Tattoo...

[iron_leg_dave]

Greetings forums.

I am posting this here, because I'm not sure where it fits... and also this forums gets the most hits.

Here is my predicament:

I have been waiting to get my first tattoo until I go to China, and meet someone in the Chen family, or a monk at Shaolin, or something completely awesome like that. I have been waiting since I was 18, and everyone got their first tat, and all of the beautiful subsequent work. My desire was to get a master to write something relevant to Shaolin or Taiji and pay them for the work, which I would come back to the states and get permanently placed on my wrist or left pectoral.

Unfortunately, I turned 28 this year, and the future looks less likely to involve a trip to Shaolin or Chen villiage than the past.

SO....


Who has an image of kung fu/tai ji relevant characters, written by a kung fu/tai ji master, which wouldn't mind them being tattooed on a random kung fu/tai ji practitioner's body?


Hook a gong fu brother up.

;)

[KC Elbows]

You should seek the characters drawn by a calligraphy master first and foremost, if they do taiji, that's a bonus.

Keep in mind, traditional Chinese culture thinks pretty low of tattoos. Not that that should dissuade you either way, just so you know, most teachers in China would be silently mortified at the idea: they don't see that as a representation of dedication.

However, really, focus your search to what a calligraphy master has done, not a kung fu one. Search for images of calligraphy.

Hopefully someone else may help with some images.

[iron_leg_dave]

You should seek the characters drawn by a calligraphy master first and foremost, if they do taiji, that's a bonus.

Keep in mind, traditional Chinese culture thinks pretty low of tattoos. Not that that should dissuade you either way, just so you know, most teachers in China would be silently mortified at the idea: they don't see that as a representation of dedication.

However, really, focus your search to what a calligraphy master has done, not a kung fu one. Search for images of calligraphy.

Hopefully someone else may help with some images.

Thanks.

I do understand your points.

I however, am culturally American via Sweden, and while calligraphy mastery is important, I really want something done by a master of gong fu/tai ji. A Chinese hand that holds strong kung fu is a hand that I want to write the label that will become a part of me.

Thanks very much for your input.

[David Jamieson]

Here's a few for a start (http://www.google.ca/images?q=kung%20fu%20calligraphy&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1680&bih=897)

enjoy. :)

[iron_leg_dave]

Here's a few for a start (http://www.google.ca/images?q=kung%20fu%20calligraphy&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1680&bih=897)

enjoy. :)


:rolleyes:

[KC Elbows]

Seriously, many kungfu teachers act as if they're a calligraphy master, and most suck. I leave your decisions to your discretion, but urge you to narrow the field by choosing from only true calligraphy masters, as they better capture the characters.

Just because one can fight well doesn't mean they have the same fury in their handwriting.

This is writing that is permanently on you, and you are not likely to learn beforehand the subtleties of chinese calligraphy(or you'd just do it yourself), so there's really nno harm in looking for calligraphy masters' works in the field.

Past that, hopefully someone here can post a pic of some famous kung fu master's work for ya.

[Syn7]

zheng manqing aka cheng man ching was a taiji master and great artist... caligrapher extraordinaire apparently... see if u can find any of his work...

[iron_leg_dave]

zheng manqing aka cheng man ching was a taiji master and great artist... caligrapher extraordinaire apparently... see if u can find any of his work...


And my grandmaster.

I realize this, but to no avail...

[Syn7]

whos your sifu?? were you in NY?


he's your sigung and you havent seen any of his work??? im sure theres even some online... google it, look hard, try different words for searches... persistance pays off in google searching alot of the time... so much crap, but gems in there if you dig right...

[CFT]

A calligraphy master is a kung fu master, IYKWIM. ;)

[uki]

why not draw up your own?? symbols are powerful tools and upgrades to ones human vehicle... choose and design them wisely... tattoos are spiritual in nature... energy signatures and divine footprints. ;)

[EarthDragon]

one of the most famous caligraphy and martial artists on the est coast is sik yee wong living in Toronto Canada, he has done work for me and my school adn his writingings are incredible he would be the guy you need to contact. hope this helps

http://www.artonnet.com/sikyeewong/room105.html

[kfman5F]

One thing that most people don't think of when getting a tattoo, is that many years later the ink will spread, outlines will get fuzzy and sunlight will make them fade.

[EarthDragon]

I would like to add, that depends on who does it, how deep they go, and what ink they use, however you are partially corect.
If you dont have a steady percise hand and when looking through a magnifying glass the lines are a tad wavey, or they go too deep into the epidermis and or they use a bleeding cheeper ink all that will happen.

The sun fades everything but you must keep it out of sunlight for the first 6 weeks

[ghostexorcist]

Keep in mind, traditional Chinese culture thinks pretty low of tattoos.
It was traditionally associated with criminals. This has nothing to do with Yakuza-like body tattoos. In ancient China, men found guilty of crimes were often tattooed on the face. These tattoos were made to look similar to military face tattoos so criminals could easily be absorbed into the Chinese army.

I know this sounds weird, but try to get a another person to verify what the tattoo says. Otherwise, you might be in a changing room when a Chinese persons asks you why it says "Cat anus" on your back (no, I'm not speaking from personal experience.)

A lot of people tend to get 尽忠报国 because it is associated withe Yue Fei. But there is no proof he ever had such a tattoo or that he has any connection to the many styles attributed to him.

I've always thought about getting a Maori tattoo myself. Tattoo guns are for pussies. Bone needles, ink, and a hammer are the only way to go.

[Syn7]

It was traditionally associated with criminals. This has nothing to do with Yakuza-like body tattoos. In ancient China, men found guilty of crimes were often tattooed on the face. These tattoos were made to look similar to military face tattoos so criminals could easily be absorbed into the Chinese army.

I know this sounds weird, but try to get a another person to verify what the tattoo says. Otherwise, you might be in a changing room when a Chinese persons asks you why it says "Cat anus" on your back (no, I'm not speaking from personal experience.)

A lot of people tend to get 尽忠报国 because it is associated withe Yue Fei. But there is no proof he ever had such a tattoo or that he has any connection to the many styles attributed to him.

I've always thought about getting a Maori tattoo myself. Tattoo guns are for pussies. Bone needles, ink, and a hammer are the only way to go.


yeah, i have heard lots of stories of people getting chinese or japanese words and finding out the hard way that it isnt what they thought it was... i bet some asians do this on purpose for laughs at the stupid whiteboys...

yeah, who needs guns, its all about the hammer....!!!

[David Jamieson]

One thing that most people don't think of when getting a tattoo, is that many years later the ink will spread, outlines will get fuzzy and sunlight will make them fade.

if you got your tattoo in 1958 and it was done with pen ink, then yes. lol :D

these days the pigments are superb and many of the artists are well trained and have good knowledge.

It's an art form to be sure.
Some people are wrecks, but many have exquisite pieces.

[bawang]

It was traditionally associated with criminals. This has nothing to do with Yakuza-like body tattoos.
its exactly like yakuza tatoos. all the legendary gangsters had tatoos

[Yum Cha]

if you got your tattoo in 1958 and it was done with pen ink, then yes. lol :D

these days the pigments are superb and many of the artists are well trained and have good knowledge.

It's an art form to be sure.
Some people are wrecks, but many have exquisite pieces.


Then again, on some of us, we'll die before the ink spreads....easy peasy...

[Xiao3 Meng4]

If you want a Kung Fu Tattoo, try this:

Go find a Daoist monk and have them paint a Calligraphic charm for you. Then use that as your tattoo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's more to the disdain of Tattoos in Chinese culture than criminality. It has a lot to do with slavery - and acupuncture, in turn, has a lot to do with both.

Way back in the day, like around 5,300 years ago or something, lived a tattooed man.

