A guide to Horimono

What is Horimono:

Horimono is the traditional Japanese approach to full-body tattooing, emphasizing structured composition, narrative flow, and coordinated motif and background elements that integrate across the body. While many people are more familiar with the term Irezumi, which simply means “tattoo” in Japanese, Horimono is used to describe large-format work designed to function as a unified body composition rather than as individual, disconnected tattoos. While all Horimono is Irezumi, not all Irezumi is Horimono!

Why Suit Planning Matters:

Horimono is approached as a long-term body of work rather than a collection of individual tattoos. Because the goal is cohesion across the entire body, early planning choices have a lasting effect on the finished work.

One of the key planning considerations in Horimono is how the work is framed. In traditional Japanese tattooing, this framing is established through a chosen bodysuit format and mikiri. Mikiri, meaning “a finished edge”, refers to the intentional ending points of the tattoo, the places where the work is designed to stop on the body.

Mikiri applies whether the work is meant to continue later or remain finished at that point. The top of a sleeve, for example, may be planned to eventually connect into the back, but it still needs to function as a complete and well thought out ending for as long as it stands on its own. In the same way, the upper edge of the back may be planned as a final stopping point that will never extend further.

In both cases, the ending must fit the person well and look intentional, regardless of what may or may not happen later.

Approaches to background, framing, and overall structure also vary from artist to artist. Even within traditional Japanese tattooing, differences in these areas give each tattooer’s work a distinct feel. Historically, these approaches were shaped within tattoo families and regional practices, and that tradition continues today. As a result, bodysuits built by multiple tattooers often show visible differences in how the work ends and is sized on the body.

Thoughtful suit planning helps account for these variables and supports a more cohesive result over time.

Back-First vs. Limb-First:

When approaching Horimono, beginning with the back, specifically Kame No Koh (“turtle back”: a full composition that extends from below the neck down to the back of the thigh) allows the overall direction of the work to be established early. The back provides the largest uninterrupted surface on the body and often serves as the structural and visual center of the bodysuit.

Starting here makes it easier to determine scale, primary subject matter, environment, seasonality and flow, which can then inform how the rest of the body is developed. This approach tends to offer the greatest flexibility as the work expands, since the surrounding sections can be planned in direct response to what is already established.

Beginning with the arms or legs can also be a valid entry point, particularly for those who are not yet ready to commit to a full back. Starting with the arms or legs first often allows for a more gradual introduction to large-scale work and can be easier to live with early in the process. At the same time, this approach requires careful restraint. Scale, placement, and background direction must be considered from the outset so that future sections can connect naturally.

Without that foresight, early work on the limbs can limit options later or require adjustments to maintain balance when the work continues onto the torso or back.

Both approaches carry tradeoffs. Starting with the back provides a strong foundation and clearer long-term flexibility, but requires a higher initial commitment. Starting with the arms or legs first can feel more accessible early on, but demand greater discipline in planning to avoid structural conflicts later.

In either case, success depends less on where the work begins and more on whether the starting point supports Horimono as a unified, long-term body composition rather than a series of independent tattoos.

Considerations before committing to a sleeve design:

Do you like the look of Munewari (see fig. 3 down below)? If so, it’s smart to attach a Hikae (chest panel) to the sleeve design, this helps the flow of the design from the arms to the chest. This will later transition down the torso to create the panels that make up Munewari (fig.3). If you don’t like the look of Munewari, ending the sleeve at the cusp of the shoulder is the best choice (fig.1), leaving more room for a larger design to take up the front of the torso.

This full frontal motif is called Donburi. If you get Hikae and then later decide to do Donburi, it will force the design to reside only on the abdomen and the narrow area to be filled in between the Hikae panels never has a chance to have good flow (fig.2), even when done by the best artists. That’s why considering a suit style ahead of doing the arms is important. Starting on your back with Kame No Koh will limit these potential roadblocks and gives you time to consider the format of your bodysuit.

Suit Format Commitment:

One of the least considered disadvantages of beginning on the arms, is that you end up committing to a specific style of bodysuit, oftentimes without even knowing it. The ending point on the arm (half, 7/10ths, or Full sleeve) will decide the style of suit a person should get. For example, if you have full sleeves you should NOT end your suit above the knee, because these proportions often disrupt visual balance. Ideally, a good pairing would be full arms & full legs to match. This is called Soushinbori.

A suit with half sleeves and ending above the knee is called Gobusode. There are still more options for variations within each suit style, but the one constant is matching the format of the arms & legs. When you start with a leg, most people get a full leg (commonly called “leg sleeve” in the west), and then you may feel forced into getting full sleeves. This may be a big deal if a person dislikes the look of full sleeves.

If you work in a business that requires discretion with tattoos, you may want a different cut-off than a full length sleeve. As I mentioned before, If you start on your back, you’ll never have these problems, and you get extra time to decide exactly how you want your bodysuit to look.

Another big downside to starting with the legs is that a Kame no Koh is designed to include the back of the thighs for strategic design reasons. The design of the rear thigh is complementary to the subject on the back and butt, and it’s common for some of the design elements to show here as well (fig.4). When the leg is tattooed first, it covers all the way up to where the thigh meets the bottom of the butt.

