The Evolution of Asian Tattoo Art
Early History
The origin of the western symbols dates back as far as the 2nd millennium BCE, to the Babylonians and Assyrians, then spread throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The Chinese astrological signs must not be confused with the western symbols and interpretations as they are both very different.
Body tattooing and especially Astrological Tattoos has been practiced all around the world from the beginning of man. They were a symbol of someone's accomplishments and their bravery. In the beginning women were tattooed to show the symbol of their tribe and many other things that the tribe believed in, such as their favorite god, or fertility rites. The Chinese astrological signs are still very popular as astrological tattoos for many cultures, not only the Chinese. The earliest practice of tattooing dates back as far as the Otzi the Iceman, who was frozen in an ice storm in the 4th millennium BC. He had 57 tattoos on his body.
Many Westerners are split between the Western form of Astrological Tattoos and the Eastern form. The westerners that believe in the Chinese Astrological Signs form say that the cycles fit their personnel lives more accurately. However, the other half of the westerners believe in the zodiac signs. Astrological Tattoos are a permanent marking on humans that have a great significance for an individual. They are not only decorative, but usually depicts some aspect of someone's admiration.
No matter which type of Astrological Tattoos you get , if it be the Chinese Astrological Signs or a Western, you want to make sure that you practice good hygiene and keep the new tattoo clean at all times. This will help keep away infections and soreness that follows having a new tattoo.
If you are interested in getting a tattoo but do not know what sort of design you want, then you can't go wrong having Astrological Tattoos.
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Overview – The Kanji Tattoos :
Kanji dates back to between 17,000 and 11,000 BC. It was found that the Kanji tattoos were first made on animal bones. The Japanese adopted the Kanji characters from the Chinese, and because of its mysterious shapes, the modern tattoo artists have adopted Kanji as a form of art. The variety of tattoo designs are mostly found in Japan and China where tattoos depict objects, such as, living being, quaint gothic creature, dragon or some exceptional scenes. These tattoos not only reflect beautiful designs, but the people wearing these believe that they are protected from any of the evil forces having effect on them.
Kanji is a set of characters which are used in the Japanese character set, and is said to have their origin from ancient China. The characters adopted by the Japanese had undergone modifications in many ways before it was introduced in the Japanese writing system. There have been changes as drastic as in their forms, meanings, and even pronunciation, representing things and customs belonging to the Japanese. The Japanese form of Kanji tattoos appear to be more popular than the Chinese ones. People seem to choose the Japanese form of Kanji tattoos simply because it has more appeal than the Chinese ones.
What is Japanese Kanji?
The Japanese Kanji is a set of characters which are ideographic alphabets representing concepts and ideas. These Japanese characters have distinctive difference with alphabets found in English language featuring form, sound, and meaning, and for this most of the western tattoo enthusiasts are attracted towards Japanese Kanji symbols. The pronunciations of the Japanese Kanji symbols vary in more than two ways, and it becomes confusing for a non-native person to pronounce the characters as it should be.
There are approximately 50,000 Kanji characters and not all need to be remembered to read Newspapers and magazines. It is sufficient to memorize atleast 2,000 of Kanji characters, but it is essential that one also have the knowledge of both Katakana and Hiragana to fully understand what is written. When the word Kanji is translated it literally means "Han's characters", which is the name given to a form of scripts in Japanese language.
The flowing shapes and its mysterious symbols have made Kanji ideal for tattoos in the Western world, and people would like to wear those Kanji symbols which are easily recognized. The others would wear the ones which may not be understood, but would be nice to look at.After changing his name from Har Parkash to Guinness Rishi, in order to show his commitment to setting Guinness records, this Indian daredevil wants to cover his body with 220 flag tattoos.
67-year-old Guinness Rishi constantly tries to make his family and the entire Indian people by constantly setting new records. He previously became father of the world’s oldest adoptee, after taking custody of his 61-year-old brother-in-law, and built the tallest sugar-cube tower in the world, which stood at 64 inches.
Now, Guinness Rishi wants to become a human flag pole, by tattooing 220 national flags on his body. He has started his effort at the top of his head, continued with his face, got a map of the world on his stomach, and plans to get his privates tattooed as well. He just hasn’t decided what he’s going to put down there. Rishi’s efforts began in 2009 and he plans to fulfill his dream in three years time, but by the looks of things, he just might finish ahead of schedule.