The ready-made ink sold for use with tattoo machines is like that – it’s designed to stay put where it’s inserted, without running or bleeding. Photo: MICHAEL CROMMETT. Photo: MICHAEL CROMMETT. Photo: MICHAEL CROMMETT. Photo: Michael Crommett. The artisans who carved the blocks for ukiyo-e masters like Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige were highly skilled carvers, able to produce amazingly fine lines. He appears in the opening scene of the VICE film Horimono: Japan’s Tattoo Pilgrimage, co-directed by David Caprara and Kira Dane, and is a member of the Choyukai, the group the film follows on their holy mountain pilgrimage. So the term wabori (Japanese tattoo) was coined at that time to distinguish traditional Japanese tattoos from Western-style tattoos. But strictly speaking, irezumi refers only to a very specific type of tattooing that was done long ago on criminals. Even if you spill water on them. When complete, it covers the back and shoulders, and extends around to the chest and arms, and down the buttocks and legs. Tell us about your tools. VICE World News: You work exclusively by hand, eschewing tattoo machines. Horiuno’s work was carried on by his son, Horiuno II, and then for one more generation by Horiuno III, and their customers continued the traditions of the Choyukai. Think first about watercolors, which I’m sure you used when you were a schoolchild. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. Is that the same ink that’s used by calligraphers and in traditional ink painting? The ink comes in solid form, as a stick, and you have to rub it on an inkstone with water to prepare your ink just before you start tattooing. The word used for that kind of tattoo, at that time, was horimono. COMPLETING A HORIMONO TATTOO REQUIRES DOZENS OF SESSIONS OVER MANY MONTHS. Photo: MICHAEL CROMMETT, As an interesting aside, some scholars believe that many of the early horimono tattoos were created by the very artisans who carved the blocks for making woodblock prints, moonlighting in their spare time. And the word for a woodblock carver, horishi, is the same term used for a tattoo artist. But it’s all one, unified design. And ordering is easy. But about seven years ago, I switched to tebori tattooing. I like the softer effect that results. I have been very influenced by the designs of Horiuno (1843-1927), a very famous tattoo artist who lived and worked around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately there is very little information available about the tools used in the old days, when horimono tattoos first developed. Do you have to adapt an ukiyo-e design to make it work as a tattoo? Most of your work is the so-called horimono tattoos. Horihiro: I don’t have anything against tattoo machines. HORIHIRO EXAMINES A PHOTOGRAPH OF A CHOYUKAI PILGRIMAGE MADE MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY AGO. She is very professionaMore », Eri was amazing both in communicating and delivery. You also have to simplify the design because there’s no way to achieve the same level of detail in a tattoo. We do have some old books of tattoo designs but nothing about tools, and the tools themselves didn’t survive. At its most basic, a horimono is taking a design from the Japanese woodblock tradition – ukiyo-e prints – and applying it to your back. Photo: Michael Crommett. But in tebori, we insert the needles at a pretty steep slant relative to the skin, so it goes in at an angle. I had some doubt about the names and the way the were pronounceMore », I could not be more thrilled and in awe of the beautiful work you've done on both the scroll and the Kiri box.