The cherry blossom, also known as sakura, is one of Japan’s most enduring cultural icons and often part of traditional Japanese tattooing.
The cherry tree blooms over a short period and is celebrated with blooming parties (ohana-mi), where locals and tourists sit under the blossoms to enjoy great company and the fleeting beauty of the pink or white flowers.
The gentle flower is often etched in fine detailed pink and yellow tones, nuanced black and gray, or even vividly bright neo traditional ink to symbolize fresh beginnings.
In traditional Irezumi, sakura were depicted as a secondary (keshoubori) motif to signify the short life of samurai, or as a symbol of feminine beauty evening up a hyper masculine design, such as a tiger, dragon, or the fierce Hannya Mask.
These 101 best cherry blossom tattoo ideas showcase the amazing variety in sakura design and tattoo inspiration. No matter your attachment to style or technical application, there’s a tattoo to help you with your next ink decision.
1. Japanese Traditional Tattoos
2. Contemporary and Watercolor Sakura Tattoos
3. Japanese Traditional Sakura Chest and Arm Tattoos
4. New Wave Tattoo Ideas
5. Black and Gray Sakura Tattoo Ideas
6. Realistic Tattoo Ideas
7. Pink Sakura with Tattoo Gradation Designs
8. Japanese Full Sleeve Tattoos
9. Cherry Blossom and Crane Tattoo Ideas
10. Japanese Hannya Mask and Cherry Blossom Tattoo Designs
11. In Progress Japanese Cherry Blossom Tattoo Art
FAQs
What is an Irezumi?
Irezumi is the Japanese word for tattoo. While ostensibly referring to “inserting ink” in Japanese tattooing, it is also used as a blanket term to describe various tattoo styles originating in Japan.
What are Japanese traditional tattoos?
Traditional Japanese tattoos that are done by hand are referred to as tebori, however tattoo technology has caught up and most designs are now done by artist’s using a machine.
Japanese traditional design feature rich patterns and heavy flat colored fill and bold outline designs often covering large areas of skin.
What is gradation in black and gray tattoos?
Gradation is often essential in Japanese black and gray tattoos or single color ink against variations in shading.
It’s the visual technique of gradually transitioning from one color hue to another, or from one shade to another and is employed to create shifts in space, distance, volume, and curved or rounded forms to make tattoos more complex.
How much does a color Japanese sleeve tattoo cost?
A full color Japanese Irezumi sleeve tattoo is at the top of the pricing spectrum. A Japanese sleeve will cost at least $1500 -2000 USD, even at a comparatively cheap average price of $150 per hour.
Experienced artists and Japanese tattooing specialists will charge more, while a sleeve from a Japanese tattoo artist master like Horiyoshi III could cost upwards of $10,000 USD for a colorful nagasode arm piece at a Tokyo or Osaka tattoo studio.