Two characters are tattooed under the left shoulder. They are kanji, Chinese characters.
The top kanji is pronounced 'cho' with a long 'o' (more like chou). On its own it is 'horu,' to tattoo (also to engrave, carve, chisel).
The bottom kanji is pronounced 'kan,' with a half pronunciation of the 'n' (almost like khang). It means to check, examine, collate, compare, or to take into consideration, or to give consideration to, or think about. It also has meaning about intuitive perceptions: sense, perception, horse sense, intuition, sixth sense. It may also have something to do with patience.
Taken together, the symbols are most likely the name of a tattoo artist, 'Hori Kan.' 'Hori' is rentai-kei of 'horu' ('carving' and 'tatooing') and 'kan' is a short form of his name, for example, Kansuke, Kanjuro, etc. Thus, he was called 'Hori Kan' or perhaps 'Kansuke the tattoo artist.'
(translation courtesy of Janice Okada)