Tattoo in Japan (Illustrated) (HC) (Hardcover) I've been collecting books on Japanese tattooing since 1988, when the book of the same name was first published in hardcover. Since then I've collected almost every book on the subject, at least all of the ones available on Amazon, save one.
Every one of these books approach the subject from a different perspective, either heavy on text or photos, but I've have'nt gotten a bad one yet.
Having said all that, this one, from a purely visual perspective, is the absolute best one yet. Really stunning photography and the sheer pleasure of owning a massive book of this quality-- both of content and actual quality of the physical book itself-- even the pages are thicker than most.
It covers both traditional japanese and modern western influenced tattooing. In the other volumes I own, The tradional work is always technically flawless. but what fascinated me were several pages of backpieces that were NOT technically flawless--- Shaky lines, faded color and just plain bad drawing and layout. Wow, the old artists are not ALL super genius's!
worth it. Obviously, it's expensive, but worth it. I wish I could afford the 3 volume black and white set from the same publisher!
Every one of these books approach the subject from a different perspective, either heavy on text or photos, but I've have'nt gotten a bad one yet.
Having said all that, this one, from a purely visual perspective, is the absolute best one yet. Really stunning photography and the sheer pleasure of owning a massive book of this quality-- both of content and actual quality of the physical book itself-- even the pages are thicker than most.
It covers both traditional japanese and modern western influenced tattooing. In the other volumes I own, The tradional work is always technically flawless. but what fascinated me were several pages of backpieces that were NOT technically flawless--- Shaky lines, faded color and just plain bad drawing and layout. Wow, the old artists are not ALL super genius's!
worth it. Obviously, it's expensive, but worth it. I wish I could afford the 3 volume black and white set from the same publisher!
