Japanese tattoo ideas

839 photos and flash · Upper arm most common

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Painted flash design of a white spirit wolf with red flowing lines, black leaves and swirls on kraft paper, in a Japanese-inspired style.
White spirit wolf with red wind lines
Colour tattoo of a maneki-neko lucky cat holding a coin with script lettering, in a Japanese style, on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Maneki-neko lucky cat on upper back
Colour tattoo of a kokeshi-style doll in a red kimono with cherry blossoms, in a Japanese style, on the outer forearm.
Kokeshi doll with cherry blossom kimono on forearm
Black and grey back tattoo in a Japanese style, with a central lotus flower, a moth, a serpent and swirling clouds across the full back.
Full back piece with lotus and moth
Full back tattoo in bright colour showing a large white cat with a blue and red rose, surrounded by flowers and skulls, in a Japanese and neo-traditional style.
Cat, roses and skulls across a back
Black ink line drawing of a geisha with a flower hair ornament leaning in to kiss a figure with short hair, in a Japanese-influenced style, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Geisha and figure embrace flash design
Colourful Japanese-style tattoo of a green dragon and an orange and blue koi fish wrapped around a black and white yin yang symbol, shown on skin.
Dragon and koi yin yang tattoo
Full back Japanese style tattoo of a woman in a patterned robe among chrysanthemums and flames, in black and grey ink, across the upper and mid back.
Japanese back piece with woman and flames
Realistic tattoo design of a geisha holding a katana, surrounded by pink cherry blossoms and butterflies, with grey shading in a Japanese theme.
Geisha with katana and cherry blossoms
Colourful Japanese-style peony sleeve tattoo with pink petals, green leaves and dark clouds, wrapping the upper arm and shoulder.
Pink peonies and leaves on an upper arm
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of a sleeping black and white cat wrapped in pink peonies and green leaves on the upper arm.
Sleeping cat with peonies on an upper arm
Small red and black koi fish tattoos swim diagonally across the back of a hand that holds a brass lantern charm.
Red and black koi tattoos across the back of a hand
A tattooist in blue gloves uses a machine to work on a colourful Japanese-style koi fish and wave tattoo on a forearm.
Koi fish tattoo being inked on an arm
Three views of a large Japanese style rooster tattoo with long tail feathers and a teal peony on a thigh and leg.
Rooster and peony down a leg
Black and grey Japanese style dragon with red and white cherry blossoms tattooed along the side of the ribs.
Dragon and cherry blossoms on ribs
A full arm sleeve in Japanese style, with black ground, grey wind-swept clouds, red cherry blossoms and a pink geometric cube pattern across the upper arm, shown from several angles.
Japanese cloud and blossom arm sleeve
Black and grey Buddha face with pink blossoms, a pagoda and a coloured lotus across an upper arm, in a Japanese style sleeve.
Buddha face, pagoda and lotus upper arm sleeve
Colour tattoo of a stylised wave curling inside a circle, in blues, teal and green with black outlines, on the inner forearm.
Stylised wave in a circle on a forearm
Black line drawing of a fluffy kitten with a bow and a ball of yarn, framed by swirling cloud motifs, shown as a tattoo design on paper.
Kitten with a ball of yarn and bow
Colourful Japanese-style peony and mountain tattoo on a thigh, with partial lettering, beside a tea box on a white rug.
Peony and mountain thigh tattoo
Large red chrysanthemum tattoo with dark green leaves in a Japanese style, placed on the side of the ribs.
Red chrysanthemum with leaves on the side
Back of a woman showing a colourful Japanese style back piece of cherry blossom and flowers, with a green snake sleeve on the arm and a woman portrait tattoo on the upper arm.
Japanese back piece with cherry blossom and arm sleeve
Diptych of a Japanese style colour tattoo on a lower leg, showing a black and grey cat with teal eyes wrapped around a blue and orange dragon with swirling cloud motifs.
