The Japanese Dragon Tattoo is a very beautiful and colorful tattoo design and very symbolic, with its origins in myths and folklore. It is also very mystical, adding to the appeal of the Japanese dragon tattoo. Over the ages, from Egyptian times the dragon has represented good and also represented evil. However, the attraction of the Japanese dragon, apart from its stunning beauty is that it represents good luck and the source of wealth. The Japanese dragon also represents the meaning of freedom and being fearless, both very attractive qualities.

In the Greek language, dragon is sourced from draca, which means serpent.

Like the angel, the Japanese Dragon also has the meaning of guardianship, providing a protective force over those it was associated with. Other meanings associated with the Japanese dragon is strength and power. In Japanese culture the dragon is associated with supernatural powers, and amazing wisdom.

There are six forms of the Japanese Dragon. They are:

Sui-Riu is the king Dragon and is in control of the rain. Therefore in this day and age of drought he is all powerful!

Han-Riu has many stripes on his body and is up to forty feet in length. One of the biggest dragons.

Ri-Riu dragon is a rare breed that is not well understood. However, it is known that they have amazing eye sight.

Ka-Riu is a brilliant red color, and a petite dragon in comparison with the others.

Fuku-Riu is a favorite dragon of many people as it is the dragon of luck.

Hai-Riyo is known as the dragon bird, and the most advanced form of dragon. It evolved out of Chinese mythology.

The colors of the dragons have special significance, which are based on their parents. For example a dragon with a black color means their parents are very old and wise. Green dragons are smaller than average, but are representative of life and of the earth. Gold colored dragons are special because they have many special attributes such as wisdom, kindness and the ability to face challenges head on.

Yellow dragons represent the east. They are great companions when you need a hand, but can be self absorbed at times. Blue dragons are from the west. They are forgiving and compassionate, but on the negative side can be lazy and uncaring when it suits them.

Finding the right Japanese Tattoo Design for you can be quite daunting. Check out all the free sites on the net to get as many ideas as you can. Just remember that many other people have done the same thing to get ideas. For example, last month, over 41,000 people searched for dragon tattoo designs on Yahoo. Apparently, roughly 8 times that amount check out Google for the same search term. Then there is MSN and the other search engines. So a huge amount of people see the same free designs as you. If you want original Japanese Dragon tattoo designs, it is recommended that you check out books or other sources of tattoo designs that are not freely available. I have checked out three Japanese dragon tattoo galleries on the internet that have from 3,500 to 6000 different designs, so you will have no trouble finding what you want.

The traditional Japanese tattoos known as 'horimono' became very popular among the people of the 18th century or the Edo period. The most popular choices for the designs of the tattoos were the images from traditional water color paintings, picture books and woodcuts. Understanding the history and background is as important to experience and enjoy the Japanese horimono tattoos as it is to preserve their traditions.

The Edo period was like a period of Cultural Revolution for the Japanese. There were many changes that happened during that period at different levels of the society. A different class of people grew up out of the ordinary people of Japan, who found lot of interests in fashion, comedy, drama, novels, songs, and theatre. So, a unique and separate culture began to grow up.

As the society of Edo progressed, the ordinary people began to take pride in activities of fashion. Gradually, the Edo working class people began to imitate the heroes from the folk stories they used to read in the books (especially the picture books) and comics and other artworks as popularized by the famous woodblock artist Kuniyoshi. Getting highly impressed from these artistic works, the people began to tattoo themselves ritualistically and painfully with the designs based on folklore, such as dragons, Chinese lions, and giant snakes, and also with religious figures with the help of sharp needles for inserting pressed charcoal ink under their skin.

The people who carried out the process of tattooing were mostly the woodblock artists who simply had to exchange their wood-carving blades for long and sharp needles. With time, some of these people became so much involved with tattooing that common people began to accept them as tattoo specialists. This is how the unique Japanese traditional body art form, horimono was formed.

Today, it is very common to have tattoo conventions in Japan as well as in the West. But to have such conventions in the Edo period in Japan around 150 years earlier is itself a strong indicator of the Japanese having a long and rich history of tattoo culture.

Even though there are no photographic record of their works and designs, lot of books are available today which describe the life and work of many tattoo artists of the Japanese Edo period.

