The word tebori (手彫り), literally “hand carving” describes the technique of tattooing by hand which first arose during the Edo period. There are still tattoo artists (彫師, horishi) that practice tebori today, but there aren’t many of them.

The concept itself is simple enough: a row of needles is tied or taped to a bamboo handle, dipped in ink, and then applied to the skin, making a distinctive shakki sound. Sometimes the handle is made of steel or titanium too, so it as well as the needles can be sterilized.

Tebori enthusiasts claim it is not as painful as getting tattooed by machine, and the results are more organic. I can’t speak from experience though… but I have to say the results are certainly breathtaking.

Thinking of Getting Inked?

There are the usual commonsense considerations to make when deciding to get any tattoo, which can all be summed up as: will you regret it one day?

Well, I’m not your mother and I figure if you’re old enough to get a gibberish font tattoo, you’re old enough to live through people snickering behind your back.

Seriously though, tattoos, especially tebori, are a significant investment in time and money.

First there’s the time spent on the waiting list… and any horishi worth his or her salt will have a long one. Then there’s the time spent deciding on a design with the horishi, the time spent under the needle – and surely no one expects a horishi tattooing by hand to be able to keep up with a tattoo machine. For large pieces of work, there’s also healing time in between each session, and don’t forget that for the sake of consistency you will need to make repeat visits to the same horishi.

So if you happen to be in Japan for a month-long exchange and want a big-ass tebori tattoo, think again. Don’t assume you’ll be lucky enough to find a reputable horishi who will just happen to be free. Some horishi do both machine work as well as tebori work. Think you can rush things and ask the horishi to switch halfway to the faster tattoo machine? Expect a polite but firm refusal; they know the result will just be off.

If your goal is one day to live and work in Japan, be aware that having a tattoo, especially if it’s one you can’t cover up easily, won’t help. Or, as a horishi from INKRAT put it,

“I foresee a generation of elaborately tattooed homeless in the future,” he says, only half jokingly. “It’s hard to get bank loans and rental contracts with visible tattoos. Things haven’t changed much.”

If after all that, you’re still keen on getting inked the tebori way: rock on!

Find a Tebori Tattoist

Most tebori artists are in Japan (no surprises there), so finding a horishi shouldn’t be too hard. So if you’re already in Japan, or planning to be there for a decent period of time, lucky you! Nothing beats word of mouth, so ask around to find the best. If you can read Japanese, the tattoo navi site, which lets you search by region, is also a good start.

Even if you’re not in Japan, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a tebori tattoo. For example, Horitaka of Onizuka Tattoo in Los Angeles, CA specializes in tebori. There’s also Stacy McCleaf of Chrome Gardens in Gettysburg, PA.

Other than that, though, your best bet is probably to keep a lookout for tattoo conventions in your area. It isn’t uncommon to find horishi taking part in them these days. Horimyo, who specializes in tebori, will apparently be in Boston in this October, so be sure to check him out if you can!

※ Fun fact! The professional names of Japanese tattooists often have “hori” in them because hori means to carve or to inscribe – in this case, onto the client’s skin.