Shirley Gitucha
People constantly search for ways to keep those important to them close to them at all times. Shirley Gitucha has 10 tiny toes climbing up her back that do just that.
Gitucha will always have her daughter near her heart thanks to the tattoo drawn across her back. A reminder of her child’s birth, the tiny feet signify a promise to always love and adore her daughter.
When Shirley, now a senior, gave birth to her daughter, Aniya, 14 months ago, she searched for a way to properly mark the occasion. For Gitucha, a tattoo depicting her daughter’s feet and birth-date seemed appropriate.
“I had always wanted a tattoo,” Gitucha said, “and I thought the birth of my daughter made a good reason.”
Shirley warns that a good reason is always necessary and she believes that having meaning behind a tattoo is essential.
“If you’re going to get a tattoo make sure you’re going to get something special and meaningful, because tattoos last forever.” Gitucha said.
Reflecting on her tattooing experience, Shirley recalls that it felt as though someone was scraping very, very hard at her skin with an extremely sharp pen.
“I had just been through childbirth though!” Gitucha said, “This was definitely not as bad as that…”
Shirley recalls her experiences at the tattoo parlor – and how two mistakes could have been forever memorialized on her skin.
First, she remembers how they used the exact print of Aniya’s feet from her birth certificate to make the tattoo.
“When they got the print of Aniya’s feet from the hospital, her pinky toe didn’t show up on the document. The tattoo artist had to make up a little pinky toe on the spot or else one of Aniya’s feet would have only had four toes!”
Second, when she looked over the tattoo artist’s sketch of her tattoo she noticed an error in the spelling of Aniya’s name.
“Usually, I don’t like to correct people, but I had to tell him this time… when something is going on your body forever, it has to be perfect.”
Now, she has a tattoo equipped with 10 tiny toes and one correctly spelled name- and it is a tattoo she will never regret, for the subject is one that she truly loves.
As for Aniya, the tattoo’s inspiration, “She loves to poke at it.” Gitucha said with a laugh.
“If you’re going to get a tattoo make sure you’re going to get something special and meaningful, because tattoos last forever.” Gitucha said.
Trevor Yokochi
Some families boast of their many generations as government officials, heath professionals or lawyers. Some revel in the glory of their ancestors many awards and legacies from different institutions or various elite universities. Trevor Yokochi’s family’s pride, however, stems from the pirate-infested waters of Japan where his great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather lived as a Japanese pirate. Trevor’s tattoo design comes from the ancient symbol that once adorned the ship’s flag.
“Since then, it’s been the ‘Crest of the Yokochi Family’” Yokochi said, “and throughout the generations, we’ve gotten it tattooed on various parts of our bodies. My uncle has it, my dad is about to get it, and now I have it.” Yokochi said.
The tattoo serves as not only a tangible connection to his family’s past, but also as a declaration of Yokochi pride. Trevor said that the tattoo reminds him of his proud history.
“It’s really cool to know that you have Japanese pirate blood in you.” Yokochi said.
To get this unique tribute inked, Yokochi had to go to great measures, even traveling to Canada for legal reasons.
“Once I was there, they took out this gun-looking machine and tattooed my skin with needles going at like 300 miles per hour.” Trevor said.
After the whole ordeal was over, Trevor described the pain as bearable, but uncomfortable, accompanied by dizziness and swelling. But that won’t stop him from getting more tattoos in the future.
“Since I’m an artist, I want to design my own “Ouija” board with a sun and a moon on both my forearms – I think that’d be really cool.” But no future piece of body art can compare to his original – a tattoo born in Japan’s wild waves and passed through hundreds of tumultuous years to the suburban streets of Richardson, Texas.