Japanese Tattoo Art, History and Such

By Tim Amlong

The decorative and symbolically rich body modification of Japanese tattoos has been practiced in Japan for the last 10,000 years. Many Shogun rulers outlawed Japanese tattoo and were only used in marking and punishment of criminals. Polynesian locals have been getting intricate armband tattoos since the 17th century with a primitive and very painful process involving soot and a bone needles. Traditional Japanese tattoos may be a thing of the past, bu their appeal is timeless. Japanese tattoos are still very popular choice and are some of the coolest tattoos you can get. .

A great armband tattoo to get is of a dragon or a snake, encircling the entire arm. Chinese reflected that the Japanese men, young and old, all tattoo their faces and decorated their bodies with designs. Not so much the style of tattoo that differed from so many other cultures, but the subject of the design of Japanese tattoo, makes them some of the most sought after around the world. Masked people, warriors, ladies, young girls, geisha, samurai, and the ancient gods and goddesses make popular appearances in Japanese designs.

Chinese and Japanese writing tattoos that incorporate other symbols of Asian art are very tasteful and a great choice. Unlike Chinese tattoos who started practicing the art as early as 2000 BC, Japanese tattoo art did not reach its peak till sometime in the 1800's, so Japanese tattoo art came about quite a bit later, comparative speaking. Japanese written language much like Chinese has a very distinct visual style, that has the design elements of tai chi chuan into the look of every character. Japanese tattoo design has a very distinct style that has been very influential on Western tattooing since the 1960's. Regardless of the popularity in its native land of Japan, traditional art of Japanese tattoos is making leap and bounds of popularity in the US and other western countries and cultures. Translating you name into Japanese writing is very beautiful and is a very good starting point for obtaining a cool tattoo design.

A large commitment of time, money and energy is required of Japanese tattoos that cover the entire back and arms, but yet the long process is looked upon by many to be a trial worthy of the samurai's of the past. There is such a delicate beauty that makes it an inspiration for Japanese tattoo art. Making a particularly good visual reference found in modern books of Japanese tattoos appear in visual style and coloring to be older than many other images. It has been said,, Japanese tattoos have been considered to detain a special magical and or religious factor to their owners. Other terms for Japanese tattoos are Irezumi, and Horimono are considered to be very beautiful, the intricate detail can cause complication to understand because of no actual alphabet for the Japanese language. There are a lot of online tattoo galleries that have a wide selection of Chinese or Japanese tattoo to choose from, the biggest problem is finding someone you trust that can re-create the designs and the intricate work involved to getting a quality tattoo of this nature to be applied.

I have a blog that is about custom design tattoos that I have posted a few articles on. If you are interested on getting a new tattoo or your first tattoo go to my site and you might get some good ideas. Also there are a couple of Tattoo Gallery sites that I have links to that offer some very good information that would be very helpful in making an intelligent decision before getting your next or first tattoo. Also I have a link to a very good book that gives a lot of the history behind Japanese tattoos that you can check out on my site.

Website address is: http://www.customdesigntattoo.com
Thanks,
Tim Amlong