Battle Royale

Battle royale tattoos are a specific American Traditional tattoo that generally depict an eagle fighting a snake and dragon. These tattoos have a heavy Japanese influence as well, the dragon is usually a traditional Japanese style dragon. Though these are the typical animals there are variations. There is always a predatory bird, representing the sun and the heavens; while some kind of serpents represent the earth, and seas.  There is usually a dragon as well but tattoos of eagles fighting with just a snake can also be considered battle royale.

Since there is so much going on in battle royale you most commonly see them larger scale, a popular placement is as a full back piece. Battle royale tattoos are done all over the world and today in all different styles. Though it originated in traditional and Japanese work, the plethora of styles today have adapted the iconic imagery. The idea of battle royale pieces is meant to represent the battle of finding balance in life. 

At its core it is a representation of the forces of nature, always in opposition that settles in equilibrium. At the time the battle royal piece was originally designed, at the beginning of the 1900’s it represented a more literal battle of the East and West styles of artwork, most people who get this tattooed today have that more metaphorical connection with finding the balance of life. This piece is also sometimes referred to as the eternal struggle, with the 3 animals locked in combat. Many iconic American traditional artists have done battle royale’s, one of the most famous was done by Paul Rogers and Huck Spalding. This image has stood the test of time with people all over the world still getting it tattooed and adapting it into different styles.

Sources:

• https://allthingstattoo.ca/2021/07/16/battle-royale-tattoos/
• https://tattooartfromtheheart.com/blog/the-battle-royale-and-battleship-symbolic-tattoos-what-they-mean/

Pictures:

• https://www.tattoofilter.com/p/311058
• https://www.tattoofilter.com/p/302504
• https://mpinnell.tumblr.com/post/135960545889/battle-royale-by-huck-spaulding-top-filling-by
• https://rosskjones.com/post/660447771204141056/healed-battle-royale-made-at-idlehandsf

Gatekeeper

Hi there! I'm Taylor, you may know me as Sterling Skull reception, or gatekeeper, or most recently Tater (thanks Chris). I love writing, creating and I love tattoos; so what better way to use my passions than to bring you a personal experience of our studio via a blog! Welcome, please stay a while!