One very famous tattooist from the Edo period is Horiuno. Horiuno was born in 1843. He became a tattooist at the age of 20. But before beginning to work full time from his age of 40, he travelled extensively throughout Japan, going from place to place like Osaka, Kyoto and Shizuoka. However, he continued doing his business well into his seventies and much of his work can be seen even today. Most of his customers used to work in the local construction and manufacturing industries, and in 1912, some of these people of the Kanda area formed the Kanda Choyu-kai, meaning "Tattoo Friends Society of Kanda", and after another 10 years, the society was extended to outside the Kanda area, and formed the Edo Choyu-kai.

All the members of this group, who are mostly labourers such as construction workers, carpenters and plasterers, meet every year at places like Ojinanushi-no-taki and Marukotamagawaen, take part in mass outdoor banquets, or in festivals such as the Asakusa Sanja-matsuri, and present their intricate and extensive body art tattoos with pride.

Horiuno was known as the most talented tattooist from Japan and was famous throughout Japan and also overseas. However, at that time there were many other equally skilful tattooists in Japan, such as Horikane, Kyuta, Horiiwa, and Nekokichi.

Kanji, or Hanzi in Chinese, has obtained cult status. Practically every day I come across something with Kanji on it. Unfortunately, often times they contain blatantly ignorant mistakes. Clothes shops sell t-shirts with random Japanese letters strung together, as if it should be readable. Furniture shops offer furniture, bed covers, cushion covers, and even matching curtains with inverted and mirrored Kanji on it. Once I saw a BWM with Kanji stickers proudly decorating both side doors. It read "Viagra" in Chinese... However, these mistakes are nothing compared to the mistakes I have seen on various body parts as "Kanji tattoos."

It is truly flattering to know that Kanji and the Japanese and Chinese languages have gained such prominence and status among tattoo fans. However, if you are going to engrave something on your body, show respect for yourself, as well as for our language and culture, and learn a thing or two about the language and the art of Asian calligraphy before getting it done. Otherwise you will find yourself secretly sweating, every time a Japanese girl comments on your tattoo, wondering "Did she mean it? Or was that sarcasm in her voice?" Or worse, you might end up on one of the many Japanese websites that showcase the gibberish Kanji tattoos they have come across.

How can you avoid ending up with a Kanji tattoo that screams "amateur"?

* Do not have Western names translated into Kanji and inked. Kanji are symbols which often have several meanings. When someone "translates" Western names into Kanji, they are simply fishing out Kanji that have the right phonetics, Kanji that sound similar to the word they are trying to translate. Take the name "Stacy" as an example. When translated into Japanese, it becomes a 5-Japanese-letter word (su-te-i-shi-i, since the word is broken up into syllables, as it should be spoken in the Japanese language). To translate it into Kanji, one would have to find five Kanji which sound like the five syllables of the name. Of course the translator would (or should) make sure they choose Kanji with positive connotations, such as "poem" as opposed to "death" (both words pronounced "shi" in Japanese) -- but be aware that if you ask ten people to translate your name into Kanji, you will likely end up with ten different results. It is that subjective, the art of "translating" names into Kanji. If you still insist on having a name inked, have it done in Katakana instead of Kanji. At least then it would be an objective symbolism of the name, in other words, without the translator's "interpretation" of your name into symbols (Kanji). However, if you are adamant about having Kanji, then my next suggestion would be to keep it short. Have the name translated into just one Kanji, for the first syllable in the name for example, and then have the Kanji inked in the design of a Hanko stamp. This is much more elegant, artistic and aesthetic than having several random Kanji that have the phonetics to sound like a Western name. To a native speaker, such strings of Kanji look extremely odd and usually need to be explained before it can be understood.
* Keep it simple. Do not even think about translating a whole sentence or phrase. Most likely the meaning will get lost in translation. If you are keen on getting a certain message across with your tattoo, consult a native speaker and convey what it is you want to get across and see if an original Chinese or Japanese proverb can get the same point across. David Beckham's famous Chinese proverb tattoo is a great example. Direct translations should be avoided for obvious reasons.
* Consult a reliable native speaker -- or two, to get different opinions and inputs. Do not rely on a non-native or just walk into a tattoo parlor and choose from their Kanji catalogs without any research. Many of the catalogs circulating the internet and tattoo parlors are full of translation mistakes, missing strokes, crooked Kanji that you have to tilt your head to read, and disproportional, unattractive Kanji that were clearly not written by someone with calligraphy skills. Besides, the selection is extremely limited, considering the fact that there are thousands of Kanji in the Japanese and Chinese language to choose from.