By doing this, a portion of the thigh area is stolen from the composition of the Kame No Koh, and a less dynamic suit design is the result (fig.5).

This area of the thigh is not the most important part of the backpiece, and it’s not the most important part of a full leg, HOWEVER in the perspective of Horimono, this area is very important to the composition and flow of the body suit. When done out of proper order it is guaranteed to negatively affect the composition of the suit to some degree.

(See Diagram Below: The red areas with diagonal lines indicate the parts of the Kame No Koh that are sacrificed by doing arms and/or legs first. Looking at this diagram, it should be clear how much of a difference these areas make in the design of the back, often forcing a cramped design, see the gray area of Fig. 5 vs the red area of Fig. 4)

Traditional Japanese Bodysuit styles:

This section outlines several common Horimono bodysuit formats and how each approach affects the overall appearance and structure of the work. Japanese tattoo traditions vary widely by region and lineage, both in terminology and in stylistic conventions. This guide is not intended as a definitive authority, but as a simplified resource to help those new to Horimono understand the fundamental differences between common approaches.

Once you’ve decided to get a bodysuit, especially if you don’t start with a Full Back (Kame no Koh), you will need to decide how you want the suit to look. The following diagrams will give you an idea of the options.

We will first explore some options with full coverage and progress to more minimal motifs. Motifs that end at or above the knee/elbow, are considered just as much a proper bodysuit as one that ends at the wrist/ankle. In my personal opinion, these minimal motifs, if the wearer can resist tattooing the rest of the body (or has no existing tattoos to begin with), can be impressive just in terms of the restraint.

As someone considering getting a bodysuit, the one consideration you should make for yourself at this point, is how you want it to look in the end. If you have any inkling that you will want to extend it later, you should just start with that from the beginning, and you’ll have a more dynamic design by doing so.

Soushinbori:

Full Length suit. Arms and Legs extend to just above the wrist and ankle. The two options of Donburi (Full frontal coverage) or Munewari (Split front) apply to nearly all suit styles, with an exception for the most minimalistic styles that are only traditionally applied to women.

Shichibu:

A suit style with a 7/10ths length arm/leg cut off, ending a few inches below the elbow and knee. This look was traditionally much more common for women, even being considered as the standard for women. Men are not discouraged from getting this style, but it should be a personal choice. The modern reference of ‘Capri Pants’ having a similar cut off, and not being a masculine fashion look, may have some impact on men choosing this style in modern day. I think it looks good for either, personally.

As referenced earlier, this is a discreet suit style, allowing for a dress shirt to rise up or be rolled up a bit and not show the tattoo. Some choose to keep the arms at this length and the legs with full coverage. This is an acceptable alteration to the suit styles. The first example below shows a Doburi style suit, with full frontal coverage of the torso.

While the second example shows Munewari, which adds further discretion, as it would allow for a shirt to be unbuttoned at the top and still not allow the tattoo to easily show.

Gobu-Sode:

A short sleeve, 5/10ths length, bodysuit. Most commonly seen being done with Munewari for the torso, and no extension to the inner thigh (seen in the first example below). The Donbori version denotes a full thigh connection on the inside. However, there are still options as to how the inner-thigh and inner-bicep can be crafted, for anyone hesitant to tattoo these sensitive and private areas of the body.

A minimal approach with a Katabori border (a V shape of negative space that leaves more untattooed skin on the inner limbs near armpits and the groin) or full coverage that leaves a curved edge ending closer to the armpit/genitals. It really just comes down to personal preference and what each individual is drawn to. These inside-ending choices apply to all Donburi suits, and longer length Munewari style suits.

Mijikame No Munewari:

A shorter-than-usual ending bodysuit that is traditional for women who find the look of longer length formats of body suit to be too much. The short ending on the arms resembles a short cap tshirt, and something like ‘boy-shorts’ on the butt and thighs. It typically has no tattooing on the inner bicep or inner thigh. This minimal look is very flattering, especially if the wearer is otherwise untattooed throughout their body.

The restraint shown is beautiful in itself, and greatly compliments the female form.

Nipples:

even though it’s not specified in these graphics, nipples can be avoided. They do not need to be tattooed over, by any means. In some cases, women prefer to have flowers designed around the nipple in a creative manner, it allows the breast to still maintain a softness, with less heavy black ink.

Armpits and Groin Area:

Coverage in these areas varies by suit format, personal preference, and each tattooer’s approach. In some formats the inner bicep and inner thigh are left open with more negative space, while other approaches carry the background further in for a more continuous look. These decisions are worth considering early, since they affect the overall “shape” of the suit and how it reads when the body is at rest and in motion.

Expectations in execution of Horimono:

Horimono is not done overnight, and even if you take breaks between each part, the journey is still admirable and respectable. A bodysuit is the goal, and you shouldn’t pressure yourself to complete it faster than you’re comfortable with or able to.

Consistency and commitment is a really important factor while working on each section, but spacing out the work in between each section in order to rest, live life, and save money is completely understandable and respected! It can often help even the most committed avoid burn out.