As the power of the common people of Japan grew in the latter half of the Edo period (18th and 19th century CE) horimono, or traditional Japanese tattoos, began to flourish as an art form. Based on images from watercolour paintings, woodcuts and popular picture books of the time, the ultimate reward for the long endurance of pain would be a tattoo of immense beauty. To fully understand Japanese horimono it is important to understand their history and background, and it is equally important to continue to preserve the tradition behind them.

© National Geographic

Have you ever seen someone with a foreign language tattooed on their body?

Have you ever wondered what it meant, or wondered if the wearer of the tattoo knew what it meant?

Let your wondering cease for a UK teen Lee Becks, who got more than he bargained for when he tried to get into the Oriental look.

According to a UK paper Mr. Becks paid ninety pounds to get the Chinese Kanji symbols for “love, honor, obedience” tattooed on his arm.

But he later discovered too his horror, that his new ink really read, “At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.”

Oops!

A woman is frustrated with her love life because her husband has a massive crush on Brigette Bardot. To win back his attentions, she goes to a tattooist to have the letters ‘BB’ tattooed to her Boobs.

The tattooist warns her that age and gravity would probably make this unattractive later in life, and suggests the tattoo on her ass instead.

She agrees, and bends over to receive a ‘B’ on each buttock. When her husband gets home from work that night, she greets him by turning around, bending over, and lifting her dress to expose the art work. “What do you think?” the wife says.

“Uh, who the hell is Bob?” the husband replies.