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The bamboo tattoo has many interpretations and primarily varies depending on the individual.
The beautiful plant themed design is becoming increasingly popular not only in Asia but also in the West. Its a popular choice for women because of the natural beauty, uniqueness and uplifting spirit.
Bamboos are culturally significant in many Asian countries because they traditionally associate bamboo with oriental standards of beauty. Over the centuries, artists have relied on bamboo to inspire them. Many people prefer these tattoos because they carry deep meanings. Bamboo tattoos symbolize inner strength, longevity, prosperity, the quest for knowledge, and a sense of calm. The craftsmanship of making this tattoo with only a single needle is incredible.
These bamboo tattoos can be personalized with a special meaning or simply represent what you love. The unique brush painting style of different colors, sizes, and shapes can create stunning patterned designs that are full of movement and life.
Bamboo tattoos do not discolor over time due to the deep embedding of the ink. The bamboo stick tips contain five needles that make articulate designs that symbolize power, protection, and conviction. If you are considering an authentic bamboo tattoo in the stick-and-poke style, you will cherish the experience for the rest of your life.
Black-ink bamboo tattoos are a great choice for people seeking authentic designs. The sight of a panda eating bamboo is breathtaking. This tattoo embodies the mind, soul, and body.
I love this minimalistic black and grey bamboo plant tattoo placed on the outer forearm. A simple shading effort gives the stems and leaves plenty of definition. While you might think this just traditional bamboo at first glance, one thing to consider is that there are over 1,500 bamboo species out there. If you hunt around you can find the perfect one to ink.
Wow, how beautiful is this watercolor bamboo themed women’s forearm tattoo? The paint brush stroke effect leaves are quite bold and beautifully well done, while the stems are delicately inked to perfection. If you’re in touch with your natural side and love all things nature, then consider going with a sleeve design such as the one above. Note how the artist combined by black and green elements rather than just sticking with a black and white or all-green design.
Here’s a different take on the bamboo plant featuring a single bamboo stem placed inside of a glass container. Look closer and you’ll see multicolored pebbles at the base of this transparent glass vase. The artist has included small touches of blue in the background, while also giving the bamboo more definition through the use of yellow and black hues.
If you like the watercolor look then consider this cleaner style featuring more of a paint brush stroke theme. The leaves have a gradient black and green effect which gives this piece of body art a lot of visual interest. Wrapped around the entire leg, this sleeve women’s tattoo has a modern, creative edge to it.
Check out this awesome sketched style black and white ink forearm tattoo for women. This is a wonderful idea to consider if you’re leaning towards a more minimalistic or simplistic design. I love the fact that black ink alone can be so beautiful, even when bamboo is green when found in nature. Personally, I find this style to have an almost crayon like texture.
Did you know that bamboo can be carbonized into filament and then used as part of a lightbulb? Thomas Edison was the first to give this a try and it worked. The dark silhouette serves as a reminder of the darkness without light. The all black design with very few designs makes for a simple, but bold statement. I consider it to be a representation of something strong, as the plant itself is quite hefty.
Here’s another lighter silhouette style bamboo tattoo running across the entire forearm. A minor watercolor effect gives this female tattoo a bit more creative curiosity. It’s another fine example of how popular all-black ink bamboo tattoos are these days.
A panda sits solemnly eating bamboo just above the wrist on this black bamboo tattoo. The delicate painterly quality of the lines of the bamboo leaves add a tender look to this full forearm tattoo. Not only can this sweet panda be worn with pride, the viewer can also consider the panda’s food source at the same time!
Whether you have plentiful tattoos or not, this small and subtle bamboo twig can be placed just about anywhere on the body. The coloring is subtle and the line work is lovely. It could even be inked with a panda bear close nearby for visual effect!
This bamboo shoot creates a dramatic effect of contrast around the upper knee. The look of this tattoo pairs well with others. Solid black lends a dance for drama, boldness and a wee bit of romance…..if bamboo shoots are your thing.
The eagle soaring through this bamboo both appear to have jumped straight off of a watercolor paper. The artist used a delicate hand to give the appearance of subtle shading, light and dark in the leaves of bamboo. This would look beautiful on a forearm as well.
