This photograph (click to enlarge) shows the work of tattoo artist Dan Wysuph, who is based in Santa Cruz, CA.

Takahiro Kitamura writes: "While adaptation may destroy or change certain aspects of a traditional art form, fusion is also a natural progression that promotes growth and strengthens traditions for new generations, ensuring its survival. Fusion may destroy or change past traditions but it can also insure survival of an art," (Perseverance, p 159).

Works Cited:

Kip Fulbeck and Takahiro Kitamura, Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo in a Modern World, exhibition catalogue, Japanese American National Museum, 2013.