Japanese Tattoos – Full of traditional and modern designs, characters and history in this photo-heavy book

Kevin Kelly 9:38 am Mon Oct 17, 2016

My skin doesn’t have a single tattoo, but I am touched by the art in tattoos, particularly traditional ones. The Japanese have a long and deep affinity for skin paintings, and have devised a complex iconography for them. The Japanese were early to pioneer color in tattoos, and gave high regard for the full body tattoo, treating the whole torso as a canvas. They even went recursive, sometimes inking a large character that sported a full-body tattoo within the tattoo. This book is chock full of classic themes, characters, and designs, with plenty of notes on the historical significance of tattoo culture. Of course it’s great inspiration for modern tattoos, but also for any other visual art.

Japanese Tattoos: History, Culture, Design

by Brian Ashcraft and Hori Benny

Tuttle Publishing

2016, 160 pages, 7.5 x 10 x 0.7 inches (softcover)

$11 Buy a copy on Amazon

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