There are 3 main sub-sections of Asian style tattoos:

1)Traditional Asian - It is thought that the Japanese might be the first people to have ever practice tattooing or irezumi (insertion of ink under the skin). Some believe the practice goes back to 10,000 BC, where the tattoos had spiritual or purely decorative uses, but what we recognize today as Asian tattoos started probably closer to 1600, when woodblock tattooing became fashionable – mainly among the lower classes.

2)Modern Asian - Modern Asian tattoos are a mix of the style of traditional Asian tattoos and the American style of tattooing. The subject of the tattoos remain the staples of Japanese and Chinese mythology, featuring dragons, koi fish, phoenixes, fu dogs, etc. However, the style borrows more from the style of comic books and manga, rather than the traditional look of woodblock tattoos.

3)Kanji and lettering - Chinese and Japanese lettering are so intricate, that writing in these logo-graphic scripts is an art form in and of itself. The combination of the beauty of the script and the ability to associate a meaning to the symbol (because it's actually a word) have made these very popular flash tattoos.