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Top Document: rec.arts.bodyart: Tattoo FAQ 8/9--Misc. info Previous Document: INK COLORS Next Document: WHEN DID TATTOOING START? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Japanese "irezumi" tattoos are often associated with laborers (primarily fire fighters and carpenters) and yakuza members, who stereotypically also lack the tips of one or two digits on their hands (to signify a failed order and to show loyalty--see the movie, _Black Rain_ with Michael Douglas for an example). An excellent book to to see examples of traditional Japanese bodysuits is _The Japanese tattoo_ by Sandi Fellman (New York : Abbeville Press, 1986. 112 p.). For those interested in getting work of this magnitude done however, the general answer is "ya can't gets one." This is not only because of the time or costs involved--there is a sense of the spiritual and of propriety with the artists, who do not advertise their services in the Yellow Pages. Your best bet as a "gaijin" (foreigner) is to find a Western artist who specializes in oriental artwork. As trends go, the young Japanese are now interested in tattoos of Elvis and Chevies, anyway--the grass is greener on the other side, I guess. If you can manage to attend the larger tattoo conventions, some of the Japanese artists now travel the U.S. convention circuit regularly. KANJI [CHINESE/JAPANESE] CHARACTERS One word of warning about getting Japanese or Chinese characters--make sure that the artist who does this understands the importance of the shape and form of the letters. Unlike the roman alphabet, the essence of the Oriental characters is in the proper execution of form. The artist will have to know where the "brush strokes" of the calligraphy start and end (since stroke order also counts), as well as how angular some corners should be, etc. The worst thing would be to sport a Japanese kanji character that looks like some zygotes. How to tell if the characters are formed properly? It would help if you know how to read kanji or if you have Asian friends--otherwise, go with a reputable artist who is known for it. Beware: I read Japanese, and most of the kanji flash I've seen in shops are embarrassing to look at. Brendan Mahoney <phxbrendan@aol.com> adds: Even were I to consider getting a kanji tattoo, mere copying just doesn't cut it (no pun intended). Chinese, like Japanese, has printing (e.g in books), hand printing (which can be very artisitic) and various forms of cursive (extremely artistic), not to mention styles--something like fonts--within each of the forms or writing. The most important aspect of fine cursive (aside from form and proportion) is what the Chinese call "flying white," that is, the white streaks created from moving the brush so rapidly. Creating a tattoo like that would require considerable shading skill in addition to appreciation for the flying white itself. User Contributions: 1 Yusuph Aug 16, 2012 @ 12:00 am I real to know much the history of tattoo, from the begin. Please send for me the all details/summary or imformation of tattoo. You can find me also on facebook as Toto mbata chico. Thank u Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:Top Document: rec.arts.bodyart: Tattoo FAQ 8/9--Misc. info Previous Document: INK COLORS Next Document: WHEN DID TATTOOING START? Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Part9 - Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: stan@cosmo.pasadena.ca.us
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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