Japanese Tebori

One of my favorite things about tattoos is the different methods used around the world. It is, to me, something that links all tattooed people together, across continents and cultures. We have different motives and methods, but we all wind up covered in ink.
My favorite method of tattooing is the tebori method used in Japan. The tebori method originated between the late 1800s and early 1900s and employs a small group of needles attached to a bamboo rod; Unlike the electric tattoo machine, tebori is done by hand. One hand holds an area of skin taut while the other hand repeatedly drives the needles into the skin. Typically this method is used on large pieces with many layers and minute details.

(source)

Throughout most of the country's history, tattoos have been reserved almost exclusively for members of the Yakuza, an elusive Japanese mafia. Members would show their allegiance by covering themselves in entire body suits, typically cut off right before they reach the wrists and ankles. These body suits depicted mostly traditional Japanese imagery- dragons, lilies and blossoms, koi, samurai, etc. 

"...ladies." (image source)

Because tebori is done by a hand using individual strokes, the process takes much longer and is considerably more painful than a traditional western electric machine. I have a hard enough time with the electric machine covering most of my body that only in another life would I have the capacity to do a body suit in tebori style. But in that life, my suit would be awesome.

miss broadbent herself

The title of this blog is 'Little Betty Broadbent,' and for good reason. She was exquisite. Covered in 565 different tattoos by the end of her career, she was the ultimate Tattooed Lady. 

source

Betty began her love affair with tattoos when she was 14 years old. Within a handful of years she had a full bodysuit and a job with the Ringling Brothers Circus. She travelled the world with various sideshows and occasionally tattooed people herself. 

This is a woman to whom I am eternally grateful. She was beautiful, talented, and of course way ballsy. In a move of total badassery and an effort to challenge the traditional idea of beauty, Betty entered a beauty contest during a World Fair in the 1930s. In a time when tattoos were reserved almost exclusively for sailors and vagabonds, she was undeniable beautiful. Although she didn't win the pageant, she played a major role in paving the way for future tattooed ladies to be seen for living art pieces they are. 

In the 1930s, and still today for the most part, tattooing was a boys' club. Betty was one of very few women to initially enter that world, and it all paid off when she was the first person, not just woman, to be inducted into the Tattoo Hall of Fame in 1981, sixteen years after her retirement and two years before her death.
When asked about her countless hours under the needle, Ms. Broadbent is quoted as saying “It hurt something awful, but it was was worth it.”

it sure was (source)

Acceptance

The purpose of this blog is largely educational. We are learning about a historical mo vement, an art form, a whole culture. We are discussing various styles and methods of tattooing, simply for the sake of understanding another part of the world around us. Today, however, I want to bump a post up a few weeks and talk about tattoo acceptance, something I've had reason to think about recently and would like to share with my reader(s).
"A tattoo is forever!"
"Aren't you a little too young to be making a decision like this?"
"What happens when you're 40 and you regret all your tattoos?"
I feel like tearing out your jugular when you ask me these questions. Is that harsh? Is that any harder for you to hear than it is for me when you are blatantly disrespectful about decisions I've made for my life? It's my life, by the way. It's my body to "defile". When you, a perfect stranger to the goings on of my own mind, treat me like I don't know what I'm doing, I wonder if you should be questioning yourself, not me.
What happens when you're 40 and you're tired of the husband you picked out at 19? What if, halfway through college, your area of study no longer interests you? What if somebody treated your passion like a passing fancy, something you will later regret?
Talk to me about my tattoos the way you would any other aspect of my life. They are, for as much as I love and talk about them, such a small part of who I am. I also work hard at my job, I'm a completely faithful partner in my relationship, I have about 500 other hobbies and interests that are just as important to me as tattoos, but get overlooked because there's no controversy about sewing kit collections.

"Uh I think you have a little something on your back there.."

I started on a back piece this week. A real life dream come true- I am officially tattooed on more parts of my body than not. I don't think that has changed anything else about me. I am still trusted as a nanny to take good care of small children. I still pay my bills on time. I'm still human. Treat me as such.

