Cherry Blossom Tattoo Meaning, Designs & Ideas

Cherry blossom tattoos have grown in popularity over the years, possibly because more people want very meaningful tattoos rather than just nice-looking tats.

The cherry blossom might not be the most popular flower tattoo in the world, but there are a ton of cherry blossom tattoo meanings to choose from, so more people are turning to it rather than roses or other popular flowers.

Not only is the cherry blossom very beautiful, but it also has deep symbolic meanings in Japanese, Chinese and other Asian cultures. In the Asian community these cherry blossom tattoos are typically chosen for their symbolic beliefs and are occasionally worn for beauty. In the western world, most people who get cherry blossom tattoos love the fact that they can attach so many great meanings to such an attractive tattoo, so the meanings are almost a bonus when they initially get their ink.

What you will find is that cherry blossom tattoos can have quite a few different design styles and they work equally well as very large tattoos that cover large areas of skin or as smaller designs that can fit on the shoulder or even the wrist. No matter what type of cherry blossom tattoo you get, you will be able to use any of the meanings you’ll find on this page.

If you know that you are going to be getting a cherry blossom tattoo or you simply want to find out more about their meanings, this is the page for you. Below you will find some of the most popular cherry blossom meanings that people like to use as well as some of the design options you’ll have should you choose to get one of these beautiful flower tattoos.

The Japanese symbolize the cherry blossom, or Sakura, as being short lived and believe it is representative of life. It is used as a way to say, “Life is short, live every second as if it is your last”. Obviously this is a mantra that many people want to live by, so the cherry blossom tattoo is a great way for people to remind themselves to live each day to the fullest. And remember, there are quite a few other cherry blossom tattoo meanings that can also be used on top of this great one.

The Japanese use the cherry blossom as a symbol for their Samurai and to represent wealth and prosperity. Similarly, it can represent the want for power and prosperity, which is something that plenty of people want in their lives. This is yet another cherry blossom tattoo meaning that can motivate people to always look for better things in their lives.

Japanese pilots would paint the delicate pink flowers on their planes before embarking on a suicide mission, which symbolized the intensity of life. The first kamikaze unit even had a subunit they called Yamazakura, or “wild cherry blossom”. The Japanese government even encouraged the thought that the souls of departed warriors were reincarnated in the blossoms. While this is not a cherry blossom tattoo meaning that would be used very often today, it could be used as a lighter form of “intensity of life”.

In Chinese culture, the cherry blossom is a symbol of power. Those who are in power or those who are seeking power can both use the cherry blossom tattoo for these similar meanings. What’s really interesting about these meanings is that they aren’t obvious when you look at the flowers, making it a great “undercover” meaning, especially if you are also using any of the other meanings associated with the cherry blossom.

The cherry blossom is also used to represent beauty, feminine sexuality, and love. Obviously when put together, these are cherry blossom tattoo meanings that women would use a lot more often than men. The flower could be seen a great feminism tattoo since so many of its meanings have something to do with femininity, strength, and beauty.

Love is a key meaning attached to the cherry blossom even though many people don’t think of it when they see them. Roses and other popular flowers are usually chosen as symbols of love when people are choosing flower tattoos, but in some cultures the cherry blossom is one of the main symbols of every type of love. What’s unique about cherry blossom tats is that you can easily modify the design to include names of the ones you love or maybe even have smaller love symbols hanging from its branches.

Yet another popular cherry blossom tattoo meaning is renewal or rebirth. This is because for centuries in Japan people believed that cherry blossoms were the key to agricultural reproduction as the trees were said to bring new life to all plant life around them.

This makes the cherry blossom tattoo excellent for people who have been “renewed” or want to be after going through tough times in their past. You will sometimes see recovering drug addicts get cherry blossom tattoos to show that they are in recovery and so they have something to look at when they need extra motivation to stay clean.

