Our artists are located either in Tokyo or Kyoto. Occasionally, they travel back and forth between these two locations.
Daniel Ray Brewster
AYUMI
Ban
Mr.Unchain (UC)
Kei
Ran
Main Artist
Daniel Ray Brewster
I was born in 1988 in South Carolina, USA, to an American father and Japanese mother. When I was 2 years old, we moved to Okinawa, my mother’s homeland, and I began my life as a Japanese native. I was good at playing by myself, and when I was 3 years old, I would spend a whole day concentrating on completing LEGO blocks for 14-16 year olds, just by looking at the pictures in the instruction manual. I also loved drawing more than anything else, and I started by drawing my mother’s car when I was 4 years old, and even looking at it now, the workmanship was so good that I think I could draw it reasonably well for a 4 year old. I was born and raised in…
Tattooist
AYUMI
Born in Chiba Prefecture.
After graduating from high school, she was undecided about her career path, but decided to enter the world of tattooing, which was the only thing she was interested in.
She is one of the oldest members of Ray’s, and was one of the first graduates of the former tattoo assistant system.
She has never spilled out an excuse for the rigorous training she underwent, but with her natural adaptability and coolness, she has steadily completed the numerous instructions while at the same time developing her own adaptability to the maximum extent, and has faithfully and steadily learned Daniel’s techniques.
As a result of her consistent growth and development as an artist, she is now the person in charge of the Tokyo studio.
Like Daniel, she has no desire for a particular design, and her strength lies in her “lack” of commitment.
Her calm and unperturbed personality is also demonstrated in her counseling, where she is flexible and sincere in listening to her clients and offering advice, which gives her a sense of stability as an artist.
She puts all of her effort into designing what she hears, and the beautiful and delicate works that she produces never cease to attract many people, both in Japan and abroad.
She specializes in floral designs, which are still very popular these days, featuring a delicate touch using fine lines.
Her floral designs are popular for their combination of flowers and snakes, but she also receives many requests for animal portraits and various other designs.
She also receives a lot of support from overseas clients, especially for Japanese-style designs such as cherry blossoms, carp, and fans.
Although she mainly does black work, she also does color work without hesitation.
She also learned white tattooing from Daniel at Ray’s.
She continues to improve her cover-up skills under Daniel’s tutelage, challenging herself with different and more difficult cover-ups.
Daniel says it won’t be long before she will have mastered the true art of cover-ups.
She is the youngest member of the team at Ray’s, but she is still very confident in her ability to handle the many requests she receives each day.
“I want people to think carefully about choosing the right studio and the right artist to avoid bad cover-ups.
That is why we want to make sure that we meet the needs of the clients who come in. When you visit our studio, please feel free to ask us anything, and together we will create a beautiful tattoo that will leave you with no regrets.”
Tattooist
Ban
Born in Oita Prefecture.
He is one of the two surviving tattoo assistant students, one of about 30 in the past, in the current Ray’s. He was once a national triathlon champion and a member of the Japanese national team for four consecutive years.
He is fluent in English, having travelled around the world as a triathlete.
He also enjoys watching anime and listening to music, especially loud rock.
He was not interested in tattoos at first, but when his favorite artist in junior high school had tattoos, he found himself completely fascinated by the world of tattoos.
After experiencing unemployment in the Corona Disaster, he asked himself what he wanted to do most, and the answer he found was to become a tattoo artist.
After a rigorous selection process, he successfully made it to Ray’s as an assistant tattoo student.
Although triathlon and tattooing seem to have nothing to do with each other at first glance, he has shown a great deal of perseverance and dedication that he has cultivated during his athletic career.
Under the direct guidance of Daniel, he has been able to adapt to any environment, endure any upheaval, and become one of Ray’s representative artists.
He has developed into one of the leading artists at Ray’s, not only for his perseverance, but also for the designs he creates from his unique personality.
He spends time sincerely counseling clients, and his ability to create designs that meet their wishes, as well as his color sense, which he has honed over the course of his career at Ray’s, is a true testament to Daniel.
