Session 1

If you're reading this, you've stumbled upon my personal diary, the place where I'll be documenting the building of my Donburi Soshinbori. Saying, no, even typing those words doesn't seem real, with the sense of excitement I feel at being only a week away from the start…

Until the end of last year, when I finally decided to go for it, I never thought this day would come. The more I think about it, the more I realise this has been decades in the making. From seeing my first heavily tattooed person in the paper, to thinking about tattoos and researching them in the early days of the web, then to discovering the amazing world of Irezumi and Horimono, where my tastes refined and I became convinced that this was what I wanted. Not a sleeve. Not a back-piece. The full thing: a bodysuit.

The idea that you can decorate your skin like that and tell a story, transforming yourself in a way, continues to fascinate me. Constantly expressing art, becoming yourself, and doing something deeply personal, for yourself alone, is all part of the journey I'm about to embark on… Going from zero tattoos to a Donburi Soshinbori is going to be a wild adventure, and one I've been waiting 25 years to start.

Next week, that journey begins with the right leg sleeve.

I'll share more of the why as the journey progresses, but for now, roll on next week.