![](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/media-collection/513/908/14_95ix__001_RS.jpg)
Japanese tattooing needle. The instrument has a handle which is straight and made from a single piece of bamboo. A cotton or silk thread, dark in colour, has been bound around the end of the handle nearest to the head to form a grip. Fastened at the head of the instrument are twelve fine needles arranged in two closely set rows.