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/archaeology/oetzi_reconstruction.jpg

No one knows where he got his tattoos, or why exactly he got them; when they discovered his body in a Alpian glacier in the early 90s
http://pinklilpink.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/otzi_ice2.jpg

they took note of the tattoos and someone remarked that they were placed in areas that appeared to correspond to acupuncture points in TCM:



Expert opinions from three acupuncture societies indicate that nine of the tattoos could be identified as being located directly on or within 6 mm of traditional acupuncture points. Two more tattoos are located on an acupuncture meridian but not close to a point. One tattoo is a local point. Three tattoos are situated between 6 mm and 13 mm from the closest acupuncture points.

Further research indicated that the Tattoos were placed over areas exhibiting pathophysiological signs:

http://www.tattoosymbol.com/bodymod/03-otzi.jpg

So at some early point there seems to have been a connection between Tattoos and therapy.

Later on, about 700 BC, we find this guy:
http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo_museum/images/Scythian_tattoos.gif

He was a Scythian who roamed the Central Eurasian Plains. His Tattoos are much more ornate, and we see what are thought to be "apotropaic" tattoos - charm tattoos for protection, possibly fertility, good hunting, and the like. Still, on his back near his spine we see a series of very simple dot tattoos which are not reflective of the tattoo skills of the time. I propose that they are tattoos which follow the same rationale as Oetzi's tattoos - namely, they are therapeutic.

Fast forward to the 1920s, to when the last Yupiget natives on St. Lawrence Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawrence_Island) received traditional Arctic tribal tattoos. The Tattoo tradition in the arctic spans over 3500 years.
http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/images/tattoo3x/image004.jpg

Its practice methods and rationale were recorded before they dissappeared completely - again, they correspond to a therapeutic, apotropaic and ancient Chinese Medical use:



Inuit (or Eskimos generally) and St. Lawrence Island Yupiget, in particular, like many other circumpolar peoples, regarded living bodies as inhabited by multiple souls, each soul residing in a particular joint. The anthropologist Robert Petersen has noted that the soul is the element that gives the body life processes, breath, warmth, feelings, and the ability to think and speak. Accordingly, the Eskimologist Edward Weyer stated in his tome, The Eskimos, that, "[a]ll disease is nothing but the loss of a soul; in every part of the human body there resides a little soul, and if part of the man's body is sick, it is because the little soul had abandoned that part, [namely, the joints]."

From this perspective, it is not surprising that tattoos had significant importance in funerary events, especially on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Funerary tattoos (nafluq) consisted of small dots at the convergence of various joints: shoulders, elbows, hip, wrist, knee, ankle, neck, and waist joints. For applying them, the female tattooist, in cases of both men and women, used a large, skin-sewing needle with whale sinew dipped into a mixture of lubricating seal oil, urine, and lampblack scraped from a cooking pot. Lifting a fold of skin she passed the needle through one side and out the other, leaving two "spots" under the epidermis.

Paul Silook, a native of St. Lawrence Island, explained that these tattoos protected a pallbearer from spiritual attack. Death was characterized as a dangerous time in which the living could become possessed by the "shade" or malevolent spirit of the deceased. A spirit of the dead was believed to linger for some time in the vicinity of its former village. Though not visible to all, the "shade" was conceived as an absolute material double of the corpse. And because pallbearers were in direct contact with this spiritual entity, they were ritualistically tattooed to repel it. Their joints became the locus of tattoo because it was believed that the evil spirit entered the body at these points, as they were the seats of the soul(s). Urine and tattoo pigments, as the nexus of dynamic and apotropaic power, prevented the evil spirit from penetrating the pallbearer's body.

South East Asian tribes also have a history of tattooing, as do the tribes of Japan, such as the Ainu. All of them use Tattooing in much the same manner.

So what happened in China? Several theories exist. Here's mine.

With the gradual growth of kingdoms, a need arose for keeping track of whether or not the people on your land were friends or foes. Whereas prior identification may have rested with the types of tattoos a person had, the ever-growing alliances made tattoos an unreliable way to distinguish the enemy from an ally. With so many variations, how could one possibly know where the person approaching was from? So some king, at some point, abolished Tattoos. Maybe it was at the recommendation of Confucius in the Zhou dynasty. Maybe it was earlier, and Confucius reframed the idea in a "don't defile the body" kind of way. At any rate, it meant that Tattoos were no longer regarded as an element of a "civilized" people. It now belonged to "Barbarians" who were often enslaved, causing tattoos to become associated with slaves. Slaves and convicted criminals shared similar predicaments and so Tattooing eventually became associated with Criminals (plus, criminal acts are often described as "barbaric".)

Here's the thing: in China, tattoos appear to initially have been therapeutic and associated with ancestral medicine (ie illness was caused by unhappy ancestors / the Inuit "Shade.") Prior to the Zhou dynasty, Chinese medicine was primarily ancestral. During the Zhou, demonic medicine began replacing ancestral medicine: illness was no longer due to ancestors but to demons. Why the switch? Well, I think it connects back to Slavery. In China, a slave was socially viewed as an ancestorless orphan. As such, ancestral medicine didn't work - meaning slaves required a different explanatory model for their illness.

So demonic medicine came to the forefront: no longer was the goal to protect against dead spirits by shoring up the gates; now, it was to exorcise malevolent influences that had already entered. In urban village and city spaces, men were hired to shout, run down the roads and thrust spears into the darkened corners and alleyways in a ritualistic "exorcism" either every night or on special days. It is possible that this practice relates to acupuncture emergence as a primary method of "invisible tattooing/point exorcism" among doctors.

Even the Ling Shu, an acupuncture classic from about 300BC, provides technical details which point to "tonification" being linked to the insertion of material into and under the skin and "dispersing" being linked to the removal of material from inside and underneath the dermis, which strongly suggests a link between Tattoo therapy and acupuncture therapy in my mind.

The popularity of Tattooing ebbed and flowed over the centuries after that. During one dynasty, Tattooing was so popular that tattoo shops had stencils made that they would just dip in ink and then tap into the skin all at once - one (or two or three) taps = one complete tattoo.

In the last century, for the most part, Tattoos were associated with gangs and hence crime.

Ok, my rant is done. Now back to your regular programming. :D
CSP

[Sihing73]

Hello,

I have a tat of a Dragon and the kanja for my Sifus system on my right arm.

The characters translate as Limitless Wing Chun or Wing Chun without limits. Of course, English translation is not always word for word and it also can mean hope for the futre. However, the characters have been recognized by several people as being related to Wing Chun Kuen.

Anyhow, my Sifu was okay with me getting the tat several years ago and did the characters for me himself. I am happy with the result.

[bawang]

In the last century, for the most part, Tattoos were associated with gangs and hence crime.



tatoo was asociated with gangs and revolutionary for over one thousad years

[Xiao3 Meng4]

tatoo was asociated with gangs and revolutionary for over one thousad years

There were points in those ~thousand years when it regained some popularity. Never stuck around though. Maybe it will this time.

[Xiao3 Meng4]

some good traditional tatoo words are "斩邪留正"

That is awesome! I think I want that one.

[bawang]

some good ones r "钢刀响处人头滚,宝剑挥时热血流" "双拳起处云雷吼,飞脚来时风雨惊"
a buddhist one is "禅杖打开危险路,戒刀杀尽不平人"

good ones with tai chi moves are "劈头如瓜折背靠" "掩手轰捶五脏烂" "懒扎衣满地寻牙" "虎步单鞭脸粉碎"


Otherwise, you might be in a changing room when a Chinese persons asks you why it says "Cat anus" on your back
that guy must be abc. cat anus is badass. everbody in china knows this.

[ghostexorcist]

its exactly like yakuza tatoos. all the legendary gangsters had tatoos
I'm talking about the root of the stigma: tattoos as corporal punishment. Criminals were tattooed on their face. This is not something they could hide. The public knew to stay away from such people. It was later that gangsters embraced tattoos as apart of their cultural and social identity.

The "Five Punishments" during the Zhou Dynasty were death, castration, cutting off the feet, cutting off the nose, and tattooing.


