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Japanese requirement for tattoo artists to have medical licenses may be nail in industry’s coffin

Osaka district court ruling says tattooing isn’t art, it’s a medical procedure.

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Model for fashion brand Zara shows off anime tattoos along with stylish tops

Two of the biggest stars of Japanese animation make unexpected appearances in photo shoots.

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Tattooed Japanese woman suing nursing school after being suspended because of her ink

Attorney for single mother says she can’t afford to pay to have her tattoos removed.

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Modern Primitives: New exhibit wonders what Jomon-period tattoos might have looked like【Photos】

The Jomon Tribe project delves into Japan’s prehistoric mystery with a stunning new photographic exhibition.

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Got tattoos, but still want to experience a Japanese hot spring? It’s no problem here!

At this enlightened facility, the management would rather people gaze at Mt. Fuji than worry about their fellow bathers’ body art.

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Japanese freehand tattoo artist’s work ranges from bloody & erotic to delicate & beautiful

Talented freehand tattoo artist combines the unconventional with the traditional.

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Japanese government encouraging hot springs to ease tattoo restrictions

Change could lead to a significant increase in foreign visitors, proponents argue.

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Studio Ghibli tattoos feature our favourites from Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle

We here at RocketNews love Studio Ghibli and its cast of adorable animated characters. We save all our yennies to splurge on licensed merchandise and never miss a chance to visit tourist sites where we might bump into acclaimed semi-retired director Hayao Miyazaki.

One thing we’re yet to do is adorn our bodies with permanent ink tributes to the Ghibli stars. Thankfully, there are fans out there much braver than us who have made the leap, giving us a huge collection of beautiful tattoos for us to sift through. Take a look at 12 of our favourites, from the films My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

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Artist creates unique badass Stormtrooper covered in Japanese tattoos

Recently, we brought you news of the amazing Star Wars Movie Realisation Series of figurines, which have perfectly transformed Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Stormtroopers into awesome-looking samurai warriors.

But if you’re itching for a Japanese-styled Star Wars character of your own, you might want to do what this clever artist did and simply make one yourself. All you’ll need is a plain figure, some coloured pens and a little—make that a lot—of talent and patience.

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Hayao Miyazaki may be retired, but these Studio Ghibli tattoos will last forever 【Photos】

It’s kind of ironic that even though director Hayao Miyazaki regularly expresses his distaste towards obsessive fandom, fans obsess over his films like no one else’s. And it’s not just anime loyalists, either, who find watching his works to be a life-changing experience, since they’ve also won the hearts of millions who just love animation or strong filmmaking in general.

There even seems to be a sizeable overlap between people who admire Miyazaki’s movies and body art. So while the anime legend himself might not personally approve, today we’re taking a look at a collection of impressive Studio Ghibli-inspired tattoos.

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The secret reason why this Pikachu tattoo is one of the best you’ll ever see

Tatts, booze, and Pikachu. It’s not always a combination that goes down well but in this case, it’s given birth to something very special.

Netizens around the world are going crazy for the artwork above, praising the artist for the creative design and commending her for helping a customer out with an embarrassing problem. Can you guess what secret is hidden within the image?

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Japanese man completes tattoo homage to ’80s and ’90s Shonen Jump anime

Japan is known for having an extreme level of distrust and distaste for tattoos, while at the same time churning out some of the most amazing tattoo artwork in the world. There’s no shortage of anime-inspired tattoos either, and we’ve seen everything ranging from Evangelion to Love Live! to Studio Ghibli films.

But perhaps the most impressive belongs to Japanese Twitter user @Sound_mattsun, who last summer showed off the basic outlines of ’80s and ’90s anime tattoos that would fill up his entire back. Now, almost a year later, he’s back with the finished, fully-colored product, and it is truly a sight that would make any Shonen Jump otaku weep with joy.

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Check out these amazing Ghibli-inspired tattoos

It’s no secret that most of us here at RocketNews24 are big fans of Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli movies, though to my knowledge, none of us have yet inked that adoration on our skin. That might be about to change, though, with these amazing Ghibli tattoos to inspire us!

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Epic back-covering otaku tattoo is a veritable who’s who of ’80s and ’90s anime

Earlier this year, we came across a photo of an anime fan in Hong Kong and his back-covering tattoo of his 2-D crush, Love Live’s Nozomi Tojo. Impressive as it was, though, we couldn’t help but be a little concerned over his exact choice of large-scale body art.

While the Love Live franchise has exploded in popularity, with multiple games, anime and manga, the whole thing only got its start in 2012. No matter how much that guy thinks he loves Nozomi-chan now, isn’t it still a little too soon to be making such permanent declarations of his affections?

Wouldn’t it be wiser to wait a few years to make sure his feelings are genuine, like the other otaku who just got his back inked with over a half-dozen of anime’s biggest heroes from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s?

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How not to choose a kanji tattoo: A guide for World Cup footballers

Are you a professional footballer? Are you thinking about getting an exotic-looking tattoo in Japanese or Chinese script? With this year’s World Cup players the most inked in history, it’s no wonder the players keep taking their shirts off to show off their skin. Today, we bring you a guide to getting inked as a World Cup footballer – or to be more accurate, a guide to what not to do.

Greek footballer Theofanis “Fanis” Gekas, who has been attracting online attention in Japan recently for his unusual Chinese(ish) tattoo, isn’t the only World Cup player with some not-entirely-accurate ink on his arms. Join us after the jump for photographic evidence of what your mother (should’ve) told you: “If you can’t read it, don’t get it permanently etched onto your skin.”

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