【FOCUS IT.]TATTOO STUDIO YAMADA's new store is now open. Interview with Ren Yamada, the president, about the new store and his future.

Tattoo Studio Yamada, which started out as a small tattoo studio in a condominium in Shinsen, Shibuya-ku, is now in its fifth year. In 2024, the year of this milestone, they will open their second store, "Born Losers," and we interviewed the representative, Mr. Ren Yamada, inside the new store.

We spoke with Mr. Yamada, who says that the environment surrounding him has changed dramatically in the past five years, about his new store and the current tattoo scene. Behind his boyish smile, we caught a glimpse of his firm determination to be a leader of the next generation of the tattoo scene.

Photo_Kai Naito
Text_Naoya Tsuneshige

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. foolishly, and just keep climbing.

- As soon as we started, I heard a topic that I couldn't believe my ears...?

Yamada: Yes, actually, I am moving to Los Angeles. I will leave this year, next year, or sometime in the near future, and work as a tattoo artist there for three or four years. My goal is to set up a store there, and when I achieve that, I will return to Japan.

When you started your career as a tattoo artist, was it always your goal to go abroad?

Yamada: No, not at all . I decided recently (laughs). It's a long story, but the biggest reason was simply that it looked interesting.

Of course, there are other tattoo cultures besides the U.S., and all of them are fascinating, but when I looked at other aspects of tattooing, I decided to go to the U.S. first, where many of my roots exist, such as fashion, music, and motorcycles.

The new Born Losers store reflects the roots of your business.

Yamada: You would think so. But actually, that is not the case. If anything, I am thinking of eliminating that element. Thankfully, we have a lot of visitors every day, and we have a large group of artists, 12 if you include apprentices.

The strength of this is that no two artists paint the same pictures, but then there are artists who are highly artistic, others like me who love American tigers, others who specialize in Chicano tattoos, and so on, from major artists to outlaws. I was hoping to get some kind of sense of this.

If "Tattoo Studio Yamada" was the entry point, then "Born Losers" is for people who are more interested in the tattoo culture itself and want to go deeper into it. The name of the store is also very distinctive , where did it come from?

Yamada: The literal translation is "born to be a loser," but if you think that way, you can do anything. It is a positive attitude that says, "There is nothing lower than this, so all I have to do is climb up. I chose my favorite word as the name of the second restaurant.

Even going to Los Angeles is quite a challenge. But I am able to take the first step because of these words in my mind. The members of the studio are still skeptical that I am really going (laughs).

A 10-second walk from the first store. What was your intention in opening a second store just a 10 second walk from the first one?

Yamada: It was a coincidence. . It was a combination of luck, or perhaps I was blessed with the right people. But the Harajuku area is a crossroads of various cultures, and both the town and its people are interesting. It would be a bit presumptuous of me to say that I am helping to further enliven the area, but I would like to be a part of it.

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The rapidly changing environment surrounding tattoos and the way we are.

From the opening of the first store to now, has the environment changed a lot in the past five years?

Yamada: Yes, that's right. . I think things have changed so much in the past five years that it would not be an exaggeration to say that things have changed 180 degrees. When I first started, if I told people that I wanted to become an engraver in this generation, they would say, "Seriously? Are you sure about that? But one of the things that changed that was the trial that took place in 2020.

What kind of trial was it?

Yamada: Until then, tattooing was a medical procedure and required a medical license. However, there was a tattoo artist who fought against the law and claimed that tattoos are not a medical procedure but an art form, and his case was accepted. This was one of the reasons I became able to work as a tattoo artist on a large scale and to claim that I am a tattoo artist.

. It could also be due to the rapid growth of social networking sites. We live in an age where you can quickly find out what tattoos your favorite artists and athletes are having tattooed, and you can contact the tattoo artist immediately via DM.

Yamada: Yes, that is a big part of it. Young people today are really good at that kind of thing. I feel that I have already been left behind, so I am struggling to keep up with them.

I don't think so (laughs). I found out about your apparel business and farm through your Instagram and YouTube. I think you are a good communicator. Can you tell us about these two businesses?

Yamada: As for apparel, I actually had no intention of doing it at all. I always liked clothes, but I was too occupied as a tattoo artist and had no time to do it. But one day, more and more people started coming to me and saying, "I can't do tattoos for various reasons, but I like your drawings.