Having said all of that, let me leave you on a thought: Japanese are wary of tattoos, since we associate it with Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. In fact, most bath houses and Onsen (hot spring baths) in Japan have specific rules prohibiting people with tattoos from bathing there. It is the politically correct way of saying "Yakuza not welcome." So as flattering as it is that the Western world has come to embrace our language and incorporated it into their culture of tattooing, be aware that you will seldom meet a Japanese with a Kanji tattoo, much less a tattoo. It is just not our culture.

Selecting a Japanese symbol for a tattoo design can be a difficult choice. There are a lot of characters to select from, it is worth taking the time to research and know all of the choices. There are a select few tattoo designs that constantly seem to be well-liked. One of these is the Japanese symbol for victory. This article will tell you more about this Japanese character and popular Japanese tattoo symbol.

Victory in Japanese, when used for a tattoo is usually written in Kanji. If you have not studied Japanese, you may not be aware that there are three Japanese writing systems. They are called hiragana, katakana and kanji. Although it is possible to write the word victory in all of the alphabets, on the whole people will prefer to write it in Kanji. Kanji is usually used for concepts and Katakana is as a rule used for Names and foreign words. Kanji is the word in Japanese that is used to refer to chinese characters. These characters were originally simplified from characters brought to Japan from China.

The Japanese symbol for victory actually needs two characters. the first character needs 12 strokes to write it and has the meaning of excel, prevail, victory or winning. The second character is made up of 7 strokes and has the meaning advantage, benefit or profit. Together the two characters have the meaning victory. Many characters can be much simpler and only need one character and a few strokes, so the symbol for victory is more difficult than most. The Japanese word for victory is Shouri. It is pronounced Shou-ri.

Some of the other Japanese characters that are always well-liked for tattoos are also associated to the winning theme. These include spirit, warrior, courage and bravery. If you have researched all of the Japanese characters and still can't select one, then you could always go for one of the most popular characters, such as love, peace, a family member or even your zodiac symbol.

Japanese symbols are attractive in the eyes of many. It is because these symbols are made up of unique strokes that only Japanese people can do. These days Japanese symbols were used as tattoos. However, choosing a meaningful Japanese symbol is quite difficult. Not all of us can speak or understand Japanese language. Who knows? Maybe the one you choose is a bad symbol.

Japanese tattoo symbols have different variations. Most symbols are associated in life such as strength, peace, power and victory. And in order to get a good Japanese symbol, you should be aware about the different alphabet used. Since then, there are three major alphabets including Kanji, katakana and hiragana. Some alphabets have the same meanings while others are quite different.

The symbol for strength is the easiest tattoo symbol to choose. In comparison with other symbols which involved complicated strokes, the symbol for strength has the simplest stroke. This is done by using two strokes or lines. The Japanese symbol for strength is Chikara and pronounced as Chi-Ka-Ra. There are many other symbols available for tattoos yet you should have a better understanding before you finally get it.

In most cases, Katakana and Hiragana are used in Japanese communications and only Kanji is used for tattoos. However, before you decide which design to chose, here are several steps that you can follow.

Make sure the Japanese tattoo translation is correct

After deciding the Japanese symbol for your tattoo, it is time to look for its appropriate translation. You can open books or search its meaning on the internet. However, you should understand that not all symbols have direct written meanings so you have to search for its right meaning using other books. Once you find its meaning, compare it with other books and make sure it is accurate.

Look for online catalogs

Online catalogs contain all the translations for Chinese and Japanese language. Before choosing among Japanese tattoo symbols, always look for its meaning using online catalogs. Just in case you find difficulty in searching it, you can consult a translator or a person who has a wide knowledge about Japanese symbol.

People of Japan are superstitions when it comes to symbols and Japanese tattoo symbols are great ways to express your feeling and fashion. However, you should bear in mind that tattoos are not meant for a short period of time. These figures will be inked to a specific part of your body for a long period of time or for a life-time. These tips are made to help you avoid mistake when choosing one for your tattoo. But above all, the decision is still yours.

If you are looking for a tattoo design, you may be thinking of using a Japanese tattoo symbol. If you are thinking about a Japanese tattoo you can choose from a traditional tattoo design, which is more like a picture or you could choose a tattoo symbol that represents a name or a particular word that has a special meaning to you.

Japanese tattoos are called 'Irezumi' in Japanese. There is a long history of tattoo art in Japan. The traditional kind of tattoo designs can be very extensive and cover the arms, shoulders and back or even the whole body. The designs tend to be elaborate and include snakes, dragons, koi fish or even flowers. As the designs can cover a large part of the body, it can often take many sessions to complete the art and cost a large amount of money. In Japanese these kinds of designs can be associated with the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) and so they are not favoured by most people.

