In a small workshop down a narrow alleyway in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area, tattoo artist Bobo Chen is refreshing a scene from a Japanese epic with new ink on a client’s back.
The vivid image depicts a fictional Japanese hero fighting a tiger and dragon, symbolic of strength and protection.
A former graffiti artist, Chen, 35, switched to tattooing five years ago after learning the craft in Thailand.
Photo: SAM YEH / AFP
On the walls of his studio are pictures of historical Japanese drawings, which he takes as inspiration for his body art.
Taiwan was ruled by Japan for 50 years until 1945 and the nation’s design aesthetic often still reflects Japanese style.
“I like Japanese culture and traditions,” Chen said. “I take inspiration from them for my work, because I’d like to play a small part in handing them down.”
It also pays the bills — Chen does mostly large-scale tattoos and charges more than NT$3,000 per hour. A large tattoo costs as much as NT$300,000.
He does not advertise, but said he has plenty of clients through word of mouth.
Chen said that the trend of having larger-scale tattoos has grown more popular in Taiwan in recent years as people become less conservative about they way they look.
He talks through the process with clients before going ahead, he said, adding that they often decide to have tattoos when they are suffering “frustration or disappointment” in life.
Micky Peng, 30, who sports the epic back design Chen is touching up, as well as a tiger pattern on his chest, said receiving tattoos had been cathartic for him.
He first started when his father fell ill 10 years ago and it was a way to release emotional stress, Peng said.
“I feel like I am being protected by the hero tattoo on my body,” said Peng, who runs a tofu dessert shop in Taichung. “I think I’m addicted to it. Getting new tattoos makes me happier and feel that I am more unique.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS