Traditional Japanese bodysuit stencils

[TeeJay]

As I

mentioned in the wrist shot thread, the studio my friend/tattoo artist was at closed down, and, so as to not have to go back to working on pigskin, as well as trying different techniques, he said it would be more cost-effective for him to do my bodysuit rather than buying the flesh of swine I just thought I'd share the stencils I've done for it, and a little info on each

My overall inspiration for the bodysuit, is the tattoos worn by Mark Dacascos in Crying Freeman:

It immediately stuck me that that was the kind of design which I should have done, so gradually evolved the design into something I was happy with.

The design is very auto-biographical, and refers to the season and date of my birth (10/10) as there will be ten colored Japanese maple leaves

and ten maple leaves breaking the wind bars as negative space

The design also has other less obvious astrological aspects. Libra is an air-sign, so one side of the design focusses on wind (which is normally more background filler, rather than primary design) I also love the water, swimming, diving etc (it's also my favorite drink) so the other side of the design is primarily water-based. On top of all this background, are thirteen cherry blossoms (my lucky number) I wanted to do something a little different for the design of the cherry blossoms, and to make it a definite tribute to my trip to Tokyo, so I took the traditional design

the more stylized design featured on Y1000 notes

and came up with this fusion, which personally, I think looks great:

Several flowers featuring in Japanese design (chrysanthemum and peony)

as well as two less traditional: A daffodil (my Nan's favorite flowers)

and a blue rose (my favorite flower)

This dragon, for the right side of my chest, is one of the most direct references to the Freeman tattoo. For the background, I've combined water and wind designs to create what I refer to as 'typhoon swirls', and I think this will really make the red of the dragon pop

The hannya mask is being used as a literal representation: A beautiful woman transformed into a demon by her jealousy (Emily knows that it refers to her ) My earliest memory is of watching The Doomsday Machine, and I grew up wanting to be a Starfleet Captain, so another element I wanted to include in the design, was the Starfleet arrowhead, and I think it goes nicely in the negative space

Given the heavy water theme of the suit, I had to include a koi carp somewhere, and this will be on the back of my right triceps. Note the hybrid cherry blossom design thrown in... I think it works...

I also wanted to have feature some traditional Hawaiian designs as well, so after some discussion on the subject with Lani, I came up with this design which will be mirrored in the tribal work on both thighs, a kind of dagger of shark's teeth.

As can be seen in the basic layout above, the back piece is going to comprise of two dragons, and a huge wind spiral (which is being used to disguise a scar from an aortic coarctation) Much of that will simply be freehanded, but the lower dragon, is what I have come to think of as the 'lode stone' of the design, as everything can be placed according to it's very central location. Here's the stencils for that dragon, as well as the work which will wrap round onto the right hand side of my ribcage:

A close up of that rib panal reveals the afforementioned flowers, as well as the kanji nickname of Hattori Hanzō, and the crest of the Tokugawa clan he was affiliated to:

Lastly, on the inside of my left biceps, will be the kanji for giri:

which is a visual and thematic complement to the Arabic text for Jihad*, on my right biceps:

Photos of the actual work will be added as and when possible

*The term "Jihad" used without any qualifiers is generally understood in the West to be referring to holy war on behalf of Islam. In broader usage and interpretation, the term has accrued both violent and non-violent meanings. It can simply mean striving to live a moral and virtuous life, spreading and defending Islam as well as fighting injustice and oppression, among other things.

[mpp]

Respect Tee Jay...beautiful work...you are making want to add more to mine now

cheers

mp

[MasterOfPuppets]

Just beautiful brother

And great interpretation of "Jihad"

[TeeJay]

Respect Tee Jay...beautiful work...you are making want to add more to mine now

cheers

mp

Thanks, it's a project which has about a decade of vague contemplation, and a lot of recent deep consideration as to what elements to include, and how best to include them (such as hiding the Starfleet arrowhead as negative space)

Do you have a bodysuit as well? Photos are a must

Just beautiful brother

And great interpretation of "Jihad"

Thanks, brother, just going by the words of Muhammad (PBUH), as the prophet is quoted as saying, when returning from battle, "we have returned from the lesser jihad (jihad al-asghar) to the greater jihad (jihad al-akbar).", and Muslim scholar Mahmoud Ayoub states that "The goal of true jihad is to attain a harmony between islam (submission), iman (faith), and ihsan (righteous living)." Greater jihad can be compared to the struggle that Christians refer to as "resisting sin", i.e. fighting temptation, doubt, disbelief, or distraction. The greater jihad is about holding fast against any ideas and practices that run contrary to the prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) revelations (Qur'an), sayings (Hadith) and the examples set by how he lived his life (Sunnah). This concept of jihad does not correspond to any military action.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Couldn't have said it better

The term "Jihad" has been manipulated thoroughly by the media, and has been directly linked to terrorism and extremests by coming up with a word that doesnt exist in Arab nor Muslim vocabulary; "Jihadists"

It's funny (and really sad) how the majority of the people have been brainwashed by using technology, thats why we all should turn to the oldest forms of information, which is books

[TeeJay]

Couldn't have said it better

The term "Jihad" has been manipulated thoroughly by the media, and has been directly linked to terrorism and extremests by coming up with a word that doesnt exist in Arab nor Muslim vocabulary; "Jihadists"

It's funny (and really sad) how the majority of the people have been brainwashed by using technology, thats why we all should turn to the oldest forms of information, which is books

You're absolutely right there, brother, it's a shame how things can be so misinterepreted and twisted till people forget the true meaning behind the words... Although of course, all that distortion does allow us to enjoy Achmed the dead terrorist

[narikaa]

Jihad Cat says 'Wheres da Fatwa...'

Giri kanji - well I never - there goes my exclusivity

Personally..dont mix the styles tribal/Hawaiian mixed with trad Jap naaaah

.

Edited March 3, 2010 by narikaa

[TeeJay]

Jihad Cat says 'Wheres da Fatwa...'

Giri kanji - well I never - there goes my exclusivity

Personally..dont mix the styles tribal/Hawaiian mixed with trad Jap naaaah

.

Thanks for the feedback By choice, I would stick to one theme, but as I alrady have the tribal on my shoulders and chest, it needs the tribal on the hips to keep a balance with the Japanese, but maybe the Hawaiian would be 'one style too many'... I figure giri is a complementary concept to jihad, one must take engage in jihad to uphold giri

Loving Jihad Cat

[chronoluvvv]

haha you guys are destroying this guy's thread

[Bansenshukai]

Jihad Cat says 'Wheres da Fatwa...'

Giri kanji - well I never - there goes my exclusivity

Personally..dont mix the styles tribal/Hawaiian mixed with trad Jap naaaah

.

That cat has an unfair advantage; he gets to do it eight other times.

[narikaa]

Its a Cluster Cat