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Genres of Japanese Kanji tattoos Part 1
Genres of Japanese Kanji tattoos Part 1
Any type of art has many styles and genres that it can be divided into. So do Japanese Kanji tattoos, and here, we’ll go through some common genres so you can find the best match for your future tattoo. Here are the top 3 common styles to have for a Japanese Kanji tattoo!
- Traditional Japanese Calligraphy Style Traditional Japanese calligraphy is one of the most well-known styles in the industry. It resembles the brush’s characters and flows. While this is my personal favorite, in many cases, it has a rather masculine connotation to it. Therefore, it is more likely to be seen as “cool” or “powerful” than cute. Some artists use stencils, and some artists actually paint/draw the base Japanese onto the customer’s skin and ink on top of that. The latter can be only seen in a few cases because for it to succeed, the artist must be highly skilled and confident in Japanese and also calligraphy itself.
- Kawaii tattoos The phrase Kawaii (可愛い) means not only cute and pretty but also the feeling of wanting to love something small and attractive. Kawaii tattoos often have vivid colors and use unique color gradations to create their characteristics. As seen in the first picture, it can be expressed through having a thicker width and more round edges. Unlike traditional Japanese calligraphy, this genre is shown better with color and an illustration on the side, like the second picture. This is particularly interesting because it has the 2000s - 2010 vibe. It also resembles a NEO-Tokyo aura, depending on the color palette you use.
- Minimalistic The concept of minimalistic and being a minimalist has become popular in the past 10 years, buzzing from the Netflix show “Minimalist.” This can be seen in the tattoo world, being a part of fashion as well. Nowadays, minimalistic one-point tattoos are widely accepted among beginners, as it is relatively smaller, subtle, and meaningful compared to the traditional tattoo, where you cover up the whole arm. One notable benefit of this particular style is that it is very neutral and elegant. If I would word it, it’s like the zen genre of the tattoo style. This style tends to be similar to “hand-written.” Very basic but simultaneously contains the essentials.
Do keep in mind that the Japanese language has three characters, or “ways to write”; Kanji, which originates from Chinese, katakana to express foreign words, and hiragana. It’s important to remember that Kanji has different meanings depending on the context, but also each of the three characters has different vibes to it. For example, the word “Love” is 愛 in kanji, アイ in katakana, and あい in hiragana. This is why you need a Japanese for you to ask what word is the best because most tattoo artists can’t consider the design, font, meaning, which character to use, and many more elements to decide which is the best for you. That’s why at Kotodama.Ink, Japanese consultants with 5-10+ foreign experience handpick the best Kanji for you. Check our website for details: https://kotodama.ink/