In Japan, tattoos and tattoo letters began primarily as an expression of spirituality. From about 300 BC to 300 AD, a Japanese tattoo always conveys a certain religious significance of the wearer, and also served as a decorative status symbol.During this period, tattooing was practiced carefully and prestige. For tattoo artists, tattooing is not just an occupation but a way of life. For example, applicants had to train apprentices with teachers for many years before becoming a credible and recognized tattoo artists, called "horis" in Japan. Only horis allowed the creation of full body suit tattoos.
That all changed when the government began recording tattoos on criminals as a punishment. During the Meiji era, the Japanese government banned tattooing and artists forced the practice underground. It was legalized again in 1945, but until now, Japanese tattoos have never completely shaken off the negative association with common criminals and the Yakuza, the Mafia has long been infamous in Japan. Consequently, sports tattoos are known to be banned in many public baths and massage rooms by employers worried. Nevertheless, Japanese tattoos continue to gain popularity in the country and around the world due to the exceptional art of design and the deep mystical symbolism inherent in them.
Japanese Tattoos are formed by words, pictures, and numbers, or different combinations of each. There are three types of Japanese scripts:
* Kanji - originated from traditional Chinese characters. Intricate and beautiful, these characters are used to convey concepts.
Hiragana * - was developed during the Heian period women. Representing the sounds and looks feminine.
* Katakana - cast of characters developed by Buddhist monks. The style is strong and masculine, and represents the sounds.
Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and are combined and used for letters and can be written vertically and horizontally. Katakana is generally used for foreign names, places and words that are of foreign origin. For Japanese tattoo letters, people often use kanji.
In the same way as there are different styles of writing letters in English, there are different writing styles to create Japanese characters. They are:
* Kaisho is the Japanese equivalent of block style.
* Gyousho, is the equivalent of cursive style.
* Sousho is an extreme form of emphasis, perhaps the fantasy equivalent of the Old English letters.
Called "Irezumi" and "Horimono" Japanese tattoos are awesome, but are very difficult to create because there is no real script for Japanese. Written communication is a set of symbols that represent sounds or concepts. That's why it's so important for you to find a tattoo artist who has extensive knowledge and experience with the Japanese language and symbolism connected. Before getting a Japanese tattoo, it's best to follow these guidelines:
* Know the difference between kanji, hiragana and katakana.
* Become familiar with the writing styles and choose which you like better.
* Choose a logical word translated in Japanese. Some phrases in English can be consistent (eg, "Big Daddy), but can be ridiculous when converted to Japan (great father, for example).
* Always remember to check before any ink done.
