Jill “Horiyuki” Bonny Sketchbooks

Jill “Horiyuki” Bonny opened Studio Kazoku in 2017 in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco. She received the title “Horiyuki” from Master Horiyoshi III of Yokohama in 2008. At the time she was recognized as the first non-Japanese woman to receive this honor. Horiyuki began her career in NYC in 1996 just before NYC’s ban on tattooing was lifted. She graduated from The Cooper Union, School of Fine Art before making her way to San Francisco in 2000.

Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and spans interviews with other artists, tattoo history, and opinion pieces about tattooing and pop culture. She has written several books on tattooing, including “Studying Horiyoshi III; A Westerner’s Journey into the Japanese Tattoo”, published by Schiffer Publishing.

Horiyuki has continued her art practice throughout her career and has showcased paintings in many group shows. Most recently she showed a body of work with Gordon “Wrath” McCloud titled “Confessions of a Mask”. She has also lectured at The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles, and the Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

During the pandemic, Horiyuki organized and assumed the role of lead advocate for the Unified Tattoo and Body Art Shops of San Francisco. She represented tattooing at many city meetings, wrote documents that were sent to every level of city and state government and organized actions at Board of Supervisors meetings. These actions were critical in reopening tattooing in the Bay area.