One-of-a-Kind Tattoos Crafted Through Traditional Techniques and Hand-Poking
Midori is a tattoo artist who inscribes the traditional beauty of Japan onto the skin. The pieces born from her hands are one-of-a-kind, flowing tattoos—a seamless fusion of “Suminagashi” (the traditional Japanese art of marbled ink) and “hand-poking,” where colors are meticulously infused needle by needle. We delve into the passion she pours into her craft, and the world of her artwork, which is both sacred and warm, where the transitions of nature and human thoughts intersect.
How She Got Her Start in Tattooing
Suminagashi and Tattooing: Contradictory Aesthetics
Behind what makes Midori’s tattoos truly one-of-a-kind lies the eleven years she has dedicated entirely to perfecting her craft as a Suminagashi artist. Driven by a powerful desire to evolve this traditional technique—which serves as her core foundation and life itself—into a completely new medium, she began translating its essence into tattoo designs.
“Suminagashi is an ancient Japanese technique where ink is floated on the surface of water, allowing the forces of nature, like water and wind, to help shape the patterns. The designs born upon the water possess a fleeting, once-in-a-lifetime ephemerality—a form that can never be replicated exactly the same way twice. Inscribing this ‘never-to-be-repeated water pattern’ onto the skin as a ‘lifelong tattoo’ to be carried forever—I thought it would be incredibly beautiful to weave this contrasting aesthetic into a theme, allowing people to wear the fluid grace of water on their bodies.”
The Allure of Design: Where Intent and the Forces of Nature Align
“If you create solely with your mind, it lacks intrigue; yet if you simply let the colors flow without thought, it loses cohesion. It is only when both my ‘intent’ and the ‘forces of nature’ come together in perfect balance that I can craft a piece that surpasses my own imagination. That is where the true allure of Suminagashi lies.”
The Suminagashi that Midori has dedicated herself to is an art form born from the blending of “intent”—which controls the final composition—and the “forces of nature,” such as water and wind.
This fascinating interplay between calculation and chance is also what makes the process of creating her tattoo designs so compelling.
「Suminagashi painting(marble art)」
Midori’s original artwork utilizing “Suminagashi,” a traditional Japanese technique.
In her usual two-dimensional works, Midori captures the world of the water’s surface, drawing inspiration from grand nature under the theme of “a beauty that cannot be seen through nature alone.” However, when her canvas shifts to “human skin,” her expression transforms into something even more intricate.
“Since tattoo designs are inscribed on human skin, I create them so they harmonize with the body and culminate as a single, complete design piece. Within that piece, I am deeply conscious of allowing people to feel the flow and movement of water—the kind that can never be replicated through digital means.”
Infusing her artistic intent into the uncontrollable swells of nature, she gently aligns her work with the contours of the client’s body. This very process—where “intent” and the “forces of nature” intertwine—is the essence of the one-of-a-kind beauty found in her Suminagashi tattoos.
The Warmth of Hand-Poking, Woven Needle by Needle
Most of her sessions are done through “hand-poking” rather than with a machine. Within this choice lives a deep respect for the tribal and ethnic cultures that form her roots, as well as her profound dedication to her expression.
“I feel that the sensation of inscribing needle by needle—taking time in a more analog way rather than tattooing with a machine—fits deeply with the world of my Suminagashi tattoos. Creating patterns on the water’s surface with my own hands, and then infusing color into the client’s skin needle by needle with my own hands… Feeling the texture of the client’s skin through my fingertips while simultaneously conveying my expression… I believe that the accumulation of this dialogue makes the artwork even more special and filled with warmth. It feels very similar to the endearing sensation you get when looking at hand embroidery or Sashiko, where you feel a background and warmth unique to manual work that is entirely different from a sewing machine.”
(※Depending on the design and situation, sessions using a machine are also performed flexibly.)
Tattoos as Lifelong "Amulets" That Gently Accompany Your Daily Life
“The moment when a client is truly filled with joy upon seeing their finished tattoo is when I feel the greatest sense of reward as an artist.”
Unlike a piece of art displayed in a picture frame, a tattoo is something that spends the rest of a client’s life with them, traveling alongside them. Because the reasons for getting a tattoo are as diverse as the people themselves, Midori does not just offer beautiful designs; she approaches each session with the hope that the tattoo she inks will become like an “amulet,” gently accompanying them through their daily lives.
Having begun with traditional Suminagashi and elevated it into art upon the skin, her gaze is already fixed on what lies ahead. She does not hide her excitement for the future, expressing a desire to sublimate these Suminagashi tattoo designs into something even more entirely new.
“I truly love the art of Suminagashi because it is constantly evolving and its possibilities are endlessly expanding. I will continue to dedicate myself each day to sharing the beauty of Suminagashi and tattooing, as well as the irreplaceable value of handcraft, with as many people as possible.”
※掲載の画像および情報は、各公式ウェブサイトや関連メディアの記事などを参考に整理・編集のうえ掲載しており、権利はそれぞれの所有者に帰属し、各公式ウェブサイトおよび関連メディアを出典としています。 ※The images and information published on this site have been organized and edited based on official websites and related media articles. All rights belong to their respective owners, and the sources are credited to official websites and related media.
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