Lotus Flower Tattoo Ideas

Lotus flowers are amazing and have strong symbolic ties to many Asian religions, especially throughout India and the lotus has become a symbol for awakening to the meaning of life. The meaning varies slightly between myth to myth of course but essentially religious traditions place importance on the lotus flower.

In modern times the meaning of a lotus flower tattoo ties into it’s religious symbolism and meaning. Most tattoo enthusiast feel that the a lotus tattoo represent life in general. As the lotus flower grows up from the mud into a object of great beauty people also grow and change into something more beautiful (hopefully!). So the symbol represent the struggle of life at its most basic form.

Lotus and peonies are flowers that are very popular among Japanese tattoo artists and they make a great compliment to Koi tattoos. Ironically enough, the two, koi fish and lotus flowers can often be found in the same pond in front of a temple. The Koi fish is a symbol typically for strength and individualism.

Asian Peony Tattoos

The Peony is considered the best of flowers and is known as the King of flowers. In short it means elegance and wealth. With it’s large and spreading red petals, which are delicately curled at the edges, the peony has been called in Europe “the rose without thorns” and has been used at times as a way to refer to the Virgin Mary. But even from the time of the ancient Greeks, it has been associated with many positive folk medicine cures in the western world, treating ailments that range from asthma to epilepsy and even keeping evil spirits away. Although often depicted in tattoo imagery in deep red, it is today also cultivated in white, varying shades of red and even yellow. The principal association in tattoo work is not western but rather eastern, where flowers take on a distinctly different set of meanings.

In the ornate, complex, and extensive body coverage that is typically involved in Japanese tattoos, it may seem as though entire gardens appear, but the floral repertoire of traditional Japanese tattoo is not as extensive as it might first appear. We can say that among the select flowers that are used is the peony, a flower with a very long history (as much as 4000 years) in China and then in Japan. For the Chinese it was regarded as a symbol of wealth, good fortune and prosperity. In Japanese culture, it symbolizes much the same. In addition though, since the peony is part of an old Japanese card game (historically played by heavily tattooed gamblers), it also suggests a sort of gambling, daring and even a masculine devil-may-care attitude, quite unlike its character in the west.

Japanese Flower Tattoo Pictures

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Chinese Flower Tattoo Gallery Pictures

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Chinese Tattoos Design

Lotus flower tattoo that was done in Hangzhou, China. This one did not heal very well and the artist had a really odd style. As Chinese people tend to be almost hairless, he did not shave off my arm hair. Consequently it kept getting tangled in his machine.

Japanese tattoo of a geisha (or dancing girl) done by Madoka of Cat Claw Tattoo in Kyoto, Japan

Peony flowers from China.

Peony flower tattoo done in Hangzhou, China. This was the most unclean piece that I have ever gotten, and I suffered many side effects from it. When getting tattooed, you are in control! Do not let respect for a tattoo artist impeded you from protecting yourself.