WORKING -- Yaturo Sakai

-- Story by Torus Tammer, Photo by xxxxxxx

HE IS

Quite possibly the most determined tattoo artist one could meet

THE MOVE

Until four years ago, Sakai, 27, lived in Japan and was a member of

Japan’s Self Defense Force, a military unit.

He had an affinity for body art but because of the strict culture of his

homeland, tattoos were not viewed favorably.

“I left the defense force because I wanted tattoos and figured that the

only way I could do this was to get a job at a place where it was OK to

have tattoos -- like a tattoo studio,” he said

The only problem was that tattoo studios weren’t that common in Japan. A

close friend and fellow tattoo art admirer supplied Sakai with the

solution he was looking for.

The friend put Sakai in touch with tattoo artist Gerard Collette, who

owns a tattoo studio in California. That’s all it took, Sakai said, and

he was on a plane headed for Los Angeles.

NO ENGLISH, YES JOB

Unable to speak English and armed only with a letter and an address

written for him by his friend, Sakai said he headed to the Venice Beach

tattoo studio when he got off the plane. There, he met Collette.

Collette, who was helping a fellow artist in Venice Beach at the time,

hired Sakai immediately and sent him to his Huntington Beach tattoo

studio to start work -- but not as a tattoo artist.

Sakai said he started by sweeping floors and cleaning other employee’s

work stations.

TATTOO LIFE

Though the work was tedious, Sakai said he reveled at the opportunity to

live, breathe and eat the tattoo life. He watched the artists work and

learned techniques from the professionals during his workday. Whenever he

had a chance, he practiced tattooing on himself. His calves serve as a

permanent record of his journey’s beginning.

“My first tattoos I did on myself, and didn’t know what I was doing,”

Sakai said. “But I kept practicing on other friends and myself. By the

time I became professional, I had done only 30 tattoos -- usually it

takes hundreds before you turn pro.”

TATTOO LOVE

Sakai has been living his dream at HB Tattoo in Huntington Beach for four

years now and has stamped his body with tattoos -- 80 in all.

Though unable to speak English when he arrived, Sakai now communicates

with ease. Overcoming the cultural gap was not too difficult, he said,

because he was constantly distracted by his love of tattooing.

He now performs his craft in a small cubicle that is laden with art. The

motif is strictly spiritual, ranging from Buddha to Jesus.

“I feel good because people feel comfortable enough for me to work on

them,” Sakai said. “Every single moment here is amazing -- but the very

good moment is when people are very happy with the tattoo when I’m

finished.”

THE FUTURE

Sakai said he is focused on continuously improving and is still as

passionate about tattoo art as he’s ever been. He prides himself on being

approachable and making people who may be nervous or intimidated feel

calm when getting their first tattoo.

He said he would love to continue doing spiritually themed projects, with

the ultimate challenge being to complete a full body piece one day.

“I’m just starting to know the basics,” Sakai said. “But eventually, I

want to become a tattoo artist for tattoo artists -- that’s the ultimate

goal.”