Japanese Hannya masks – their history and meaning

You’ve almost certainly seen a tattoo with this image, but probably don’t know what it actually represents.

Hannya masks are one the most popular motifs in Irezumi (Japanese tattooing), but existed in Japanese culture long before they became popular with Western Hipsters and UFC fighters. But behind the devil’s horns, pointed fangs, and bulging eyes lies a fascinating history.

Menacing grin or tormented soul?

The Hannya mask has been worn by traditional Japanese theatre actors for over 700 years.

The mask is specifically used to represent the soul of a woman whose obsession, jealousy, and anger has turned into a demon. After being spurned by a lover, the poor woman transforms into an demon, hell-bent on wreaking vengeance on unsuspecting men. 

Though often pictured with menacing grin, a deeper look will show the Hannya is also tormented and sorrowful, displaying the complexity of human emotion. In fact, in its original 3D form, the appearance and emotions of the mask changed depending on the lighting and which angel it was viewed from.

Hannya tattoos

From the Japanese theatre hundreds of years ago, the Hannya mask has spread into other art forms, such as paintings, poetry, and of course, tattoos. 

Even as a tattoo, the Hannya can have different meanings depending on the colour, shape and expression. Traditionally, the deeper the colour of the mask, the angrier or more malicious it’s supposed to be. Conversely, a lighter complexion means that the wearer is still human but is experiencing turmoil beneath the surface.

In Asian cultures, many tattooist don't fill in the eyes until the piece is near done, believing that once you 'dot' the eye, the tattoo comes alive.

If you’d like a Hannya tattoo to express your inner demon, or just because you think it looks cool, then come and see us here at Sunset Tattoo Studio. Our main man Tom Tom is an expert in Japanese tattooing and will be happy to have a chat about how he can help.

Looking for tattoos of New Zealand? Come see us.

New Zealand is a heaven for the world’s backpackers, and traveling our wonderful country is so life-changing, many of them decide to stay.

But for those who eventually leave us, they usually want a reminder of their time here, and sometimes a fridge magnet just won’t do.

Tattoos of New Zealand are surprisingly popular with backpackers, and there is no better way to remember your time here in Aotearoa than taking some ink home to show off to jealous friends and family.

Sunset specialise in tattoos of New Zealand

If you’re interested in tattoos of New Zealand, then you should come see us here at Sunset Tattoo.

Sunset was started by Tom McMillan and his wife, well known New Zealand artist, Misery, and despite only being a few years old, Sunset Tattoo is one of the most respected tattoo studios in Auckland.

We pride ourselves on our dedication to our strict health and hygiene practices, using only the best materials and equipment. In fact, our desire to only use the best led us to create our own tattoo supply company, Tattoo Station. 

Backpacking is one of life’s great privileges, and there’s no where better to do it than New Zealand. Our friendly people, rich culture, and stunning landscapes are hard to beat, and any time spent here travelling Aotearoa is a time you’ll never want to forget.

If you’re backpacking here in our wonderful country and would like the perfect reminder of your adventures, call in and see us for the ultimate souvenir -  a beautiful, unique tattoo of New Zealand.

John Rutherford – The Pākehā–Māori

In 1826, an American expedition landed in Aotearoa, greeted on the shore by a Maori tribe in full warrior dress. Nothing too out of the ordinary so far, but then the American Captain noticed something strange about one of the Maori warriors – he was a white guy from Bristol.

John Rutherford – The White New Zealander

John Rutherford claimed he had arrived in New Zealand ten years previously, and his ship had been attacked by the tribe, who killed everyone bar half a dozen men, himself included.

Shortly after being captured, Rutherford said he and the others were forcibly tattooed, and described the experience in detail in his book.

“The whole of the natives having seated themselves on the ground in a ring, we were brought into the middle, stripped of our clothes and laid on our backs, and held down by five or six men, while two others commenced the operation of tattooing us. Having taken a piece of charcoal, and rubbed it upon a stone with a little water until they had produced a thickish liquid, they then dipped into it an instrument made of bone, having a sharp edge like a chisel, and shaped in the fashion of a garden-hoe, and immediately applied it to the skin, striking it twice or thrice with a small piece of wood.

This caused a great deal of blood to flow, which they kept wiping off with the side of the hand, in order to see if the impression was sufficiently clear. When it was not, they applied the bone to the same place a second time. They employed, however, various instruments in the course of the operation; one being made of a shark’s tooth, and another having teeth like a saw. They had them also of different sizes, to suit the different parts of the work.

