Japanese Sleeve Tattoo. Bird and Plum.

This Japanese Sleeve Tattoo showcasing Japanese Bush Warbler and Plum (Ume). It’s a Full Sleeve Tattoo.

Tattoo Artist – George Bardadim. Bardadim.Tattoo NYC

The Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone), known in Japanese as uguisu (ウグイス), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. Its distinctive breeding callcan be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring. It is one of the favorite motifs of Japanese poetry, featured in many poems including those in Man’yōshū or Kokin Wakashū. In haiku and renga, uguisu is one of the kigo which signify the early spring. In poetry the bird is associated with the ume blossom, and appears with ume on hanafuda playing cards. There is also a popular Japanese sweet named Uguisu-boru (Uguisu Balls) which consists of brown and white balls meant to resemble ume flower buds. However, the distinctive song is not usually heard until later in spring, well after the ume blossoms have faded. In haiku the bird with this song is known as sasako, and the song is called sasanaki. (Wikipedia)

Japan is now famed for its beautiful sakura (cherry blossoms) but back in the Edo period, it was ume, or plum blossoms, were the quintessential sign of spring to come. Ume blossoms are not quite as flashy and bountiful as sakura blossoms, but certainly very pretty in a subtler, more elegant way. They were also prized for its sweet scent.

Plum Blossoms. UME.

Plum blossoms arrive in Japan near the end of winter, earlier than most other blossoms. This means around mid-February to early March for Tokyo. Temples and shrines also hold ume matsuri, or plum blossom festivals, around this time to celebrate the beauty of these flowers and the welcome arrival of warm weather after months of chilly winter.

Birds and Plum Blossoms are widely used in Japanese Tattoo Design.