If you have been trying to find a unique tattoo design that is not overly popular and one that everyone and there sister or brother has then you might consider a cherry blossom tattoo. Cherry blossom tattoos make a very rich and colorful tattoo design. There are deep cultural roots in both Japan and China to the cherry blossom tree and the symbolism is often very powerful.

Here are some reasons to consider a Cherry Blossom Tattoo

1. Unique - This is not an overdone tattoo and it is somewhat unique.

2. Symbolic - The cherry blossom as a tree has a deep symbolism behind it (read below to find out more)

3. Brilliant pink colors - tattoos with beautiful large strokes of color often look great even from a distance and the cherry blossom tattoo is no different.

4. Versitile - it is a versitile tttoo design as it can be combined with a lot of other designs and many tradtional Japanese tattoo designs (Irezumi)

5. Feminine - they are wonderful femine designs and as with any flower tattoo can definetly represent beauty.

For the Japanese the Cherry blossom flower is not so much a symbol of the feminine and femine beauty although it was used in that way also on Kimono designs it is seen as a symbol of life.

The cherry blossom is a very delicate flower that typically blossom in late winter to early spring. It is often a very short lived time in which it blooms and then it quickly fall from the tree and lays on the ground. The Japanese felt that the cherry blossom represent life in that life is something of great beauty yet it is very quick and passing and in the end is full of suffereing also. This comes from very core Buddhist teachings that all life is suffering and one mustsimply give in to the suffering and let go. Through this letting go the suffering ends and people can achieve enlightenment.

For the Japanese the Cherry blossom is often also used symbolically or idealistically to represent the true way of a Samurai. The Samurai never know when they are going to die and instead of worrying about death they have to live their life to the fullest and be fully prepared to die an early death. They felt that if you were not prepared to die then you could not fully live. So a Cherry blossom that has fallen from the tree is often symbolic of a Samurai who has died early in battle. In fact one of the saying that was common for the Samurai was today is a good day to die. It is not that they had a death wish at all it was more of a life wish. They knew their life was rough and dangerous and that it would end in a sudden death. In fact it was more honorable to end in death during a battle then to live to an old age. So like the Cherry blossom with its short yet beautiful life the Samurai lived in the same way.

As with any symbol in the world the interpretation and meaning of a symbol can change drastically depending on the culture an the time period. Traditionally the Cherry blossom tattoo has two well accepted symbolic meaning for the two cultures it was most prevelant in as a design motif. Both the Chinese and Japanese hold the Cherry blossom flower as a significant and improtant flower and symbolic design howerver they have different intrepretations of it's meaning.

The Meaning of Cherry Blossom Tattoos: Chinese

The Chinese feelt hat the cherry blossom is a flower that represent feminine power and beauty. They believe that the blossom is an example of extreme beauty. It is on the one hand very beautiful and even very delicate but yet it holds extreme power at the same time. In Chinese herbal lore the cherry blossom is symbolic of love and passion.