Ink and detail – the tattoos of Yakuza 3

I’m not Japanese so there’s no way I can fully understand the culture behind the Yakuza ink. I’ve read about it, talked about it, but I’ll never get the same acculturation that a Japanese has unless I live there. I can, however, admire the tattoos with such fanboyistic enthusiasm. Fortunately, the European PlayStation Blog has a post on the ink of Yakuza 3.

I’m not Japanese so there’s no way I can fully understand the culture behind the Yakuza ink. I’ve read about it, talked about it, but I’ll never get the same acculturation that a Japanese has unless I live there. I can, however, admire the tattoos with such fanboyistic enthusiasm. Fortunately, the European PlayStation Blog has a post on the ink of Yakuza 3.

Kazuaki Kitamura a.k.a. Horitomo is a real-life tattoo artist and he is the man behind the ink of all the Yakuza games. After impressing the game’s producer with his work, he was asked to help with the first Yakuza game, and he’s been with them ever since. He’s even shared some hi-res designs of the ones in Yakuza 3.

Horitomo-san is currently working at “State of Grace” in Japan Town in San Jose, California, just in case you’re interested in getting inked.

[via PlayStation Blog Europe]