Horimono: Where to start and why

Not everyone who gets a bodysuit starts out with this goal clearly defined. Sleeves are metaphorically somewhat of a “gateway tattoo” if you will. They spark the passion for many of us, and from there some braver souls continue on to get a bodysuit.  There’s no debate that Japanese tattooing is meant to be worn as a complete suit, but when starting a bodysuit, where is the best place to start? The easy answer to that is with the full back. In Japanese it’s called ‘Kame no koh’ which translates to ‘Turtle Back’, because the design covers the entire backside down to the thighs, resembling a turtle's shell. If you are not willing, or not able (for whatever reason) to begin with a Kame no Koh then you will have to make some decisions, as to where to begin. In this article I’ll detail the pros and cons of starting from other parts of the body, as well as how it affects the formatting of the bodysuit to come. 

The reason the back is the best place to start is because it is the centerpiece of a bodysuit, and all other sections of the bodysuit pivot off of the backpiece design, and follow the design choices made on the back. Compositionally, starting with the back is all ‘pros’ and no ‘cons’. Any other order is somewhat like ‘reverse engineering’ a suit. In this article you’ll see why…

Starting with the Arms:

Pro:  Highly visible, can be a good motivator for future work. Can be done quicker than legs. Pain levels on the arm are mostly minimal, so if someone is hesitant to get their back done because of this, the arms are a ‘soft entry’ into Horimono. 

Con:  With the arms being at the top of the body, the natural elements(background) that are chosen for the arms will dictate what motif is used for the rest of the bodysuit. This can be very limiting. What you may eventually want for your back may not be possible because of what you chose for your arms. For example, water motifs on the arms set the tone for a water motif throughout the entire bodysuit. Even though you may love the look of Japanese style waves/ water, it may not be the ONLY thing you want for your entire body. This is also very limiting in regards to subject matter, as most of the subjects in Japanese tattooing belong in land/air motifs. 

Considerations before committing to a sleeve design: 

Do you like the look of Munewari? If so, it’s smart to attach a Hikae (chest panel) to the sleeve design, this helps the flow of the design on the arms continue on to the chest. This will later transition down the torso to create the panels that make up Munewari (fig.3). If you don’t like the look of Munewari, ending the sleeve at the cusp of the shoulder is smart (fig.1), leaving more room for a larger design to take up the front of the torso. This is called Donburi. If you get Hikae and then decide to do Donburi it will force the design to reside only on the abdomen and the area to be filled in between the Hikae panels never has good flow (fig.2), even when done by the best artists. That’s why considering a suit style ahead of doing the arms is important. Starting on your back alleviates all of these potential roadblocks and gives you time to consider the format of your bodysuit.

Starting with the Legs…

Pro:  Leg tattoos are often easy to conceal, at least in professional settings. Some people may choose to start here just for this discretion. Although, that same logic applies to the back, so you know…

Con:  Legs are a bit more painful than arms to some, and require slightly more discomfort due to the numerous positions one must lay when getting it done. Similar to arms, as far as dictating what type of motif can be used for the back/bodysuit. Being at the bottom of the suit, choosing an air motifs on the legs will set the tone for an air motif throughout the entire suit. That means if you have wind & clouds on your legs, you can’t get water above it. It just makes sense, logically. The biggest downside to starting on the legs is how it affects the suit format, which I cover in the section to follow. 

In addition to these Pro’s & Con’s of starting with the Arms & Legs instead of the back, or approaching a suit from the start, there are some other considerations that should be made before you begin…

Suit Format:

One of the least considered disadvantages of beginning on the arms or legs, is that you end up committing to a specific style of bodysuit, oftentimes without even knowing it. The ending point on the arm (half, 7/10ths, or Full sleeve) will decide the style of suit a person should get. For example, if you have full sleeves you should NOT end your suit above the knee, as it’s bad form. Ideally, a good pairing would be full arms & full legs to match. This is called Soushinbori. A suit with half sleeves and ending above the knee is called Gobusode. There are still more options for variations within each suit style, but the one constant is matching the format of the arms & legs. When you start with a leg, most people get a full leg (commonly called “leg sleeve”), and then you may feel forced into getting full sleeves. This may be a big deal if a person dislikes the look of full sleeves. If you work in a business that requires discretion with tattoos, you may want a different cut-off than a full length sleeve. As I mentioned before, If you start on your back, you’ll never have these problems, and you get extra time to decide exactly how you want your bodysuit to look. 

