Saturday, January 24, 2009

Tamatori Hime Tattoos Story Revealed

By Jenny Cole

Tamatori hime tattoos are Japanese designs that have become famous world wide. The name refers to an ancient Japanese legend involving Tamatori hime stealing from the dragon owning king of the underwater world. Hime stole the kings most prized possession ,a precious bead and then attempted to make her escape.

The story that gave the Tamatori hime tattoos included dragons,pearls,gods and a brave woman who nearly sacrificed herself for what she saw as the greater good. Therefore there are images of bravery ,sacrifice and fighting with dragons that could be included.

The story is usually fairly constant in what it says but it allows interpretation of how the characters looked and therefore how they were portrayed,originally they were shown in drawings and paintings which would then begin to introduce different interpretations.

The dragon has a basic form that is fairly standard in terms of body shape and head design but this still allows plenty of variation.

As you can see from the above design the picture is fairly basic but still is clear and looks very powerful, also it covers the whole back, shoulder and almost down the arm as well. The background is also basic but effective, it includes smoke and flame and also indicates movement.

Different focuses could be the princess in the Tamatori hime tattoos,she is shown swimming or fighting with the dragons. She is often shown as a powerful focus point and as a heroine figure, almost sacrificing herself for what she believed in.

In order to make the most of the images they can also be split up over the body in smaller designs. Maybe on opposite shoulders, opposite arms or on other areas such as the feet.

The dragon is probably the most common part of the Tamatori hime tattoo probably as it can be drawn in so many ways and can be as small or as large as you wish. There are also possibilities for colour and background as well as how the dragon is shown.

As with all tattoos get plenty of research done in order to get the right design and very importantly the right tattooist to do the work. Sort out the design of the Tamatori hime tattoo design beforehand using magazines and on line, get it on paper and the get the work done. These designs look great as lower back tattoos and can often be seen in big cities. - 16083

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