Japanese Tattoos (Irezumi)

Japanese tattooing, which in Japan is referred to as Irezumi (入れ墨，meaning literally “inserting ink”), is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious forms of tattooing. Drawing upon centuries of Japanese visual arts, including ukiyo-e woodblock prints and Buddhist imagery, Japanese tattooing tends to feature bold black outlines, saturated color palettes, and composition designs that are designed to travel around the human form like mural works on the body. Rather than applying tattoo designs to a flat skin plane, Japanese tattooing is designed with the body in mind, and utilizes the skin's contours and negative space to provide a sense of movement and flow. Negative space is commonly seen in the form of "nukibori background," or "leaving the skin bare," a style that employs empty areas of the skin, as well as wind bars.

Today, irezumi artists use the modern tattoo machine, or sometimes tebori (the more traditional Japanese art of hand-tattooing, usually by hand a wooden stick with many needles bundled up, then inserted in the skin), but the vocabulary of design largely remains the same: strict combinations of motifs, color choices based on the season, and background elements to bring the work together like clouds, waves, rocks, in a bodysuit or just one sleeve (on the arm, for example).

What Defines a Japanese (Irezumi) Tattoo

Irezumi is immediately recognizable by its thick black outlines (sujibori), the layered application of color that creates a smooth gradation (bokashi shading) and the use of large areas of the body to create a unified canvas for the art. Background elements like wind bars, swirling clouds and waves serve to tie the artwork together, add drama to the primary design elements and make the overall composition dynamic. The style also typically uses a wide array of deep colors including deep red, indigo, green and deep black with plenty of empty skin areas.

Compositional rules are important. For instance, a dragon and a tiger may be combined under the same bodysuit because they are considered the polar opposite, whereas a phoenix and a snake would clash in symbolic logic. The season, and its associated elements such as the spring cherry blossoms for a composition about the fleeting nature of life, or the maple leaves for change and resilience, help establish symbolic meaning. A tattoo artist trained in Irezumi conventions will help you decide which of those elements should go together; if your artist is not suggesting them, that is another bad sign.

Popular Japanese Tattoo Motifs and Their Meanings

The koi fish (perseverance and ambition) is one of the most popular Japanese motif, when swimming upstream it’s a sign of struggle, whereas the koi going downstream means you’ve already got what you wanted. Dragons (ryū) stand for wisdom, protection and nature, and are usually shown with three or four claws, curling through clouds. The phoenix (hō-ō) is all about rebirth and virtue, and the foo dog (komainu) is a symbol of guardian. Hannya masks are a jealous female demon, the themes behind the work are passion and transformation, and the shading on some of the work is the most striking in the entire tradition.

Equally significant are floral motifs: peonies (referred to as “the king of flowers”), chrysanthemums, and lotuses. The first embodies power and courage, the second longevity and imperial rule, and the third spiritual purity emerging from filth. On larger canvases, additional figures, such as warriors and characters from folklore, including the Japanese Buddhist deity Fudō Myōō, who is called the “immovable wisdom king,” and samurai drawn from the classic Chinese novel Suikoden, as well as Kintarō, the Golden Boy, help tell a story. For well-practiced irezumi artists, the various visual language of these symbols is just another language to learn and master over the years.

Best Placements for Japanese Tattoos

Irezumi is constructed to occupy full arm panels: full sleeve (shoulder to wrist), hikae (the chest panel extending to the top of the arm), senaka (full back), and full leg sleeve (hip to ankle). Full sleeves typically begin at the deltoid, flow down across the inner bicep, wrap around the elbow and extend to the wrist.

You'll see smaller pieces like a koi on the forearm, hannya on the calf, chrysanthemum on the shoulder, which are nice but lack the compositional element that's inherent to Irezumi. If it's going to be the start of a bigger piece, you definitely want to go over the entire layout with the tattoo artist when you first meet with them so that the small piece will work with any future additions, or be ready to draw out the full tattoo before you start. That's the standard practice with Irezumi artists.

Longevity, Pain, and the Irezumi Process

Japanese tattoos are some of the longest lasting due to their thick lines and heavily saturated areas. Fine line tattoos will tend to spread more noticeably after 5-8 years, however, if an Irezumi tattoo is properly executed, its clarity will persist for decades, since the thick lines create a barrier against the colors spreading. Additionally, Irezumi is known for bokashi: instead of stippled dots the black ink is applied in an even gradient, creating an effect which does not lose the subtlety of tone as easily. Generally, touch ups are not required for a decade.

It's pretty painful, too, especially the ribs, inside of your arms, and the knee ditch, which is where you'll see most Japanese compositions. Many say the Japanese tebori technique, which means hand-poking, feels more like a rhythmic scratching than the modern tattooing machines, and some swear it heals quicker than Western tattoos. Long pieces usually take three to five hours. Sleeve pieces require at least 30 to 50+ hours and could take months and months to finish. Think marathon and not a sprint: don't rush an Irezumi tattoo.

Choosing the Right Japanese Tattoo Artist

Seek out artists who do Japanese, rather than those who "also do Japanese." An artist who is well-versed in Japanese Irezumi will show a clear commitment to the art form, and have a portfolio with mostly large Japanese compositions with good bokashi, and who knows how to pair the motifs together. It's common among Japanese Irezumi artists who have dedicated a great deal of time and practice to this work, to have an apprentice relationship to a Japanese master, and will often adopt an artistic name to signify that lineage, such as Horitomo or Horikitsune (these names are very famous in the Japanese tattoo scene). There is nothing wrong to inquire about an artist's training. The artist will appreciate that you have taken the interest to inquire into his background.

The well-known irezumi artists are in the major cities like London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Milan with studios. Be prepared to wait from 3 to 12 months to get tattooed by a top artist; this is often when the artist will say "no" to your tattoo idea, as this is not about artist egos, it is a question of maintaining the artistic integrity and tradition of irezumi. They will tell you why you shouldn't get certain combinations of tattoo symbols or why certain parts of the design will be better located on your body, and most importantly will provide you with a custom made drawing for your tattoo BEFORE getting started.