Wednesday 25 August 2010

An Introductory Overview Of Japanese Dragon Tattoos

By Takamitsu Hairi
The image of the dragon is something that abounds in the Japanese tradition of tattooing. For the Japanese the dragon is one of the most powerful and beautiful mythical beasts ever. The physical look of the dragon makes it a hard to miss symbol irrespective of where it is placed.
The records of the art of making tattoos show that commoners in Japan especially favored the image of the dragon when it came to getting tattoos. There is rich symbolism and history linked to the picture of the dragon and this influences it to become highly mystical adding to the way it looks.
Pertaining to dragon tattoos the size, style and location of the tattoo design can really affect the symbolism of the image. The common image of a dragon wrapped around a sword staring at you with bright red fiery eyes is taken as a symbol for power and strength. Contrastingly the image of a dragon soaring above the clouds is intent on portraying freedom.
In the culture of the Japanese, they have great regard for the dragon and they call the dragon ryu and tatsu. The usual image of a dragon is in the form of a mutated snake that has a scaly and long body. The dragons live near large water bodies according to the beliefs in mythology. The people of Japan consider the dragons, which are imaginary powerful creatures to be deities and this is a main reason why dragon' depictions receive high levels of popularity in the culture of the Japanese.
The dragon is quite common in other regions of Asia as well such as China and Korea. Dragon designs exist in various mediums ranging from sculpture to architecture and fine arts in Japan. Dragons are still considered as being one of the most popular design elements in Japan.
Japanese alters and temples can be seen hosting large scale sculptures of dragons even today. The Isle of the Temple is one of the most popular places for its dragon statues which serve as a tourist attraction in modern times. For the Japanese the image of the dragon is associated with good luck and good fortune.
For the majority of the people in the west today the image of the dragon is simply something that is supposed to be cool. Their liking of dragon tattoos is usually void of the cultural symbolism that it bears for the Japanese.
The tattoo artists of our times frequently give meanings to dragon tattoo designs without considering their historical meanings. The dragon tattoos of our day primarily represent feelings, moods or concepts.
This modern way of perceiving dragon art is odd to the people of Japan who always thought of the dragon as something carrying great significance. The Japanese also give different symbolic meanings to the dragon depending upon the different eras. As an illustration, the Taoists and Buddhists thought of dragons as representing the tribulations that they had to deal with before they could be able to become enlightened.
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