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Hanya or Peony?

finegentleman

By finegentleman,
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finegentleman Regular

finegentleman

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I have a full color (olive green/jade) dragon with flames and cherry blossoms covering my entire upper arm except the inner bicep (will post pictures when completely finished).

So, I want a new Japanese design to fill that empty spot.

I'm thinking a traditional Hanya or a peony. What do you guys think?

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finegentleman Regular

finegentleman

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I'm definitely no expert but I think it would be more traditional not to mix flowers/seasons, if you care about such things. So if those are the two choices, I'd go with the hannya. Here's one article I've bookmarked:

ANCIENT ART OF THE JAPANESE TEBORI TATTOO MASTERS | INK IN HARMONY | The Selvedge Yard

Peony can go with cherry blossoms cant it? They all come out during spring/summer?

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Zillah Contributor

Zillah

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That is an incredible article. I've read books on Japanese tattooing that don't mention the seasonal cohesion mentioned there. Thanks for sharing.

- - - Updated - - -

Hmm. Now I'm wondering if I should email it to my tattoo artist. He's designing a custom koi sleeve with cherry blossoms... maybe I should change to maple leaves if he is amenable...

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DJDeepFried Contributor

DJDeepFried

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This is a good one too for what it's worth.

Crystal Morey Gets Fast and Furious With Bunshin Saikian Horimasa (VIDEO) | TAM Blog

My feeling is to not get too hung up on it. If you were getting a full bodysuit by one artist you might want to stick with the same flower/season for one cohesive look. Mixing cherry blossoms with peonies is pretty common, I think. I have chrysanthemum and maple with a koi on one arm and cherry blossoms with a dragon on the other from two different artists.

If the scene is the koi climbing the waterfall to become a dragon I've read it's supposed to be maple. This site is also a wealth of information:

Dragons, Dragon Art, and Dragon Lore in Japan, Buddhism & Shintoism Photo Dictionary

At the end of the day, if you want a traditional Japanese-style tattoo you go to an artist who specializes in that, and he or she would know all that stuff.

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Zillah Contributor

Zillah

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If the scene is the koi climbing the waterfall to become a dragon I've read it's supposed to be maple.

Yeah, that was the idea. I've emailed the artist and this was his reply:

"what the artical states is common practice in japanese tattooing, however representing seasons in tattooing is not really necessary as we are not japanese and tattoos have such great personal importance. i think it is more important to get the items that appeal to you and you will be happy to wear for the rest of your life rather than worry to much about seasons and tradition. this said if you would like to go true traditional this is no problem either."

So, he basically supports what you have said @DJDeepFried

I will go for maple leaves- and thank you so much for the articles, I've been devouring as much knowledge as I can on the subject.

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Zillah Contributor

Zillah

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I knew I was bound to reveal my tattoo ignorance at some point. How embarrassing...

Nah, I wouldn't say it was tattoo ignorance. We can't all be Japanese mythology scholars, I'm certainly not- I just started learning about this stuff myself.

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  • 2 months later...
finegentleman Regular

finegentleman

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http://photos-f.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xpa1/925000_242144452644757_1131876742_n.jpg

I still haven't decide what to put on the inner arm of this. I've gotten in contact with some artists and I've gotten ideas of skulls, flowers, hanyas, and drums. and severed head

I'm leaning towards a B&G skull.

Is there another badass idea that I'm not considering? Doesn't have to be japanese.

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