Tattoos: An Anthropology

Kuwahara, Makiko.Tattoo: an anthropology. Oxford; New York.2005. Print.

Library call number  (SS&H) : GN670 .K88 2005

This book provided an in depth journey into tattooing across the entire world. It covered ancient tattooing in Polynesia, which has been around since the dawn of time but also tattooing in Japan. This is important because Japanese imagery and tattooing had a profound influence on American Naval sailors of the 1940's stationed in Hawaii. This is where the infamous Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins had his "Wild Heart" tattoo shop set up. Kuwahara goes onto explain that due to racism against Japanese people from Americans during the era, it has been analyzed that these tattoos were a "primitive rebellion against mainstream American ideology". Thus, It fit's directly into Roy Shuker's "bricolage" theory. Also, this ideal is quite similar to that explained in "Habanera beats in Rockabilly Music" regarding young, white men using African beats in a predominately racist 1940's American south.

However, it goes on to further explain that these tattoos that "Sailor Jerry" created were the fundamental image basis of Rockabilly tattoos. The thin lined stylings and font used can can be seen in tattoos in not only the Rockabilly culture but also the Psychobily culture. With this in mind,  there is a directly visual, evolution of tattooing from different eras which ends directly in the Californian psychobilly scene.