Japanese Koi Sleeve Tattoo
MidjourneyJapanese Koi Sleeve Tattoo is a Midjourney v7 prompt for a 3:4 irezumi-style flash sheet. The koi curves in an S-shape through cascading waves with limited red and gold flat fills, keeping it readable as a sleeve composition rather than a decorative painting.
Last tested: August 2026 with Midjourney v7
Part of the Midjourney prompt library · see more vintage prompts .
Prompt
A traditional Japanese irezumi tattoo design of a koi fish swimming upward through churning water and cascading waves, body curved in a dynamic S-shape, scales rendered as bold black outlines with selective red and gold flat fills, wave patterns in the Hokusai style framing the fish, maple leaves drifting in the current, pure black linework with limited colour, no skin, no photograph, no text, clean flash sheet presentation on cream paper --ar 3:4 --stylize 200
Settings
- Model
- Midjourney v7
- Aspect ratio
- 3:4
- Stylize
- 200
How to use this prompt
The S-curve body posture is what makes this read as a sleeve rather than a standalone pinup. A straight-bodied koi sits on skin like a sticker, but the S-shape lets the design wrap the forearm naturally. Keep colour to red and gold only — adding a third hue pushes Midjourney toward watercolour illustration and away from traditional irezumi flat fills. The Hokusai wave framing matters: without explicit wave patterns the model defaults to a blank background that kills the narrative of struggle the koi symbolises. Stylize at 200 holds the traditional look; pushing past 300 turns the linework painterly and unstencilable.
Variations to try
- Swap the koi for a coiled serpent dragon ascending the same waves, same red and gold palette
- Mirror two koi head-to-head in a yin-yang composition with maple leaves between them
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What to do next
Adapt it →
Open this prompt in the Midjourney builder, pre-filled, and change one layer at a time.
Explore more →
Browse the full Midjourney prompt library — every entry tested with its settings.
For developers — copy this prompt as JSON
{
"title": "Japanese Koi Sleeve Tattoo",
"prompt": "A traditional Japanese irezumi tattoo design of a koi fish swimming upward through churning water and cascading waves, body curved in a dynamic S-shape, scales rendered as bold black outlines with selective red and gold flat fills, wave patterns in the Hokusai style framing the fish, maple leaves drifting in the current, pure black linework with limited colour, no skin, no photograph, no text, clean flash sheet presentation on cream paper --ar 3:4 --stylize 200",
"model": "Midjourney",
"model_version": "v7",
"settings": {
"aspect_ratio": "3:4",
"stylize": 200
},
"style_tags": [
"vintage",
"line-art"
],
"use_case_tags": [
"tattoo-design",
"illustration"
],
"source_url": "https://promptkoi.com/prompts/midjourney/japanese-koi-sleeve-tattoo/"
}The whole library is available as an open JSON dataset · developer docs.
