Japanese Tattoos for Women

The art of tattoos has existed for thousands of years. There are many beautiful designs and tattoo themes, which have evolved over a period of time. In the olden times, tattoo art in Japan was associated with Yakuza. However, times have changed now. Before we actually turn towards Japanese tattoos for women, we must go back in time and know about the history of tattoos in Japan.

Although tattoos have existed in Japan for a very long time, it was not until recent years that Japanese body art designs became popular in the West. In the days of the Samurais, criminals were branded with the help of tattoos. This trend also continued to exist when the team members of the Japanese mafia gangs chose to tattoo themselves to display their chosen lifestyle.

We have just seen the history of tattoos among men in Japan. Now let's see the history of tattoos among Japanese women. This art was first accepted by the geisha girls and prostitutes in Japan. They adorned their bodies with these tattoos and used them to attract customers by flaunting their beautifully tattooed bodies.

Till recent times, women in Japan were averse to getting themselves tattooed. However, now with the influence of the West, the mindset is changing and Japanese women are more open to getting tattoos now.

Usually women are smaller and delicately built. Hence, the tattoos for women are smaller in size and are also delicately made. Feminine tattoos are usually isolated in one or two spots of the body. Women's tattoos do not sport as aggressive designs as men's tattoos. This is however not a rule. Now let's know some Japanese designs for women's tattoos.

Kanji tattoos have become very popular. The kanji characters are very intricate and have some kind of mysticism attached to them due to which they seem perfect for tattoo designs. What sets the kanji characters apart is the fact that each kanji symbol is an ideographic character.

In simple words, it means that a kanji character represents an entire object or meaning or symbol. When these kanji characters are made, care has to be taken that each stroke is in the right direction and order.

The most common words which are depicted using the kanji characters are love, peace, freedom and unity. Some people also choose to ink the name of their loved one in the kanji script. Apart from kanji tattoos, women also like the cursive way of writing in the hiragana script of the Japanese language.

If you prefer something simple, you can opt for the simple katakana characters.

The Japanese are passionate about cherry blossoms which are called Sakura in Japanese. These flowers symbolize life itself. They portray how fragile but beautiful life is. In the ancient times, Samurais would write poems about the cherry blossoms depicting their bravery and 'ready to die any minute' nature. To sum it up, cherry blossoms denote beauty at its best along with living life to the fullest each and very moment.

The symbol of perseverance and spiritual struggle in Japan is depicted using the Koi fish. The koi fish are seen as individualistic fighters because of the myth that they had reached the doors of the heaven by swimming upstream. The Koi fish tattoo design has a golden and orange color and is accompanied with a picture of splashing water to make it a beautiful design.

Geisha tattoos are also very famous. The geisha girls are considered to be talented women and they were said to be trained in martial arts. If the need be, these geisha women could protect their homes from intruders. If you want to have a strong female image, then a geisha tattoo meets your requirement.

If you are planning to get a Japanese tattoo made, you can combine a number of tattoo designs together. The world of tattoo designs is enticing. However, if you are looking for a pure Japanese design, you will have to make sure what the kanji actually stands for, for a number of these characters and their meanings have been distorted over time.