Now i know tattoos are sometimes frowned upon (and sometimes rightly so), but nowhere near as much as they used to be infact their history is quite amazing... (and im a great lover of tradition).
At 15 I got my first tattoo an eagle on my back, and honestly i was WAY too young to really have made any kind of mature decision, thankfully i didnt get anything novelty that would now look stupid. Since then I have quite a few more and they are not deep in meaning at all. I just feel that when i get something on me for the rest of my life that it must be 'worthwhile' and have a meaning of some sort, i must have put mature thought into the decision basically.
I decided recently to get a Japanese Dragon on my right arm/chest/back. The reason for this is that Japanese tattoos are very popular due to the history that surrounds them. They were normally symbols that you were part of the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) but have since become a symbol of tattoo tradition. I like the way that the piece of art is symbolic of change in opinion, now tattoos are pretty mainstream (thanks to the tv shows mainly) they have evolved into something completely different.
Tattoos were used for a number of reasons...
- Tribal tattoos were used by polynesian warriors to scare the enemy and symbolise the story of their life.
- Criminals and sailors in europe were the first to get tattooed. This is where you may have seen the 'swallow' or the 'anchor' as they are extremely traditional.
- In Africa people get tattooed as a coming of age and some even get Scarred with a blade to resemble to mark of a 'crocodile'.
Originally it was a sign of you being a criminal now most young adults are getting them as a kind of right of passage. I find this so fascinating and quite relevant to what we are studying, its so interesting how something that is permenant can be 'bad' and then over time with exposure can become something that is so mainstream most parents are tattooed.
For a link on criminal tattoo's click HERE
For a link on how to read into criminal tattoos click HERE
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