Chris is known for his notable work in two main styles, Japanese and traditional old school, with some black and grey or black work versions of both styles thrown into the mix.
Hannya and snake back piece Black American traditional torso
Chris’ Instagram is full of both large and small scale work, including back pieces, full sleeves, one-offs, and job stoppers.
Hannya job stopperKintaro wrestling a wolf
His work is crisp and detailed, and you can tell how much pride he takes in his work by spending only a few minutes looking through his portfolio. Much of his work takes direct influence from woodblock Japanese artists as well as old school tattooers from the 19th-20th centuries.
Kyōsai’s frogBlack and grey Japanese sleeve
If you’re able to make the trip to Norway or are lucky enough to live in Europe where it’s easy to travel between countries, Chris is a must see artist.
Tsuchigumo is a Japanese yōkai, or demon. It’s a creepy crawly beast that according to legend can grow to a monstrous size, big enough to eat a person with no problems.
Tsuchigumo as a NSFW shunga piece by Carlos Guerrero. More American traditional style Tsuchigumo piece by Isaac Bushkin.
Tsuchigumo literally means “ground spider”, and is found in mountains, forests, and caves.
Traditional Japanese Tsuchigumo by Harriet Street. Crazy neo-traditonal head piece by Alex Rusty.
In legends, these beasts live in silk tubes in trees and caves, from which they trap their human or animal prey. Think Aragog from Harry Potter or Shelob in the Lord of the Rings.
Tsuchigumo sleeve topper with a Hannya mask, done by Lukas Speich.Bright and bold Tsuchigumo by Dani Ardila Escobar.
Like a lot of Japanese yōkai, particularly snake and spider ones, Tsuchigumo relies on tricks and deceit to catch their smarter prey.
Tsuchigumo with a traditional Japanese skull done by Rocky Burly.
For example, one legend tells of a Tsuchigumo using an illusion to torun itself into a beautiful woman, with an army behind her, to attach Japan. Warrior Yorimitsu met army on the battlefield with his own force, and first attacked the woman general. When she was struck by a sword she transformed back into a creature, while her army disappeared as it had all been an illusion. she ran away back to her cave where she was sliced open. This led to thousands of babies spilling from her swollen abdomen, but each one was killed by the Japanese warriors.
Black and yellow Tsuchigumo done by Nero Morte.
Many more tales feature Tsuchigumo using illusions to trick their prey, leading to many people being eaten by the giant spider-beast.
Traditional Japanese Tsuchigumo as part of a sleeve by Jason Lambert.
As a tattoo, Tsuchigumo is usually done in a traditional Japanese style, as it comes from Japanese folklore. Though it can also be done with a more American traditional twist, Neo-traditional, or realistic style. It pairs well with Japanese warriors, or as fillers with webs, skulls, or flowers.
Shige works out of Yellow Blaze Tattoo Studio in Yokohama, Japan.
Beautiful back piece that leads into a sleeve as well as legs.Very bright sleeve.Full leg sleeve.Rib panel that attaches to a back piece.
He has been tattooing since 1995, after teaching himself the craft.
Brilliant bodysuit.Full samurai back piece.3/4 sleeve with a Buddhist goddess, Benzaiten.Hannya torso piece.
He tattoos in the Japanese style, while adding some realism to his pieces, making a lot of his work neo-Japanese.
Full sleeve that also contains some coverups.Hannya back piece.Hannya chest piece.Full body suit with lots of colour.
Shige does large pieces including full sleeves, leg sleeves, back pieces, chest, and body suits.
Half hannya torso piece mixed with tribal in a collaborative piece.Almost full bodysuit with lots of natural imagery.Tiger on top of the head.Fudo Myoo on the back of the head.
Much of Shige’s work revolves around Buddhism, including demons and gods and goddesses.
Bright full sleeve.Sleeve topped with a raven.Bright red hand piece of Agyou.
Monmon is a Japanese term for tattoo, and a monmon cat is a cat with tattoos. They were designed by Horitomo, a Japanese tattoo artist well known for his hand work (tebori) and his monmon designs. He published a book entitled Monmon Cats and has inspired other tattoo artists around the world.