He has a kindness and deep compassion for animals as well, and has even built a deep bond with Mona, Ray’s signature dog, by sleeping and eating with her.
His strong artistic sense and personality are evident in the fashions he wears.
His strong artistic sense and personality are evident in the fashion he wears, and his absolute individuality can be seen in the tattoos he creates.
His specialty is “wotattoo,” a fusion of tattoos and subcultures such as anime and manga.
He is currently working hard to spread the goodness of wotattoo, which is gradually becoming more popular in Japan!
The theme of his work is “Itoshiki Inochi” (Itoshiki Life), and he is developing a world view that combines the dark and pop style unique to wotattoo.
He draws up a design from scratch and creates a tattoo with his high drawing ability and skill,
He is not limited to illustrative designs, but also incorporates abstract designs, original lettering, and various other designs into his own designs, and sublimates them into his own designs.
He specializes in color work associated with wotattooing, but he can also handle a wide range of black-and-gray and delicate designs.
He is constantly working on his original designs, with the great goal of having Dr. Pepper, which he even calls his blood, as his sponsor once he has mastered the art of wotattooing.
Tattoos have a magical power to guide your life, and the act of carving them on your body is a way of saying, “I’m a tattoo artist.
And the act of having it tattooed on your body is a ritual, so to speak.
So it is not only about what you get tattooed, but also about who you choose to get it done,
I believe that the tattoo artist is the most important person in the world!
I express the beauty of tattoos in the form of wotattoos!
When you are sleeping or eating, you are always with your “oshi”!
You will be with your “oshi” for the rest of your life!
Of course, we can carve other genres as well, so please don’t hesitate to ask us about them.
Let’s have a wonderful time together!
Tattooist
Mr.Unchain (UC)
Born in Yao City, Osaka Prefecture.
When he was a child, he wanted to become an insect doctor.
Contrary to his dream, he worked as an industrial craftsman for five years after graduating from high school.
Casually at the time, he started drawing pictures in between jobs, which became the impetus for his tattooing.
As his drawing ability gradually improved, he was having fun and couldn’t wait to draw more.
What would it be like to walk around town with my artwork on a person’s body?
This fascinating scene suddenly popped into his head and his mind instantly jumped to the idea of becoming a tattoo artist.
Inspired, the idea came to him, and the day was right.
He was too busy to stay away from it all, so he immediately set his mind to becoming a tattoo artist.
He did not choose only pencil and paper, but also acrylics, apparel screen, and other means to paint.
He began to learn tattooing as he searched for self-expression through various styles.
One day, she found out about Ray’s Tattoo School and applied. After 4 days of classes, he was fascinated by the charisma of Daniel, the owner of the school.
He set his sights on Daniel’s future and devoted himself to his art, even while he slept.
While continuing to paint, he also borrowed skin from friends and family members and continued to ink tattoos.
A year later, he sent a DM to Daniel on Instagram with his experiences to open the doors of Ray’s. But… Daniel often received a large number of messages and consequently, UC’s message was buried in the mass of DMs, and Daniel never responded.
However, he decided not to give up and waited for Daniel to reopen his appointment to have a full sleeve tattoo done on his right arm.
During the eight sessions, Daniel says he was very curious about UC, as he was coloring his own skin with intricate designs.
What kind of needles were used, what kind of ink was used?
He was very eager to learn about the art of tattooing.
He also shared with Daniel the experience he had built up through his energy.
His enthusiastic appeal and approach changed the mindset of Daniel, who at the time had been discouraged from becoming an apprentice.
The human nature and perseverance that had pushed him through the doors that had been firmly closed to him were evident even after he joined Ray’s. Under Daniel’s guidance, he was able to develop his own practice, which he has continued to do ever since.
Under Daniel’s guidance, he was involved in administrative and marketing work before his debut, deepening his understanding of Ray’s from the ground up, while at the same time working late into the night after work to improve his skills. He made his debut as an artist in less than six months.
This was the moment when all the hard work he had put in before joining Ray’s, as well as his quickness to learn, paid off.
