Meet Horinami, Japan's First Female Tattoo Artist

Horinami is widely regarded as Japan's most skilled and famous female tattoo artist. Speaking with her recently, she came across as a humble Japanese artisan--very easy to talk to and full of enthusiasm for her craft.

Her decision to become a tattoo artist and subsequent training began after graduating from high school and beginning art college. She flunked out after a year, and her attempts to get back on track were unsuccessful due to student unrest and a pregnancy with her first husband. She originally considered becoming a teacher, but gave up on that, divorced her first husband and met her second husband, who she vaguely describes as having taught her "a lot of things, good and bad about life."

She works in the traditional style of Japanese Irezumi, and considering that when she first started out tattoos hadn't yet begun to enjoy the mainstream popularity that they do now, it can be presumed that a lot of her clients were either downtown workers such as carpenters, or people connected with the underworld.

When she began working as a tattoo artist over 20 years ago, the machines were totally different, she couldn't even get the inks she needed, and she doubts that there were any other female tattoo artists at the time. She trained for approximately nine years, but says she is "still training,"--the learning process being endless. She says one of her main sources of inspiration is music: "I always listen to the koto (a traditional Japanese instrument) when doing tatts."

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She has had some of the same clients for twenty years, and describes her relationships with some of them as familial, having BBQs or going on hot spring trips together.

"Its a difficult job, but you can't think like that--you have to think that it's great! The best thing is getting clients that like your work, to have people that say your work is good… that is the greatest happiness. That feeling is sublime."

Her style utilizes all the aspects of Japanese aesthetics--they are meticulously detailed and as she describes it, "restrained and quiet."

"I can't get out of the wa (traditional Japanese ) world. I want the world to know about the Japanese culture. Everyone has their fantastic points and I want each other to know about them"

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MAQI is a freelance writer who covers topics usually relating to the arts, culture and travel. She has contributed to about 20 publications, from fashion, travel and inflight magazines to Japanese newspapers. She also does Tokyo correspondence for UK's Bizarre magazine and Skin Deep Tattoo magazine. She likes sushi and cake.

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