Sassy looking cat with skeletons by Amber Bananafish at Bananafish Tattoo Parlour.
Monmon cats are usually done in traditional Japanese style, and usually have their own Japanese tattoos. They can also be done realistically, in black and grey, and have other tattoos such as American traditional, flowers, and skulls.
Realistic cat with rose by Ash Valentine.Samurai cat by Simina at Old Bastards Tattoo Shop in Romania.New school cat with geisha back piece by Heather Sinn at Tattoo Room in Simi Valley, CA.Matching foot monmon cats by Horitomo at State of Grace tattoo in Japantown SJ, CA.Another by Horitomo with American traditional tattoos.Stomach cat by Horitomo with peony tattoos and a fun ball of yarn.Full sleeve with monmon cat also by Horitomo.More matching monmon by Horitomo with mean looking Oni!Monmon cat doing its own tebori tattooing by Jason Rose.Large monmon with koi fish and cherry blossoms by Jamie Negro at Be Hardcore Tattoo.Monmon with waves by Kika Blunt.Monmon with cloud and wind designs and cherry blossoms by Luana Cavalcoli.Monmon drinking sake with a wicked dragon tattoo and flowers by Sarah Baldwin at Control Tattoo in FL.Cute cat with peony flower tattoos by Sebastian Giraldo Nieto.Blackwork monmon cat with skull inspired by Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre by Utagawa Kuniyoshi done by Steph White at Cock A Snook Tattoo Parlour in Newcastle.
Clemens is an artist working out of Electric Circus Classic Tattooing in Mannheim, Germany. Clemens specializes in neo traditional, traditional, and blackwork, with some Japanese thrown into the mix. Clemens does fantastic work using timeless designs mixed with new techniques and styles. He doesn’t shy away from tough designs or locations including full sleeves, bellies, ribs, back pieces, and even hands and faces for those whose lifestyles can afford them.
Hardcore full frontal blackwork traditional panther head and webbing with matching black and grey sleeves.Matching chest heads, dagger through a heart, and angry bear head in rad neo trad.Elephant head inspired by deities.American traditional classic of an eagle fighting a snake, sun and moon not by Clemens.Japanese backpiece with oni and namakubi in a neo Japanese style.Full blackwork backpiece inspired by the beauty of death with crow and matching coffins.Half backpiece in Japanese black and grey featuring a tiger, peony, and cloud background. with a matching sleeve.Whole bunch of job stoppers! Beautiful hand and neck pieces including traditional and blackwork.Crazy throat peony.Neo Japanese tiger head neck tattoo.American traditional eagle on the back of the neck/head.Crazy elephant inspired piece.Brilliant neo traditional fox and bear in a tender spot.Tasteful face piece. Blackwork nails in a bleeding heart.Blackwork traditional Native American lady head.Matching back of the knees traditional mandalas.Neo traditional Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf.
If you’re in Germany Clemens Hahn is a must see artist!
Horitsuki is a tattoo artist and owner of Galaxy Tattoo 3 in Hong Kong. He studied under Nicckuhori, the god son of the brilliant Horiyoshi III, in Singapore before finding his own style within Japanese traditional art, despite working in China.
He has gained recognition throughout Asia and Europe, travelling as a guest artist. He does all the classic Japanese designs such as hanya masks, snakes, koi fish, fu dogs, and flowers. However it is dragons that he is most famous for. He is nicknamed the Dragon King in Europe.
Fu dog hand piece.Brilliant Hanya with a bold placement.Colourful chrysanthemum.Ghost lantern.Koi and cherry blossom sleeve.Koi and cat piece.Matching foot namakubi.Beautiful, bloody namakubi.Bold red Oni.Traditional smoking frog.Beautifully detailed Japanese tiger.Angry dragon head.Dragon head and claw.Dragon chest piece coming off of a sleeve.Gorgeous dragon back piece with flowers.
Horitsuki is the guy to see if you’re in Hong Kong.
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