When I thought about what I could do for these people, I decided to try my hand at apparel for the first time. I thought it would be great if I could make T-shirts depicting my artwork for people who could not engrave themselves, and have them wear them. That was the beginning.

Then, since I originally loved clothes, I thought, "Well, I'd like to make something like that, too," and various items were created, and now the apparel business has grown to the point where it has its own representative.

How did you get into farming?

Yamada: This is a project that I am working on with a classmate of mine in my hometown in Fukushima Prefecture. I had heard that one of my classmates had become a farmer and wanted to do it on his own someday, so we had been talking over drinks about doing something together once he became a full-fledged farmer.

Then, when he was ready to be on his own, I asked him, "Do you remember that story?" . And so it goes.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, I was a high school student at the time, and there was nothing I could do for my hometown, Fukushima Prefecture, and there was nothing I could do. But then time passed, and I thought that now I could contribute something.... This led to a promise I made to an old friend.

By the way, we grow "pesticide-free garlic. We are gradually focusing on processed products such as garlic spice and garlic chips. We are facing the soil every day, hoping that the involvement of young people like us in agriculture will help not only Fukushima Prefecture but also the entire agriculture industry to move in an interesting direction.

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Life is all about accumulation. Yamada Ren looks to the future of the industry and his own future.

Ren, you are involved in various businesses in addition to expanding the number of stores, moving abroad, and being a tattoo artist.

Yamada: I don't have a goal. I am easily interested in various things. But I think that's a good thing. If I am going to be a tattoo artist, I should continue to draw and deal with tattoos for the rest of my life.

If you have time to play, you should practice painting, he said.

Yamada: Yes, yes. But I am not like that. I do what I have to do, and then I wonder how many things I can experience in this life that I have only once, and how much I can make it my flesh and blood...that is how I want my life to be.

. even farming, let's say, is not necessary for a tattoo artist. . But it's lame to talk about something you haven't done. I think it is important to try it first and understand it in your own mind.

There is a possibility that there will be many more businesses in the future, but as a tattoo artist, my approach is to experience these "various things" for myself and then reflect them in my tattoos. I tell my younger students, "Don't just draw pictures, have fun. There is no such thing as wasted time, and it will always be reflected in the tattoo in a positive way.

I think it's a nice way of thinking. Did your parents teach you this way of thinking?

Yamada: No, not at all. I think it was in the bathtub... (laughs) , I think I came to this idea.

Ren, who learned tattooing on her own without a master, seems to have a quote from a senior colleague that she still cherishes today.

Yamada: I knew that carvers are business rivals with each other, and there was a time when I couldn't help but be conscious of this. I once went to a person to ask for advice about that. I went to him for advice, and he asked me, "What is the point of making enemies? And I said to him, "What is the point of making enemies? He said, "Don't be repulsed, just accept everything, and then we'll talk about it. That may have been the basis of my way of thinking.

Since then, I try to see everything in a flat way and treat people from other studios not as enemies or allies, but as friends who share the same culture. I try to treat people from other studios as my friends who are promoting the same culture, not as my enemies or allies.

. Lastly, I would like to ask Mr. Ryoya Hosoyama, a.k.a. Buna, the representative of "TOKYO HEART" who is also present at the meeting. I understand that Mr. Ren will be gone from Japan for a while, how do you feel about that?

Beech: He is very scary (laughs). However, his way of thinking has certainly permeated the other members, and even though Ren Yamada is temporarily going abroad, we have other like-minded and trustworthy members in our group. In that sense, I hope you can rest assured.

In my eyes, Ren Yamada is a man who lives fast. However, his will has certainly been passed on to the next generation, and the members of the team are all working hard every day with the same passion to make the industry as a whole more exciting. Please look forward to the future of "TATTOO STUDIO YAMADA" and "Born Losers".

Yamada: That's a good point! I mean ......!

I am sure you will be able to go to Los Angeles with peace of mind, Ren. Finally, may I say something about the future of "Ren Yamada"?

I have always based my work on American tattoos, but recently, I have been very attracted to traditional Japanese paintings and tattoos, and I try to incorporate them into my own work.

There is such a thing as mixing American and traditional Japanese design, but I don't think that the ultimate system has been completed yet. I am currently on a journey as an artist to find the end point. I hope that I can continue to move forward in my own way, never stopping, and taking an interest in all kinds of things.