I really love Japanese style tattoos, but I don’t know the stories and the symbolism. How do I choose my tattoo?

The first step is to find out what do you want your tattoo to mean. Once again, traditionally, Japanese tattoo don’t tell the story of the wearer. They will associate their tattoo to a strong emotion like strength, courage, protection, wisdom, perseverance, etc. Keep in mind that love and the love for your children aren’t emotions that Japanese tattoos usually represent.

But I really want the tattoo to tell my story. How do I choose my tattoo?

Depending on what you are trying to say, there are multiple options:

– I want my tattoo to talk about my family and my kids.

We can look at different elements accordingly to their birthday: what’s their zodiac sign? What’s their birth flower? In Japan, each month and each season is associated to a flower, a plant and even an activity (for example, flying a kite is associated with Spring). Also, we can look at the Buddhist calendar to see which deity protects your family members.

Check out www.onmarkproductions.com for the best references of buddhist statues.

– I want my tattoo to represent my ambition and courage.

There are a lot of stories in Japanese mythology that are great examples of courage, strength, honor and ambition. For example, there are the courageous warriors Benkei and Raiko, who both fought armies and monsters. There is also the famous samurai Taira no Tomomori, who is a strong symbol of honor. He never gave up, he never surrendered to the enemy: he preferred tying himself to an anchor and throwing himself in the river instead.

– I want my tattoo to be a symbol of protection

Mythological animals and deities can be used to symbolize protection. For example, fireman were the firsts to get dragon tattoos because the dragon is not only a symbol of protection but it’s also a water animal in Japanese mythology.

– I love mangas and everything that has to do with Japan, but I want something original

The vast majority of mangas use classical, mythological Japanese themes for their stories. For example, the three Sannin in Naruto (Jiraiya, Trunade et Orochimaru) are classical characters of Japanese folklore. The ‘’Yokai’’ that we find in mangas are also fun characters.

It’s important to know that JAPANESE TATTOO ≠ MANGA, they are completely different forms of art. Even though they both are derived from Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints), mangas can’t be tattooed as is.

There are multiple ways of choosing a Japanese style tattoo. You can choose something more traditional
or play with the ideas to make a less traditional design. Either way, Japanese tattoos are a fascinating
world with so many ideas. For more informations on different subjects, I invited you to check out my
other blogs.

I was doing every tattoo style, but the style that I loved the most was Japanese inspired tattoos. My love for Japanese style brought me to the US to get tattooed by Jack ”Horimouja” Mosher. Overly motivated, I managed to do my whole backpiece in 2 months (I wrote a blog about this story, check it out!) Not only did I get tattooed during that time, but I also spent most nights with Jack drawing and learning from him. It was an enriching experience! He taught me a lot of different techniques, which expanded my skill-set in Japanese style tattoos. Meeting with Jack motivated me to open my own shop in March of 2012. Since then, I managed to build a shop with a great crew of reputable artists.

Traveling is the best way to learn. I have traveled to Asia (visiting Japan 3 times), to the US and to Europe to learn and perfect my tattoo style: Neo-Japanese. I use realistic tattoo techniques (3D tattoos) and I combine them with the Japanese style to achieve a new style of Japanese tattoo where shadings and colors seem more realistic.

I have attended seminars given by the best tattoo artists, have been tattooed by the greatest tattoo masters and I have visited the biggest tattoo conventions all around the world. I’m very grateful to have had such great experiences! But what I cherish most, are the new friendships that I have made with artists as passionate as I am about tattooing.

Over the next years, I would like to work on my tebori tattoo technique which is a traditional Japanese hand tattooing technique. I’m still an apprentice in tebori. I have a deepest respect for this traditional art; therefore, I will take my time to perfect this technique with the help of some of my friends in Japan. 

I will always be a student in tattooing as the learning never stops when you’re an artist. Thanks for showing interest in my art; I’m very grateful for my fans! Here are links to some of my work:

It’s at the age of 16 that I decided on becoming a tattoo artist and have been passionate about Japanese tattoos since then. I would be very pretentious of me to say that I Completely understand this art. No « gaijin » can pretend understanding 100% of the Japanese mentality, there will always be mysteries lost in translation… But after many years of studying and multiple trips to Japan, I think I have understood the essence of Japanese tattoo.

With these blogs, I want to show my vision of this art. I will explain different subjects, styles, technics, and I will also talk about the best tattoo-related places to visit in Japan. Thank you for your interest in my stories and thank you for sharing with others. Questions are always welcome. You can always write to me through my email. If you want to get tattooed by me, please send me a message on my website.