Tesseracts

Just got this! First tattoo!
Another photo.

I thought Junii had (to me)the most inspiring lecture. She may have struggled through some English but every story or idea she was talking about rang true regardless of gender. She well deserved the ovation if anyone were to get one. Chasing dreams is part of what makes us interesting people and keeps out spirits alive. I can relate to the same experience of chasing a dream to be doing what I love to do and how the realization of the dream has made me a happier person in general.
Chris's was really interesting and well put together. Both of those were my favorites. I have always been a huge fan of Chaz esp what he's been doing the last few years style-wise but it (again in my opinion) wasn't a lecture that truly fit in with the rest of what the exhibit was about.
^@moisttowelette that's a super awesome page you got there. I would've liked to get the catalogs I picked up signed (sorry Ross) but I had been sitting in one seat for 4 straight hours with only a roti and coffee for substance for the whole day. I was ready to eat my hand by the time 5 o'clock rolled around. Skipping the signing turned out to be a blessing; while everyone else was inside lining up for the signing I had the chance to have a lengthy conversation with one of the people that inspired me to chase MY dreams. This guy did more for American tattooing than anyone else arguably more so than Jerry even if he wouldn't accept that honor. He continues to inspire me every single day.
Thanks Ed, for everything you've done for us.

What I didn't know before is that he gets a fair amount of his prints done in a town reallllly close to my house, right down from a mountain where I take daily morning hikes. He said he'd be glad to stop down to our shop next time he's in town.
edit: after reading it just now I had to include a quote from a link I found in a different thread "Without Hardy, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Horiyoshi III told The Japan Times in a recent interview."

The Japan Times has a long-ish article about the history of foreign-Japanese tattooing relations: Loved abroad, hated at home: the art of Japanese tattooing | The Japan Times
It takes the Perseverance show as its jump off point and then looks at how international and Japanese attitudes towards tattoos have often been so different.
There are some quotes from Japanese American National Museum's top - plus Horiyoshi III gets a mention and Don Ed Hardy.
As a side-bar, there are also some interviews with Tokyo residents about their tattoos and a nice piece by Shige: Tokyo: What's the story behind your tattoo? | The Japan Times
Happy reading!

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

SeeSea, it's on my leg. It's hard for me to walk, I just kind of limp around, haha.

@Tesseracts - what sucks, maybe you're getting this, is a tattoo on your torso or some part that moves/jiggles at all when you walk or climb stairs. The side of my back is screaming every time I go down the stairs. I'm working on that elevator move where you can go up and down the stairs without bouncing and it looks like you are riding up and down an elevator, LOL. Sucks. Just had to soak out of my T-shirt in the shower this morning. Itching hasn't really started yet :-(

@Tesseracts tattoos hurt in the healing process. all is normal.

Five hours total for your first tattoo strikes me as pretty badass, whether you "handled it well" or not. Congratulations on an excellent tattoo!

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

It was pretty uncomfortable, but not terrible. I was nervous but everyone at the convention was really cool. Unfortunately now it is dripping and I don't know why.Yep, first ever. I did my research, and yes it's tebori.Awesome, I can't complain about more opportunities to show people how cool it is.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

yeah nothing to worry about you will have some ink mixing with body fluids. This usually last like a day or so. Totally normal!
- - - Updated - - -
maybe it is caused by too much ointment .. keep the plastic on for only a day. When you start switching to lotion don't over do it. Less is more.

Everyone freaks out about the healing of their first tattoo. The dripping is just plasma from the tattooed area that is carrying excess ink away. After that it will dry out and you'll notice a softening of the tattoo colors.

I wouldn't worry about it - leave it alone, do not put too much ointment on it (should seem like you are barely putting any on), do not re-wrap with plastic wrap, above all: do not freak out - what you are experiencing looks/sounds totally normal for the first couple of days.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Great write-up, @Tesseracts . Thanks for posting.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Yep, this was all at the NYC con. I emailed him and told him I would like a nine tailed fox and I like this drawing, and he told me to come in Saturday.Horimitsu seems like a nice guy. He shook my hand when I arrived and left. He doesn't speak English well so sometimes I had to say things twice, but I was able to get across what I wanted. I asked if I should get it on my upper arm or lower leg. He looked at both and decided my leg would be easier. He enlarged the drawing with a photocopier when I asked him to. He knew what I meant when I told him I wanted it yellow but not too yellow. At the same time he also exercised his own judgement, which I'm grateful for because he knows his stuff. For example he told me blue wasn't a good color for the fox's eyes when I suggested it.
I watched him draw, he was really careful, precise and focused. When he was done I saw him count the tails to double check and make sure there are really nine of them. I was planning to ask him if I could keep the drawing when I was done, but by the time it was done I totally forgot. I guess it doesn't matter though, because I have the same drawing on my leg for the rest of my life.
I wasn't good at handling the pain, especially for the first couple hours. I probably moved way too much. I'm glad all the lines came out non-shaky despite that. It took 5 hours total including a few breaks. One of the guys working there (don't remember his name, sorry) gave me a rice dumpling during one of my breaks because there wasn't any food for sale at the con. The food helps with the pain. He also got me a Twix when I was done. He also answered some questions I had and even brought me my ipod so I wouldn't have to interrupt Mitsu to get it myself.
There were a lot of people gathered around the booth watching me get the tattoo. I thought that would bother me because I'm a shy person in general, but I was so distracted by the pain I didn't care at all. Also the tattoo is so great I kind of wanted everyone to see it. I chatted a bit with the guys getting tattooed by Shunho right next to me, and some other people. There's kind of a sense of comradery in the place because we're all interested in tattoos, which is cool. I left shortly after it was done though because I was pretty tired.
So, overall, Horimitsu is a nice guy and the experience was great.

Just got this! First tattoo!
Another photo.

Just got this! First tattoo!
Another photo.