So some king, at some point, abolished Tattoos. Maybe it was at the recommendation of Confucius in the Zhou dynasty. Maybe it was earlier, and Confucius reframed the idea in a "don't defile the body" kind of way.
Tattoos were considered one of the “mutilating punishments,” so you are on the right track.

[SnowDog]

if you got your tattoo in 1958 and it was done with pen ink, then yes. lol :D

these days the pigments are superb and many of the artists are well trained and have good knowledge.

It's an art form to be sure.
Some people are wrecks, but many have exquisite pieces.

Unfortunately there are still Tattoo artists that want to save a buck and use cheap ink. In '99 I got some chinese writing on my arm and it was from a shop just starting up. Well needless to say it looked great when I got it, then after a couple years later it bled and blurred, and now it looks like some funny black blobs. (ironically the other tattoo I have on the same arm is now 20yrs old and still looks like great with no fading or bleeding.....good ink by a different artist)

My friend who is now a Tattoo artist says he has many horor stories of covering up tattoos done with bad ink from so called "professionals" and many of these were in the last few years.

[Lucas]

yep my advice is to actually research your artist first. if you think you may want someone to ink you, look into them first. find someone who specializes in chinese characters and other asian ink art.

if they cannot freehand write the characters on paper (not joking, doesnt matter if they can match the style you bring in, but they should have first hand knowlede of how to structure characters), they better not try to tatoo it...lol. i dont care if they stensel or not.

ask to see a portoflio of your artists published ink.

[iron_leg_dave]

yep my advice is to actually research your artist first. if you think you may want someone to ink you, look into them first. find someone who specializes in chinese characters and other asian ink art.

if they cannot freehand write the characters on paper (not joking, doesnt matter if they can match the style you bring in, but they should have first hand knowlede of how to structure characters), they better not try to tatoo it...lol. i dont care if they stensel or not.

ask to see a portoflio of your artists published ink.

Thats a good point. Even if they can produce exquisite western art... they might give the distinguished eye a laugh if they attempt Chinese calligraphy. I need to find a tattoo artist that is also a Chinese calligraphy master...

[GeneChing]

You've seen our Kung Fu (and other Martial Arts) Tattoos (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48235) thread? I just merged three other tattoo threads into that one (it was the earliest). I'll merge this one too eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later. Maybe when someone else asks a similar question in a few years....

[scottdurand]

Seriously, many kungfu teachers act as if they're a calligraphy master, and most suck. I leave your decisions to your discretion, but urge you to narrow the field by choosing from only true calligraphy masters, as they better capture the characters.

Just because one can fight well doesn't mean they have the same fury in their handwriting.

This is writing that is permanently on you, and you are not likely to learn beforehand the subtleties of chinese calligraphy(or you'd just do it yourself), so there's really nno harm in looking for calligraphy masters' works in the field.

Past that, hopefully someone here can post a pic of some famous kung fu master's work for ya.

I once met a sifu from KC that taught "6 Elbows" style but I could never remember his name. I met him in the late 90's at a tournament in Alabama that Shawn Liu was hosting. I think it was Chu Man Sit?

[Lucas]

You've seen our Kung Fu (and other Martial Arts) Tattoos (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48235) thread? I just merged three other tattoo threads into that one (it was the earliest). I'll merge this one too eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later. Maybe when someone else asks a similar question in a few years....

You're so decisive!!

[iron_leg_dave]

You're so decisive!!

Hopefully he is too busy working on that second book...

[shaolin_diciple]

will buddhist monks get offended by a Siddhārtha Gautama tattoo?

[PalmStriker]

I guess burning a dragon on your forearms at the Temple is out of the question? :D

[ghostexorcist]

will buddhist monks get offended by a Siddhārtha Gautama tattoo?
I don't see why they would. Depictions of the Buddha were few and far between during the early period following his death. Some scholars have argued in favor of ancient Buddhists having an aniconistic view (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aniconism_in_Buddhism) similar to modern day Muslims. However, this changed. There are depictions of the Buddha in various shapes and forms all over the world.

The only objection a monk may have is if you are getting the tattoo just because you think it looks cool.

[uki]

just the other day i bought 1oz of triple black for 10 dollars - 35 for 4oz. my brother and i also just finished combining two minds to build our best homemade model yet... tattoo's are means of identifying the spiritual aspects of ones inner being... the imagery that one decides to adorn his outer body with is nothing more than a visual manifestation of what adorns the inner body... those associated with the negative energies of death and destruction typically use skulls, demons, and devils... discerning the spirit is an ancient ability that is nearly lost amongst the ignorantly chaotic and mindless fray that makes up "civilizations" today... nations today are among the most ignorant of all the great ages of mankind... identifying incarnate souls is done by the use of symbols.

one of my upcoming tattoos is going to be 5 comets/asteriods streaking across my chest from one shoulder to the opposite hip in the manner that one would also seem to see a great big tiger claw mark... within the comets i am toying with the idea of 5 symbols for earth, metal, water, wood, and fire... symbols are universal and transcend the multitude of written languages. ;)

[MasterKiller]

just the other day i bought 1oz of triple black for 10 dollars - 35 for 4oz. my brother and i also just finished combining two minds to build our best homemade model yet... tattoo's are means of identifying the spiritual aspects of ones inner being... the imagery that one decides to adorn his outer body with is nothing more than a visual manifestation of what adorns the inner body... those associated with the negative energies of death and destruction typically use skulls, demons, and devils... discerning the spirit is an ancient ability that is nearly lost amongst the ignorantly chaotic and mindless fray that makes up "civilizations" today... nations today are among the most ignorant of all the great ages of mankind... identifying incarnate souls is done by the use of symbols.

one of my upcoming tattoos is going to be 5 comets/asteriods streaking across my chest from one shoulder to the opposite hip in the manner that one would also seem to see a great big tiger claw mark... within the comets i am toying with the idea of 5 symbols for earth, metal, water, wood, and fire... symbols are universal and transcend the multitude of written languages. ;)
Cool...but having a real artist do the work doesn't hurt.

[uki]

Cool...but having a real artist do the work doesn't hurt.define real artist?? art is also universal... beauty is in the eye of the beholder, eh? :)

[Iron_Eagle_76]

How much of your own ink have you done, Uki? Just curious.

[David Jamieson]

I did 4 of my own pieces and have been in the process of having them redone by a pro.

they looked good first time round, but I was young at the time, so they faded somewhat.

Having them redone is great. It freshens them all up and the ink is way brighter again.

[Violent Designs]

I've been hesitant to get a tattoo in the fear that I will hate it when I'm 60 years old.

[David Jamieson]

I've been hesitant to get a tattoo in the fear that I will hate it when I'm 60 years old.

do you hate yourself now?

[Violent Designs]

do you hate yourself now?

Only sometimes. :p

[SPJ]

if you are a buddhist follower, you may tatoo fo 佛 or chan 禅

or a lotus flower diagram

if you are a daoist follower, you may tatoo dao 道 or tai chi diagram

most popular tattoo are dragon and tiger.

however, these means extensive artwork or needle work and hence more pain.

some like eagle, some like crane, some like snake---

----

[uki]

How much of your own ink have you done, Uki? Just curious.i have done most of my left forearm and wrist... it's been an ever changing piece as technique and guns improved... some of my better pieces are on other people. i have only like three shop tattoos, the rest are from friends and my brother... i started with just using a safety pin an india ink when i was 15. i learned to build homemade guns the first time i went to county jail at 20. our gun now is a masterpiece by any standard. it is simple to take apart and clean. my brother and i were discussing the comparisons to shop tattoos that people spend hundreds of dollars on and the homemade tattoos done around where-ever - the story is what sets them apart - sure, some of us have some pieces where we wake up the next day and are like, "what the **** is that??", but it becomes part of our experience and evolution of ones personal journey in life... as for regretting tattoos when you are older, no way... tattoo's are like battle scars. :D

[GeneChing]

This redefines 'dumb blonde' :rolleyes:


MAY 2, 2016 8:42 PM
Woman accidentally gets Jeremy Lin tattoo, becomes 'biggest fan' (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article75231572.html)

Woman asks for Chinese translation on Internet for tattoo – big mistake

‘Answer’ turned out to be Chinese for NBA star Jeremy Lin's name

On learning truth, she declares self his biggest fan, meets him

http://pics.mcclatchyinteractive.com/news/nation-world/national/j2d12s/picture75231567/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-02%20at%209.03.13%20AM
Screenshot from Holland Christensen’s confessional YouTube video. YouTube

The way Holland Christensen tells it – in an 11-minute video posted to YouTube – she did “something really stupid” a couple of months ago.

