The Superb Japanese Sleeves of 2016

If you love Japanese body art, then you're in for a treat because it's time to review some of the best Irezumi sleeves from the last 12 months. Lots of fantastic large-scale work has been produced this year, but some pieces have stood out more than others. Check out this selection of the most impressive traditional Japanese tattoos of 2016.

A bold Irezumi snake by @kikupunk


A sleeve depicting a nue by @horitomo_stateofgrace


A very serpentine sleeve from Mike Rubendall's body of work @mikerubendall


A hodgepodge of Japanese flora by @damienrodriguez


A fierce tiger tattoo by @rg74

Hands down, the most astounding proponent about Irezumi is the cast of characters involved in the iconography. This tradition of tattooing is chock-full of some of the most captivating beasts, heroes, and other figures ever to capture the human imagination. There's even a depiction of the nue — the leopard with a monkey's head and a viper for a tail — from The Tale of the Heike thanks to the renowned Horitomo.

Some of the flora work in this genre that came out over the course of this year is equally stunning. For instance, David Ramirez produced a pristine half sleeve of sakura blossoms and Damien Rodriguez's piece packed with peonies, lotuses, and chrysanthemums is better than being in a real-life garden.

An astounding leg sleeve by @chrisgarver


Some intensely vivid sleeves from Artemy Neumoin's portfolio @ishpiricatattoo


A lovely bunch of sakura blooms by @ramirez_unitytattoo


An incredibly vibrant tattoo of a phoenix by @horiharu_tattoo


An intense dragon sleeve by @rg74

With its dark backgrounds of waves, smoke, and stormy skies as well as vibrant mythological creatures and legendary heroes, Irezumi has an incredibly striking appearance whenever enveloping clients' arms or stretching down their legs. Because bigger body art done in this style typically depicts scenes as opposed to just featuring standalone figures, the ample space of these prominent portions of the bodies allows artists to tell stories visually with their tattoos. For instance, in the amazing set of sleeves by Johan Svahn below, you can witness an epic battle between a phoenix and a snake on one leg and a dragon's journey down a flower-filled river on the other.

Some of the most amazing Irezumi leg sleeves of all time by @johansvahntattooing

If you were blown away by any of these beautiful Irezumi sleeves, go check out more awesome traditional Japanese tattoos on the Instagrams of the artists. Also, they're some of the best practicioners of this style in the world, so if you want a snake, phoenix, or dragon of your own, consider having one of them illustrate it.