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The Tamatori hime is the Japanese diving girl who cavorts with a dragon while brandishing a sword). Iinlike KANNON and BENTEN, she is beautiful but also overtly sexy, sometimes topless but almost always wearing a tight wraparound skirt. She is a pinup girl who has been used in traditional Japanese tattoo to the point that she carries some of the respectability of this ancient art form, illustrated by the likes of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, the same artist who popularized the SUIKODEN HEROES.

The tarantula takes on much of the symbolism of the larger group of SPIDERS of which it is a part. But, with its slow movement, distinct hairy appearance, and the fact that it doesn't usually spin a web and is generally harmless, the tarantula has found a home for some of its own symbolism in Native North American folklore involving "Old Mother Tarantula," who is a helping figure to mankind.

The symbolism of the tarot cards is ancient and could easily fill an entire book itself. Their true origin is unknown but they are found as early as the fourteenth century in Europe. Used today for fortunetelling, they likely began as a regular deck of cards for games. In tattoo art, the themes from the cards are borrowed and at times the cards themselves are even reproduced. With images such as the magician, the EMPEROR or EMPRESS, the lovers, death, or the FOOL (to mention but a few from the major arcana portion of the deck), the imagery and symbolism are rich and yet specific. Their iconography is a mixture of personages and items, colors and numbers, with Medieval, Christian, and occult overtones.

Although cartoon characters make up a large part of the tattoo designs that are done, only a few are discussed here. The Tasmanian Devil is a very popular character where the Bugs Bunny animated cartoons are shown and he is present everywhere in the tattoos of the United States. Perhaps wearing a SAILOR hat, or holding a pint of beer, or wearing a Hawaiian lei, he is easily customized. His defining characteristic is his whirling and tornadolike mode of travel, eating any animal in his path. But his appeal lies in the fact that all of this is done without malice. He is a tremendous force of animal energy that is instinctual and not planned or plotted. In fact, he is somewhat of an innocent, easily and often duped by the clever Bugs Bunny.

The teardrop tattoo placed just at the outside corner of the eye has several meanings in prison. In general it shows that time was served and that it was indeed a sorrowful time. It has also been used specifically either to commemorate a loved one who died while the prisoner was serving time or to symbolize the number of people that a person might have killed.

The teddy bear has been an enduring stuffed animal toy for children from its inception up to the present day. Given as toys or tokens of affection, they offer a sense of comfort and soft cuddliness. They are named after Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth president of the United States. On a hunting trip in 1902, he refused to shoot a small cub, inspiring a group of toy makers. The toys became an instant success and spread worldwide. Teddy bear tattoos have the same wide variety as that of stuffed animals and they generally retain cute and childlike characteristics.