She says she wanted to get a tattoo with a Chinese phrase – because she “likes to travel” – and she asked for a translation from someone on the Internet. “Obviously, you don’t do that,” she says in the video. “You don’t ask anyone on the Internet for anything.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUJv_bJW1D8

Her Internet “friend” tricked her into getting Charlotte Hornet Jeremy Lin’s name in Chinese permanently etched onto her ankle. Holland didn’t even know who Jeremy Lin was. But, after getting the tattoo, she quickly became Lin’s biggest fan.

“My first thought was actually, well he’s really attractive, so if nothing else there’s that.”

Holland recently attended a Charlotte Hornets game but was unable to meet Lin. But Lin tweeted this to her after the game:


Jeremy Lin (https://twitter.com/JLin7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔ ‎@JLin7
What do you think of my new tattoo @hollyisyourstar - http://bit.ly/23sK6BB ? @NBA_Reddit
4:46 PM - 12 Apr 2016
Photo published for Saw this tattoo online and copied it, anyone know what it... • /r/nba
Saw this tattoo online and copied it, anyone know what it... • /r/nba
5825 points and 1012 comments so far on reddit
reddit.com
172 172 Retweets 644 644 likes

He also posted this photo to Reddit, showing that he had inked the same tattoo onto his own ankle.



Saw this tattoo online and copied it, anyone know what it means?
by jeremylin07 (http://imgur.com/gallery/yngqinC) · 21 days ago

http://i.imgur.com/yngqinC.jpg
Saw this tattoo online and copied it, anyone know what it means? Saw this tattoo online and copied it, anyone know what it means?
66 points
1,277,726 views


And then finally, she met him, while attending another game in Charlotte on April 25, when the Hornets defeated the Miami Heat 89-85 in game 4 of their playoff series:


Holland Christensen (https://twitter.com/hollyisyourstar/status/724793732722266116/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
‏@hollyisyourstar

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cg78C9pVEAAszIO.jpg

RETWEETS 89 LIKES 306
7:54 PM - 25 Apr 2016
Charlotte, NC

She tweeted that the meeting brought "closure" on her tattoo, adding, "I turned a mistake into something good."

[GeneChing]

34 Ridiculous Chinese Character Tattoos Translated (https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/ridiculous-chinese-character-tattoos-translated?utm_term=.xplBPwogb#.rg7YwB9ql)
MEANIE CRIME POET HUSBAND HANDS.

Posted on August 2, 2013, at 10:43 a.m.
Ellie Hall
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Kevin Tang
BuzzFeed Staff


1. "What are you up to these days?" "Oh, being a meanie crime poet."
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-23666-1375461708-26.jpg
Via spiderdaily.wayi.com.tw

2. Thank you for telling us what kind of hands you have.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-24839-1375388612-19.jpg
Via w.baike.com

3. A chill death metal jam band?
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-11210-1375460551-3.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

4. Whoa there.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-16965-1375388178-2.jpg
Via xinhaiguang2008.blog.sohu.com

5. Stop fishing for compliments!
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-31124-1375459893-0.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

6. Me bite too.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr05/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-31865-1375390389-8.jpg
Via epic-chinese-tattoo-fails.tumblr.com

7.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-11725-1375459958-0.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

8. Cryptic review of Babe 2: Pig in the City.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-11228-1375460052-0.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

9. I would actually get this.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-29536-1375460460-6.jpgo
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

10. This one too.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/17/enhanced-buzz-orig-24733-1375393362-18.jpg
Via sports.qq.com continued next post

[GeneChing]

11. This one not so much.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-14875-1375388525-11.jpg

12. I would name my baby this.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/17/enhanced-buzz-24542-1375391154-0.jpg
Via bbs.tiexue.net

13.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-31825-1375387808-11.jpg
Via spiderdaily.wayi.com.tw

14.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-11845-1375460341-0.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

15.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-11219-1375460625-2.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

16. I guess this could be a legit broke-pride tatt.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr05/2013/8/2/12/enhanced-buzz-2164-1375460695-10.jpg
hanzismatter.blogspot.com

17. I think Shawne Merriman meant it to sound tougher than this.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-31659-1375388690-22.jpg

18. All right, Marat Safin.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-24439-1375388264-6.jpg

19. This sounds like a level in Diablo II.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-23094-1375388382-18.jpg
Via xinhaiguang2008.blog.sohu.com

20. Sure thing, Sean May.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/2/11/enhanced-buzz-13294-1375457032-26.jpg
Via sports.espn.go.com
continued next post

[GeneChing]

21. Duuude...
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-23094-1375389323-29.jpg

22. I wasn't sure what it was.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/8/1/16/enhanced-buzz-9149-1375389670-5.jpg
Via plchinese.com

23. Ew.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/8/1/17/enhanced-buzz-25544-1375393751-27.jpg
Via epic-chinese-tattoo-fails.tumblr.com

24. At least it's free?
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr05/2013/8/1/18/enhanced-buzz-9263-1375394502-22.jpg
Via hanzismatter.blogspot.com

25. Does not take kindly to the divine mortgage crises.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/8/2/11/enhanced-buzz-orig-32147-1375458570-14.jpg
Via hanzismatter.blogspot.com

26. Great lifestyle brand.
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/8/1/17/enhanced-buzz-orig-5549-1375394116-22.jpg
Via hanzismatter.blogspot.com


Tattoos (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58301-Tattoo) and reverse Chinglish (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66588-Chinglish)

[GeneChing]

Slightly OT but I just couldn't resist a decade-old bit of thread necromancy for the Kung Fu (and other Martial Arts) Tattoos (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48235-Kung-Fu-(and-other-Martial-Arts)-Tattoos) thread. It'll sit well on the Tattoo... (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58301-Tattoo)thread too.


In Pictures: Tattooed and proud – Chinese women peel away stigmas (https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/12/26/pictures-tattooed-proud-chinese-women-peel-away-stigmas/)
26 December 2017 08:00 AFP5 min read

Once the mark of criminals or sex workers, for centuries tattoos have been stigmatised in China but the growing influence of celebrity culture is changing all that — particularly for women.

Nowhere is the trend more evident than in Shanghai, China’s most cosmopolitan city and recently dubbed “China’s tattoo mecca” by the country’s state media.
https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V348J.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows a tattoo displayed on the neck of a tattoo artist at a studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

Body art for women has long been frowned upon in socially conservative China, but studios are mushrooming throughout the city of 24 million.

Zhuo Danting, widely considered one of China’s top tattoo artists, has witnessed first-hand how the industry has exploded.

The 35-year-old has 70 percent of her body tattooed and has been operating her own Shanghai studio for 11 years.

Inspired by celebrities and sports stars, unprecedented numbers of mostly younger Chinese are getting inked, Zhuo said at her shop, Shanghai Tattoo.

“At the beginning, of course, they just give you a weird look, they’re freaking out,” Zhuo, who also has multiple piercings and dyed green hair, said of the reaction she gets on the street.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V347Y.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows sketches of tattoo designs displayed on the wall at a tattoo studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

“But now there are a lot of people getting tattoos, it’s getting more and more popular. People see them everywhere so they don’t see it as a big deal,” she added.

Zhuo, who got her first tattoo at 16 and has inked both her parents, is originally from Harbin, a city in China’s far north.

There is a growing body art scene there too, she said.

A cool thing

“There is a lot of change. Before, not many people get tattoos. They thought that people with tattoos, that person must have been in jail or you are a bad person.

