March 20th, 2015: Japan's Tattoos

[Lamplighter]

I've said before that when my 3rd daughter wanted a tattoo,
I opposed it by saying she had to wait until she was 18 yrs old.
Of course, on her 18th birthday, she went out and got her first tattoo,
but hide it from me for some time. She has since gotten another.

Yet because of her, I've eased my biases about tattoos, and have started
engaging people with tattoos that I meet in public.
It's remarkably easy to get them talking about their "tats", and
what meanings they have, and what they plan for the future.

OK, so all that is great. But what about individuals, as in this IOD,
who have essentially used up all their skin geography, but still want to add "just one more" ?
I've talked with a couple of men whose arms or legs were already pretty well covered.
I imagine this could be frustrating.

I have become much more tolerant and appreciative from these conversations.
But, some of my biases are still there, and I feel a little sad when young person has
a such made a permanent change on their body which may or may not seem
as attractive or appropriate later on in their lifetimes.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I know people with the running out of room syndrome. However I doubt that happens to the men like the ones depicted in the photograph. They don't keep adding whatever strikes their fancy until they run out of real estate. Their tattoo, their body suit, is planned out in it's entirety before they even begin. The whole picture is carefully interwoven to tell a story, and like all Japanese art, meticulous in detail.

I'm sure shit happens to them like it does to everyone else. Family, money, illness or injuries, affect the progress. Hmm, I wonder about large weight gains or losses? But the goal is set and always clear what it should look like in the end.