This tattoo adds a lovely framing to the wearer’s back. Positioned just so, with lovely contrast for skin and bamboo leaves, I can’t help but imagine an added moon image on the upper right shoulder. Bamboo lends itself to so many ideas for tattoo enthusiasts!
Nature lovers will enjoy this full lower leg bamboo tattoo. The green of the leaves and the brown of the stems add to the beauty of this inked work. The tattoo artist appears to have taken this straight off of a large painted canvas with enthusiasm. What a joy to ink what you love!?
This tattoo was inked onto the back of the upper arm with a heavy inked quality. It appears as though it was done from a calligrapher’s hand. The black inky quality would look fantastic paired with black bamboo velvet gown or tanktop. Imagine the effect!
This yin yang style of bamboo tattoo lends a joyful surprise! Though maybe not seen at first glance, the playful nature of this black tattoo gives the viewer time to explore and take a closer look at what is being portrayed in the image. Ocean waves and bamboo forests seem to dance together is this playful ball of balance.
This is a beautiful example of combining the love of bamboo with your personal statement. Many things can be said in a beautiful design with the combination of the natural look of bamboo and the elegance of Chinese characters. You can ink messages of life, love, family and prosperity or good health, luck and virtue. The messages combine well with the beauty of bamboo.
This bamboo tattoo is a lovely work of art. The upper arm is full of strong bamboo shoots and gently winding leaves, as if the wearer is standing in a grove of bamboo. The natural beauty of the plant is demonstrated to it’s full extent in this gradient of ink.
This classic representation bamboo gives a calm look to the upper arm. The leaves have a almost pastel like presentation adding to their delicate charm. The leaves appear animated as if in a gentle breeze. The pastel quality adds to the suggestion of movement.
Black bamboo gives a lovely appearance to this wearer’s forearm. Placed elegantly along the arm, the way in which the ink is applied gives a calming storybook quality to the tattoo. It appears to have been gently painted, rather than inked along the arm giving a beautiful airy look to the overall image.
I love the simple and airy effect of these bold bamboo leaves. The way they wrap along the upper arm as though offering an embrace of plant material. The green of the leaves juxtaposed with the green of the tank top, adds to the boldness of the look of this bamboo tattoo. I can’t help but think the bamboo is whispering to the wearer.
This simple but very effective bamboo tattoo appears almost to have been drawn straight on the upper arm with a pencil! The linework is sure to catch any nature lover’s eye with a little bit of envy. The envious one will be running to the nearest tattoo parlor for yet another bamboo tattoo idea.
This rich dark green bamboo tattoo is sure to please any nature lover. The image is elegant and fresh with beautifully inked stems and bold leaves. I love the gradation to airiness at the points of the leaves. Though it looks pleasing along the forearm, this would be lovely anywhere on the body.
This small bluebird placed just above the wrist is a joyful surprise! The image is playful, like a bird toy. I can’t help but imagine the sound of the tiny bell around the neck of the bird. What a treat! The lovely contrast of the beautiful red bamboo on the bird body adds to its overall beauty.
Here is another lovely example of highlighting the body (here we see the model displaying her upper side abdomen) with subtle images of the natural beauty of bamboo. This tattoo would be lovely to wear bikini clad and oceanside! The image highlights the beauty of not only the bamboo, but the wearer as well.
Bamboo, being so lovely in it’s natural state, pairs well with many different tattoos as shown here. Whether the color is subtle, or not, the shape of the leaves generally appear to be dancing along their stems and shoots. There are so many shapes of bamboo to be displayed on your body should you rise to the occasion.
Here is a lovely example of a full forearm sleeve. The colorwork is exquisite and the contrast of the orange full moon displayed behind the green of the bamboo leaves, adds extra beauty and interest to this image. The word BALANCE is seen here in a non-standard direction, but as the wearer looks at their own arm, that word becomes prominent in their own view serving as a daily reminder to keep balance in check. The wrapping of the bold black lines adds a beautiful effect of a leather bracelet serpentine in quality just above the wrist.
Oh, sweet sparrow! Flying through the bamboo like a pictoral poem to be discovered. This tattoo is a story inked in images instead of words. The bird in flight adds much visual interest next to the bamboo forest it seems to be flying away from. The bamboo appears to be colorless while the ever so subtle coloring in the bird adds to its beauty.
