ryu photos on Flickr

I went to Japan in April 2008 to film a documentary about Koy. She is a talented musician/performer from New York who has been living and performing in Japan for 16 years.

I went with Koy to a coastal town to meet Ryu, a musician that she used to play with. Ryu was born the 22nd direct descendant of a temple founding monk. He was raised and expected to inherit his birthright, a 500-year-old temple in Uozu, but rebelled when he found rock and roll as a young man. As a teen, he was very involved in starting the '80's Toyama rockabilly scene.

Teaching himself to play guitar, he renounced his temple birthright, ran off to New York City for a few years where he started his tattoo collection. Upon returning to Tokyo, he headed the rock and roll trio Screaming Jets and worked with Koy where she sang his beautiful Japanese lyrics. Shortly after opening his own chic bar/eatery in Roppongi his father died, followed by his mother less than a year later. He made the difficult decision to close down the restaurant and return to the temple. Now with his monk's robes hiding his tattooed body as make up and band-aids attempt to cover his face and hand tattoos, he goes about his daily Buddhist routines as well as writing expansively regarding Buddhism on a daily basis and playing guitar in the temple in the evenings.

Ryu by Nicemarmott

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ryu&laelith_0890 by Francesca

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freezia iplehouse & ryu migidoll

RYU_0364-3 by Ryu Flatron

RYU_7285 by Bruce Wayne

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progress in tiny ryu zin 2.1 =D, designed by sk, folded by me by Andrew Stein

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Haikou_Hainan_China_150311_So_Yeon_Ryu_013 by LET

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HAIKOU- HAINAN ISLAND-CHINA-So Yeon Ryu of Korea pictured, Wednesday, March 11, 2015, “teeing off” on the Century Bridge ahead of the World Ladies Championship which will be played at the Blackstone Course, Mission Hills Golf Resort, Haikou, Hainan Island, China, the USD$ 600.000 event is staged March 12-15, 2015. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Mission Hills.

Ryu by Mike R.