American Traditional Tattoos pt. 1 featuring Bert Grimm

Traditional tattoos refer to a certain style of tattooing once popular among sailors and sideshow performers in the early 1900s. These simple designs typically consisted of bold black outlines and a limited color scheme - red, green, the occasional blue or yellow. Designs were kept basic so artists could cover more space in less time.
I mentioned in last week's post that the invention of the electric tattoo machine made quick work of tattooing, leading to an increased number of people getting tattooed. Today we'll discuss one of the legendary traditional artists, Bert Grimm, and his role in American tattoo history.

(source)

Bert began tattooing professionally in 1912, and during the next several decades earned himself a reputation as one of the best. Often referred to as one of the fathers of modern tattooing, Bert's traditional designs are in use today. He is known not only for his own work but for the work of his protege, Bob Shaw, who later became perhaps more renowned than Bert himself. Bert's shop on the Pike, an amusement park in Long Beach, California, became a regular attractions for other future tattoo pioneers- Ed Hardy, who gained notoriety even outside the tattoo community for his traditional designs. 

Bob Shaw (via tumblr)

The initial point of traditional tattoo designs was to get as many done in as little time as possible. This allowed the artist to work on more clients, and the clients to finish the painful process quickly. And it is a painful process. 

I joined the throngs of young people getting tattooed in April 2010. Because my father's family hails from Germany, and because it was the first thing I could think of, I decided to tattoo "liebe," German for "love" on the back of my arm. I found a cheap shop and an artist who could fit me in right away. One half hour and approximately 300 curse words later, I was tattooed! 

The designs and methods practiced by Bert Grimm and his contemporaries a century ago have recently increased in popularity among young people today. Next week we will look at the contrast between tattoo acceptance then and now, and discuss the evolution of traditional designs. 

Until next week.

A World Tradition

The practice of tattooing is about as old as humans themselves. In 1993, the tattooed body of a Siberian woman known as the Ukok princess was discovered roughly 2,500 years after her death. Almost perfectly preserved, she is one of the oldest known examples of early tattoos.
Fast forward a handful of centuries and we are still tattooing today, and although methods and motives have certainly changed, much remains the same. Our Ukok princess wore sleeves depicting various creatures and symbols representing her stages in life and her social status. I write to you now with my own arms covered in more or less the same things, for more or less the same reasons.

above: my tattooed shoulder

below: the tattooed shoulder of the Ukok princess (source)

From the days of the Siberian princess to present times, different societies have adopted tattoos into their own cultures. The Japanese mafia, known as the Yakuza, wear full body suits as a symbol of their lifelong commitment to the organization. Maori tribesmen in New Zealand use a hammer and chisel method called 'moka' to tattoo the marks of a warrior.
The invention of the electric tattoo machine in 1891 brought a surge of young men in arms covering themselves with military insignias, lovers' names, and countless other now-iconic images symbolizing the good, the bad, the highs and the lows of life.

Percy Waters, 1933 (source)

It is these traditional American tattoos that initially sparked my passion. As a tiny girl I saw my grandfather's friends with their anchors and flags, their tributes to women loved and lost, their bodies-turned-road-maps of their young lives. My already-rebellious little mind fell in love and a lifelong obsession began.
I got my first tattoo at, of course, age 18. I am now 22 years old, straddling the line between "tattooed" and "heavily tattooed." Constantly met with opposition from parents, friends, and complete strangers, my passion remains strong.
To an outsider, tattoos often represent only rebellion and the poor decisions made in one's youth. My hope in writing this blog is to open those tightly closed eyes and reveal just how much more there is to this world. Tattooing links together people who are otherwise so wildly different. It is an increasingly popular medium in which to create and appreciate art. It is a record of history.
Together we will learn about the various subcultures mentioned above, as well as important individuals in tattoo history and so much more. Join me next week, when I will tell you all about my first time under the needle and we will delve further into the history of traditional American tattoos.
Stay tuned!