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Incredible Dragon Sleeve Tattoo Designs

Aparna Jadhav
If you are a fan of the Chinese or Japanese culture, you might like to take a look at some exotic tattoo options. They are a great option for people who like large and colored tattoos as well.
According to the Chinese and the Japanese cultures, the dragon represents the four elements of the Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water and the four directions on the compass, which are the North, South, East, and West. They are also known to be the symbols of the Water, Earth, Underworld and the Sky.
Thus, dragons are considered to be the replicas of nature. Nature can nurture as well as destroy and so can the dragon. Hence, it is of such major importance in these two eastern cultures.
Dragons are mythical giant sized, winged and are fire breathing lizards. They are often considered to be the reminiscent of prehistoric creatures like the dinosaurs who dominated the earth millions of years ago but the dragon came from the imagination of humans.
There are a few differences between the Chinese and the Japanese dragons and their symbolic meanings. Thus, these tattoos are always made after these differences are cleared and the person knows which style of dragon tattoos he is getting inked.

Chinese Dragon
In the Chinese culture, the dragon is made up of nine entities, where it is a chimera between head of camel, the eyes of a demon, the ears of a cow, the horns of a stag, the neck of a snake, it's belly a clam's, the claws of an eagle, while the soles of his feet are that of a tiger, and the 117 scales that cover it's body are that of a carp.
Thus, drawing these dragons is a very difficult job for the tattoo artist, but is also a test of his creativity. The Chinese dragon tattoos consist of dragons with four claws and if anyone used the five claw dragon other than the Emperor, was put to death.
These tattoos are very colorful and they look vibrant on arms. The tribal ones are however black in color and the can be combined with scripts in various tribal languages.

Japanese Dragon Sleeve Tattoos

This dragon is a little different than the Chinese. These have three claws and are said to fly lesser than the other dragons. These dragons are said to grant wishes and are protectors of the human race.
In ancient Japanese culture, the Emperor was said to be a descendant of the dragon himself and was considered the most powerful ruler on the ground.
These tattoos are beautifully made with every detail of the dragons made in bright noticeable colors. The wings of these dragons are larger and more accentuated than the others.
Very few people like to have their dragon sleeve tattoos made in black as this doesn't give the liberty of making the tattoo majestic and large. It is best to choose a design and think carefully about it for a considerable period of time, before getting it inked.