Gu, Kwan-yin Tattoo’s resident tattoo artist, doesn’t hide his identity as a Buddhist. From the name of his tattoo parlor (“Kwan-yin,” also sometimes spelled “Guan-yin,” is associated with compassion in Buddhism) to his personal paintings and drawings hanging on the walls of his studio, Gu’s passion for combining Buddhism with tattooing is clear. While prices for his body art vary, the parlor’s hygiene habits don’t. They advertise their use of an Ultrasonic Cleaner, a machine that cleans ink covered instruments by exposing them to “ultrasonic oscillation,” along with an autoclave, sterilizer machine, and one time use ink, needles and gloves.