IVOLY Osaka / Japan @ivoly_tattoo

IVOLY NANIWA is one of the contemporary leading figures in Japanese tattooing. He was selected as a Top Five artist by an elite jury composed of Paul Booth, Victoria Lee, Jesse Smith, and Shi Ryu, and also became the winner of the Oriental Color category, recognitions that highlight both his technical mastery and conceptual depth.

Rooted in Japanese tattoo tradition, his work reflects a strong commitment to symbolism, history, and spiritual values. Beyond his personal artistic practice, he actively contributes to cultural preservation and the development of new generations through initiatives such as the Osaka Tattoo Museum.

In this interview, Ivoly Naniwa shares his journey, influences, and his vision of the present and future of Japanese tattoo culture.

1.To begin with, how were your first steps in the world of tattooing?

When I was sixteen, I was strongly drawn to both traditional Japanese craftsmanship and street culture. Tattooing felt like the only profession where I could engage with both worlds at the same time, and that is when I decided to become a tattoo artist.

From the very beginning of my career, I worked within the street scene of Osaka. During that time, I tattooed hip-hop and rock artists who are now highly influential in Japan, starting when none of us were yet known.

I am proud to have walked through that era together with them and to have grown side by side.

2.Oriental tattooing is deeply connected to history, symbolism, and discipline. What values from Japanese culture do you feel directly influence the way you work and understand art?

Japanese tattooing has a history of approximately four hundred years since its revival, after disappearing around the 4th century BCE.

For nearly the last hundred years, it existed under intense social prejudice. As a reaction to this, uniquely powerful aesthetics emerged—such as extreme full-body compositions and what can be described as an “aesthetics of shadow.”

When I began my training, tattooing still symbolized deviation from mainstream society.

In recent years, however, social media has accelerated commercialization and fashion-oriented consumption, and the former virtue of what might be called “foolishness” or reckless devotion is now being overwritten, together with prejudice itself.

Including the darker and negative aspects of Japanese tattoo history, I believe it is essential to preserve and transmit the resolve and spiritual intensity that once defined it.

For this reason, I plan to establish the Osaka Tattoo Museum (O.T.M.) starting this year.

3.Which masters, traditions, or references were fundamental in developing your identity within the style while maintaining authenticity?

Within tattooing, I have been deeply influenced by Master Horiyoshi III, Master Jiro-Nakano, and Master Hori-Tsuna.

In addition, I often collaborate with individuals involved in traditional Japanese crafts and rituals, and through them I have learned many of the sensibilities and values passed down through generations.

My wife, SINK, is also a tattoo artist. She received Kung Fu training from early childhood and achieved a world second-place ranking, giving her a physical awareness rooted in Chinese and broader Asian traditions.

The nuances of expression I learn from her are filled with an Asian sense of beauty and have had a profound influence on my own work.

4.You were selected as a Top Five artist by the jury of excellence and also won the Color category, two highly significant recognitions. What did these achievements mean to you both personally and professionally?

These recognitions became a powerful source of credibility as we move forward in reviving the spirit of Japanese tattooing and energizing the community.

I hold deep respect for those who recognized and evaluated our work.

5.Starting this year, you organized two events in Japan designed as platforms for younger tattoo artists, which quickly became some of the most important tattoo-related events in the country. How did this initiative come about, and what is the main goal behind these gatherings?

In recent years, social media in Japan has amplified influence based more on visibility and unethical behavior than on technique or spiritual depth.

As a result, many young people struggle to understand the difference between being famous and being an artist.

To counter this, we launched two events with the goal of reviving traditional craftsmanship values within the new generation.

The first is HEISEI Tattooer Gallery (H.T.G.), a group exhibition limited to the Heisei generation (The Japanese era that beagan in 1989), featuring twenty leading artists as well as open submissions from both professionals and amateurs.

The second is BAY GATE, a competition limited to tattoo artists with less than seven years of experience. The winner earns the right to appear at the Tokyo Bay Tattoo Festival, one of the largest tattoo events in Japan.

H.T.G. received over one hundred submissions, while BAY GATE had seventy entrants. One particularly powerful moment was when a young artist working multiple part-time jobs overwhelmingly defeated a financially successful social-media-famous artist, which resonated deeply with audiences.

With support from major Japanese tattoo supply companies such as WIZARD, antenna, FLAG, ANOTHER, and INK WORLD, these events quickly became widely recognized within the industry.

By 2026, we plan to expand their reach beyond the tattoo community.

6.From your experience, what challenges do new generations of tattoo artists face today, and what do you believe is essential to preserve from traditional tattooing in such a contemporary context?

From a technical standpoint, it is a serious problem that artists who devote their time to practice rather than social media lack places to be properly recognized.

Spiritually and culturally, opportunities to learn from the values of the legendary generation are disappearing, partly because Japan no longer has tattoo magazines and relies solely on social media.

Since the pandemic, many artists no longer belong to traditional lineages, and their values are often shaped within short careers and narrow communities.

Two years ago, Master Horiken, who won Gods of Ink, never boasts about his achievements and simply continues to work in silence.

That quiet dedication represents the true posture of the Japanese craftsman.

7.You are planning the creation of the Osaka Tattoo Museum. How did this idea originate, and what role would you like this space to play within Japanese tattoo culture?

Today, many young artists lack opportunities to learn the values and environment of the legendary generation.

At the same time, many artists from overseas visit my studio with SINK specifically to study this history and mindset.

Inspired by the Yokohama Tattoo Museum founded by Master Horiyoshi III, we envisioned O.T.M. as a space where materials I have collected over the past twenty years can be freely accessed.

Most of these materials do not exist on the internet, which gives them a value that “cannot be found even by asking AI.”

By serving as a place where different generations, regions, and values intersect, I hope that each visitor will find an opportunity to deepen their own personal path of tattooing.

8.In a culture where tattooing has historically had a complex relationship with society, how do you see the evolution and acceptance of tattooing in Japan today?

My perspective on this question is the same as what I described in my answer to Question 2.

9.What are your next artistic and cultural goals, and what would you like to continue building in the long term, both within and beyond tattooing?

My personal work is built around two main concepts.

MISSING TALES revives forgotten legends as tattoo motifs, while Alter Traditional explores an imagined form of Japanese traditional tattooing that evolved along a different timeline.

Each of my works belongs to one or both of these concepts.

I believe they offer new frontier possibilities within a tattoo world that has already been extensively explored.

In particular, I hope to publish MISSING TALES as a translated book in the coming years.

10.To close, is there anyone you would like to thank, or is there a message you would like to share?

In Japan, there are still many undiscovered artists, forgotten stories, and values that are being overwritten.

Through O.T.M., I am committed to preserving and sharing them.

I hope you will continue to watch the future of Japanese tattoo culture.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to DGN Tattoo Magazine and everyone involved for providing me with this opportunity.

With this honor, I will continue striving to contribute—however modestly—from the Far East, Japan, to the growth and elevation of tattoo culture worldwide.

Respectfully,

IVOLY NANIWA