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Tattoo designs - P >> Peony

Peony or Peonies Tattoos - In traditional Japanese tattooing, certain design elements are often paired together, dragons, lions and demons with various flowers - in effect a delicate balancing of power with beauty. Peonies, or "botan" are a flower symbol that is traditionally paired with a Japanese lion, or "Shishi". This pairing is called Karajishi, and the ferocity of the lion is tempered by the beauty of the peony. But rather than merely being a simple symbolic example of Yin and Yang at work (see also, Yin-Yang), the peony is a powerful tattoo design element in its own right.

As a tattoo design, the peony symbolizes wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. According to Japanese tattooing tradition, peonies also symbolize daring, risk taking and the gambler's or Samurai's devil-may-care approach to life. A gambler's next bet may be his last, a true Samurai according to the Code of Bushido, or The Way of the Warrior, lives each day as if it may be his last.

The peony is a potent symbol of beauty, of the fragility and fleeting nature of existence and the knowledge that acquiring great rewards comes only by taking great risks.

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Tattoo designs - P >> Peony

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