," she explained, "but I was sort of convinced by the artist [to get the maple] and I'm really happy with it, with the green on it and everything."
She also told me that the tree pertains to her grandmother, and chose not to elaborate, as it is a family thing.

We don't always get a story, but at least we get to appreciate the tattoo!

Thanks to Maddie for sharing her lovely tree tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Minggu, 01 Maret 2015

Shayna's Docs, Inspired by Japanese Tattoo Design

We've all seen tattoo-themed clothing, led by the societal onslaught of the "Ed Hardy" clothing line, which was hijacked by fashion designers and turned the brand into a stereotypical joke.

But there's a right way to appropriate the design aesthetic and make it stylish and hip. Check out this new pair of Doc Martens my 16-year old just got for her birthday:

Photo by Melanie Cohen

Take a closer look:

The Doc Martens website says about these boots:

"Our 1460 8-Eye boot has been a counter-culture classic since it first came out in 1960. Inspired by the iconology and styling of US Hardcore bands and their fans, we've wrapped this iconic style in Japanese-influenced tattoo art-- including koi fish, cherry blossoms, peacocks and clouds (plus a red 1460 hidden away in the pattern). The intricate design is printed in muted tones on tan full grain leather, set off by a strong-and-simple black welt and grooved sole."

You can order them online here.

I'd get a pair for myself, but my teenager would kill me.

Selasa, 22 Juli 2014

Luis and The Tattooed Monk

Last month, I met Luis at the NYC Urban Tattoo Convention and he shared this cool sleeve:

Luis's artist is David Styles, who works out of House of Styles Tattoos & Body Piercing in the Bronx.
He is one of Styles' best customers and says he has about 40 hours of work all told on his canvas.

As for this section of sleeve, Luis explains:

"This is The Tattooed Monk. Basically The story behind him is that he's drunk and belligerent, so he's all over the place ... He was actually a crime lord in ancient China - the Chinese and Japanese have different stories - so basically he tried to redeem himself by joining a monastery and becoming a monk so he could find inner peace and everything ... he just really found out that he couldn't take life without liquor. So he ... just kinda went and took on some monster - he beat the monster but, in turn, destroyed the monastery. so he ended up getting kicked out ... you see a lot of Japanese yakuza members running around with this tattoo, [like a] big back piece or something like that."

Here's a larger perspective from the House of Styles Facebook page:

Photo courtesy of House of Styles Tattoo & Body Piercing

Thanks to Luis for sharing his awesome sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Selasa, 22 April 2014

The Tattooed Poets Project: Michael Henry Lee

Michael Henry Lee is appearing on the Tattooed Poets Project for the fourth consecutive year, and it is always a pleasure to share his work.

First, his tattoo:

Photos by Chris Bodor

Michael tells us how this tattoo came to be:

“Koi have long been revered by the Samurai of Japan for their; courage, virility, and immortal character. Combine that with Joshua 1:9 from the old testament (Have I not commanded you to be strong and of good courage, neither be fearful or of doubting mind, for I the Lord God am with you wherever you go) and you have for me, the ultimate stay-strong tattoo. The composition was designed by [me], and inked by Tattoo Mike: owner of Tattoo Garden on Saint Augustine Beach in Florida. The wave design was done at The Lovely Pearl Studio by owner Krista Monahan in downtown Saint Augustine."

What I particularly love about Michael's contributions every year, aside from his tattoos, is the fact that he is the only poet who sends us haiku:

*

inchworm
little by little
the lengthening day

*

late winter frost
i do the talking
for both of us

*

fire storm
an absence of birdsong
fills the canyon

*

eye of the storm
a clear view of
the path ahead

*

wind shift
fires burning
inside and out

*

The preceding poems first appeared by their respective order in: Icebox, Haiku News and Mainichi Daily News.

You can check out Michael Henry Lee's previous contributions here, here and here.

Michael Henry Lee’s work continues to appear on or in: Frog Pond, Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, and Mainichi Daily News among numerous others. Lee is a husband; of over thirty years, father, and grandfather, animal welfare supporter, and bonsai artist. His work in maintenance, for a sprawling condominium complex on Florida’s intra-costal provides an abundance of inspiration for his Japanese haiku and senryu poems.

As always, many thanks to Michael Henry Lee for his contribution and continued support of the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Senin, 10 Juni 2013

Revisiting Dan and Checking Out His New Half-Sleeve by Guido Baldini

One of the things we don't talk about a lot here on Tattoosday are the friendships I have developed over the years with people I meet on the street. I'd say less than 10% of the people I interview become friends with me, but it is great to see their collection grow over the years.

Dan is a prime example - I met him first in 2010, and he shared this piece, done by his cousin Guido Baldini.
A year later, he updated me with the additional work that was done to the tattoo here.

Just recently, Dan reached out to me and we were able to meet up in person for me to take a photo of the dragon half-sleeve that Guido did on him recently:

Here's some nice detail:

and

Dan told me he specifically asked Guido for the dragon to be blue, which is not generally a traditional color for Japanese dragons. The red roses, as well, are generally not associated with dragon tattoos. Yet Dan loves this non-traditional take on the classic Japanese dragon.

Check out more of Guido's amazing work at his new shop in Santa Fe, New Miexico at Lost Cowboy Tattoo here.

Thanks to Dan for sharing his latest work with us here on Tattoosday!

Sabtu, 25 Mei 2013

Chris and His Koi (at the NYC Tattoo Convention)

I'll be honest, koi tattoos are pretty popular, so I don't often post photos of them. But, every once in a while, I see an exceptional one, and feel compelled to share it here.

The photo above is of a stunning koi tattoo, courtesy of a guy named Chris, who I met last week at the NYC Tattoo Convention.

It's an exceptionally well-done piece, with the traditional Japanese carp, or koi, swimming upstream, along with a lotus flower at the bottom and cherry blossoms at the top. Note also the way water and movement is skillfully represented.

Chris credited Jeremy Miller from Screamin' Ink Tattoo in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Note: this is a different Jeremy Miller than the one who competed on the first season of Ink Master.

I usually see something spectacular from the talented crew at Screamin' Ink every year at the convention, all of which can be seen in previous posts with their shop tagged here.

Thanks to Chris for sharing this great sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!