Cat and dragon tattoo on a lower leg
Black line drawing of a Japanese-style koi fish swimming among lotus flowers and swirling waves, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Koi fish with lotus flowers and waves
Black linework flash drawing of a Japanese-style dragon coiling among peony, cherry blossom, wave and cloud motifs, with no body placement shown.
Japanese dragon with peonies and cherry blossoms
Colour Japanese style sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, showing a gold snake with an open mouth among blue peonies, pink flowers and grey clouds.
Japanese snake and peony sleeve on upper arm
Black and grey geisha portrait tattoo with a flower hair ornament on the back of a hand, with smoky swirling shading on the forearm above.
Geisha portrait tattoo on the back of a hand
Pencil sketch of a koi fish swimming upward past two open blossoms and a bud on a thin branch, a Japanese and botanical tattoo design.
Koi fish with blossoms sketch
Japanese style tattoos on a pair of thighs, with a black linework dragon and flower on the left and a shaded black and grey tiger with maple leaves on the right.
Tiger and dragon tattoos on both thighs
Colour tattoo of a white cat with black markings curled on a crescent, beneath a katana, with teal flames and pink petals, on the forearm.
White cat with katana on a forearm
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of a maneki-neko lucky cat with cherry blossom flowers and petals, shown on the lower leg in two side-by-side photos.
Maneki-neko lucky cat with cherry blossom
Japanese style flash drawing of a black and grey snake coiled around two blue peonies, with a small skull in grass at lower left.
Snake and peony flash design
Black and grey koi fish tattoo arranged in a yin yang circle on the calf, with fine scale shading.
Koi fish yin yang on a lower leg
Woman seen from behind with a large Japanese-style dragon tattoo in grey and gold tones across her back, with a tribal armband on her upper arm.
Dragon tattoo across a woman's back
Pencil sketch of a smiling shiba inu wearing a conical straw hat, with a sword, a moon, drifting petals and grass, designed as a Japanese-style tattoo.
Smiling shiba samurai in a straw hat
Large grey phoenix tattoo with long flowing tail feathers across a woman's back, with a small star and a small character tattoo nearby.
Phoenix tattoo across a woman's back
Four-panel collage of tattoos: a cat with a skull and lotus in traditional colour, a cat with a red daruma doll in traditional colour, a black and grey Japanese lion on a back, and a black and grey
Four cat and Japanese motif tattoos
Overhead view of a seated person with hands on their knees, showing a Japanese-style red flower tattoo on one forearm and a black and grey cloud design on the other.
Japanese-style forearm tattoos seen from above
Colour Japanese-style tattoo of an orange koi carp, purple lotus flowers and grey waves across a person's back.
Koi and lotus on a back
Blue and black tattoo of Hokusai's Great Wave inside a golden ratio spiral grid, on the inner forearm.
Great Wave with golden ratio grid on forearm
Black and grey dolphin tattoo with splashing waves on the outer thigh, in a Japanese-inspired style.
Dolphin and waves on the thigh
Black and grey floral sleeve tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder of a shirtless man seen from behind in a gym.
Floral sleeve on a shirtless man seen from behind
Black and grey Japanese style flash drawing of a hannya demon mask with lotus flowers and swirling wave motifs.
Hannya mask with lotus and waves
Small blue and black wave tattoo in a Japanese style on the centre of a chest, shown above an open zipped dark jacket.
Blue wave on the chest
Woman seen from behind with a colourful Japanese style koi and wave tattoo covering her back and left arm, against a dark red studio backdrop.
Full back Japanese koi and wave tattoo
Colour tattoo of a red lily with black and grey smoke-like swirls on the side of a person's ribs, in a realistic and Japanese-influenced style.
Red lily with smoke swirls on ribs
Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a white masked face surrounded by peony flowers on the upper arm, with small red charms on the left.
White mask with flowers on upper arm
Black and grey full arm sleeve tattoo on the upper arm and forearm, showing a sailing ship among clouds and peony flowers in a Japanese style.
Black and grey clouds and ship sleeve on an arm