traditional Japanese tattoos

SimonPRepublic

Is there anywhere in Ireland that does the traditional Japanese tattoos? That are done by hand with bamboo. Thinking I may need to go to London, but trying to avoid that if I can.
Thanks,
Simon

Black Sheep

Since no one else is biting on this one, I'll have a go.

I'm aware of at least one studio in Ireland where there is an artist offering something like traditional hand-poked Japanese tattooing - as well as work done by machine. To be honest, though, if you have your heart set on that type of work I would strongly recommend that you consider travelling abroad. Even in somewhere like the U.K it is a case of caveat emptor as many artists who are offering this type of work don't appear to have a very good grasp of it in my opinion.

I'm a fan of Japanese tattooing as a genre and an observation I would make is that even artists at the very, very top of the food chain, like Horiyoshi III and Shige do their work with machines now.

Horiyoshi III sometimes uses a mixture of the two, but I've been to his studio and tattoo museum and I only saw guys using machines, and I understand it has been that way for a long time now... If someone who has effectively shaped the development of contemporary japanese tattooing everywhere, as Horiyoshi III has, uses a machine for most of his work I think that says a lot: We can re-evaluate what we consider 'traditional'.

Hand-poking is slower, more painful and although it creates a unique-looking finished product in comparison with work by machine I think most artists use machines for good reason: Quicker, more efficient and dazzling colours and lines.

To me, the meaning of tradition is that it is continuation of the past that builds upon the best of it. In the case of tattooing I think this includes using new tools if they offer advantages. Even the hand-poking gear that Horiyoshi III uses when he does it now is his own design that is different from what was used in the past in any case!