THERE'S NOTHING more colorful and vibrant than a few hundred tattooists all laboring in the same place, especially if it's the San Jose Convention Center. And there's nothing more representative of true cultural exchange then the San Jose–Osaka collaboration that penetrates the entire operation.

For three days (Oct. 30–Nov. 1), A Convention of the Tattoo Arts 2009, or as it's more commonly known, the San Jose Tattoo Convention, storms downtown for an entire weekend of ink, book releases, afterparties, drinks, rawness and pure wholesome pain. Presented by State of Grace, a renowned San Jose tattoo shop, the event is now in its fifth year. Tattooists from across the globe are showing up yet again, as are plenty of photographers. The merriment erupts on Thursday night, with the San Jose–based Analog Tattoo Collective (ATAK) staging a book release party at Anno Domini for its latest glossy tome, Bloodwork: Sleeves. (See story on page 49). The tattoo convention proper goes off from Friday to Sunday.

This year, one of the special guests of honor is Thom Devita, who opened his tattoo shop in New York City the day after tattooing was made illegal there in 1961. Devita caroused with many of the great American tattooists of the 20th century, including Huck Spaulding, Paul Rogers, Zeke Owen, Cliff Raven and Ed Hardy. Now 77, Devita no longer tattoos but still produces amazing artwork, which he will be hawking at the convention.

The kingpin behind State of Grace is Takahiro Kitamura, a.k.a. Horitaka, or Taki to those who know him. Originally from Japan, he has written and lectured extensively on Japanese tattooing. Just a few weeks ago, he delivered a lecture and slide show at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Several renowned Japanese tattooists took part in the presentation.

And just like San Jose maintains a sister-city relationship with Okayama, Taki has cultivated a sister tattoo-shop relationship with Three Tides Tattoo in Osaka, perennial co-sponsors of the convention. San Jose was among the first cities in the United States to establish a sister-city partnership when its affiliation with Okayama was cemented in 1957, so I see no reason why such an enterprise shouldn't be extended to a tattoo shop in Osaka. The city of San Jose's website says, "Each sister city affiliation is part of San Jose's rich history and represents a bond between the city and people of San Jose with the city and people of our sister city." Exactly.

Another example: The artist Ichibay, a.k.a. the Demon of Drawing, from Three Tides Tattoo, is also making an appearance beginning this weekend. Ichibay recently just released his own book of sketches and will be working in house at Analog Tattoo the week following the convention. The folks at Analog also regularly make guest appearances at Three Tides. It's like their second home. In Japan, Three Tides is one of the few shops succeeding at bringing tattooing out of the depths of the underground. Not marginalized at all, their shop is housed in a nouveau building and they also do graphic design work.

Even more, there's no better way to augment this landmark San Jose/Osaka cultural exchange than to feature Japan's most famous all-female rock band. This Friday, to coincide with the tattoo convention, Shonen Knife is playing at the Blank Club. Also hailing from Osaka, Shonen Knife has been around for more than 25 years and has such a worldwide cult following that in 1989 a tribute album emerged—Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them—with a few dozen bands covering their songs. The last time Shonen Knife played at Blank Club in 2005, the show was their 500th career gig.

Such a partnership meets all of San Jose's "Criteria of Compatibility and Shared Vision for a Sister City Linkage." The criteria include arts and cultural institutions, community organizations, opportunity for economic development, tourism linkages and demonstrated community support. Years ago, we used to be able to fly from San Jose direct to Japan, but no more. I say bring that flight back. Japanophiles unite!

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