Cicada

Just a little update on something pretty strange and very disappointing. I had posted up a couple of photos of some of my pieces with credits to my artist. They were custom designed one off Japanese pieces created by my artist here in Tokyo. Someone found the images, copied the photos that I had posted and then contacted my artist and asked for them to make appointments to recieve exact copies of my pieces when they visited Japan on holiday later in the year. My artist said that they couldn't copy the images but they could create original pieces inspired by the work on me. The person asking for the tattoos refused this offer to recieve unique pieces of their own and then said that they would take the photos of my pieces to another artist in their own country and have them tattoo them with my designs instead. i know that it's probably too late to stop them from going to someone else and I'm sure that they will find another artist willing to copy custom work but the attitude of this person and lack of respect they have shown is so appalling to both myself and my artist. I've deleted the images that I'd posted but it sucks that I've felt the need to do this. If my pieces were traditional work or images taken from flash then I genuinely would have no issue at all with sharing the same design with other people. It's just sad that someone who appreciates Japanese style tattooing enough to want to get pieces of their own doesn't understand the meanings behind receiving a unique personal piece. I'm probably done posting pictures anywhere online now, I had just thought that it was safer to do so on here.

Ribs were pretty interesting :) Not unbearable but not exactly much fun either, there wasn't a single sweet spot where you could just zone out and go with it. The last 20/30 minutes of the session I was just watching the clock and hoping we wouldn't go too much longer to be honest. It healed surprisingly easily which was a big bonus :)

I've never been a Disney kind of guy so that ones no great shakes for me but i do miss being able to go swimming which is pretty much never going to happen for me over here now :(

It's pretty mixed over here with regards to attitudes to be honest. In the big cities if you're walking around for the most part people don't really take much notice particularly if you look foreign (non Asian anyway). In the countryside it's usually pretty rare to see anyone publicly displaying tattoos and most people tend to keep them covered whenever they are outside. The majority of Onsen (hot springs) still don't generally allow tattooed people to enter but they are private businesses. There are similar places called sento which are public bath houses and they are much more accessible thankfully. I visit sento semi regularly, I'm pretty heavily covered and to be honest i usually end up chatting with people who are curious about my work. Gyms, water parks and swimming pools are pretty much all no go zones unless you have tattoo work that's small enough to be covered with sticky plasters or strategic clothing. Also one that's kind of interesting is that Tokyo Disney has a no visible tattoo policy and you'll be asked to cover up if you visit.

Just posted two quick pics up on my gallery. My backpiece is finished but the ribs need another hour or so to finish the detailing.

Long time lurker just decided to get involved :) Think I'm up to about just over 80 hours coverage or thereabouts now, full back piece, both arms half sleeved and some wrist and rib work. Everything done in traditional Japanese style. Looking forward to chatting to some people C