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 legend states she cut her self open in order to store the bead and therefore speed up her swim. She did reach the shore but subsequently died of her self inflicted injuries,falling to her own desperation and greed. The variations on the legend expand the story and say how hime was a pearl diver and was trying to retrieve the bead which had been dropped into the lake by the Chinese emperor,the bead being a gift for his Japanese equivalent.

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.

It can also be a small and basic drawing or can be very detailed showing bone structure or flesh and scales. The detail depends on the wearers wishes and the abilities of the tattooist. Of course a basic design can be made more complicated if wished with more detail and more background added over a period of time.

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.

The Tamatori hime tattoos focus on many parts of the legend from the dive to the fight with the dragons to the scene with the gods watching over her.

The designs can include the water and the scenery as well as other animals as well as the dragons. The self sacrifice and bravery is important to the scene as well.

The wearer then has the chance to say much about themselves with these designs, taking aspects from the Tamatori hime tattoo theme and those of others beside. Taking aspects like wisdom and sacrifice from this legend and then blending it with other stories to say what the wearer wants to say about themselves.

As always do your research on both the designs and the person who will apply the designs. Study the characters for their meanings and history and then design your image,with work you could end up with a special and striking design. - 20897

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