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Title: Tattoos of the Floating World: Ukiyo-E Motifs in Japanese Tattoo by Takahiro Kitamura, Katie M. Kitamura ISBN: 9-0748224-5-2 Publisher: Hotei Publishing Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $39.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: tops on the cultural context of the japanese tattoo
Comment: Takahiro Kitamura's "Tattoos of the Floating World" is far from a be-all and end-all guide to Japanese tattoos. However, it is for the moment without peer in providing a cultural context, and it thus adds depth to a reading of many other favorites, including Fellman's "The Japanese Tattoo," Addiss' "Japanese Ghosts and Demons," and Klompmakers' "Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden."
In this slender volume, Kitamura's primary focus is the linkage of the woodblock printing tradition of the Edo period (1615-1868) to the development of the tattoo as art. With such a focus, afficionados of the print artists Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, and Kunichika will find many illustrations to delight them, and there are as well photographs of the current artistry being worked by tattoo masters. Adding to the value of the book are a preface written by Donald Richie and an afterword by Don Ed Hardy. The first essay is elegiac and lyrical in tone; the second provides personal insights by a Western connoisseur of the tattoo art form.
The shortcomings of "Tattoos of the Floating World" concern what is not included. The book would have benefitted greatly from having an index as well as a more generously-executed glossary. Moreover, I regret that Kitamura, who as a tattoo artist is uniquely qualified to do so, did not more systematically and fully catalogue and explain the symbolism of Japanese tattoos.
Rating: 5
Summary: Masterful Examination of Floating World Arts
Comment: Most tattoo afficianados are aware that Japanese tattoos are steeped in history and culture. But Tattoos Of The Floating World: Ukiy-o Motifs In The Japanese tattoo explores this history and culture in a way never done before. Takahiro Kitamura's research and unique insight combine to present the reader with not only a history of the Japanese tattoo, but also with an understanding of how it came to be, how it continued to maintain its traditions through centuries of persecution and cultural metamorphosis, and how it both influenced and was influenced by the contemporary arts of early Japan.
The first half of this excellent work explores the early history of the Floating World (as pleasure districts were known as Japan's Edo period), focusing on the "triumvirate of arts": ukiyo-e (wood block prints), irezumi (tattoos), and kabuki theatre. Ukiyo-e and irezumi are so closely intertwined that tattoos of the day were referred to as horimono (carved object) in deference to the process of carving a wood block print. Kabuki was the theatre of the people and expressed not only the history and mythology of Japan, but the people's innermost desires as well. Kitamura's exploration of the ways in which these three arts intertwined demonstrates his love of the topic and inspires a similar affection in the reader.
The latter half of Tattoos Of The Floating World details many of the themes so strongly connected with Japanese Tattoo today. Sections devoted to such heroes as Fudo Myoo, Fujin and Raijin, Kumonryu Shishin, and Tennin give a basic understanding of their characters themselves and their endurance as tattoo motifs. Details are also provided on such traditional images as dragons, koi, shunga, falcons, the Kurikaraken, tigers and the phoenix.
Illustrated throughout with ukiyo-e, original sketches by Horiyoshi III, and photographs by Jai Tanju, this work is as beautiful as it is educational. The pairing of sketches next to their finished tattoos highlights the artistry involved in Japanese tattoo while the presentation of ukiyo-e prints alongside tattoos of the same characters and motifs demonstrates the cultural and historic similarities.
As a special bonus, Don Ed Hardy weighs in with an essay exploring his own discovery of Japanese tattoo. Ed Hardy is the foremost American authority on Japanese tattoo and was one of the first Westerners to write on the subject. This essay follows his discovery of Japanese tattoo and his adventures in crossing the borders (both physical and cultural) between Japanese and Western tattooing.
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Title: Bushido : Legacies of the Japanese Tattoo by Takahiro Kitamura, Katie M. Kitamura ISBN: 0764312014 Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Japanese Tattoo by Sandi Fellman, D.M. Thomas ISBN: 0896597989 Publisher: Abbeville Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1988 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural by Stephen Addiss ISBN: 0807611263 Publisher: George Braziller Pub. Date: April, 2001 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Leu Family's Family Iron by Fabio Paleari ISBN: 0954264800 Publisher: Trolley Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $59.95 |
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Title: Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design by Merrily C. Baird ISBN: 084782361X Publisher: Rizzoli Publications Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
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