Horiyasu

is a Japanese tattooist, specializing in Irezumi (traditional Japanese tattoos). He is one of the most respected contemporary tattooists in Japan.

Biography

Horiyasu, otherwise known as Asakusa Horiyasu, was a samurai-sword smith. He started working with blades at the age of 20 and mastered the craft for 16 years in Iwate Prefecture. He got his first tattoo at the age of 21. Horiyasu turned to tattooing at the age of 36.

He learned by studying works of such Ukiyo-e artists as Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Katsushika Hokusai. In a 2013 Skin Deep Magazine interview he recalled that at first he didn't know anything and learned by watching an older horishi in Morioka. At first he was doing tattoos by hand (tebori), but learned how to work with the tattoo machine from Gifu Horihiro. In an interview with Tattoo Master magazine he acknowledged that “the edge of the sword teeth, the tattoo needle point… the parallels in the tactile sensation when one makes swords, and when one tattoos”.

Unlike some of the traditional masters who will only accept clients by introduction, he became known for working with foreigners. In 2004, he travelled to New York to take part in the New York Tattoo Convention, where he won two top prizes.

In 2011, Horiyasu's works were featured in BloodWork: Bodies, a limited edition book series showing works of 53 of the best masters from all over the world, published by Analog Tattoo Arts Kolectiv.

Style Horiyasu executes only large-scale pieces. Some time around 2011 he started using a coil machine.