“Tattoo” Junichiro in summary


“It was at a time when people revered frivolity for virtue, and life has not yet been overshadowed, as in our days, severe hardship.” It was an age of idleness… “People went for everything for the sake of beauty, without stopping to cover their body tattooed. Among fans of such jewelry were not only porters, players and firefighters, but also wealthy townspeople, and sometimes samurai. In those days there lived a young tattoo artist named Seikiti. When tattoo shows were held, many of his works aroused general admiration. Before Seikiti was an artist, it was felt in the refinement of his drawing, in a special sense of harmony. He agreed not to do tattoos to everyone, the same ones who were awarded this honor, had to completely trust the master, who himself chose the picture and set the price. Then he worked for a month or two, enjoying the groans and convulsions of the unfortunate, in which he thrust his needles. The greatest pleasure he received from the most

painful procedures – the application of retouching and impregnation cinnabar. The people, who silently suffered the pain, caused irritation in him, and he tried to break their courage. Seikiti cherished the dream for many years to create a masterpiece on the skin of a beautiful woman and put his whole soul into it. Most important for him was the nature of a woman – a beautiful face and a slender figure to him was not enough. On the fourth year of the search, he once saw a naked female leg, looking out from the palanquin, who was waiting at the gate of a restaurant in Fukagawa, not far from his house. Seikichi’s pointed gaze could be as powerful as his face. Seikiti went behind the palanquin, hoping to see the face of a stranger, but after a while lost the palanquin from sight. A year after this meeting, Seikichi once came a girl with a request from a friend of the geisha. The girl was preparing for a geisha and was to become the “younger sister” of the familiar Seikiti. The girl was about fifteen or sixteen, but her face was marked by mature beauty. Looking at her elegant legs, Sekichi asked
if she had not been able to leave a restaurant a week ago from the restaurant Hirasei. The girl answered that her father often took her with him to Hirasei, and this is quite possible. Seikiti invited the girl to her and showed her two pictures. On one of them was depicted a Chinese princess, looking at the preparations for execution in the palace garden. As soon as the girl looked at the picture, her face became like a princess. In the picture she found her hidden “I”. The second picture was called “Tlen”. Female, depicted in the center of the picture, joyfully and proudly looked at the numerous corpses of men prostrate at her feet. Looking at the picture, the girl felt how she discovered the innermost that was hidden in the depths of her soul.

The girl was scared, she asked Seikichi to let her go, but he, putting him to sleep with chloroform, set to work. “The soul of the young tattoo artist dissolved in thick paint and as if passed to the girl’s skin.” Sucking and taking out the needles, Seikiti sighed as if each prick wounded his own heart. He worked all night, and by the morning a huge spider appeared on the girl’s back. With each deep breath and strong exhalation, the spider’s paws moved, as if alive. The spider held the girl tightly in his arms. Seikiti told the girl that he put the whole soul in the tattoo. Now in Japan there is no woman who could match her. All men will turn into mud at her feet. The girl was very happy that she had become so beautiful. Hearing that she needs to take a bath so that the colors are better manifested, she, overcoming the pain, obediently went to the bathroom, and going out, wriggling with pain and moaning, like an obsessive, rushed to the floor. But soon she came to herself and her eyes became clear. Seikiti was amazed at the change that had taken place in her. He gave her pictures that frightened her the day before. She said that she completely got rid of her fears, and Seikiti first became mud at her feet. Her eyes flashed like a blade. She could hear the sound of a victorious hymn. Seikiti asked her before leaving again to show the tattoo. She silently pulled off her kimono. “The rays of the morning sun fell on the tattoo, and the woman’s back broke out in the flames.” and Seikiti first became mud at her feet. Her eyes flashed like a blade. She could hear the sound of a victorious hymn. Seikiti asked her before leaving again to show the tattoo. She silently pulled off her kimono. “The rays of the morning sun fell on the tattoo, and the woman’s back broke out in the flames.” and Seikiti first became mud at her feet. Her eyes flashed like a blade. She could hear the sound of a victorious hymn. Seikiti asked her before leaving again to show the tattoo. She silently pulled off her kimono. “The rays of the morning sun fell on the tattoo, and the woman’s back broke out in the flames.”


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“Tattoo” Junichiro in summary