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INTERVIEW EN

@PASCALBAGOT

Away from the Tokyo madness, located in a residential area, En – known also as Horizaru- 's studio is one of the few in the capital to have a street address. Inside, in a cosy and distinguished atmosphere, the Japanese tattooist looks back on his atypical career, which began some twenty years ago, and tells us why his style is a synthesis between foreign influences and Japanese culture.

You were talking about a specific event that has a special place in your carrer, can you tell us more about it ?

In 2000, the second Tokyo Convention was held in the Ebisu district. This event was a real shock for me. Many artists came from all over the world (Filip Leu, Henning Jorgensen, Lal Hardy, George Bone...) and it gave me the opportunity to watch them tattoo. The quality of their work was impressive and Filip Leu's was particularly fascinating.

What consequences did this encounter have?

At that time I had already decided to become a tattoo artist. I was drawing but I didn't have a machine yet and I had very little contact with this world. My parents were civil servants and none of my friends were tattooed. I thought it would be a good idea to take some advice from Filip Leu while he was in Tokyo. I went to see him at his booth. He was so popular. A crowd was gathered around him to watch him. Nevertheless, before leaving, I was able to pass my book to his wife. And the next day, when I returned, he sat me down next to him, giving me the chance to watch him for a whole day. I was surprised by the ease and fluidity with which he handled his machine. I thought to myself that it was an easy job! I was naive.

What happened then ?

I took a lot of motivation from it, I was convinced I would become the tattoo artist I was dying to be. And, as Filip liked my work, I remember having felt a feeling of superiority. I hit the ground a couple of years later when I went to Switzerland to get tattooed. He didn’t recognized me !

How did your learning process came about ?

I learned all by myself. When I was getting tattooed I was asking also for informations. In Tokyo, I went to M.Kishi from 56 Tattoo studio, Carlos from Tattoo Church, but also in Europe Shad from Bruxelles (Belgium) and Mick in Switzerland… M.Kishi helped me a lot but I have sincere contacts with very few artists. I guess because the japanese tattoo world keeps its secrets inside the family. Foreign tattoo artists have been much more helpful for me to be a better tattoo artist.

Did you follow art studies ?

Yes, I studied at the Art University of Osaka, with a specialisation in audiovisual media art (cinema, film making…). I was not very constant so I didn’t really learn how to draw. It is something that I was used to do when I was younger, I liked to draw dinosaurs and monsters. Then I worked in a production company working for advertising and I had the opportunity to see images of tattoos. I thought they were beautiful, that’s how I got caught. Before getting in university, I wanted to do a creative work, but I knew that painting or illustration were a narrow and difficult path.

When do you start tattooing ?

In 2003. My goal was to make a living out of it. I was working in a small appartment and tattooing friends and friends of my friends. I was doing everything, I didn’t have a specific orientation. It was hard. I had very limited contact with the tattoo world but I wanted to improve. In 2005, I was invited to the Salt Lake City convention in the United States and there I met a lot of tattoo artists, they gave me some tips about machines and technical issues.

How important is it for you to be able to do everything ?

It is not only important, it is necessary. If the traditional Japanese artists keep digging the techniques and the traditional culture, I like to work with diversity. I like tattooing as a whole and whatever the style may be. But today, the population of tattoo artists is divided, some of them are specialising themselves in tribal style, others in biomechanical stuff… But it is hard for me to understand. I wonder why they keep on doing the same things ?

How do you proceed to satisfy your customers ?

For example, I get a lot of requests for doing geishas. Usually, I make three propositions : the first is the geisha from Edo era, the real one that only ukiyo-e fans know. In that case, I take inspiration from artworks done by Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Toyokuni, Keisai Eisen. If the customer is not satisfied, I make an other proposition with a design, more modern, from the Meiji period. If my customer prefers even more modern and pop women, I take a design from the old-school American tradition like Sailor Jerry’s. These three references are a good idea of the frame in which I base my style.

You may work on different styles but your interpretation is still very distinctive. How did you make it personal ?

I make a tattoo inspired by ukiyo-e in which I mix my taste for the old-school tattooing. There are common grounds between traditional Japanese style and American old-school tattooing, they both use few colours for example, mainly black and red. I find also similarities in these two art forms that are the traditional Japanese painting and the US old-school style. Both of them can be characterised by very clear outlines, strong colour contrasts when European paintings specifically use colours and shadows.

You style is also very much influenced by the pop culture…

I think my work reflects my personality. Yes, my tattoo is pop and it’s a style which comes naturally. I’m convinced it is a way to do things that is good to follow. When you try to do things that are far from you, it usually doesn’t work. For example, I don’t think I can do a very good horror or morbid tattoo, it would not come from me. I think that an educated eye is able to say if a tattoo is done by a woman, a man, a thug…

Do you have specific influences ?

Japanese culture, Japanese art, Japanese nature, Japanese cooking… I found all the different periods of Japanese history interesting. What I would like to do is something relatively pop but referring to Japanese history. I especially like the atmosphere of the Meiji period, just after the opening of Japan to the rest of the world, when the country was importing all these objects designed in the western world and reworking them. Contact : Horizaru Tattoo : Address: 1-19-8 Tabata Kitaku Tokyo, Japan 114-0014 Website: www.horizaru.com Email: mail@horizaru.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/en_horizaru/