Other Cherry Blossom Tattoo Meanings

The cherry blossom is occasionally used to symbolize good luck as well. Since there are plenty of other great “good luck charm” tattoos out there, this is usually an add-on meaning for the cherry blossom tattoo. And that is pretty great since you can get the cherry blossom tattoo to mean one very important thing and then add on some of these other meanings later on. Most people will love the fact that it can also represent good luck in their lives.

A unique meaning that can be used with the cherry blossom tattoo is fragility. It can mean that the wearer of the tattoo knows that they are fragile and needs to be taken care of. It could also mean that the wearer understands that life and everything that it encompasses is fragile so it’s important to treat everything with great care.

Due to its beauty and feminine symbolism the cherry blossom is a great choice for a female wearer. If a woman knows that she wants a tattoo but does not want to have to find the perfect fit meaning-wise, then the cherry blossom tattoo could be perfect for them. It is a great tattoo for women to get since it represents all women and has many other meanings that most women would be happy with.

Another reason why someone might choose to get a cherry blossom tattoo is because they love nature and they love seeing cherry blossoms when they are out taking walks or driving in the country. It is generally seen as one of the most beautiful plants on the planet, so it’s no surprise that people who get more general “nature” tattoos sometimes include cherry blossoms in their designs.

Passionate people, especially those who are proud to show off their passion, will often see the cherry blossom to be the perfect flower tattoo. This can be any type of passion, too. It could mean that the person is passionate about their jobs, their families, or even in their sexual lives.

Cherry Blossom Tattoo Designs and Placement

There are many different variations of the cherry blossom tattoo, which is yet another reason why they are flying up the flower tattoo rankings. Cherry blossoms can have different colors and different looks, which makes it fun to pick out the ones that fit in your design and that will look great on your skin.

They can be depicted with as just the blooms or the entire tree; with a thick trunk or one that is more slender and dainty. Since there are thousands upon thousands of designs to choose from, you can pretty easily get a one-of-a-kind cherry blossom tattoo without having to try too hard to get the perfect design.

Some people choose to add other elements to the design such as dragons or dragonflies (both of which are indicative of Chinese culture). Since most people these days want to add as many meanings to their tattoos as possible, it’s nice that the cherry blossom tattoo is an excellent option for adding in additional images.

You can have other designs wrapped in the cherry blossoms or you can have the cherry blossoms themselves surrounded by other flowers. Since just about every flower on earth comes with its own meanings, you can customize your design so that each part of it gives people a better understanding of who you are as a person or what you care about. For example, you could add in some roses to show that you have love in your life, or you could add in an aster flower to show that you are a patient person.

Many people also opt to add Chinese or Japanese characters that represent words or phrases that have great meaning to them. Examples of this are purity, beauty and freedom. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you know all of the meanings of the words you are getting in addition to the cherry blossom tattoo meanings.

Placement of cherry blossom tattoos can be a bit tricky for some people. Since most of these tattoos have a vine and flowers and often have a slanted curve to them, you have to find a way to make your design go along the natural lines of your body. You can place them just about anywhere if you plan ahead of time, though. They work especially well as forearm tattoos, back tattoos, rib tattoos, and as leg tattoos.

Is the Cherry Blossom Tattoo Right for You?

Hopefully you can now see why so many people opt to get the cherry blossom tattoo over all of the other flower tattoos out there. Cherry blossom designs can look amazing on the skin, but more importantly they hold meanings that are very special to their owners. You can be sure that if you see someone with a cherry blossom design, they know exactly what it represents, and they made the choice to get it because it spoke to them in one way or another.

What really matters is that you like the cherry blossom more than other flower tattoos since you will find that many of the meanings attached to the cherry blossom can also be used with other flowers. It specially makes sense to get a cherry blossom tattoo if you found that two or more of the meanings mentioned on this page make sense for you.

If you found that any of the cherry blossom tattoo meanings mentioned above make sense for you and you like the look of these designs, then you should find a tattoo artist in your area that can make yours look amazing on your skin. These are often quite complex designs, so finding a tattoo artist who has a lot of experience with flower tattoos will greatly increase the chances of you ending up with a cherry blossom tattoo design that you will always be proud of.

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