Oh, it will hurt

Anyone with an ink-job out there knows that, depending on the spot, it hurts like hell. And that’s with electrical guns that go in and out of the skin so fast, they vibrate. Yakuza, on the other hand, do it the old way, that is, hand-poked (Tebori).

Not for the squeamish, this is hardcore needle-poking!



A couple of videos on Shinji Horizakura, a true master of Tebori.




Apparently, it hurts like nothing else, but the results worth it. A full body tat may take anywhere between 1 to 5 years, if the artist works on it on a weekly basis, and can easily cost over $30k. Finding a decent artist is surprisingly difficult, as they are a secretive bunch, and you’d have to rely on word-of-mouth. Talking about dedication.