I've begun work on my next large-scale tattoo project. A week ago today I got the bulk of the outline done for a piece that ultimately will probably take around 80 hours to complete and will see me very close to accomplishing my body suit. All that will remain is about half the space on my legs, some of my forearms, and random little filler spots.
I was a bit disappointed with myself for not being able to sit for the entire outline (as I'd planned), but in my own defense, its in a pretty unkind place; my left leg from the knee up, my bottom and groin area, belly and ribs up to the armpit. Two weeks from now I'll be under the gun again, and will hopefully have enough completed to be able to share some pictures to give an idea of where I'm going with it. I'll probably update as the work progresses (we're tentatively planning a marathon session every third wednesday until its completed).
Since I don't have any pictures to share yet, I'll try to describe it:
In the 14th century a novel was published in China called "Shuihu Zhuan". As far as I can tell, the English tranlation for the title would be "The Water Margin". "The Suikoden" is the Japanese adaptation of the 14th-century Chinese vernacular novel, which recounts the exploits of a group of brave and righteous rebels on Mount Liang. It's kind of a 'Robin Hood'-esque epic that recounts the exploits of 108 brigands (essentially) and their triumph over an oppressive governmental dictatorship in China. In the 19th century, the book enjoyed a huge serge of popularity throughout Japan and was translated by dozens of Japan's top scholars under the title "The Suikoden." The book became a kind of revolutionary movement throughout Japan, whereby citizens could (en masse) study the book and identify themselves with other enthusiasts as people who objected to their own oppressive governmental regime similar to the one in the novel under the cover of studying Chinese culture -- which was strongly encouraged by the Japanese government at the time.....
"The Suikoden" was enormously popular in Japan during the 19th century. A Japanese woodblock-print artist named Kuniyoshi became a household name through a series of prints of portraits of the heroes of the novel, and the designs remain today in a book that I found in Japan years ago entitled "Of Brigands and Bravery".
It was Kuniyoshi's initial designs for the single-sheet print series "The one hundred and eight heroes of the Suikoden (Tszoku Suikoden gketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)" -- in which the full-length portraits of the heroes are charged with a new sense of dynamism -- that spurred a "Suikoden" craze in Edo (present-day Tokyo). This publication reproduces the 74 known designs of the series in full color, each accompanied by an explanatory text. Many of the designs still inspire Japanese tattooists, and supplementary information on this subject is also included in the book.
One of the characters -- Nyuunryu Koshonsho -- whose literal translation in English is "Dragon in the Clouds", is a Taoist priest with supernatural powers. He describes himself as 'extremely skilled in the magic of calling winds and crying out for rains and harnessing mists and in riding the clouds'. The tattoo that I'm getting is an adaptation of the Kuniyoshi portrait of Koshonsho; perched precariously on a mountaintop calling winds and storms with a Chinese dragon wrapped up the cliff peak gaze-ing at him as if in adoration.
I consider myself very lucky to be working with a tattoo artist with such talent, and am very much looking forward to seeing it develop.
I was a bit disappointed with myself for not being able to sit for the entire outline (as I'd planned), but in my own defense, its in a pretty unkind place; my left leg from the knee up, my bottom and groin area, belly and ribs up to the armpit. Two weeks from now I'll be under the gun again, and will hopefully have enough completed to be able to share some pictures to give an idea of where I'm going with it. I'll probably update as the work progresses (we're tentatively planning a marathon session every third wednesday until its completed).
Since I don't have any pictures to share yet, I'll try to describe it:
In the 14th century a novel was published in China called "Shuihu Zhuan". As far as I can tell, the English tranlation for the title would be "The Water Margin". "The Suikoden" is the Japanese adaptation of the 14th-century Chinese vernacular novel, which recounts the exploits of a group of brave and righteous rebels on Mount Liang. It's kind of a 'Robin Hood'-esque epic that recounts the exploits of 108 brigands (essentially) and their triumph over an oppressive governmental dictatorship in China. In the 19th century, the book enjoyed a huge serge of popularity throughout Japan and was translated by dozens of Japan's top scholars under the title "The Suikoden." The book became a kind of revolutionary movement throughout Japan, whereby citizens could (en masse) study the book and identify themselves with other enthusiasts as people who objected to their own oppressive governmental regime similar to the one in the novel under the cover of studying Chinese culture -- which was strongly encouraged by the Japanese government at the time.....
"The Suikoden" was enormously popular in Japan during the 19th century. A Japanese woodblock-print artist named Kuniyoshi became a household name through a series of prints of portraits of the heroes of the novel, and the designs remain today in a book that I found in Japan years ago entitled "Of Brigands and Bravery".
It was Kuniyoshi's initial designs for the single-sheet print series "The one hundred and eight heroes of the Suikoden (Tszoku Suikoden gketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)" -- in which the full-length portraits of the heroes are charged with a new sense of dynamism -- that spurred a "Suikoden" craze in Edo (present-day Tokyo). This publication reproduces the 74 known designs of the series in full color, each accompanied by an explanatory text. Many of the designs still inspire Japanese tattooists, and supplementary information on this subject is also included in the book.
One of the characters -- Nyuunryu Koshonsho -- whose literal translation in English is "Dragon in the Clouds", is a Taoist priest with supernatural powers. He describes himself as 'extremely skilled in the magic of calling winds and crying out for rains and harnessing mists and in riding the clouds'. The tattoo that I'm getting is an adaptation of the Kuniyoshi portrait of Koshonsho; perched precariously on a mountaintop calling winds and storms with a Chinese dragon wrapped up the cliff peak gaze-ing at him as if in adoration.
I consider myself very lucky to be working with a tattoo artist with such talent, and am very much looking forward to seeing it develop.