An alternative to a traditional Japanese tattoo design is to use a symbol used in Japanese writing. The first thing to know if you are considering a symbol tattoo is that there are three writing systems in Japan, hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana are used for parts of speech, word endings and words that can not be represented in Kanji. Katakana is used for foreign words and foreign names. Kanji are adapted originally from Chinese characters and is the most complicated of all the writing systems.

If you are thinking of using a Japanese symbol for your tattoo design, you can either use one of the writing systems to represent a name, or you could choose one of kanji characters. Some of the most popular kanji characters that are used are those that represent the meanings of Love, Family members, Happiness, Luck, Samurai, Wisdom and even Zen.

The land of the rising sun, that's how people describe Japan. This is where different types of people are situated, from popular celebrities, electronic experts, robots and gangsters. In addition to that, culture and tradition have a huge influence in their everyday living. The Japanese are also excellent when it comes to visual designs. One of the popular designs used until now is the Japanese tattoo art.

History of Japanese tattooing

Archeologists concluded that tattoos started from early settlers in Japan or the so called "Ainu" tribe. Back to the early civilization, tattoos were used as facial identities. This is how people determined what tribe they belonged and what tradition they performed. Japanese tattoo art has been present for around centuries. But as years passed, simple tattoo designs turned into innovative and meaningful images. Aside from flowers and dragons, Japanese are now featuring endless choices including heroes and weapons used in wars.

Tattoo designs featured by gangsters of Japan

Japan is also known for underworld gangsters like Yakuza for example. In the past, tattoos are illegal to Japanese people and this thing was distinguished from the rest of the population. Although, there were people who have tattoos in their bodies, still authorities marked tattooed individuals as criminals. These individuals have discriminated the whole people in Japan. This is the main reason of forming underworld gangster known as "Yakuza".

Women as part of gangland society

Since then, tattoos were worn by these people symbolizing status and dedication. As featured in several movies, Yakuza tattoos involved magnificent styles and full body masterpieces. The design is quite difficult. It comprises complex curves, circles and Japanese symbols that only tattoo experts can do. During early years, Yakuza's members only involved men. Today, many women also become integral parts of Japan's gangland society.

As part of the gangster's tradition, wives and girlfriends of top Yakuza members often undergo extensive tattooing. Even in some countries, Japanese tattoo art was still in used. Try watching WWE and you'll see that some wrestlers get inked with these designs, including the world's famous Rey Mysterio and Japanese's pride Rikishi.

Japanese tattoo art is increasingly popular in the world today. Thanks to people of Japan for creating these meaningful images. Regardless of gangsters, the art of tattoo will always represent freedom for everyone. If you're interested with this kind of art, you should decide first. You should understand that tattoos are lifetime responsibilities. In order to avoid regrets in the future, you should have the willingness to carry it for the rest or your life.

Some question the artistic factor of Japanese tattoo art, but it is because they are looking at simple pieces such as symbols. Japanese tattoo art consists of so much more. As a matter of fact, there are some amazing designs that celebrities and other high profile individuals have paid a lot of money for.

History

Japanese tattoo art has been around for centuries. It is thought that facial tattoos graced the faces of early Japanese settlers. Throughout the years, the art evolved and it was a custom to be tattooed with very detailed images. For instance, in 1827 Kuniyoshi Utagawa created 6 very intricate designs that were part of the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. These heroes were like a bunch of Robin Hoods. Each tattoo told a piece of the story.

There is Japanese art that depicts their warriors as heavily tattooed. In today's Japan, it is not common to find someone who is heavily tattooed. As it stands, the Japanese people consider people who are tattooed to be a part of an underworld of gangsters. They believe it to be a habit of the low class. Young tattooed people in Japan have them placed where people cannot see. That way they do not have to encounter judgment by their peers or older individuals in Japan.

But the Japanese tattoo designs are quite amazing when you look at them. They depict parts of Japanese history, contain many fine lines that make the design, and the colors are so vivid and unique. Some people may even have their entire back tattooed because some tattoos are only good when they are large and a message is to be relayed.

Types

Flowers and dragons tend to be the most common, aside from Japanese symbols with significant meaning to the tattooed individual. Extensive Japanese tattoo art can take a while to finish. Because of the amount of detail put into some designs, it can take several sittings to finish. Having one done in one sitting could be quite daunting to the tattoo artist and to the recipient. It is also necessary to allow some healing to take place before continuing some parts of the journey.

