with all this talk of the Dharma emblem, what is that tatoo on Jack's arm? he has a couple but one is circular. i didn't know if anyone had identified it. its a longshot but i was wondering if it was the Dharma emblem... :undecide:

I thought the tattoos were Matthew Fox's own. Therefore, they would have nothing to do with Lost.

If you listen to the comentary track on the DVD I think they mention the tattoo and say that they have plans to work it into the story line. I thought they also said that the number 5(which is in the tattoo) would be important to Jack's backstory. They are Matthew Fox's Tattoo. I don't know what signifigence the tat has in real life.

I found this link with th chinese poem that the tatoo represents

http://www.ece.neu.edu/~xzhu/lost_tatoo.html

At least it's not messed up. I once met a girl that had something in Tibetan on her arm, but she admitted that the tattoo guy transposed two of the symbols. Maybe ole Foxy really has an S..lol, jk.

Season 1 info on Jack's tattoos from the Long Lost List:


JACK
Jack has a tattoo with Chinese characters. This is a real life tattoo. One fan translated the characters "Eagle" "Master" "Long" "Sky". As noted at Lost Links (http://www.lostlinks.net/symbols.htm), Da Polar Bear from the ABC Lost messge board translated the characters as "Hawk in the Expansive Sky".

Screencap of left arm (http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=3&pos=168) in Pilot, just before Kate sews up Jack's wound.

View from the underside of the left arm showing red and blue tattoo with stars (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x01-pilot/normal-1x01-209.jpg). (Pilot)

In HORS, Kate asks Jack about his tattoos because she says he doesn't seem like the type. He declines to speak about why, saying that it's personal and he has his reasons but does not wish to share them.
Kate: "It's not like I'm asking a personal question."
Jack: "It's a personal question."
Kate: "You don't have to get all quiet on me. I just want to know."
Jack: "Well, you're not going to know."
Kate: "What's the big deal?"
Jack: "It's not a big deal. It's just something I did. I had my reasons. And I don't want to put it out there."
Kate: "It's just that you and your tatoos don't add up. Are you one of those hard core spinal surgeons?"
Jack: "That's me. Hard core."
Excerpt from House of the Rising Sun, written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
The Chinese character tattoo has mysteriously moved from the left arm to the right in some scenes, like these in HORS:
Screencap shows tat on right arm (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x06-house/house618.jpg).

Homecoming:
Screencap of left arm during fight with Ethan (http://www.lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x15-homecoming/normal_homecoming770.jpg).
Screencap of right arm a few moments later (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x15-homecoming/homecoming777.jpg).

Careful observation indicates that these are negative reversals, as the characters on the tattoo are flipped.

The Chinese Character tattoo also has the number 5 in it, likely a reference to his "Party of Five" days. Screencap from Special (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x14-special/special161.jpg).

The other tattoo is visible in Outlaws. This is on the underside of the left forearm and has a red and blue design with stars traveling up the upper arm. Screencap (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-caps/season1/1x16-outlaws/outlaws173.jpg).

We learn in DNH that he got that tattoo sometime after he got married. This screencap (http://lost-media.com/modules/coppermine/albums/ep-promos/sea1/1x20-donoharm/donoharm-21.jpg) shows him talking to his best man Mark Silverman trying on tuxes, the tattoo is not there. *Pretty good cover-up job :wink: *

Excerpt from TV Guide:From the January 23-29th edition of TV Guide, featuring an Insider article about the popularity of tattoos on television stars ATM, and whether or not said ink was the actors', or the characters:

Dominic Monaghan:
On the left, a line from the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever, and the on the right, his elvish "nine" from LOTR. All of it's real, and personally significant to Dom. I'm sure most folks already know all about that, but since it was in the same article I thought I'd make mention.

Matthew Fox:
On the left, a cryptic collage of seemingly nonsensical things, including the green number 5, four Japanese characters, the letter's "B.C.", a sundial, and a trisected triangle that could be either a pyramid or a sailboat. He says they're all real, but he wouldn't tell TV Guide if they had anything to do with the show. Since Kate's made mention of them already, I wondered...

There's also a "5" next to one of the "108"s scrawled on the hatch mural.

I think the "5" relates to his way of getting over fears, by counting to 5...I think it was in the Pilot when he told this to Kate, and after they encountered the monster/security system at the cockpit, she ran to that tree and counted to 5. And, IIRC, I think she also used this technique while rappelling down into the hatch...

I wonder how they're going to incorporate the tattoo in the story. Because obviously they are. Kate already mentioned it. I wanna know! :biggrin:

Go back to the #7post from creme and look at the scrren cap of Jack talking to his best man Mark Silverman trying on tuxes...

What is that picture on the wall? It looks like Jack on the beach in his survior clothes.....

Am I right?

One more thing, enlarge the picture and see the yin/yang on Jack's tee shirt - in some sort of crest looking emblem....

Go back to the #7post from creme and look at the scrren cap of Jack talking to his best man Mark Silverman trying on tuxes...What is that picture on the wall? It looks like Jack on the beach in his survior clothes.....Am I right?
One more thing, enlarge the picture and see the yin/yang on Jack's tee shirt - in some sort of crest looking emblem....

AH I see the ying/yang - good catch. And no tattoo on Jack..

The picture.. well it could be Jack on the beach. Or someone else on the beach. Sadly due to my monitor having issues things aren't very clear - so I can't tell - but the outline looks pretty Jackish.

Both nice catches, gypsy.

Lost_gypsy. I agree with you, I think it looks like Jack on the Island...good observation

Maybe the tattoo has something to do with Jack's obvious training in the fighting arts and gun play. To have as much knowledge as he does in things not pertaining to his 100 hour weeks as a surgical resident would imply there is more to him than meets the eye(s)...Me thinks Jack has some washed memories....

Actually, if you look at the episode where Sayid was showing them the maps he found at Danielle's bunker, he overlaps some of them, showing, I think, where Black Rock and Dark Territory were located. When he does, some of the pics overlap and form the triangle logo that is on Jack's arm.