A Little Intro to Beautiful Japanese Tattoos

As we know one of the places where tattooing is heavily practiced as a beautiful art form and with the greatest skills level is Japan. The history of tattooing there dates back to the fifth century where historians found clay figurines (haniwa) in a grave that show distinct facial marks. These marks are believed to be early forms of tattoos that represent decorative and religious functions.

Unfortunately this early form of Japanese tattooing largely died out by the end of the fifth century and tattooing was revived only in the thirteenth century as a way of marking criminals and other social desirables. Interestingly, the practice of labeling criminals using tattoos was also practiced in many other countries, notable in neighboring areas as we collectively known as China today.

Early Times of Tattooing

Tattooing is probably one of the only industries that have been around longer than the sex industry. It has had a similar amount of criticism as well, if not maybe more. Evidence of tools used for tattooing have been found dating back to 10,000-30,000 B.C.. If you have any older relatives that want to give you any grief for getting a tattoo, just remind them that somewhere back further in the family tree, probably thousands of years, one of your relatives was probably getting tattooed by the campfire.

The Rich History of Japanese Tattoo Designs

The koi have long been a part of the Japanese life. At almost every temple and sacred place there is a small koi pond. The koi also know as Carp fish is known throughout China and Japan. Originally the story came from Buddhist teachings in Chine where it was believed the koi fish would swim upstream and go against the current and even up a waterfall. The myth states that any koi fish that could swim up the Yellow river and up the waterfall at the mythical place called Dragon Gate would then turn into a dragon. Therefore in China the koi fish would stand for strength and power and advancement. This same idealism was adopted throughout Japan. It was adopted in Japan to such a degree that it has become a part of their daily life and ritual. In fact large flags of koi fish are flown on Boy's Day to celebrate the strength, energy and power that boys should posses