Japanese Whispers
Skin Deep|Issue 310
He is one of the most gifted Japanese tattooers of his generation. From the region of Niigata in the North-East of Japan, he's spreading the beauty of Japanese tattoo culture. All tattoo lovers praise his complex and very detailed compositions which adorn the bodies of some very lucky collectors, but after 20 years, Tomo is ready to move on…
Pascal Bagot
Japanese Whispers

Silkneedle is the name of your studio, where does it comes from?

In the past, we used silk needles for making a tattoo with the tebori technique. Once used, they were sharpened again and reused. Somehow, it is a way for me to get back to the source, where it started. I want to keep the motivation that comes from that period.

Can we go back to your journey?

After high school, I went to the design school in Niigata. I wanted to be a drawer, a mangaka (manga drawer) or an illustrator. After I finished my studies, I had a tough time to find a job. But, I was 20 years old at the time, I had the opportunity for the first to see a tattoo that had been done on a friend of mine. It was a Japanese style tattoo. I was so impressed, that was a real cultural shock. As my friends knew I was a good drawer, they told me I should try.

What happened?

I looked out for the material, but I couldn’t find anything in any shop. At the time there was this Japanese magazine, a very underground publication called Burst. Inside, there were some pages dedicated to tattooing and I started to think about it even more seriously. In one of them, there was an article about tattoo machines done in jail by prisoners. I understood I could build one myself. I was 21.

Tattoo was still taboo. How did you approach this?

I didn’t have any hesitation, even though it was VERY MUCH taboo. I talked about it with my parents. They tried to reason with me and told me it was not something that was possible. Moreover, tattooing was for yakuza. But, I was so impressed by the tattoo seen on my friend’s body, that I had some sort of revelation. It was like opening my eyes.

Did you grow up in an art environment?

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 310-Ausgabe von Skin Deep.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 310-Ausgabe von Skin Deep.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

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