It is also common to see Japanese tattoo art of Japanese warriors with weapons and of serpents. The best way to know what your options are is to explore online or consult with your Japanese tattoo artist on what it is that can be done for you.

Are you looking for a full or half sleeve tattoo design that is unique and different then a lot of the others you have seen out there already? You might want to consider a Japanese sleeve tattoo design. There are tons of great themes and designs that can easily be incorporated into a full sleeve, half sleeve or even a quarter sleeve.

Japanese Koi Tattoo Designs

The koi fish is one of the most sacred animals in Japan and used throughout Japanese visual arts and designs. The legend is that the koi fish is strong and swims upstream again the river and eventually turns into a dragon. So the koi fish is often used to symbolize strength, power and finding one's own path. Thus can make a great sleeve tattoo design. With a beautiful blue water background and the wonderful gold colors of the koi fish splashing in the water makes a very sticking tattoo design and one that is authentic Japanese style also.

Japanese Dragon Tattoo

Another very popular design hat is used in Japanese tattoo art is the dragon. The dragon is again a symbol for power and strength and because of the shape of a dragon's body being long and skinny it can easily be incorporated into a wonderful full sleeve tattoo design that twists around the arm with the head coming up at the top of the should area. This is also a very classic Japanese tattoo design and one that can work well as a sleeve tattoo.

The Japanese gods and Spirits

The Japanese religious world is filled with different goes and spirits. Some of these of course are very good-natured friendly spirits and gods that help humans. Some however are bad and evil spirits. It is customary in front of many Japanese temples that there are two pretty evil looking statues. These are the gods that guard the temple. Without going too deeply into the Shinto religion these gods are often used for protection. They are frequently used in tattoo designs throughout Japan as protection also. These oni or evil gods can scare off other evil spirits. They are often red and have horns but can be done in a variety of ways.

chantal kreviazuk tattoo

Lady Gaga Sexy tattoo

Katy Perry tattoo

Posh's tattoo is a romantic Hebrew scripture often read at weddings, and it's dedicated to her husband, David Beckham. The quote from Song of Solomon reads, "I am my love's and my love is mine."

• 1. Tom Arnold's Roseanne

  

• 2. Kate Gosselin's Pooh

  

• 3. Jermaine Dupri's Virgin Mary Janet Jackson

  

• 4. Nick Cannon's Mariah

  

• 5. Cher's Butt Wings

  

• 6. Brad Pitt's Lines

  

• 7. Eminem's Daughter

  

• 8. Stevo's Portrait

  

• 9. Mena Suvari's Lucky Number

  

• 10. Bam Margera's Don Vito

  

• 11. Johnny Depp's Winona

  

  Later changed to “Wino Forever”

• 12. Dean McDermott's Tori Spelling

  

• 13. Eva Longoria's Nine?

  

• 14. Megan Fox's Butterflies

  

• 15. Melanie Griffith's Antonio

  

• 16. Angelina Jolie's Billy Bob Dragon

  

  RIP.

• 17. Fred Durst's Elvis/Kurt Cobain

  

• 18. Jenna Jameson's Mess

  

• 19. Jamie Foxx's Everything

  

• 20. Anastasia's Tribal Blobs

  

• 21. Stefan Marbury's Shoe Company Logo

  

• 22. Mark Wahlberg's Mark Wahlberg

  

• 23. Stephen Baldwin's “HM” Hannah Montana

  

• 24. Sylvester Stallone's Wife

  

• 25. Nicole Richie's Virgin

  

• 26. Pamela Anderson's Barbed Wire

  

• 27. Jason William's White Boy

  

• 28. Kimberly Stewart's Daddy's Girl

  

  And apparently a cunt

• 29. Reggie Miller's Mistake

  

• 30. Dennis Rodman's Chick With Dick?

  

• 31. Rumer Willis's Words Of Wisdom

  

  Gorgeous

• 32. Scott Spiezio's Beauty

  

• 33. Mike Tyson's Head

  

• 34. Willie Ame's Ode To Celebrity Fit Club

  

• 35. Hayden Panettiere's Misspelling

  

The size of a celebrity star tattoo is as varied as the designs themselves. They can be incredibly small or very large depending on your final design ideas. Among the most popular of designs, star tattoos are quickly becoming the image of choice when it comes to artistic expression.

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Tila Tequila's arm tattoo

ANGELINA JOLIE

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