“Now it’s a cool thing, to represent yourself as different.”

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V3446.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows tattoo inks at a studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

In imperial times, convicts were sometimes tattooed as a lifelong reminder of their crimes, and tattoos later were used by Chinese triads to signify gang loyalties.

But Zhuo said attitudes towards women with tattoos have changed rapidly in the last three years, and the Chinese are increasingly experimenting with their body art.

“Before, when you saw a woman with a tattoo, it was usually just a small one,” she explained, adding: “But now you can see everywhere that they are having full sleeves, or chest, or full back.”

‘Pretty and artsy’

Wang Qi, a web designer, is about to have Zhuo tattoo her already heavily inked right leg.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V348S.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows the English writing “Yes!!! Tattoos Hurt!!!” on the ceiling of a tattoo studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

The 29-year-old has several body designs, including an hourglass to remind her of the preciousness of time, and a sailboat and lighthouse inspired by her love of the sea, as wells as tattoos of a snake’s head and a crocodile’s eye.

Her latest inking: the Chinese characters for her grandmother’s name on the inside of her thigh.

“Ten years ago, only 10 percent of people could accept women doing this. But now at least 60 to 70 percent of people can,” Wang said, while adding that quality can vary widely.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V348I.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows tattoos on the legs of Wang Qi, a web designer and tattoo enthusiast, at a studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

The trend has spawned extreme examples, including a couple in northeastern China who covered themselves in patriotic artwork, including a Chinese flag on the man’s face.

Reliable figures are elusive, but Hu Deliang, former head of the China Association of Tattoo Artists, estimates there are about 200,000 such artists in the country.

The Shanghai tattooist said women now account for at least 60 percent of his customers.

“Back in 2002, only about 20 percent were female and most of them worked as escorts in nightclubs or that kind of industry,” Hu said.

China’s increasing prosperity, meanwhile, means more women now can afford tattoos, which can cost thousands of yuan (hundreds of dollars) and previously would have been considered an unjustified splurge.

Peng Lin, who has the Italian phrase “La vita e bella” (Life is beautiful) among her three tattoos, is one of the few in her circle of women friends with a tattoo, but many are considering it, she said.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/000_V348A.jpg
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 shows Wang Qi (R), a web designer and tattoo enthusiast, taking photos as she gets new ink on her right thigh at a studio in Shanghai. Photo: AFP/Stringer.

“Before, people may think women getting tattoos is sort of off-the-mainstream behaviour, but now they all appreciate them when they found out that tattoos can be pretty and artsy,” said Peng, 31, who works in advertising in Shanghai.

Touch-ups

Tattoos are still frowned upon in government positions and at many companies, however, while some women complain that their husbands or partners object.

“Even now people are judging, they don’t think that people should get big tattoos, especially women,” said Zhuo, who has tattoos across both sides of her scalp.

“Still, people think it’s more acceptable for men to get a tattoo than women and some get smaller ones to hide it from older family members or work.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsKBhay3CQk

Zhuo said lack of official oversight makes it “too easy” to open a parlour. She often sees customers who ask her to fix shoddy work done elsewhere.

“Sometimes I can see some good work, but not much. The percentage of good tattoos is quite low right now,” she said.

“Tattoo is still a new thing in China. A lot of new people become tattoo artists pretty soon, but there’s still a lot to learn.”

[GeneChing]

I dunno. 'Fresh Spring Rolls' is kinda cute. How do you say that in Thai?


Tourist Goes Viral After Getting ‘Fresh Spring Rolls’ Tattoo in Thailand (https://nextshark.com/tourist-tattoo-thailand-fresh-spring-roll/)
Carl Samsonby 20 hours ago

https://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FEATURED-17-768x408.png

A female tourist in Thailand has gone viral on social media after getting “fresh spring rolls” tattooed on her back.

A picture shared on imgur shows the tourist, a blonde woman, with the epic tattoo fail.

https://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/01-2.jpg

The picture has received nearly 670,000 views as of this writing.

It is unclear what the unfortunate tourist actually wanted inked on her back.

https://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/02-2.jpg

This is not the first time people have gotten botched tattoo jobs in a foreign language.

Some made unsuspecting customers look hideous, while others brought life-threatening troubles.

Netizens commenting on ThaiVisa’s Facebook page poked fun at the error, though some suspected that she might genuinely like spring rolls.

https://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/03-2-e1536584694331.jpghttps://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/04-2-e1536584713647.jpghttps://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/05-2-e1536584728577.jpghttps://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/06-1-e1536584747487.jpghttps://nextshark-vxdsockgvw3ki.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/07-e1536584765842.jpg

Do you think the tattoo means what it says?

[boxerbilly]

Yeah , Im one of the reasons you gangbangers burned your faces off. Laser technology. I laughed my ass off. I hate you idiots. Get out of our country !

( Check them for tatoos ! ) ZZZZZ

You boys still a coming for me ? Im still at 89 rogers parkway- rochester ny-14167-585-544-9171. How did some of you get all of my families cell fone numbers ? Most of all mine ? I never share it with anyone but immediate family.

Im San Clemente Vario Club and I have no tats !

Im also WHITE BOY !

[boxerbilly]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_%22El_Chapo%22_Guzm%C3%A1n

El Chapo is scared of me !

[boxerbilly]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_10_Most_Wanted_Fugitives

If my name or photo or that of Any of my Asian, White, Black or Spanish families ever make this list. They will execute your whole families.

Im not kidding !


Signed

XXX

[boxerbilly]

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=ANaYW7qHLsaszwK71ZfgBg&q=world+most+wanted+criminals&btnK=Google+Search&oq=world+most+wanted+criminals&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4.982.9962..10155...6.0..0.396.7398.0j16j1 2j5....2..0....1..gws-wiz.....0..35i39j0i131j0i131i67j0i67j0i20i264j0i13 1i20i264j0i20i263.A1drSGr--ug

[boxerbilly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5GXbk58R0

My preferred company is Tiffany and Company.

Tiffany and Yo Kim were most conspicuous .

[boxerbilly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ClCpfeIELw

Hi Tiffany, It's Billy and I F--king love you !

[boxerbilly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw

I am Siam !

[boxerbilly]

10648 10650

Are Red Dragons. We got you Tiffany. Sept. 26 and 27 !

10649

[boxerbilly]

I believe the Chinese just called my cell phone. Number is- 212-695-4269
Time stamp Sept. 12, 2018. 8:57 am. Must be Xi Jinping associates. Please be very careful people

[boxerbilly]

10651

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuchi

[boxerbilly]

Held in Yo Kims hand.



https://www.ancient.eu/Ryujin/

[boxerbilly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw


XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

[GeneChing]

Fading ink: Japan's 'hand-carved' tattoo masters fight to keep their art alive (https://www.cnn.com/style/amp/japan-tattoo-artist-tebori/index.html)
Updated 8th January 2019

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_695,q_auto,c_pad,b_rgb:f3f3f3,h_695,ar_1:1/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F181218104101-tebori-tattoo-2.jpg
Artist Horimyo tattooing the shoulder of calligrapher Hayato Suzuki in Tokyo. Credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Written by Oscar Holland, CNN Tokyo, Japan

At a small, clinically-lit studio in Tokyo's Roppongi district, fearsome warriors and mythical creatures glare out from paper drawings lining the perimeter of the space.
The tattooist here, who asked to be identified simply as Ryugen, specializes in traditional Japanese imagery -- colorful, cartoon-like forms inspired by nature, religious iconography and the country's famous "ukiyo-e" wood block prints.
Ryugen's methods are also steeped in history. In fact, he is one of a small number of Japanese artists still practicing the ancient tradition of "tebori" (literally "hand-carved") tattoos.
The first written records of tattoos in Japan are more than two millennia old, and the use of needle-tipped rods like Ryugen's can be traced back centuries. The tools of tebori may appear primitive compared to modern tattoo machines, but the principle was much the same: Artists used the rods to manually push ink beneath the top layers of skin, leaving a permanent mark for either decoration or punishment.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_695,q_auto,c_pad,b_rgb:f3f3f3,h_391,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F180516164054-lost-japan-felice-beato-12.jpg
Italian photographer Felice Beato captured Japanese men tattooed with hand-carved tattoos in the 1880s. Credit: Yokohama School

