Horitsukikage I (aka Shad) is today one of the great specialists of Japanese tattooing in Europe, a style to which he has dedicated himself exclusively since 2000. In recent years, his passion has naturally led him to learn the traditional technique of hand tattooing from one of the most respected masters in Japan, and at the same time to enter the Horitoshi 1 family.
What was it like to join the Horitoshi family in 2016?
I always wanted to learn the technique by hand but I had never dared to ask. However, in 2013, I asked Horitoshi I (tattoo artist in Tokyo, ed. note) if he could train me in tebori (traditional Japanese hand tattooing technique, ed. note). To my great surprise he accepted. So I started the following year, a teaching done in a "school" called bokushinkan and created by Horitoshi. It is not a classical process as the other members of the family have experienced, but rather a kind of appetizer: for three years you take the temperature and watch, to know if you want to continue towards a real apprenticeship. You can't expect a relationship where you're told what to do and what not to do, it doesn't work like that. In Japan, learning the craft is all about "eye stealing" as they say, and then it all depends on your ability to understand what is going on and learn to apply it. Otherwise, some apprentices stay that way for the rest of their lives.
You have had a special relationship with this family for a long time (Horitsukikage 1 met Horitoshi in 1999, ed.), was going through this "preparatory school" mandatory?
No, but it seemed to me to be more loyal to the other members of the family; I didn't want to jump through any hoops or get any favoritism. I told him that I would rather start from scratch (Horitsukikage1 has been a tattoo artist for 26 years). So I did two years of bokushinkan -Horitoshi exempted me from doing a third year- and since January 1, 2016, I am officially a member of the Horitoshi family. I now represent his style in Europe, alongside Toshihide in Berlin (Hanabusa Tattoo) and Horibudo I in Milan (aka Roberto Borsi, Primordial Pain).
How did these two years go?
Twice a year, I spent between 10 and 15 days with him in Japan. During all this time I did not touch a needle. I was at the service of his work: I prepared the needles, the inks, the brushes, the paper towels... Learning from a master like Horitoshi is not only about teaching tattooing, it is also about teaching etiquette and how to behave. You represent him wherever you go, so you better behave accordingly. In Japan there are codes, rules, that you have to know and that you learn to navigate as you go along. Protocol is very important.
Horitoshi's style is very particular. When you started to be interested in Japanese style in the 90's, European tattooers were more attracted by Horiyoshi III's style. How do you explain it ?
Yes, because it was less known and less accessible. At that time, I think I didn't have the maturity to appreciate his style: very black, very rigid, very hypnotic, much more protocol and more strongly connoted "mafia". My eyes were also less informed and all the pieces looked the same to me; unlike Horiyoshi's, which were more appealing because he used more varied imagery.
How popular is the Japanese style today?
It's very fashionable. But people want what I call "neo-Japanese", which is the work of tattoo artists like Shige (from Yokohama, Japan, Yellow Blaze studio). This is usually the kind of reference that I get as an example. I take the time to explain the difference with the traditional look so that people have a choice: to end up with a pretty rainbow for two years -because a lot of his colors don't hold- or with a serious back.
What is the specificity of your work?
I try to have a more simplified look - because the less the better - and do old-school Japanese. But there are always purists who ask for real traditional and that's the clientele I work with.
How would you explain the traditional tattoo to a neophyte?
It's a tattoo with a simple composition, with more blacks, less grays and fewer colors. Like everyone else, I went through periods where I tried a lot of them but I've since limited myself to a palette of five, to which I add a few shades for gradients. There are reasons why the old tattoo artists were content with a small range, they knew that some pigments would hold better than others. Since it's supposed to last a lifetime, I might as well keep it simple.
What did you learn about traditional tattooing through your close relationship with the Horitoshi family?
The most important thing is that the background is everything. Until you understand how it works on a body, how to manage the space on it, it will never work. It's not about sticking a piece on a back or on arms. I learned that every piece is custom made and for every client. I used to draw the whole arm, then transfer it to the skin with a tracing paper. Now I go step by step. I draw the first part of the muscle and finish it before going further. Working without the help of a plan allows me not to stop at a previously fixed image and to get stuck in the development of the tattoo. On large projects that can take several years to complete, the tattoo artist retains the freedom to change things along the way.
Is the work the same whether it is done by machine or by hand?
On the machine, I do what I want in the style I have developed. With the tebori, I do the style of Horitoshi.
What differences do you see between these techniques?
Tebori is much richer. By hand, unlike the machine where you reach saturation much more slowly, the nomi (the tool) takes in three times more pigment. Moreover, the repeated use of the machine will cause more trauma to the skin, beyond the impact of the electric field. From the point of view of durability, a hand tattoo will always be more vibrant over the years. It is comparable to the way a color holds up, depending on whether it is on velvet or cotton. Over time, velvet will retain its brightness. But this comes at a price: it takes me twenty hours to make a cuff by machine, and sixty by hand.
Do you have any difficulties with your western clients ?
It's always a problem to get people to accept that the tattoo goes all the way down to the buttocks, or even below. I had the same problem with flowers: for some people it's not masculine enough as iconography. Generally, the problem comes from the partner. In this kind of situation, I am obliged to specify that this kind of choice is made alone because the tattoo is for life. This may not be true for the spouse... I consider that it is a personal choice and that no one should be able to interfere with it. So today, things are clear: there is no question of me making a back that stops above the waist. I go down to at least mid-thigh. Except if the motif requires it.
Your customers choose you for your work, how do you explain that they stumble at the moment of taking action?
I think it's human, people want what they see but think that once they are here they will find a compromise. I also explain to them that the flowers are not related to anything feminine but to the cards and the game of hana fuda. It's a player's tattoo at the base. And the symbolism of the flowers does not send this idea of sweetness either. The sakura (cherry blossom) for example is associated with the life of a warrior, with the ephemeral; it is actually quite dramatic. CONTACT : Horitsukikage I / Horitoshi Family (a.k.a Shad ) Instagram : @horitsukikage1 Web : www.tattoobyshad.com