Another big downside to starting with the legs is that a Kame no Koh/Turtleback is designed to include the back of the thighs for strategic reasons. The design of the rear thigh is complementary to the subject on the back and butt, and it’s common for some of the design elements to show here as well (fig.4). When the leg is tattooed first, it covers all the way up to where the thigh meets the bottom of the butt. By doing this, a portion of the thigh area is stolen from the composition of the backpiece, and a less dynamic suit design is the result (fig.5). 

This area of the thigh is not the most important part of the backpiece, and it’s not the most important part of a full leg, HOWEVER in the perspective of Horimono, this area is very important to the composition and flow of the body suit. When done out of proper order it is guaranteed to negatively affect the composition of the suit to some degree.

(See Diagram Below👇)

Once you’ve decided to get a bodysuit, whether you start with a Full Back (Kame no Koh) or a sleeve, you will need to decide how you want the suit to look. The following diagrams will give you an idea of the options.

I’ll start with the more extreme options with full coverage and walk it back to the more minimal designs. All of which are a bodysuit, where a suit that ends above the knee and elbow is just as much a proper bodysuit as one that ends at the wrist/ankle. The one consideration you should make for yourself is how you want it to look in the end. If you have any inkling that you’ll want to extend it later, you should just start with that now, and you’ll have a more dynamic design by doing so. Horimono is not done overnight, and even if you take breaks between each part, the journey is still very admirable and respectable. A FULL coverage suit will take 20% longer to complete, but will look so much better than a suit that is later extended after it was ‘finished’. Horimono is the goal, and you shouldn’t pressure yourself to complete it faster than you’re comfortable to. Consistency is a really important factor within each section of the work, but spacing out section to section in order to rest, live life, and save money is completely understandable and respected! 

Soushinbori:
Full Length suit. Arms and Legs extend to just above the wrist and ankle. The two options of Donburi (Full frontal coverage) or Munewari (Split front) apply to nearly all suit styles, with the exception for the more minimalistic styles that are only traditionally applied to women. 

Shichibu:
a suit style with a 7/10ths length arm/leg cut off, ending a few inches below the elbow and knee. This look was traditionally much more common for women, even being looked at as the standard for women. Men are not discouraged from getting this style, but it should be a personal choice. The modern reference of ‘Capri Pants’ having a similar cut off, and not being a masculine fashion look, may have some impact on men choosing this style in modern day. I think it looks good for either, personally. As referenced earlier, this is a more discreet suit style, allowing for a dress shirt to still be rolled up a bit and not show the tattoo. The Munewari option adds further discretion, as it would allow for a dress shirt to be unbuttoned at the top and still not allow the tattoo to show.

Gobu-Sode:
A short sleeve, 5/10ths length, bodysuit. Most commonly seen being done with Munewari for the torso, and no extension to the inner thigh. The Donbori version denotes a full thigh connection on the inside. There are still options as to how the inner-thigh and inner-bicep can be crafted, minimally with Katabori border (a V shape of negative space that leaves more untattooed skin in these areas) or full coverage that leaves a curved ending closer to the armpit/genitals. It really just comes down to what the person likes the look of. These inside-ending choices apply to all Donburi suits, and longer length Munewari style suits.

Mijikame No Munewari:
A shorter than usual ending bodysuit that is traditional for women who find the look of longer length formats of body suit to be too much. The short ending resembles a short cap tshirt, and something like ‘boy-shorts’ (minus the full inner-thigh wrap). I think this minimal look is really nice, and can be very flattering, especially if the wearer is otherwise untattooed throughout their body. The restraint shown is beautiful in itself. 

Nipples:
even though it’s not specified in these graphics, nipples can be avoided. They do not need to be tattooed over, and in some cases, women prefer to have flowers designed around the nipple in a creative manner, it allows the breast to still maintain a softness, with less heavy black ink.