Ryugen's instruments, which he keeps in a simple fabric pouch, differ little from these centuries-old tools, although he uses disposable needle tips for the sake of hygiene. Demonstrating his technique, he rests one of the rods along the crease of his thumb before moving it in a repetitive, vigorous action -- a sort of digging motion.
Modern tattoo machines feature a depth setting, which helps the artist pierce the correct layers of skin, but tebori masters rely on feeling alone. Ryugen said the traditional method helps him to tattoo "intuitively," although he usually uses a tattoo gun to draw outlines.
The benefit, he claimed, is that colors are brighter, stronger and longer-lasting. Manual methods also help him to create smoother gradations, from dull to strong colors, using only one ink.
And while his technique may look brutish, Ryugen believes it's "way less painful" than the electronic equivalent. One of his clients, 34-year-old Ryota Sakai, agreed -- though he noted that traditional tattoos take longer, and therefore cost more (Ryugen, like most tattoo artists, charges by the hour).

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_695,q_auto,c_pad,b_rgb:f3f3f3,h_391,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F181218103423-irezumi-tattoo.jpg
A man shows his traditional-style Japanese tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo. Over 1.5 million people flocked to Tokyo's Asakusa district during the three-day annual festival, which heralds the coming of summer in the Japanese capital. Credit: FRED DUFOUR/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Sakai has tebori tattoos on his arms and chest, as well as a three-eyed demon across his back. His motivation for choosing traditional methods was only partly to do with Ryugen's ability to express subtle shades.
"From a young age, I was interested in history." he said a phone interview. "And I particularly like the Edo period, which was when these tattoo design was developed.
"I'm not religious, but I like the designs of Buddhism, the Edo period and samurai."

Tradition under threat

Ryugen is as much a craftsman as an artist. Like many tradespeople in Japan, his career began with a lengthy apprenticeship.
After shadowing his master for a year, Ryugen went professional and began accompanying him on visits to clients from Japan's mafia, the Yakuza. It would take another seven years of study before he felt ready to open his own studio in the early 2000s.
"It takes a longer time to master than (using a tattoo) machine," he said. "I think it is because there are many parameters, such as angle, speed, strength, timing and intervals between 'pokes.' You need to control all of them."
His craft appears to be one under threat. Although social attitudes toward tattoos have loosened in recent decades, Ryugen said that interest in tebori tattoos is limited. He estimates that 70% of clients are foreigners, and even his apprentice is American.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_695,q_auto,c_pad,b_rgb:f3f3f3,h_391,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F181218104134-tebori-tattoo-4.jpg
Japanese tattooist Horiyoshii III tattoos a flower on the back of a woman. Horiyoshii III is a tattoo artist renowned for his full body designs, which can take many sessions over many years to complete. Credit: TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

"Most Japanese (people) don't care about how it's done -- whether by machine or tebori," he said. "It's more to do with the design or artist's skill."
Japanese people are also less interested in traditional styles, according to Mieko Yamada, a sociology professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne who has studied Japanese body art.
"Laypeople -- students, or office workers -- prefer to have a contemporary Westernized styles, and at a smaller scale," she said in a phone interview, referring to the Japanese tradition of covering large portions of the body in tattoos.
But there's another threat to Ryugen's profession: the law. Tattoo artists have existed in a legal gray area since 2001, when Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare decreed that any action that involves putting "pigment on a needle tip and inserting ink into the skin" should be considered a medical procedure.
Without medical degrees, practically every tattooist the country suddenly found themselves operating illegally. Crackdowns have since occurred, with fines of up to 300,000 yen ($2,600) reportedly handed out to transgressors.
Tattoo studios are, nonetheless, widely tolerated. Ryugen is easy to find online, although his studio is appointment-only and, from the outside, no different from any other apartment. He called for a pragmatic solution to the industry's precarious status.
"We need rules around tattoos (but why not) a licensing system, like in America or Europe?"

Ongoing taboos

Japan has a complex and troubled relationship with tattoos. But despite the long history of tattooing in the country, it wasn't until the middle of the 18th century that pictorial themes emerged -- ones still used by tattooists today, such as theater masks and religious figures.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_695,q_auto,c_pad,b_rgb:f3f3f3,h_391,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F170822163305-tattoos-japanese-prints-5.jpg
"Unity of Three Happinesses: Favorite Actors Before a White Waterfall" (1863) by Toyohara Kunichika Credit: Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Body art became increasingly popular among the lower classes until 1868, when tattoos were outlawed by the new government, which, in its drive for modernization, made efforts to banish practices that might be viewed as primitive by outsiders.
The ban was lifted after World War II. But tattoos are still considered taboo, having grown to be associated with organized crime. (When Ryugen was younger, around half of his clients were from the Yakuza, though he now refuses to work with the mafia.)
"People in Japan nowadays seem to be more tolerant towards people with tattoos because of musicians, basketball players -- professionals who have tattoos," Yamada said. "But if people have any visible tattoo they can be really afraid of getting fired from their job. So they tend to hide them."
To this day, many public baths and gyms in Japan forbid visible tattoos. Yet, while this conservatism applies to all forms of tattoo, Ryugen believes that hygiene concerns attach additional stigma to the antiquated tebori method.
"The way I do it is the same as a machine," he said. "The needles are disposable and I wear gloves. But people think that tebori is dirty, or not safe, because it's very primitive."
For now, the best he can do is raise awareness of his industry's plight. On a ledge in his studio, a small box containing a handful of coins calls for donations alongside the simple message: "Save tattooing in Japan."

Tebori is badass.

[GeneChing]

Always proofread especially with tattoos.


Ariana Grande’s kanji tattoo fail: new ink reads “Japanese BBQ grill” instead of “7 Rings” (https://soranews24.com/2019/01/30/ariana-grandes-kanji-tattoo-fail-new-ink-reads-japanese-bbq-grill-instead-of-7-rings/?fbclid=IwAR1ayi8i_gAm6IhhTGrOatg4AxwZVt18BNwQ6ZQp qROu86-4qn_YBQC4v0g)
Oona McGee 2 hours ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/arianna-grande-7-rings-tattoo-shichirin-fail-instagram-twitter-japanese-music-video-2.png?w=640&h=318

The American popstar says there’s a story behind her embarrassing tattoo mistake.

Earlier this month, Ariana Grande’s love of tattoos made news when it was revealed she’d gotten Pokemon’s Eevee inked onto her bicep. Today, fans around the world are talking about the relationship between Grande’s tattoos and Asian characters again, but this time it’s in a whole different context.

The characters we’re talking about today are two kanji ones that the American singer-songwriter recently got inked into her upper palm. The new markings are a meaningful homage to her new single “7 Rings”, which is currently at the top of music charts in a number of different countries.

▼ “7 Rings” is all about the rings she bought her seven friends on the day she returned her engagement ring to former fiancee Pete Davidson.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYh6mYIJG2Y

The title of the new single is correctly translated into Japanese as “七つの指輪” (“nanatsu no yubiwa“) in the official music video.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/arianna-grande-7-rings-tattoo-shichirin-fail-instagram-twitter-japanese-music-video-1.png?w=640&h=300

The appearance of Japanese in the clip is Grande’s hat-tip to Japan, a country that’s been close to her heart since she sang with Japanese YouTuber Hikakin back in 2014. With so much meaning behind the title of her new single, it’s easy to see why the singer was inspired to ink her body with the words “7 Rings” in Japanese. However, this is what she wound up with.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyILWL8U0AExg9L.jpghttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyILWL9UcAATHvU.jpg

*amo* (https://twitter.com/hey__amo/status/1090446543658803201/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwte rm%5E1090446543658803201&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoranews24.com%2F2019%2F01%2 F30%2Fariana-grandes-kanji-tattoo-fail-new-ink-reads-japanese-bbq-grill-instead-of-7-rings%2F)
@hey__amo
Ariana Grande’s new tattoo “七輪” means Japanese style bbq grill, not 7 rings. 😭 If you want to know about 七輪, just google “SHICHIRIN”

37.7K
7:08 PM - Jan 29, 2019
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Instead of writing out the whole thing, she chose to use only the first kanji (七), which translates to “seven”, and the last one (輪) which is read as “wheel”, “hoop,” “ring”, or “circle”. However, when the two kanji are combined, they don’t read “7 Rings”. They read “shichirin”, which is a small charcoal grill.