Daniel attributes his learning curve to all that he did to become a tattooist and all the experiences he gained.
Usually cheerful and inquisitive, UC is a true mood maker at the Kyoto studio, but once he gets his hands on a machine, he transforms into a craftsman.
His artistic designs are characterized by a unique worldview of loneliness and beauty, strongly influenced by the unique worldview of artists such as Magritte and Dali.
He specializes in black-and-gray work with a delicate touch, but he also has the skills to work in a wide range of styles, including tribal, Samoan, and color work with powerful expressions.
“Tattoos stay on your skin for a lifetime, so do your own research on designs, studios, and artists before you get one.
You may get tired of the design after a few years. Don’t go with the flow and make your decision carefully.
At first glance, you should know what you’re getting.
Tattooist
Kei
Born in Chang-on, Korea.
Ray’s first pure Korean artist.
She came to Japan at a young age, and is a self-professed competitive, curious person who cannot help but challenge what she is interested in.
She has tried various things and acquired various qualifications while working, and her strong social skills have helped her to adapt to Japanese culture successfully.
Kei’s bright personality and abundance of social experience have helped her to develop a caring and kind nature toward those around her, which is a true reflection of who she is as a person.
Kei’s hungry spirit led her to become a tattoo artist because of her genuine interest in tattoos.
Initially, she delayed getting her first tattoo because she was concerned about the pain. Despite this, after her second tattoo, she had decided she wanted to try to do it herself.
Of course people around him were against it, but she decided to push through the opposition and became an apprentice at a tattoo studio while also working as a caregiver, which she had been doing for many years.
Being a mother of four children, she started learning tattooing in her spare time whilst also taking care of her family during the day and when she returned home.
She eventually became an apprentice tattoo artist based mainly in Yokohama, and with the help of her mentor and sister and apprentice, eventually ran her own tattoo studio.
In the midst of a rough and tumultuous life, always busy with work, child-rearing, and tattooing, she came to discover about Daniel and gradually came to admire him.
“I really want to meet Daniel!” With this single-minded determination, she was able to arrange a meeting with Daniel through the guidance of Ran, who happened to be her apprentice in the past.
Contrary to Daniel’s expectation that the meeting would be a casual chat, Kei’s enthusiasm won out and an interview was promptly conducted – since she had actually brought her resume with her.
Kei’s broad energy, decisiveness, and her natural cheerful personality influenced Daniel, who had just recently abolished the tattoo assistant (apprenticeship) system, and as a result, Kei was one of the first to jump through the tightly closed doors of Ray’s, following in the footsteps of UC.
She has good customer service skills, which she gained from his years of working experience, and she is able to handle all types of orders (requests) with ease, carefully listening to what is being asked of her.
Her friendly and warm personality has earned her the reputation of being like an auntie to her relatives.
However, once she gets her hands on a tattoo machine, she is a powerful and focused tattoo artist.
Her strength lies in her delicate work, which even Daniel finds convincing, and her specialty is black-and-gray based Korean tattoos with a lot of detailed expression.
On the other hand, she also has a dexterous skill in color work.
Her speed, capacity, and productivity are also characteristic of her work.
With a spirit of challenge, she is constantly studying to master not only the delicate designs that are her strength, but also many other techniques.
Currently, under the guidance of Daniel, he is training to master both white tattoos and cover-ups.
Daniel is very passionate about tattooing, and she is always looking for new ways to improve her skills.
“I like black and gray, flowers, detailed designs, and shadows.
While working at Rays, Daniel has been teaching me how to do tattoos, and I will continue to grow and become bigger and bigger! I am still inexperienced, but I look forward to working with you all.”
Tattooist
Ran
Guest artist at Tokyo Tattoo Studio Rays.
She works on a wide variety of orders, including black and grey and colour work.
Her main focus is on portrait tattoos, which can only be expressed on a large canvas.
Her most frequent orders are for “dark realistic portraits”, which are a further development from portrait tattoos and are characterised by a darker world view.