I love the contrast of red with green in this gorgeous bamboo tattoo. The additional color enhances the three dimensional effect making the bamboo feel like it is sitting in space instead of flat on the upper arm. The placement just above the inner elbow, gives the wearer a chance to really show this glimpse of nature off with a short sleeve shirt or a muscle tank.
I love the way this tiny panda bear peeks out around the bamboo. The panda almost has a ghost like quality because of its negative spaces. The placement of the tattoo just above the ankle adds to the peekaboo quality of this tattoo. This panda adds to the fun of wearing socks when she comes peeking out just above your sockline!
Who is that peeking out from behind the bamboo forest?? You could add just about any character or hint of a family member or friend into your own drawn up ink designs! This little face peeks out from a densely packed solid black bamboo forest, ready to be discovered by the viewer. Or remembered by the wearer.
In this lower leg tattoo, we see an animated character atop an old stump or rock resting in a bamboo forest. This is another example of how to add one of your favorite characters or family members, etc. into your love of nature with the display of bamboo on your body. The bamboo forest in this image is portrayed in a very natural way with a lovely brushstroke.
This forearm tattoo successfully shows a gradation of coloring from the bamboo foreground to the bamboo in the background. The gradation adds layering of depth and makes the overall design more interesting to look at. I love the suggestion of movement and wind in the leaves of this design.
Since there are at least 1000 species of bamboo on the planet, there are an endless amount of images to choose from. I am no expert, but have never seen a bamboo image like this one. It is a lovely surprise wrapping from the upper arm and down around the elbow. The shapes of the leaves are beautifully replicated.
There is a lot of energy in this rendition of bamboo! It has a very bold display across the lower arm and moving up above the elbow. You can almost see the movement that went into the original tattoo design because of the strong brushwork quality of the bamboo leaves. This is sure to catch any bamboo enthusiast’s attention.
Butterflies float around this interesting bamboo design. I love the image mixed with the color of the butterflies. The bamboo shoot has a flute like quality to it in this image. Are the butterflies flitting about piping their gently whispers into the flute of bamboo?? Or was that my imagination running away from me? Considering the playfulness of this image, it could have been either possibility.
Although bamboo is an evergreen plant, people often choose to have it inked in black on their bodies. This forearm tattoo is a lovely rendition of classical looking bamboo shoots. There are so many ways it can be displayed on the body, but sometimes simple is the most effective way to go.
Here we see another bird! Bamboo provides a dense thicket in nature and birds, mainly starlings or blackbirds, love to nest in their protection. To a nature loving tattoo enthusiast, you might as well add a bird in flight to grab extra attention and beauty in your next tattoo choice. A little more bold color in the bird flying from the bamboo will only add more interest in your own tattoo endeavors.
The combination of the lotus flower with the traditional bamboo flute is a beauty to behold on the upper arm of this model. Petals float gently around the flute. The linework is delicate and adds to the charm and sweetness of this tattoo. Bamboo are one of the oldest instruments known to humankind, adding extra human function to the plants beauty.
Watching a panda bear casually eating away at its dinner adds to the playfulness of this upper arm tattoo. Though to this panda, it needs to eat anywhere from 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo a day. This is serious business for the panda! The artist adding ink blots to the design gives an energetic quality to this lovely image.
Here is a lovely example of the overall natural beauty of bamboo plants. The way the plant extends up the forearm to the upper arm gives an elegance to this long and lengthy plant. Did you know bamboo in the United States can reach a height up to the 39 feet?
The crane, a symbol of longevity, is depicted here flying out of bamboo and over a red moon. The bamboo has a very painterly quality to the strokes of leaves while the crane is inked in great detail to display the flight of the great bird. The red moon offers a bold contrast of color.
Bamboo tattoos can suggest a very strong link to nature, beckoning us to remember our most ancient visceral memories to the past of living in deep connection with nature. Here we see a simple and elegant line of bamboo topped with great, flowing leaves. Black adds to the simple grace of the image.
Bamboo, thought to bring good fortune to those who grow it, can also bring good fortune to those who wear it! This is a small and easy way to incorporate bamboo wearing into your life with even the slightest of black bamboo tattoos fashioned just above the wristline. Who needs to plant bamboo when one can wear it instead??
