Irezumi is the art of traditional japanese tattooing, that developed over centuries and carries a certain style and motifs, with a deep historical symbolism [1]. Since my girlfriend loves tattoos, as well as japanese art, I wanted to gift her a nailset for her birthday that really resonated with her, so I chose to orient the nails around the style and symbolism of Irezumi tattoos, which you can gather from these design examples:
Irezumi has certain elements that often appear, like spirals, or the way the borders are shaped, so I chose to use these elements in the background as well as more prominently on the index and pinky fingers of each hand, with the pinkys being the borders of the imagined tattoo. Since my girlfriend loves red I chose that as a main color, with some slight variations for the flowers to soften them a bit.
Motifs in Irezumi carry, as mentioned, a deep meaning, steeped in japanese folklore, so I tried to find classical motifs to fit the concept. My approach to this nailset was a traditional jumping off point with a more modern interpretation.
Usually I like some contrast and dichotomy between the two hands, so I chose the Sakura, Kitsune and Ryu (later the even better fitting Oni) for one hand, and the Botan, Koi and Sagi for the other.
The Sakura represents beauty but also the fragility of life, whereas the Botan signifies beauty as well but also wealth and prosperity [1].
The Kitsune mask fits in my opinion perfect for the middle finger, as it can be seen as a trickster, although the Kitsune has a very wide range of meaning in japanese folklore, associated with intelligence and cunning, among other things [3].
The Koi is also a great fit for the middle finger as it represents struggle, resilience and perseverance [1].
And finally for the thumbs the Oni Mask is very fitting for its hand, having both masks on one hand, as well as the hand with trickery and mortality also featuring a demon guardian of hell [2]. It was more on accident that it ended up there, but it fits better than the Ryu, that represents wisdom and strength [1]. With the Sagi I took more freedom as it isn’t a classical Irezumi motif, but I throught the freedom usually associated with birds, would be quite fitting, and the Sagi can be found on more modern Irezumi designs.
Below you can see my initial version of the Ryu, which not only turned out too big, but also disliked by my girlfriend, so I spontaneously pivoted to the Oni mask, which she instantly connected with , so it was a great immediate fit.
