Tattoo - The Iconography of Japan

For tattooers and collectors who use ukiyo-e as reference, Tattoo – The Iconography of Japan is a serious study tool. It connects classic woodblock prints to modern tattoo design—so motifs aren’t just copied, but understood: why they read, how they’re composed, and what they carry.

As ukiyo-e tattoo designs have grown in popularity, this bilingual Japanese/English book offers a clear way in: first grounding you in the source material, then showing how those motifs translate into tattoo language.

Chapter 1 (by artist)
The book introduces ukiyo-e works artist by artist—beginning with Utagawa Kuniyoshi and including names such as Utagawa Toyokuni, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Ochiai Yoshiiku, Toyohara Kunichika, and Utagawa Yoshitora.

Chapter 2 (by motif)
Tattoo designs based on ukiyo-e are grouped by theme, including:

• Shinto & Buddhist deities (Fujin, Raijin and more)
• Animals (dogs, cats, wolves, lions, monkeys and more)
• Plants (peonies, cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums and more)
• Yokai / monsters (including motifs like hannya, skulls, bakeneko and more)
• Caricatures (Otsu-e, Okame, Hyottoko and more)

This title is especially useful if you want to:

• Build a stronger visual vocabulary for ukiyo-e-based tattoo motifs
• Study composition, symbolism, and readability from the original prints
• See clear examples of how motifs move from woodblock art → tattoo design

Book details

• Title: Tattoo – The Iconography of Japan
• Binding: Softcover
• Language: Japanese / English
• Pages: 208
• Size: 257 × 182 × 23 mm (10.12 × 7.17 × 0.91 in)