Irezumi
和彫 / Edo period– / Style / Tattoo Styles
Japanese tattooing that took its cue from Kuniyoshi's Suikoden heroes, carving a narrative across the whole back and outward over the body. Ground patterns of wave and cloud wrap each figure in a frame, and the body becomes a single ukiyo-e.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Full-back narrative composition
- Wave-and-cloud framing
- Ukiyo-e derived imagery
- Flow designed to the body
Best used for
- Large-area tattoo work and the underdrawing that follows a body's curves
- Murals or noren showing Japanese narrative as continuity, not fragments
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- No lettering, with wave and cloud grounds serving as the frame
- Composition
- The main figure on the spine, flow released out into the limbs
- Material
- Graded sumi with sparing accent color, skin left as the ground
- Caution
- Cutting motifs out and scattering them without the connecting ground pattern leaves the drawing fighting the way the body moves.
- Further study
- Kuniyoshi's Suikoden series / the lineage and apprenticeship of horishi / the meaning system of dragon, carp and hannya
Related entries
- American Traditional Tattoo (アメリカン・トラディショナル)Same Tattoo Styles lineage.Compare Irezumi and American Traditional Tattoo
- Ukiyo-e (浮世絵)Shared effects: Calm.Compare Irezumi and Ukiyo-e
More from Tattoo Styles
Continue through styles in the same Tattoo Styles family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Cybersigilism (サイバーシジリズム)Shared effects: Rebellion.
Browse all Tattoo Styles entries
Cite this entry
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- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/irezumi
- Markdown
- [Irezumi — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/irezumi)
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- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/irezumi">Irezumi — IndexStyle</a>