This photograph (click to enlarge) shows the work of tattoo artist Sulu'ape Steve Looney, who is based in Hawaii and describes himself as "mixed heritage half Samoan, Sicilian and Irish." This tattoo is traditional Samoan but done in the Japanese style.

Takahiro Kitamura writes: "The influence of the Japanese tattoo is such that tattoo artists have not only adopted its classic imagery and characteristics, but its form as well ... The framework and supporting visual structures of the Japanese tattoo make it extremely adaptable to other cultures and appealing in hybrid forms," (Perseverance, p 145).