Here we see a bamboo plant accentuating the models waist above the hip. The shape of the bamboo rests along the natural curve of the body, dramatizing the effect of the placement. The bamboo stem itself seems to disappear above and below while the emphasis is on the leaves themselves.
This Panda eats shoots and leaves, perhaps taking us back to our near distant memories of grammatical fear loaded past school lives. More importantly, the image displays the huge importance of the bamboo plant in the lives of the amazing and always hungry panda bear. Add a little red moon and a forest floor flower and you have a gorgeous arm tattoo to show off!
This bamboo has a real inky black quality. The richness of the black against the model’s pale arm is lovely. The lines extend from the forearm to just above the inner elbow, adding to the elegance–like a hand gloved in bamboo.
The history of bamboo tattoos goes back 3000 years so it is no wonder they are still so popular today. This full back piece almost looks hand painted! Bamboo displayed in black gives the allure of being brushed with ink instead of needled into the skin. The particular image is beautifully shaded adding to the illusion of depth across the models back.
More bamboo inspiration:
The bamboo plant is a robust and natural material that can be found in abundance all over the world. It has been beautifully worked into tattoos for women of different cultures and backgrounds because it symbolizes strength without being too brutal or uncomfortable to wear on your skin permanently.
The history of bamboo as a tattoo material dates back to the early days of tattooing when the Japanese first used it. It is said that the first recorded use of bamboo in tattooing was during the Edo period when Japanese soldiers used it to make tattoos that said “banzai” on their forearms. This was done to boost morale and show support for the emperor.
The bamboo plant is also significant in Chinese culture, where it is seen as a symbol of luck and prosperity. As a result, the Chinese character for “bamboo” (竹) can be found on many lucky charms and talismans.
Since the bamboo plant is so strong and resilient, it is often used as a symbol of strength, perseverance, and determination. It represents growth, new beginnings, and fertility since it is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world.
Bamboo tattoos can be simple and elegant or ornate and detailed, making them ideal for any personal style. Additionally, because bamboo is a sustainable resource, choosing a bamboo tattoo is a way to express your commitment to environmentalism.
Bamboo tattoos can be designed in various ways, from simple and minimalist line work to more complex and detailed illustrations. No matter your style, a bamboo tattoo will undoubtedly draw attention.
Bamboo tattoo meanings and symbolism:
What do bamboo themed designs mean and symbolize?: Bamboo is a symbol of strength, endurance and resilience in many cultures around the world. It has been used to represent prosperity, luck and longevity in Chinese culture, while in India and Japan it is associated with wisdom, harmony and peace. In some parts of Africa, bamboo is believed to bring a sense of balance and serenity to its surroundings.
In Chinese culture, bamboo represents strength, resilience, humility and determination. Its hollow structure represents the ability to withstand strong winds and storms without breaking. Its hollow center symbolizes the fragility of life, while its tight-knit structure stands for unity and strength in the face of adversity. Bamboo is also associated with good fortune and longevity because it can grow up to several feet in a single day.
In Japan, bamboo is known as “Take no Sato” or “The Village of Bamboo” due to its abundance there. It is revered for its strong but flexible nature which reflects the values of harmony, serenity and peace. Bamboo is often used in the practice of “Kanso” or minimalism which encourages simplicity and balance in one’s life. Additionally, it is seen as a symbol of new beginnings as well as renewal due its fast growth rate.
In India, bamboo is a sign of friendship and good wishes. It was traditionally planted near homes in order to bring luck to the occupants and ward off evil spirits. The stalks represent flexibility which is seen as a virtue in Indian society. Additionally, it represents stability as its roots are firmly planted in the ground despite storms or changes around it.
Bamboo also has spiritual significance in many other cultures around the world including Native American tribes in North America who believed it symbolized good luck when placed near doorways or windows. In African cultures such as Nigeria, bamboo was believed to be a symbol of success because it was associated with wealth and abundance due to its fast-growing nature.
No matter what culture you come from or what language you speak, bamboo has remained an important symbol throughout history because its qualities have been universally admired. It stands for strength, resilience and humility; values that have been shared by humans for centuries all over the world.