▼ In Japan, shichirin are used to barbecue things like fish.
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/1920px-shichirinsanma_japan.jpg?w=640&h=558

The singer was inundated with comments drawing attention to her embarrassing tattoo fail, prompting the 25-year-old to delete the original photo of it from her Instagram account. However, when the image popped up on Twitter with more comments about her “charcoal grill” tattoo, Grande replied with a tweet that read:

“indeed, i left out “つの指” which should have gone in between. it hurt like f*** n still looks tight i wouldn’t have lasted one more symbol lmao. but this spot also peels a ton and won’t last so if i miss it enough, i’ll suffer thru the whole thing next time.”

The tweet was deleted hours later, but fans and news outlets aren’t letting her forget about the mistake, bringing her even more pain than the tattoo itself.

Still, given Grande’s knowledge of the Japanese language, which she’s studied herself, you’d think she would’ve been able to avoid the blunder. It could’ve been worse, though – she could’ve ended up with “chicken noodle soup” inked on her for eternity.

Source: Twitter/@hey__amo
Featured image: YouTube/Arianna Grande
Insert images: YouTube/Arianna Grande, Wikipedia/DryPot

[GeneChing]

Ariana Grande “fixes” her 7 Rings Japanese kanji tattoo, but it still says tiny charcoal grill (https://soranews24.com/2019/01/31/ariana-grande-fixes-her-7-rings-japanese-kanji-tattoo-but-it-still-says-tiny-charcoal-grill/)
Oona McGee 5 hours ago

Throwing another kanji character into the mix doesn’t exactly fix the mistake.

American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande is currently at the top of the music charts in a number of different countries for her new single “7 Rings”. Inspired by the day she bought rings for her seven friends after returning her engagement ring to ex-fiancee Pete Davidson, it’s a song that’s so close to Grande’s heart she decided to get a tattoo in its honour.

Instead of saying “七つの指輪” (“nanatsu no yubiwa” or “7 Rings”), as it does in the official music video, though, Grande opted to leave out the three middle characters, leaving her with a tattoo that read “七輪” (“shichirin”) which, when read separately, translate to “7” and “wheel/circle”, but together, as she has it, they mean “Japanese charcoal grill”.

After posting a photo of her new ink on Instagram, fans pounced on her for the error, prompting Grande to delete the photo. However, it hadn’t completely disappeared from the Internet, as it soon popped up on Twitter, with side-by-side photos showing Grande’s tattoo alongside a shichirin.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyILWL8U0AExg9L.jpghttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyILWL9UcAATHvU.jpg

*amo* (https://twitter.com/hey__amo/status/1090446543658803201/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwte rm%5E1090446543658803201&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoranews24.com%2F2019%2F01%2 F30%2Fariana-grandes-kanji-tattoo-fail-new-ink-reads-japanese-bbq-grill-instead-of-7-rings%2F)
@hey__amo
Ariana Grande’s new tattoo “七輪” means Japanese style bbq grill, not 7 rings. 😭 If you want to know about 七輪, just google “SHICHIRIN”

37.7K
7:08 PM - Jan 29, 2019
14.1K people are talking about this
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Grande hit back with a reply that read:

“indeed, i left out “つの指” which should have gone in between. it hurt like f*** n still looks tight i wouldn’t have lasted one more symbol lmao. but this spot also peels a ton and won’t last so if i miss it enough, i’ll suffer thru the whole thing next time.”

Despite seeming unbothered by the tattoo fail, it looks like everyone’s comments did get under the 25-year-old’s skin in the end, as she took to Instagram to post this image on her Insta story today.


View image on Twitter (https://twitter.com/OonaMcGee/status/1090885555045322752/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwte rm%5E1090885555045322752&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoranews24.com%2F2019%2F01%2 F31%2Fariana-grande-fixes-her-7-rings-japanese-kanji-tattoo-but-it-still-says-tiny-charcoal-grill%2F)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyOaoL7UcAAdv64.jpg

Oona McGee 🇯🇵🇮🇪🇦🇺
@OonaMcGee
Ariana Grande says “RIP tiny charcoal grill”.#ArianaGrande #七輪 #七指輪

14
12:12 AM - Jan 31, 2019
See Oona McGee 🇯🇵🇮🇪🇦🇺's other Tweets
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Alongside the image is a message from Grande which says:

“Slightly better. Thanks to my tutor for helping me fix and @kanenavasard for being a legend. And to my doctor for the lidocaine shots (no joke). RIP tiny charcoal grill. Miss u man. I actually really liked u.”

Well, in all fairness, it is slightly better, but only because the new characters she’s added distract the eye away from “shichirin” and cause confusion as you try to work out what’s going on. She hasn’t really said RIP to her tiny charcoal grill, either, as it’s still there in plain sight. Now though, instead of saying “tiny charcoal grill”, her new tattoo reads as:

“Charcoal BBQ Grill
Finger ♡”

It’s as confusing in English as it is in Japanese. Grande’s tutor – who probably wished she’d been consulted before the original tattoo session – was faced with a pretty impossible task when asked to fix the kanji to have it read closer to “7 Rings” rather than “shichirin”.

While the best solution would’ve been to get it lasered off and redone correctly on her other hand, they chose to go another route, instead adding “指” beneath the “七輪”. On its own, “指” means “finger”, but when combined with “輪” it reads as “指輪” which means “ring”.

However, given the position of the new kanji, it reads as “Shichirin Yubi” or “Charcoal Grill Finger” rather than “7 Rings”. Japanese can be read from right to left, so doing that gives us “wheel/circle”, “seven”, “♡”, “finger”. And if we read it in the traditional style of top to bottom, right to left, it reads “wheel/circle”, “♡”, “seven”, “finger”.

Confused? Exactly. The only way it could be read as something similar to “7 Rings” is if we read it from top to bottom, left to right. That gives us “7”, “ring” and “♡”. The only problem is that neither English nor Japanese is read in that order.

So, although she has all the necessary kanji components on her palm, they’re all laid out in a mixed up, confusing, nonsensical jumble. Plus, she’s still missing the “つの” hiragana in the middle of it all, which connects the 7 to the rings as a counter for them. Without those in between it all, it still reads “charcoal grill”.

Source: Instagram/ArianaGrande
Featured image: Twitter/@oonamcgee

You'd think with all of the bank Ariana is pulling down, she might afford a better tutor. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Shanghai Restricts Minors From Getting Tattoos, National Ban May Follow (https://radiichina.com/china-tattoo-ban/)
Shanghai’s new tattoo regulation comes as part of a series of amendments to municipal regulations aimed at protecting underage citizens
By BEATRICE TAMAGNO 1 day ago
Home > Daily Drip > Shanghai Restricts Minors From Getting Tattoos, National Ban May Follow
From March 1, minors are no longer allowed to get tattooed legally in Shanghai without their parents’ approval. In implementing the ban, the city has become the first in China to set a minimum legal age for those wanting to get inked.

However, a nationwide ban is under discussion.

During the ongoing political event known as the Two Sessions, where China’s political elites meet and discuss regulations, a representative named Ma Qi called for expanding the tattoo ban for minors across the country.

