Japanese Tattoos

A Japanese tattoo is built on a large scale: one strong subject, a background of water, cloud or wind, and shading that fades out like ink on wet paper. This collection brings that style to temporary Japanese tattoos in blue-black, sized for a forearm, a calf or a shoulder blade. No needles.

Ink wash, line work and blackwork

• Ink wash (sumi-e): dragon heads in soft gradients, alone or with a peony, and a viper drawn as a half-sleeve piece. More scales in dragon tattoos.
• Koi: climbing through waves or framed by blossoms. For more koi, see koi fish tattoos.
• Geishas: with a parasol, a katana or a peony, or in a kimono scattered with butterflies.
• Oni masks: horned demon faces in clean line work, close cousins of mask tattoos.
• Panels: sakura over the great wave, sakura among clouds, chrysanthemums in solid blackwork.

Many people read the koi as perseverance and the dragon as strength; others pick a design for its lines alone. Bold outlines and flat fills belong to another school, American traditional, found under traditional and old school tattoos.

Size and placement

These are medium to large pieces. Give a dragon head or a koi the forearm, the calf, the shoulder blade or the thigh, where the shading has room. A medium piece also fits narrower spots, such as the inner forearm or the side of the calf. For a small or simple Japanese tattoo on the inner wrist, the nape or the ankle, go custom (see below). Forearm, shoulder and upper back hold longest, up to 2 weeks; hands, fingers and feet fade sooner.

Try the big piece before the permanent one

Planning a Japanese sleeve? Lay two or three pieces along the arm and live with the layout for a week or two: placement, scale, how the shading runs from shoulder to elbow. Our guide to trying a tattoo before you get it covers the rest.

Application takes 2 minutes. Right after, the design looks pale, almost see-through. That is normal: the jagua ink develops to blue-black over 24 to 36 hours, so apply it one to two days before the day you want to show it off. No water or friction for 8 hours; after that, it is waterproof. Vegan and PPD-free.

Custom Japanese designs

Have a phoenix, a samurai or a hannya mask in mind? We can make it as a custom temporary tattoo: minimum 3 copies, made in 3 to 4 weeks, visual approved before printing. Standard formats run up to L; exact dimensions can be requested when a design will not fit in L. A word in kanji works too, once someone who reads Japanese, ideally a native speaker, has checked it. Prefer Chinese characters? See Chinese tattoos.

Questions about the Japanese style

What is the Japanese style tattoo called?

In Japan, traditional tattooing is called irezumi, and you will also hear horimono. Outside Japan, most people simply say Japanese traditional. You can spot it by its large subjects, its backgrounds of waves, clouds and wind, and compositions planned around the shape of the body.

What are common Japanese tattoos?

Dragons, koi, tigers, geishas, oni masks, cherry blossoms, peonies and waves come up again and again. The ready-to-apply designs here are dragon heads, koi, geishas, oni masks and sakura panels. A phoenix or a samurai is something we can make for you as a custom design.