【言葉にできない空白を埋めるもの】
「今って、タトゥーを入れてる人は普通に入れてるじゃないですか——」
「刺青を入れることに抵抗はなかったか？」という問いに、むつみさんはきょとんとした面持ちでそう答えた。刺青を入れることは何も特別なことではないといった様子だ。
彼女の答えひとつを取ってそれを二十代の若者の総意とするのは暴論だろうが、タトゥーを当たり前のものとして受け入れるほどに若い世代の意識は軟化しているのだろう。肌にインクを入れることが社会への絶縁状を意味したのはもう過去の話になりつつある。
“Nowadays, It’s common for people to have tattoos, isn’t it?”
Mutsumi responded to the question with a whimsical look on her face, as if to say she obviously had zero resistance to getting a tattoo. Her look indicated that she seemed to think that having a tattoo is nothing special.
Of course, it would be irrational to take her answer and apply it as a consensus of modern young people in their 20s, but it is likely that the consciousness of the younger generation has softened enough to accept tattoos as a normal part of life. It is becoming a thing of the past that putting ink into skin indicates a diversion from societal norms.
日常的な生きづらさに対する懸念はなかったとしても、痛みに対する不安はあったはずだ。しかしむつみさんは「脱毛や整形もそうですけど、美しくなるために痛みに堪える必要があるのは仕方がないと思っています」と、極めて現代的な価値観を吐露する。
女性にとって刺青は美しさを追求する美容の延長たり得るのか。確かに、痛みと時間そして金銭を対価に美しさを享受するという点において、刺青と美容は良く似通っていると言えるかも知れない。
Even in confidence over social difficulties around daily life, it is fair to assume that one must have been anxious about the pain involved in receiving a tattoo. However, Mutsumi tells a very modern sense of values, “As with hair removal and plastic surgery, I think it is inevitable that we need to endure pain in order to become more beautiful.”
For women, tattoos can be an extension of cosmetology. Indeed, it might be said that tattoos and cosmetology are very similar in that beauty comes at the price of pain, time, and money.
むつみさんの刺青は脚や臀部の大部分を覆う広範なものだ。これがファーストタトゥーだと言うのだからその大胆さには恐れ入るが、しかし何故、背中や腕ではなくまず脚からだったのか。
「自分の身体の中で、脚がちょっと見所に欠けるってずっと思っていたんです。嫌いと言う訳ではないんですけど、何かが足りないと言うか」。その言葉にし得ない欠落を埋めるのが服やアクセサリーといった一時的なものではなく、恒常的に「肌を飾る彩りとしてのタトゥー」だったのだ。
Mutsumi’s tattoos are extensive, covering most of her legs and buttocks. It is astonishing, as these are her first tattoos. When questioning her on why she started with her legs, she responded, “I’ve always thought that my legs were a little bit unattractive. It was not that I didn’t like them, but something was missing.”
What filled that unspoken void was not something temporary such as clothing or an accessory, but “a permanent thing of color to adorn the skin.”
むつみさんの両脚を手掛けたのは、長野松本を拠点に世界を股に掛けて活躍するネオジャパニーズスタイルの俊才たる信州 彫英氏だ。むつみさんは子供の頃から好きだった虎と猫をモチーフにすることを決め、それらが得意なアーティストをSNSを駆使して探していて彫英氏という理想に行き着いたのだと言う。
氏の鋭い観察眼から描き出される生き生きとした表情の猫たち、そして色彩豊かな表現が「肌を飾る」というむつみさんの目的にぴたりと合致したのだ。
Mutsumi’s legs were done by Shinshu Horiei, a Neo-Japanese authority who is based in Nagano and is active around the world. Mutsumi decided to use a tiger and cat, as she has loved both motifs since childhood. She meticulously searched social media for an artist who was good at feline designs, and landed on her ideal artist, Horiei.
The lively expressions of the cats depicted through his keen eye and colorful representations perfectly matched her purpose of “adorning the skin”.
むつみさんの職業はSM嬢だ。カジュアルな出立ちに身を包んでいるときにはその片鱗さえ見せないが、中学生の頃に泣いている同級生を見て自身の嗜虐性に気付いたという生粋の女王様だ。
彼女によれば、SMプレイにおいて大切なのは支配側と服従側の信頼関係なのだそうだ。攻め手は己の欲望のままに暴力を振るうのではなく受け手の望みと限界を見極め、受け手は与えられる痛みを喜びを持って全身全霊で受け止める。相互の信頼があってこそ高次の成果を見ることができるという構図は刺青にも通じるものがある。
Mutsumi is a professional SM dominatrix. Although she does not show even a glimpse of that when she is dressed casually, she is a genuine dominatrix, having discovered her own sadism when she was a junior high school student after seeing a classmate crying.
According to her, what is important in SM play is the trust between the dominant and the submissive. The dominant player does not violate the submissive according to their own desires but rather discerns the submissive’s hope and limits. In turn, the submissive takes the pain inflicted, with pleasure, and wholehearted devotion. This structure can only work if there is mutual trust between both parties involved, much like the relationship between a tattoo artist and his/her client.
むつみさんは都内から彫英氏のスタジオのある松本まで定期的に通い、一日7時間のセッションを二日連続で受けるというハードスケジュールを繰り返してこの両脚を完成させた。ときには体調不良と重なり、術後に立てないほど困憊したこともあったそうだ。
けれど毎回、術後のケアを怠らず丁寧に治すことを心掛け、長く間を空けることなく通い続けた。熱意あるクライアントにはアーティストも信頼を置き、作品にもより力が入るのは自明。彼女の脚を彩る美麗な刺青は、その結実に他ならない。
「人様の技術ではありますが、ここまで素晴らしいものを仕上げていただくと自分の自信に繋がります」。むつみさんはすらりと伸びる脚を愛おしげに眺めながら微笑んだ——。
Mutsumi completed this pair of leg sleeves by regularly traveling from Tokyo to Nagano, where Horiei’s studio is located, and repeatedly enduring 7 hours sessions for two consecutive days. As her schedule was usually set in advance, sickness or other health related illnesses did not stop her from fulfilling her obligation of attending her appointments and, at times, she was so exhausted after a session that she couldn’t stand up.
However, she continued to go to the studio regularly, and each time made sure to heal carefully without neglecting the aftercare. It is natural that artists trust enthusiastic clients and put more effort into their work. The beautiful tattoos that adorn her legs are nothing but the fruition of their mutual trust.
“Although this is not what I have done by myself, this is a confidence booster for me to have such wonderful tattoos.” Mutsumi smiled as she gazed lovingly at her graceful legs.
