Tattoo Flash. Tattoo Designs. Tattoo ideas. Ben is an ex-pat from America that went to Japan years ago to enter into a traditional Japanese tattoo apprenticeship at Chopstick Tattoo in Osaka. What a lot of people don t know is that before his professional debut in 2007 he produced literally hundreds of hand colored tattoo flash designs as a sort of spartan training exercise. This artwork has been collected into a beautiful hardcover volume titled, Hanamichi. This collection of tattoo flash chronicles the first leg of his journey through a traditional Japanese tattoo apprenticeship. In under 12 months Hori Benny produced over 250 sheets of flash, covering a number of mediums, genres and styles. Several of these sheets have been reproduced here to inspire and stimulate creativity. Text is both English and Japanese. The hanamichi (literally translated, the flower road ) is a term used in Japanese Kabuki theatre for the long wooden catwalk-like bridge used by the wild colorful actors to ascend to the main stage. Though distinct from center stage, the flower road runs directly through the audience and thus the actor is uniquely positioned for a dramatic entrance. It would be three long years before he finally ascended to the stage of the Japanese tattooing world. In that final year of his apprenticeship finally began, he produced the tattoo flash presented in this book. It is a mix of varying designs of eastern and western influence spanning several genres. This flash collection was my brief performance along the road of flowers. 9" x 6" 102 full color pages Hardcover