Commision | Greek Samurai

Commission from client to create a poster for her brother, Arsenios and his music label - The Greek Samurai.
I thoroughly enjoyed going through popular symbology, iconography denoting Greek and Samurai culture.

It features:
The Olive branch: symbolic of peace, wisdom, fertility, prosperity immortality and success.

Cherry Blossoms: An enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, the exquisite beauty and volatility, has often been associated with mortality and the graceful acceptance of destiny and karma; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic and have been utilized often in Japanese art. Quite popular in Irezumi, the traditional art of Japanese tattoos.

The Rising Sun: Japan - Nippon, the land of the rising sun. Often included in Japanese imagery is the tori gate, the red sun and red rays.

Red Ink: The Japanese especially love the red that is obtained from safflower (benibana), and it was very popular in the Heian period (794-1185). Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour.

Katana: Legendary swords, the katana is the classic weapon of Japan. You can look up the extensive history of the blade but for a lack of better words, they are absolutely badass ;D