Tattoo gallery: Traditional Japanese Tattooing

Traditional Japanese Tattooing
By Kazuo Oguri
Translated by Mieko Yamada
(All artwork and photos Copyright Kazuo Oguri )

Oguri, known in Japan as Horihide, his tattooing name, is a famous artist and highly regarded as the pioneer that brought Japanese tattooing to Sailor Jerry, and subsequently Ed Hardy, after World War Two. Thus setting the stage for large Asian body suit tattoo design to change the face of western tattooing in the last half of the twenty first century. Here in his own words is his story.

When I was an apprentice, feudal customs still existed in Japan. The apprenticeship was one of the feudal customs called uchideshi in Japanese. Normally, pupils lived with their masters, and were trained for 5 years. After 5-year training, the pupils worked independently, and gave the masters money that he earned for one year. The one-year service was called oreiboko in Japanese, the service to express the gratitude towards the masters. The masters usually told new pupils about this system, 5-year-training and 1-year service, when they began the apprenticeship.

( left: Kazuo Oguri receives a lifetime achievement award from Steve Gilbert at the first Northern Ink Xposure in 1998.)

Labels: Japanese, Tattooing, Traditional