Horihide (many people are more familiar with his non-
artist name: Kazuo Oguri) was one of the very first tra-
ditional Japanese Tattoo Masters who had an in-depth
exchange of information with Western tattooists, such
as Sailor Jerry Collins and Don Ed Hardy. He even at-
tended a Tattoo Convention in the United States in
the early 1980s, if memory serves right.

Without wanting to sound disrespectful, and being ful-
ly aware of Horihide's place in the history of Horimono:
his execution of main motifs such as Gods, Godesses,
dragons, kois, etc. do look almost crude when compa-
red to today's masters such as Horiyoshi III or Horiki-
tsune, and "neo-masters" like Filip Leu, Colin Stevens
or Wido de Marval. (Again: bear in mind that the look
of a bodysuit will differ considerably depending on
whether it was all done by tebori - traditional hand
style - or whether some parts, usually outlines, were
tattooed by machine.)

Where Horihide's tattooing absolutely shines (Mick
from Zurich even feels "outshines most others"), and
this is an often over-looked fact by novice and pro,
are his backgrounds. They are outstanding!

So no matter how much I dislike the people who run
Keibunsha (the publisher of this book), I have to re-
commend it as a source of reference to any serious
Horimono / Irezumi / Shisei scholar/enthusiast.

Why do I not like Keibunsha (aka The Japan Tattoo
Institute)? Well - check my ranting right here; If you
need yet another example of their modus operandi:
They sell John Stevenson's "Yoshitoshi: One Hund-
red Aspects Of The Moon" for $ 349; official list price
is $ 94. Yes, they have to import it into Japan, etc. -
but still...