A namakubi, or severed head, is a gory image but from the Japanese perspective it symbolizes bravery. Facing death without fear. Accepting death as part of life.

In a tattoo it can carry loyalty, personal sacrifice, even vengeance. But fundamentally it’s about dignity in the face of death.

I particularly love doing these. They’re a great chance to exercise the skill of making something pretty and nice from a distance, and having the horror revealed as you get closer. Plus I get to exercise my horror movie muscles and draw weird, gross stuff that doesn’t fit into most tattoos.

You’ll see a lot of namakubi based on the Horiyoshi III classic designs, which is rad. Mine tend to lean more toward zombies and extreme B-movie exploding-head gore. Just because I think that’s fun to draw. Good chance to make something gnarly look super cool.