The Most Japanese Tattoo Work,

"On my arm, I have a series of cloud tattoos. I got the first three clouds five years ago when I was twenty-seven. In most Japanese tattoo work, the clouds make up the background of the piece, and I found myself interested in using them graphically as a center.

I was born and grew up in Japan, and was always sketching. I am an artist at Temple Tattoo, now. I started on these cloud images when I was about sixteen. Both of my parents were career artists as well.

They met at an art school in Tokyo called Tamabi. My father worked on advertising campaigns where he did illustrations of ‘60’s and ‘70’s movie stars holding pipes (among other projects), as well as selling many abstract pen and ink studies. My mother was an oil painter.

After Tokyo, we moved to a tiny village in the countryside of Japan. I have no idea why my parents made that move. My parents were really kind of hipsters at the time. My mom was the first woman who had smoked cigarettes in that village. It was not great growing up there.

They still live there, but I moved to the US fourteen years ago. For me, the clouds suggest a sort of neutrally and flexibility. They could be anything; they could go anywhere. Like me. I also have cloud tattoos on my legs, and I plan to Never have any other sort of tattoo other than clouds."

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