While I was undergoing this operation, although the pain was very acute, I never moved or uttered a sound, but my comrades moaned dreadfully. Although the operators were very quick and dexterous, I was four hours under their hands; and during the operation, the chief Aimy’s eldest daughter several times wiped the blood from my face with some dressed flax. After it was over, she led me to the river, that I might wash myself (for it had made me completely blind) and then conducted me to a great fire.

We were now not only tattooed, but what they called tabooed, the meaning of which is, made sacred, or forbidden to touch any provisions of any kind with our hands. This state of things lasted for three days, during which time we were fed by the daughters of the chiefs. In three days, the swelling had greatly subsided, and I began to recover my sight; but it was six weeks before I was completely well. I had no medical assistance of any kind during my illness; but Aimy’s two daughters were very attentive to me, and would frequently sit beside me, and talk to me in their language, of which, as yet, however, I did not understand much.”

John Rutherford – lying bastard

Rutherford claimed to have lived with the tribe for another 10 years, evening marrying the Chief’s eldest daughter. This didn’t stop him jumping on the American’s ship and escaping back to England.

Back home his Moko tattoos were quite the attraction, and crowds would come to see him and hear his stories about living with the natives of New Zealand.

Rutherford was likely tattooed voluntarily, like many sailors of the time, but a more realistic explanation is he jumped ship and took up with a Maori tribe to avoid court martial.

Rutherford became one of the first “tattooed entrepreneurs” by recognizing that a profit could be made by exposing a population to tattoos and crafting a tale of capture, cannibalism, and forced tattooing in order to draw in more crowds — paving the road for a new career path in later years for tattooed men and women.

Astrological Tattoo Ideas – Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn

We complete our signs of the zodiac features with the final three star signs, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn.

Scorpio

Scorpios fall under the dates of October 23rd – November 21st and are notorious for being passionate and determined. As a water sign, Scorpios are emotional, and when it comes to friendship, loyalty is paramount. Tattoo ideas for Scorpio can have some really cool designs involving not only the scorpion, but the constellation.

Sagittarius

Those born between November 22nd and December 21st are a Sagittarius. Usually generous with a great sense of humour, Sagittarians are curious and energetic, and are the biggest travellers of all the Zodiac signs. Represented by the Archer, the drawn bow and arrow make for some awesome tattoos!

Capricorn

December 22nd to January 19th brings us Capricorn and back to the start of the calendar. Capricorns are responsible and disciplined, masters of self-control, but tend to be know-it-alls and always expect the worst. The Capricorn is represented by a symbol that is based on the ancient Sumerian god of wisdom and waters, Enki. Enki is believed to have the head and torso of a mountain goat and a tail of a fish for its lower body, making some very weird but cool tattoos…

Tattoos and job interviews – do you still need to cover up?

It wasn’t long ago that people were warned off tattoos because getting inked up would make you “unemployable”. So is that still the case today? And if so, what can you do about it?

The times they are a’changin’

While back in the day tattoos used to be only found on sailors, criminals and Kings (George V had a massive dragon tattoo on his arm!), today tattoos are commonplace, especially here in New Zealand.

With one-in-five people inked here in Aotearoa, the stigma of having a tattoo is less than other Western Countries, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

Some employers might frown upon a tattoo, while others won’t even look twice at it. Everyone is different, and other factors such as where you have a tattoo, what the tattoo is, and what type of job you’re going for, all play a role.

What to consider when going for a job interview

First of all, you should probably decide on one thing; would you want to work for a company that discriminates against people with tattoos?

Even if the company is ok with tattoos, where do yours fit in? Do you have an intricate sleeve with some beautiful photo-realistic artwork? Or is it a crudely drawn image of Homer Simpson bending Marge over a table?

No matter how cool your boss is, they probably don’t want their customers seeing that.

If you think your tattoo might put a potential employer off, then it’s best to cover it up for the job interview (if you can). Once the interview is over, and you feel you’ve done well, that would be a good time to bring up your ink and any potential issues that may arise.

If you can’t cover it up, for instance if it’s a neck tattoo, then you’ll just have to bite the bullet and use your charm to win them over. Don’t ignore the elephant in the room either – ask if having a neck tattoo is a problem. It probably won’t be if you’re applying for a job as a barman, but it might be if you’re wanting to be a Primary School teacher.

At the end of the day, the stigma of having a tattoo when looking for a job is an old and dying one. Assuming you don’t have a swastika in the middle of your forehead, you’re probably going to be fine.

Even then you can always apply for a job at the White House.