To put this in context: Most Western countries set the age limit for getting a tattoo at 18 or 16 (with parental consent). The minimum age to get a tattoo in China’s East Asia neighbor South Korea is also 18 (although the nation has a bizarre law stating that only medical professionals can work as tattoo artists).

Shanghai’s new tattoo regulation comes as part of a series of amendments to municipal regulations aimed at protecting underage citizens, such as prohibiting minors from plastic surgery, which is becoming alarmingly popular in the country.

https://radiichina.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/未标题-1.png
A tattoo parlor in the touristic area Tianzifang in Shanghai

For some Shanghai-based tattoo artists, like X-Ink, the tattoo ban for minors will have little effect on how they operate their business.

“Even though there was no regulation before, if a minor came to my shop, I would directly say no and tell them to come back in a couple of years,” he said.

According to X-Ink, youth tattoos are a more serious problem in smaller cities, where safety standards are lower and cultural awareness around tattoos is weak.

He referred to a case in 2019 where a couple living in a county-level city in Zhejiang province successfully sued a tattoo parlor after their son was suspended from school due to his body art.

X-Ink tells RADII he supports the new regulation in Shanghai:

“I think tattoos need to be regulated. Preventing minors from getting tattoos is common abroad; I already carry on my practice and supply my materials according to international standards.”

Many Chinese netizens seem to share his opinion. A hashtag related to the new law went viral on Weibo and had accumulated more than 270 million views at the time of writing.

One user commented, “I would set the age limit at 20,” while another wrote under the same post, “Minors shouldn’t get tattoos, but tattoos also shouldn’t lead to stigmatization!”

While tattoos are gaining popularity among Chinese youth, many still associate them with criminality and think that people with body art may face obstacles when looking for a job.

The Chinese government has paid increasing attention to tattoos in the past few years. Public figures such as athletes and artists have been asked to “set a good example,” with authorities calling for tattoos to be covered at music festivals and preventing actors with tattoos from appearing on TV.

In December 2021, China’s General Administration of Sport banned soccer players from getting new tattoos and asked them to consider removing pre-existing ones.

All images via Unsplash

China has an interesting relationship with tattoos. I remember seeing a lot of homemade tats in the country around Shaolin. They looked like prison tats.

[GeneChing]

Management behind viral April Fools tattoo challenge rewards victim (https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1925174/management-behind-viral-april-fools-challenge-rewards-tattoo-victim)
By: Zacarian Sarao - Reporter / @zacariansINQ INQUIRER.net / 05:15 PM April 02, 2024

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/files/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-02-at-6.08.00%E2%80%AFPM.png
From the video posted by Taragis on Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The local takoyaki store, which bore the brunt of online criticism for an April Fools’ challenge featuring a hefty cash prize, finally rewarded the victim who fell for the tattoo-on-forehead prank.

In a video posted on its Facebook page, Taragis showed that its owner Carl Quion personally met with Ramil Albano — the victim of its viral April Fools’ challenge — and provided him the promised P100,000 cash reward.

Quion then issued a public apology, emphasizing that the incident should serve as a lesson to exercise responsibility in posting on social media.

“Sa lahat ng nagkaroon ng negatibong pananaw sa naging April Fool’s post namin, humihingi ako ng tawad. At sana magsilbing aral ito sa ating lahat … na maging responsable tayo sa lahat ng inu-upload natin,” Quion said in the video.

(To all who had a negative reaction to our April Fool’s post, I apologize. And hopefully, this serves as a lesson for all of us… that we should be responsible for everything we upload.)

The incident stemmed from a viral challenge posted by Taragis for April Fools’, asking followers to tattoo its logo on their foreheads for a prize of P100,000.

In meeting with Quion, Albano explained that he was not able to see the disclaimer that the challenge was meant for April Fools.

Father’s love for his kid

He explained that he decided to take part in the challenge in order to provide for his son who is living with down syndrome.

“Para sa bunso kong anak, pang-tuition, at service noong anak kong bunso [na] may down syndrome,” said Albano.

(For my youngest child, for his tuition fees, and service for my youngest son who has down syndrome.)

Quion, for his part, offered Albano to have the tattoo removed by a certified dermatologist.

Prior to finally giving in to the challenge, Taragis in a now-deleted post reminded the public that the challenge was a mere prank, and that it should serve as a reminder “how important reading comprehension is.”

April Fools’ Day is a custom usually observed in Western countries on the first day of April. The day is usually celebrated by conducting practical jokes and hoaxes, with some businesses even taking part in the event.

Tattoo (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58301-Tattoo)
April-Fools (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65660-April-Fools)

[GeneChing]

‘I lied and I am sorry’: Filipino businessman admits tattoo-for-cash April Fools’ Day prank was scripted (https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3258332/filipino-businessman-admits-tattoo-cash-april-fools-day-prank-was-scripted-i-lied-and-i-am-sorry)
Ramil Albano, who had the Taragis Takoyaki logo tattooed on his forehead, agreed to do so in advance, with the plan in the works since 2023
Filipinos poured scorn on brand boss Carlo Quion after he admitted it was all a marketing stunt and apologised for stringing the public along
SCMP’s Asia desk
Published: 2:15pm, 9 Apr 2024

The owner of a restaurant chain in the Philippines whose tattoo-for-cash April Fools’ Day prank went wrong has admitted the act was scripted and apologised over the stunt, saying he lied to make his business go viral.

Taragis Takoyaki’s boss Carlo Quion said Ramil Albano, who tattooed the brand’s logo on his forehead, had agreed to do so in advance and the plan was in the works since last year.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/09/c58f464e-4cab-40d3-b4f4-7415f187c9d1_2bd6f8fd.jpg?itok=Rc5eVFFr&v=1712643310

Albano got inked on March 28, a few days before Taragis posted a promo on Facebook offering to give 100,000 pesos (US$1,770) in cash to whoever would tattoo the store’s logo on their foreheads.

The poster’s fine print said it was an April Fools’ joke, but that apparently did not deter Albano from taking up the challenge.

Taragis and Quion later attracted criticism from social media users for lecturing Albano: “Let this serve as a reminder to us all how important reading comprehension is. It’s April Fools’ Day. Never trust anything or anyone. The same as any other day.”

To quell the anger over his antics, Quion met Albano with a cash-filled bag at his home in Caloocan, a city north of Manila.

The businessman offered to have Albano’s tattoo removed with laser surgery.

Strangers also started flooding the Facebook page of Albano with offers to send him gifts after he said he fell for the gimmick as he needed the money to provide for his youngest child, who has Down’s syndrome.

Quion said his company, which has more than 80 branches in the Philippines, badly needed publicity and “there was nothing more engaging than a brand logo inked on someone’s forehead”.

“Yes, I lied and I am sorry. We strung you along on a marketing stunt that involved a lot of emotions, discussions and acting,” he said on Facebook.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/09/38398fe8-456e-4ae1-a255-d2ab7e9e6c92_0fbde94c.jpg
Ramil Albano had his forehead tattooed in response to a tattoo-for-cash prank by restaurant chain Taragis Takoyaki on April Fools’ Day. Photo: Taragis/Facebook

Filipinos poured scorn on Quion following his admission, accusing him of engaging in “inhumane and unethical” marketing tactics.

“A desperate strategy to gain social media attention but lost respect in the end. Poor people have no option like the rich people, they will always do everything to make ends meet like what Ramil did,” cryptocurrency entrepreneur Jem Francisco wrote on Facebook.

Some said Quion’s plan was a “scam” that could make people hesitate to donate for a good cause.

“Scammers/fraudsters will see this as an opportunity to run such a scheme. People might stop helping the ones in need thinking that it might be a similar trick,” said a user.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry also called out Quion’s stunt, saying it was considering suspending or revoking Taragis Takoyaki’s registration.

“You cannot use your official, legitimate name for an unlawful act or something that may destroy or harm others,” ABS-CBN quoted department assistant secretary Amanda Nograles as saying.


Tattoo (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58301-Tattoo)
April-Fools (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65660-April-Fools)