Japanese Tattoos
in Los Angeles

Here's a selection of my Japanese-inspired work, from traditional motifs to more modern compositions. Some pieces are built around bold color, others around black and grey, contrast, and fine detail.

I prefer showing the actual tattoos rather than talking too much about them. Have a look and see what catches your eye.

Japanese tattooing really opens up when there's enough room for the composition. A full sleeve gives me space to work with movement, characters, flowers, and background elements without crowding everything together.

The back gives even more freedom. A dragon, geisha, samurai, or another central figure can become the focus of a much larger scene, with waves, clouds, and other details connecting the whole piece.

I also like planning tattoos with the possibility of expanding them later. A sleeve might eventually connect to the chest or back. You don't have to commit to a bodysuit from the beginning, but it's worth thinking ahead so everything can work together if you decide to continue.

My focus is on larger projects rather than small, standalone tattoos. That gives me the space to develop the design properly.

I respect traditional Japanese tattooing, but I don't feel that every design has to follow the old rules exactly.

Sometimes I give a classic character more volume, change the proportions, or mix Japanese imagery with a more realistic approach. It depends on the idea and what works best for the person wearing it.

For larger pieces, I usually prepare the main characters as stencils so I can keep the proportions where I want them. Then I often draw the background, waves, and transitions freehand, directly on the body. That helps everything follow the anatomy instead of looking like a flat drawing wrapped around an arm or a back.

I work in both color and black and grey. Traditional Japanese tattoos are known for strong colors, but a more restrained palette can be just as interesting. I care more about whether the composition works than about following a fixed formula.

First, we talk about your idea.

Send me a few references, tell me what you want to see in the tattoo, and which part of your body you're planning to cover. You don't need to have every detail figured out. We can discuss the characters, the overall direction, and how much space the design needs.

Then we plan the composition.

For Japanese tattoos, placement is a big part of the design. I think about how the main elements will sit on your body, how the background will connect them, and whether the piece might grow into a larger project later.

We work in full-day sessions.

I book full days for large tattoo projects rather than trying to squeeze them into short appointments. A full sleeve or back piece usually takes multiple sessions. How many depends on the size, detail, color, and how the work progresses.

We continue as the tattoo heals.

Large projects come together in stages. Between sessions, your skin needs time to recover. We can then continue with the next part of the composition, adding shading, color, backgrounds, and finishing details as needed.

I want the finished tattoo to look like one complete piece, even if it takes several appointments to get there.

Whether you're thinking about your first full sleeve or a larger piece that connects with tattoos you already have, send me your idea.

I'm always interested in Japanese projects that give me room to draw, experiment, and build something that works with the body.

Let's talk about what you have in mind.