Brave Samurai Tattoo Designs & Meanings

Want some ideas for a samurai tattoo? Don’t miss these designs and the meanings behind them.

In ancient Japan, the term “Samurai” refers to a specific social class of citizens who were often called the “men of arms” and in those days they were meant to give defense to the high ranking nobles.

In what was a matter of respect for them, these warriors were courageous and valiant and fought wars. Special weapons like sabers, wakizashi, and katanas were held by them.

In addition to playing a central role in Japanese history, Samurais are still respected in the form of Japanese Samurai tattoo art, with special styles honoring the Samurais’ honor and bravery.

Not only in Japan, but also in Asia and other parts of the world, where people admire Samurai designs for their grace and honor, these unique tattoos have become extremely common.

These are very eye-catching tattoos because they have a lot of imagery and use plenty of bright colors.

In addition, relative to traditional tattoos, they are greater in scale as the complex detail can only be accurately expressed in larger tattoos spanning a broader surface area.

One type of body art that is becoming more and more popular throughout the world is samurai art. This intensely beautiful body art is engraved on their bodies by both male and female tattoo lovers.

In Japanese culture, such body adornment played a very important role, particularly during ancient times.

For these unique warriors in Japan during Medieval times, samurai was the general term used. These warriors were the ones who were charged with defending ancient Japan’s very important citizens.

Such a place could easily be reached, however. Before you could become one, you had to be the son of a samurai, or you could only get married in the samurai tradition.

Samurai Tattoo Meanings

Not only can Samurai body art boost your physical appearance, but it also lets you develop a very interesting personality. More and more individuals, particularly your very unique personality, will become curious about you.

Here are some of the meanings and symbolism that you must know about this type of body art:

Honor – One very critical thing that the samurai symbolizes is honour. What is the reasoning for this? Ok, it is simply that it was a great honor for those ancient Japanese people to be one of the samurais in ancient Japan. That was the biggest reason why many Japanese have done their best in recent years only to become a member of those elite Japanese warriors.
Respect – Just in case you don’t remember, there was tremendous admiration for these elite warriors for the ordinary Japanese people. By their courage and dutiful disposition, the Samurais were remembered. It is shocking, for this cause, that the samurai arts still demand reverence to this day.
Service – In ancient Japan, becoming a samurai was simply more of a service than an accomplishment. When they were highly esteemed samurai, these elite fighters never became vain or boastful. Instead, they concentrated their efforts on successfully serving their masters.
Bravery – Another significant thing that samurai art reflects is courage. When defending those Japanese nobles, they never cared that their lives could be put in danger.
Loyalty – It was understood that the Samurais were deeply obedient to their masters. The ancient Japanese nobles whom they represented still preceded them. Only to defend their privileged leaders, they were more than ready to die.

Samurai tattoo designs

If you are considering tattooing with samurai arts, then you should be very glad to know that these body adornments will give you a lot of choices when it comes to designing.

Many of these projects are guaranteed to be very beautiful. You may assume that only plain samurai depictions of arms and armour are involved in these tattoos, but there’s a lot more to it. Here is a fast run-through of what is being offered:

Samurai Weapon Design – In the 15th century, when defending ancient Japanese nobles, the ancient Japanese samurais already used firearms. Even so, because of their extremely sharp and beautifully crafted Japanese swords, you should know that samurais are very famous. If you are one of those people in the world who are captivated by these Japanese swords, it would be a perfect way to commemorate this by getting a samurai gun tattoo.
Women Samurai Design – If you were married to a samurai male, then you will become a samurai woman immediately. This is something you will not be able to change in the years ahead. If you weren’t ready for a samurai woman’s obligations, then you wouldn’t dare to marry a samurai man. This unique style is preferred by many really courageous women tattoo lovers around the country.
Samurai Armor Design – The samurai armor style is another design worth considering. It was known to Samurais that they had a very robust and heavy armor, which was very intricately detailed. This style is a popular choice among male tattoo lovers around the world because it symbolizes masculinity.
Samurai in Full Regalia Design – The samurai in full regalia is the most common style. This model portrays a samurai who is prepared to do his noble duties and protect the dignity of his masters.

Procedure

Modern samurai tattoos come from Japan and use a special technique that is a little different from the techniques used in conventional tattoo art to make them.

Irezumi is the standard Japanese procedure used to create body tattoos, and refers to the injection of tattoo ink onto the tattoo bearer’s body.

Although modern tattoo art uses sophisticated inking tattoo devices, the traditional Japanese Samurai arts are practiced using Tebori’s old-fashioned technique. The Tebori process utilizes bamboo sticks with lined needles to manufacture these tattoos.

The strategy is much more painful than the automatic solution and the weak-hearted need not try it out. While both male and female tattoo lovers are a complicated and painful operation, they are not dissuaded from typical samurai designs being performed on themselves.

When done on large surface areas, such as the back, stomach, thigh, and the whole sleeve or whole leg, these tattoos look beautiful, which can be used to feature a whole story relating to the life of a Samurai warrior, such as a battle against an opponent, an animal, or a noble or a woman’s protection.

The nature of the tattoo should be closely considered when one chooses to have Samurai art inked on themselves, along with its symbolic significance, as it entails a great deal of cost and discomfort to have such a tattoo done.

Often, since these tattoos are massive in scale and very detailed, only an expert artist can be able to deliver Samurai tattoo designs.

The Samurais hold a place of honor in Japan as the elite warrior class, and were recognized for their unique code of conduct called the bushido, literally translated as the warriors’ way.

As part of the life of a samurai warrior, the code describes seven core virtues, including bravery, compassion, honor, fidelity, integrity, rectitude and politeness, all of which are an important part of the Samurai identity.

They worked on developing their bodies and minds so that they could do their duties well. The Samurai is intended to transcend the fear of death, to live life to the fullest.

Also bound by the same code was a woman who married a Samurai warrior and was expected to integrate all the virtues of the code in her life. They were wearing armour bearing elaborate patterns that served as a show of strength.

They are also seen wearing beautiful helmets and masks and using skulls, which indicate that they were fearless against death. Along with their arms, these designs often show them and signify courage, strength, and power.

These tattoos are masculine and reflect the Samurai’s duty to serve and defend the aristocracy and upper class, because of which they command in society a great deal of reverence and honor.

Men favour them more, but even women may get them inked. The key purpose of art in the Japanese samurai style is to reflect the dignity and reverence of the family, history, custom, and the bushido’s unique code of conduct.

These tattoos symbolically remind the bearer of items that are sacred to the Samurais and integrate them all into their lives.

As well as the fantastic aesthetic appeal, the symbolic sense makes them an outstanding alternative for tattoo enthusiasts who are looking for something new from the traditional roses, arrows, anchors, hearts and tribal designs to adorn their bodies.

The emblem of yin and yang, which complement each other as a single complete whole, is another prominent design feature commonly used in Samurai designs.

Other common designs include other artifacts such as the Fuji Mountain, koi fish, snake, Samurai mask, waves and clouds, Japanese fan, and many more designs and patterns from the Japanese culture.

Some Samurai designs contain unique tales and stories that are portrayed, making them much more common with these detailed designs. These can explain the true intent of the lives of the Samurais, such as defending the elite and battling the powers of darkness.

Many designs of tattoos are made in single colors such as black or grey, while others are made in a variety of vivid colors, but all look equally fantastic.

Final Words

One of the most exquisite and most important tattoos you can get on your body is undoubtedly a samurai tattoo. In the minds of many persons, this would definitely make you look amazing.

Just be sure to choose the right style that suits your physical appearance and distinctive personality perfectly.