I was talking to a friend the other day about Japanese tattoos and the koi carp that they often feature.
I must say, I've never had any interest in a tattoo of a fish but they do look damn good. Though I might prefer some other type of animal, they do look good.
What is the meaning of these tattoos? Well, they are a popular fish in Japan and highly treasured. Some even sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars each! There is also some mythology around the koi - it is said to climb up waterfalls and an ancient Chinese legend talks of how if a koi climbed a particular waterfall on the Yellow River, that it would be transformed into a dragon! Therefore, it is associated with themes of courage, perseverence and strength in the face of adversity. Pretty cool for a tattoo to tell such a tale!
Clearly this tattoo suits a woman more than a man so this is not a style (in terms of location) I am going to go for. But it looks pretty damn good I gotta say.
This is also pretty cool. I've noticed that a lot of these koi tattoos are featured on the upper arm. The colours are pretty damn vibrant on this with some nice black shading too. My first impression was that it did not have the usual Japanese style that I have seen before.
That's another consideration I need to take into account. Like some people who get Maori tribal designs and stuff, is this really suitable for a westernised person to wear? Mind you, Japanese people don't get exclusively tattooed in a Japanese style. Also, wearing such a tattoo in some parts of Asia could potentially offend some people due to the war? (the Japanese literally raped and pillaged many parts of Asia. Let me add that I have nothing but respect for them).
Credits (Creative Commons license):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42445472@N07/4522825979/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aheram/2497547758/
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