Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Matsumoto.
Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I guess I’m gonna start off with the basics (just like we call it in Japan “jiko shoukai” or self-introduction) because I feel that where I came from and my ancestry has had a huge impact on who I am.
I was born in Brazil, and when I was five years old, my family moved to Japan, where I went through childhood and adolescence in the district of Toyama, a traditional countryside state of Japan.
Growing up, there was though. Mainly because of the cultural shock, also for being a “half” (this is how they call biracial people with Japanese ancestry), also because I was raised in a conservative household. Not to mention the language barrier especially in the beginning. It didn’t take long for the fast-learning brain of a five-year-old child to be able to speak Japanese fluently, but even doing so, I was still left with a sense of misplacement that would follow me for my entire life no matter where I go.
Adding to that, there was also my introspective personality and the fact that my family was Jehova’s witness at the time, which meant having an extremely strict childhood with tons of rules for pretty much everything. I struggled to connect socially and had always gravitated towards arts to express myself.
My journey in tattooing started after I moved back to Brazil at the age of 19. By then, I was going through a second cultural shock and trying to adapt to a culture that was pretty much the opposite to the one in Japan. Even though it was a bit less traumatic, it was though to adapt to it as it was to adapt to the Japanese culture when I was younger. For a while, I was caught up studying philosophy at college but always had in mind to switch my graduation to visual arts, which in the end didn’t happen because I was afraid it would put me in a box and limit my creativity.
Within that environment, I met many creative colleagues who became part of my social circle and at the same time, I was involved in singing and composing for a post-hardcore band I had with some other friends. Both the visual arts and the punk rock environment made me lean towards tattooing. It was at that same time that I was getting my first tattoo done and exchanging experiences with some friends that were trying out with tattoos as well. It was probably somewhere back in 2011-2012.
I remember that by then I was decided to become a tattooist but saw little to no opening into the industry. I’ve never been socially skilled and had always felt kind of a stranger because of my background growing up as a foreigner both in Brazil and in Japan. Also, there was the fact that tattooing in general, especially traditional tattooing had quite of a conservative “macho” energy, in which I felt even less opening at the time. Looking back now, I realize how it held me back from opening some doors.
By that time, I was trying to make my way into tattooing through some friends that were starting in the industry as well. I had the chance to work as a volunteer at Flash Day, in which I met a tattooer from France that was based in Brazil at the time. He was actually the first person ever to open that door for me, and I was able to start an apprenticeship in a shop close to my place. It was at a commercial tattoo shop, and there I learnt the basics, like sterilizing tubes, dealing with clients, cleaning the shop, etc. I did make some tattoos there, but they wanted me to start working as a professional, but I wasn’t ready and didn’t feel like their approach was professional so I decided to leave and had to tattoo friends at home in order to keep practicing. Soon after that, I was fired from my job at the time, and I had no other option but to become a full-time tattooist in order to pay the bills. Looking back right now, I feel like it happened just the way it was meant to be and at the exact right timing.
After tattooing friends at home for a while, I was invited to work at some local shops and to be honest things moved really fast and suddenly, I was being featured on media from everywhere. It got to a point where I had too many inquiries and couldn’t handle social media or emails… It was overwhelming.
Back then, I was just doing whatever I though was cool at the time with no commitment to traditional themes. In other words, I was doing contemporary tattoos. I remember being really inspired at first by Guy Le Tattooer’s work back when he used to do “black work” if I can really label it as that. Tattooing was totally different before the social networking era and also far from being accessible as it is nowadays. My head was 24/7 focused on work, tattooing and drawing.
After about three years of tattooing in Brazil, I decided to leave and explore. So I traveled first to Bogota, Medellin, Santa Marta, and San Andrés, visited California for the first time back then, and crossed Mexico by car all the way down to Guatemala with some friends from Austria. After that, I did Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy. Tattooed in some of those places and had some meaningful existential and professional experiences that would change the course of tattooing in my life.
Once moving back to Brazil, I realized that I was immensely impacted by the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met along those years of traveling. I definitely could not go back to who I was and what I was doing before. It was the first time since I’ve started tattooing that I recognized the weight of traditional tattoos on the craft of tattooing and to why that knowledge was kept within such a small group of people and unachievable at first glance.
I was also on the process of an existential and spiritual awakening at that time and could clearly understand why things some things were as is.
I went from the disruptive attitude of being a “punk” and hating the traditional to understanding the importance in the “essence of things”. In. that process, I realized why there were metrics bounded to it and to respect what was established before. That doesn’t mean I cannot do something contemporary, but that I had a responsibility toward the history of tattooing. In order to deconstruct it, I need to understand it first, and that’s a value that the lifestyle of being a tattooer has taught me along the way. Tattooing is not about ego; it’s not a form of “art” but a craft. An artist paints on a canvas that has no history or feelings. The canvas of a tattooist is the human body; That tattoo is not about me. This idea keeps me humble and reminds me of how valuable this craft is, how it shouldn’t be lost amongst the “ego-centric” culture of our times.
I am excited to be in LA and to be able to explore this new chapter in my career. Looking forward to meet creative people inside and outside of this industry and to grow as an artist and as a tattooist.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, as I mentioned before, no it wasn’t smooth at all. I feel like tattooing (used to be) really hard to get into, especially because of it being a serious lifetime commitment. Along the way, I did have many struggles with my style and felt in contradiction to what I was doing and what “real tattooing” was supposed to be. I’ve always tried to deliver my best towards any style, and still believe that being capable of doing all different styles is the right way to carry on this legacy. Tattooing is of such complexity that you can spend a lifetime and keep being surprised with it. It will definitely keep you humble because you will never know all of its secrets. It is indeed a lifetime commitment, at least for me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
This is definitely the hardest question of all time, quite an existential one, haha. It’s hard to say what I specialize in because I feel like I’m all over the place. I guess now I am leaning towards Japanese tattoos, but originally I was known for geometric tattoos. Right now I’d say I specialize in delivering good quality tattoos, no matter what style it is. I’m proud of my journey, and I feel gifted to be able to work with something I really love, and to meet amazing people along the way, and also to change their lives in a meaningful way. Tattoos are special in all aspects, from beginning to end and I deeply love this craft.
It’s hard for me to say what sets me apart from others, but I hope those who tattooed with me had a great and ethical experience and that they can carry that piece proudly for the rest of their lives. I’d like to be remembered that way.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m a major fan of taking risks. I like adventures and to explore the unknown… That’s pretty much what I did back when I left Brazil and traveled without making any long-term plans. My philosophy back then was to live each day haha I remember I’d be capable of planning only a week ahead and anything more than that would make me anxious. I lived pretty much like that for a long time until I got closer to my 30s and felt like I needed to be more “mature”. I think there is the right timing for everything and if your heart tells you should do something crazy you should. Most of the time what is holding us back to taking risks and following our dreams is the fear itself. Once you get over it, you’ll see things happening in a way you could only have a glance before. Pretty much everything I built regarding my career was related to taking risks.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/omze__
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/djturvo
