Journal
Dai Yokai Journal
Guides, Japanese folklore, masks and workshop notes.
Hannya mask: meaning, colors and Noh legends
The Hannya mask, a woman transformed into a demon by jealousy, resentment or grief: Noh theater, possible colour meanings, tattoo symboli...
Irezumi: The Secret History of Japanese Tattoos
Dive into the art of Irezumi. From spiritual origins to the Yakuza, see the history, the Tebori technique, and the meaning of traditional...
Hannya tattoo: meaning and irezumi codes
The Hannya tattoo in irezumi: what it really means, the meaning of the colours, the classic combinations, and the composition mistakes to...
Oni Tattoo: What the Demon Mask Really Means in Irezumi
What does an Oni tattoo mean? Color symbolism, the gakubori rule, classic pairings and placements, explained by a Japanese mask maker in...
Japanese tattoo: motifs, meaning and irezumi
Japanese tattooing (irezumi) explained: dragon, Oni, Hannya, koi carp, the role of the gakubori background, the bans and the cost of a bo...
Jorogumo: the Spider-Woman Who Seduces and Devours
The Jorogumo (絡新婦), a 400-year-old spider that turns into a woman to trap men: her legends, the Tsuchigumo, and her role in irezumi tatto...
Tebori: the Japanese hand-tattoo technique, without a machine
Tebori, the Japanese hand-tattoo technique: the nomi tool, bokashi gradients, pain vs machine, the horishi apprenticeship and the cost.