Yoji Harada is a tattoo artist from Japan, and he’s also a musician too. He gained international fame from appearing on the hit TLC reality television show, Miami Ink. There is a little bit of a connection to another TLC show, L.A. Ink, because Kat Von D used to be on Miami Ink, and then moved to L.A. Ink, her own show. It seems that world-famous tattoo artists are connected through the TLC dynamic. It’s kind of a strange phenomenon that tattoo artistry and reality television show would go together, because the former seems a little dull, but they do. It’s not really so strange when you think about it, because shows like The Real World and Big Brother center around real-world activities, and aren’t as exciting, fast-paced, and dynamic as shows like Survivor, for instance. Getting back to Yoji Harada, and outside of his tattoo reality television fame-garnering appearance, he was born in Tokyo.
Yoji Harada moved from Tokyo to Chicago, and he married his first wife, Bonnie Minkus, there. He moved again, this time to New York City, and he tried to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. Even though he could have stayed in Japan, he didn’t want to. He wanted to be a success in America. He joined the band, Big Deal, and he played with them for several years, and he moved to Miami afterward, and he took up a job tattooing for Ami James. He worked for him for five years, and then he asked to become an apprentice, at the time his girlfriend got pregnant. As soon as his wife became pregnant, he knew that he had to start making some real money, so Ami said that he could, indeed, become an apprentice.
He worked at Love-Hate Tattoos with his boss as Ami James. The hit television show, Miami Ink, got Yoji some international fame, and he became wildly famous in his native country of Japan. The show traced Yoji’s progression from becoming a mild apprentice to a “real deal” official tattoo artist. It also chronicled his marriage to Bridgette, and his daughter’s birth. The show’s success let Yoji get back to his real passion, and he retuned back to the band, Big Deal.
Yoji Harada worked with fellow Miami Ink tattoo artist, Darren Brass, to develop an infant clothing line called Ruthless and Toothless. No doubt, the birth of his own daughter has contributed to this pursuit of his, both from the business end to make more money to provide for his children and the artistic end, to provide clothing for his children.
Yoji had a small cameo in the Japanese hit studio film, Suicide Club, and he played a comedian, and his partner committed suicide on stage. Yoji is an interesting and enigmatic personality. He has traveled across the world, and all over the United States, to make his career and make himself world-famous. He followed the American Dream, in a way, because he came from a different country, became an apprentice, become an official professional, and then became world-famous and provided for his wife and children. Yoji Harada is notably a testament to the American Dream, and it’s a prominent part of his story, and the reason why it caught on so amazingly in his native home country of Japan. The idea that anyone can come to America, learn to do something, become a professional at it, become famous, and provide for his family is something that has been a part of the American story and fabric since its inception. Yoji Harada is a testament to the American dream.
