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.

And then we have the Japanese dragon, a unique dragon that many would recognize as being an Asian dragon, but what really makes them Japanese? The dragon has significant meaning in Japanese culture, but I feel as though many outside of Japan aren’t very familiar with them other than what they look like.

Physical Appearance

Speaking of what they look like, what makes a Japanese dragon a Japanese dragon? When most westerners picture a dragon, they’ll think of the above mentioned European style dragons with their big wings and fire breath. Japanese dragons are quite different. Japanese dragons, and Asian dragons in general, are much more serpentine than their European counterparts. Japanese dragons also only have three claws on each foot, and don’t fly as often as they lack wings.

The Japanese believe that Asian dragons originated in Japan and as they spread to other areas of Asia, gained more toes through evolution or something. China and Korea hold just the opposite to be true. They believe that Asian dragons originated in their country, then lost toes as they moved themselves over to Japan.

Japanese dragons combine native legends with dragon stories from China, Korea, and India. Like these other Asian dragons, most Japanese dragons are associated with rainfall and bodies of water. They are regarded as water deities and are not associated with fire in the way their European cousins are.

Dragon Shrines and Temples

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Dragon lore is associated with both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. There are many legends of famous dragon deities inhabiting ponds, lakes, and rivers near these shrines and temples.

Temple names also frequently have something to do with dragons. For example, there is the Rinzai sect’s Tenryuji (Heavenly Dragon Temple), Ryutakuji (Dragon Swamp Temple), and Ryoanji (Dragon Peace Temple).

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The Kinryu no Mai (Golden Dragon Dance) is an annual dragon dance performed at the Buddhist temple Sensoji in Asakusa. The dance weaves in and out of the temple grounds and outside onto the streets.

According to the legends, Sensoji was founded in 628 after two fishermen found a golden figurine of Kannon in the Sumida River and golden dragons ascended into heaven for some reason. The Golden Dragon Dance celebrates the temple founding and provides good fortune and prosperity for all.

I’ve never been to a Golden Dragon Dance myself, but they look pretty nifty. Lots of music and dragon showmanship abound from the looks of it. It sure seems like a worthwhile thing to view.

There’s even a form of dragon worship in Japan. Ryūjin shinkō (dragon god faith) is a form of Shinto religious belief that worships dragons as water gods. It has connections with agricultural rituals, rain prayers, and the general success of fisherman which makes sense, as Japan is an island nation.

Dragons in Popular Culture

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Dragons are a familiar motif in Japanese art, architecture, literature, and popular culture. Japan has the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, lots of dragon kaiju monsters, and even Dragon Ball. There’s also lots of video games having to do with dragons such as the Dragon Quest and Breath of Fire series.

The dragon is one of the four divine beasts from Japanese mythology (the other three being the phoenix, turtle, and kirin). It is frequently the emblem of emperors and heroes, which makes sense, as dragons are pretty awesome and stuff.

And then of course there’s the frill shark, which is basically a real live dragon.

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Perhaps the frill shark was responsible for some of the lore associated with Japanese dragons. It lives in the sea, and is serpentine in form. I wouldn’t be surprised if back in the day some Japanese person saw one of these washed up on the beach somewhere and thought it must be a dragon.

Dragons in the Japanese Zodiac

The dragon is one of the twelve zodiac signs used in Japan. The birth years for the dragon are 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, 1940, 1928, and 1916. People born in the year of the dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. However, they are also honest, sensitive, brave, and can inspire trust in most anyone. They are the most peculiar of the 12 signs of the Zodiac cycle.

I was born in the year of the tiger which is said to “require patience” with those of the dragon sign, but I won’t hold it against you dragonborn folk. I don’t really subscribe to the whole astrology horoscope deal, but it is pretty interesting to read about sometimes, much like the way Japan links personality traits and horoscopes with blood types.

Dragon Tattoos

Since dragons are so important to the Japanese people, it only makes sense that they’re such a popular design for tattoos both inside and out of the Yakuza. As a tattoo, the Japanese dragon represents guardianship and protection. It can also mean strength, power, and wisdom.

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Even people outside of Japan get Japanese dragon tattoos because they’re so cool, like the American firefighter in the video above.

Dragons really have a large presence in Japan when you get right down to it. You can find them adorning shrines and temples, participating in parades, in video games, TV shows, at the bottom of the ocean, and even on people’s bodies. Pretty cool, huh?

So tell me, who would win in a fight between a European dragon and a Japanese dragon? Were you born in the year of the dragon? Would you ever consider getting a dragon as a tattoo? Already have one? Share your story in the comments below!

Sites Referenced:
Wikipedia
DragonsInn.net
About.com

Over the years, it seems like people have grown more and more fond of getting kanji tattooed on themselves; even celebrities have decided to get in on the craze. Heartthrob to preteen girls everywhere Justin Bieber recently got a kanji tattoo (I read about it on my Bieber forum).

It’s fascinating to me when people get inked in a language they don’t know, and kanji tattoos are the epitome of that. Getting something you don’t understand permanently etched on your body is a pretty ballsy move.

Unfortunately, kanji tattoos are a risky business. For one, their meanings can sometimes be tricky.

What Does it All Mean?!

A lot of people learning Japanese struggle with kanji (although, shameless plug, WaniKani might help you), so it’s not surprising that a lot of the people who get kanji tattoos don’t always understand all the nuances and subtleties of the characters.

The New York Times even ran a whole article dedicated to people who got kanji tattoos only to learn that they mean something completely different from what they expected.

One guy got a tattoo thinking it meant “One Love.” Unfortunately for him though, the tattoo said 恋痛い or, roughly, “Love Hurts.” (Although not as much as a tattoo removal.)

A high-profile example of this is 90s pop sensation Sporty Spice, who got a tattoo of her group’s slogan “Girl Power.” To get this tattoo, she translated the phrase as literally as possible, combining the character for woman (女) with the character for power (力). Makes sense in theory, right?

Unfortunately it’s not usually that simple, or else we could all just use Google Translate and be done with it. Not only was the nuance of “Girl Power” completely lost in translation, but it’s not actually a word in Japanese. People might get the general sense of what it’s supposed to mean, but it still might come off as something like “WOMANSTRONG.”

Besides making sure you get the kanji right, if you’re getting a tattoo to show your love of all things Japanese, it’s also important to keep in mind the Japanese attitude toward tattoos.

What Do Japanese Think About Tattoos?

Living like I do in Portland, tattoos almost seem like a requirement more than a stigma. I’m amazed that I’m allowed anywhere without a beard, flannel, and full sleeve tattoos of something ironic.

Most of the time though, the US and Japan included, tattoos are still stigmatized to some degrees. While tattoos are definitely seeing more and more mainstream acceptance, a lot of Western cultures have a long history of bad associations, from religious stigma to criminal connections.

In Japan, tattoos were actually outlawed from almost 100 years, until just after WWII. Groups like the yakuza are renowned for their full-body, traditional tattoos, which result in things like bathhouses banning people with tattoos from entering.

And just earlier this year, Osaka cracked down on its employees’ tattoos after a city worker threatened a kid by showing him his ink.

I don’t want to come across as a big ol’ party pooper who thinks that nobody should get kanji tattoos ever. People who get kanji tattoos just want a symbol of something that’s important to them, and kanji seems a lot more subtle than just spelling it out in plain ol’ English.

It’s definitely important to keep in mind though, that there are dangers to kanji tattoos. Even if your pal tells you it just means “Strength.”