Painful and vivid describes Japanese tattoo art that took place in Calgary

by Curtis Larson November 18, 2017September 4, 2020

A customer receiving a tattoo at the Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival. Some schedule their appointments a year in advance, as many artists are international and difficult to book. Photo by Curtis Larson.

A local tattoo studio owner praised the Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival for giving foreign artists the opportunity to bring their craft to the city.

Doug Fink, owner and artist at Bushido Tattoo in downtown Calgary hosted Japanese artist, Ryugendo, at the annual show. Fink is one of the only Canadian tattoo artists specializing in Tebori – a traditional Japanese style of tattooing which uses a wooden or metal rod to poke ink into the skin.

“I’m the only Tebori artist that I know of in Canada,” said Fink. “My teacher [Ryugendo] has come over for the show, he’ll stay about a month, and then I head back to Japan for a few months to keep learning.”

Although it is a time consuming process and acknowledged as one of the more painful methods for imparting tattoos, Tebori is revered for creating vivid body imagery. This year’s show was one of the only opportunities to have the work done in Calgary.

Overall, organizers thought the festival was a hit.

“The weekend ended up great,” said Terra Connors, show director. “This is the 13th year of the show and we had over 12,000 in attendance.”

Calgary Journal videographer, Curtis Larson, attended the festival and talked with Fink about its appeal.