Shige: Japanese Tattooing at Tattoonesia 2006

At the 2006 Tattoonesia festival in Tahiti, Japanese tattoo artist Shigenori Iwasaki, known professionally as Shige, was photographed tattooing and presenting completed large-scale works. The images document both his working process and compositions extending across backs, torsos, arms, and legs.

Born in Hiroshima in March 1970, Shige worked as a Harley-Davidson mechanic in Yokohama before teaching himself tattooing in 1995. He established Yellow Blaze Tattoo Studio in 2000 and began participating in international tattoo conventions the following year.

Shige’s work combines traditional Japanese subject matter with contemporary composition, detailed shading, vivid color, and designs structured around the contours of the body. The photographed works incorporate religious, mythological, floral, and animal imagery within interconnected sleeves, back pieces, and bodysuit compositions.

Current Context

Shige was later among the seven artists featured in the Japanese American National Museum exhibition Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World, which examined the history and contemporary development of Japanese tattooing. He continues to work through Yellow Blaze Tattoo, an appointment-only studio in Yokohama.