back tattoo

back tattoo

Ko'i vs Tiger on Back Body "tattoo"

Who's win?.....

Tattoo Church Studio in Tokyo, Japan

Carlos aka Captain is a Brazilian born tattoo artist who runs Tattoo Church Studio in Tokyo, Japan. Tattoo Church has invited some of the top international tattoo artists to appear there and have built up such a good reputation that people from all over the world go there to be inked. Let Carlos give you the word up on life as a tattoo artist…

Carlos can you give me a little background about yourself?

I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to Japan when I was 20. I was never really interested in getting tattooed or tattoos themselves until I discovered tattooing in Japan.

What made you decide to become a tattoo artist?

When first I started to live here, the language was a huge barrier even my parents though were Japanese, but I never really studied the language seriously to the point of using it in dialogue. So, I started to watch
videos to learn the language and then I found a big section of Yakuza movies in the video store. Since I started to watch those, all the tattoos painted on the actor’s bodies just caught my eye!

Did you apprentice under a sensei or master?

No unfortunately. I started to get tattooed right after I saw these movies by myself (not a thing people should do at home!) and later found tattooists doing their trade. At that time more than 10 years ago,
tattooists didn’t have shops or never advertised on magazines. The more I got tattooed, the more my interest grew. Finally I ended up buying my own equipment and starting to tattoo at home again (never learn!)

How has your style of tattooing developed over the years and who are your main influences?

My style developed naturally, always trying to answer the clients requeststhe best I could. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to work in Japan and abroad in various shops with different artists. They are the
ones who gave me the help I needed and inspired my work like Russo (Brazil), Shad (Belgium), Sabinne Gaffron (Germany), Shiryu(Niigata-Japan), Houryu (Tokyo-Japan) and many others. Also the clients I met always asked for different stuff, so I suppose they encouraged me to open my eyes and always keep myself open to different styles.

What is your preferred style of tattoo for example Japanese, Traditional, old-school etc?

I mainly work with tribal and Japanese but as I said it is the client decides what they wish to get and my work is to answer these requests the best I can, I guess.

I noticed when I was in Japan that it was mostly females who had visible tattoos. What would you say is most popular style of tattoos you do in Tattoo Church?

Mostly tribal and Japanese. Now I have an apprentice named Harley Davidson (real name!) and he’s a young
gun from Brazil as well, specializing in the chicano/pachuco black & gray style. We have many guests coming from all the corners of the globe, so I guess we have a good variation of artists and styles to
the demand of the clients.

How would you compare the Japanese style of tattoos to the Western way of tattooing?

It is different the way we treat the clients I guess. In the places I worked in the West, I felt like the relationship was more like friends. Here in Japan the clients kinda look up to the tattooists…that is not
a bad thing but we ‘re trying to break down any barriers that may build between both parties so we can create an environment were people don’t feel intimidated to ask questions or place requests.

Japanese Tattoo in UK

In the UK there is also Japanese Tattoo

Girls with Japanese Dragon Tattoo on Back Body

3 Sexy Girls with Japanese Dragon Tattoo, like a Yakuza Girl... hehehehe.....

Japanese Taditional Tattoo for Women

Are you thinking about getting a Japanese tattoo design or a cursive tattoo, whatever design or idea you have for your tattoo make sure that you research it properly and think long and hard before you reach your decision because it will be with you for life.

Research is the key. Some people will spend month's searching for that elusive tattoo picture. Very popular is a bushido Japanese legacy tattoo or a Japanese symbol tattoo. You can also spell out a name in a Japanese tattoo writing style be it the name of a loved one or someone or something very special to you, again research is paramount. Do not just get a tattoo because you happened to like a picture you liked in a magazine.

Research your tattoo thoroughly using tattoo parlor's and of course the internet which will provide you with a wealth of knowledge for your tattoo design, and also translation services for Japanese tattoo writing only after you have completed this can you search out your tattoo artist.

Now that you have selected your Japanese tattoo symbol you can begin to search for a tattoo artist worthy of creating your masterpiece. This can be difficult, please don't walk in to the first tattoo parlor you find, again research is paramount. Ask friends who already have tattoos! Ask them what the shop was like , was it clean, what was the artist like, visit them yourself, show them your tattoo design or Japanese tattoo writing get them to draw it for you so you can see what your tattoo will look like with their particular style. Keep looking until you find the one for you.

Japanese Ko'i Tattoo on Backbone

This unusually placed koi fish sits neatly on the spine and has two minor waves above it, like the fish is swimming towards something (success).

Japanese Colourfull Tattoo for Women

This colourful Japanese tattoo with Kanji lettering either side sits beautifully on the wearers shoulder. Some light shading finishes off the piece nicely.

Japanese Dragon Back Tattoo

This large Japanese dragon tattoo dominates the entire back of the wearer and utilizes bright, vibrant colours.

Tiger Tattoo

This sexy Japanese tattoo incorporating a large tiger dominates the majority of the back and has been edited to include a little femininity for the female wearer with pink flowers.