Namakubi

Namakubi painting by Marco

Meaning: Courage, Warning, Respect, Fearlessness, Honor, Dignity

One of the most important meanings behind the Namakubi tattoo is the willingness to accept your fate and to do so with honor. It is applied not only for shock value, which of course plays a part, but as an element of the cycle of life. We will all meet our end, hopefully we can meet it with dignity. It can show respect for ones’ foes. It is believed that taking the head is done with respect to the person and /or the person’s cause. It can also be used to show others the punishment they expect to receive for not living a righteous life.

No matter what the interpretation it is a very common Japanese tattoo theme and you will usually find at least one on most people with a large collection of Japanese tattoos.