In 2015, popular tattoo artist Taiki Masuda was found guilty of performing ‘medical practices’ without a license. This September, his appeal resulted in the overturning of his previous guilty verdict, signifying a major shift in Japan’s long and complicated history with tattoos.
Japanese tattoos are one of the most respected styles of tattoo art practiced and adorned by millions around the globe, but remain a cultural taboo in their country of origin. Each year, tens of thousands of westerners travel to Japan to get tattooed by artists who specialise in the traditional hand-poking technique of tebori. This technique involves artists using metal attached to a bamboo handle with silk thread to repeatedly insert ink into the skin to create irezumi (tattoos). It is said that this allows for a greater density of colour to produce brighter, more saturated tattoos that stand the test of time better than tattoos created by machine needle.
Known for its traditional imagery, bold colours, and intricate details, Japanese tattoos are one of the most easily recognisable tattoo styles in the world. Irezumi should depict imagery traditional to Japanese culture – such as dragons (ryu), tiger (tora), demons (oni) and the koi fish – in bold colours inspired by woodblock prints. Each motif comes with its own meaning, as do the colours used to bring the image to life.
In 2001, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare declared that because tattooing involves putting ‘pigment on a needle tip and inserting ink into the skin’, it is a medical procedure rather than an expressive art form. The maximum penalty for violating this Act was a three-year prison sentence and a fine of up to 1 million yen. Up until September 2020, the act of tattooing was considered a legal grey zone. Tattoo artists were allowed to continue the practice as long as they held a medical license, but the Japanese government were reluctant to give them to practitioners of a taboo industry that was once illegal.
In 2015, Taiki Masuda was found guilty of performing ‘medical practices’ without a license and was fined 300,000 yen; prior to his arrest, only tattoo artists with direct links to organised crime were targeted by police and charged with defying the Act. For decades, tattoo artists in Japan have been driven underground and forced to work in a highly secretive, unregulated industry to avoid condemnation and police harassment.
Japanese tattooing has a long and colourful history dating back as far as 5000 BCE. In 297 AD, the ancient text Wei Chih wrote of men of all ages being adorned with decorative and spiritual tattoos over their bodies and faces. They were identifiers used to distinguish individuals’ societal status and covered their bodies with symbols to protect them from harm; similarly, the Ainu indigenous tribe tattooed themselves for cosmetic and religious purposes.
The association between tattoos and crime in Japan dates back to 1720 when criminals would be branded with permanent markings in highly visible places, such as their foreheads and arms, to serve as a punishment for non-violent crimes. The content of these markings varied depending on the region where their crimes were committed: in Hiroshima, each crime resulted in a new tattooed line so that after three were committed the offender bore the kanji markings for ‘dog’. During the Edo Period (1603 – 1867), tattoos became popular within the lower and working class until the first national ban on tattooing was introduced in 1872. This ban is said to have been influenced by foreign perception of Japan and the government’s desire for conformity and rejection of ‘primitive’ practices. In Okinawa, hand tattoos (hajichi) were connected to female shamanism, and between 1899 and 1904 nearly 700 women were arrested for breaking the tattoo ban. However, in mainland Japan approximately 500 people were arrested for tattooing from 1876 to 1946. Instead of destroying the budding tattoo industry, it only drove tattoo artists underground to avoid arrest.
Japan’s tattoo ban ceased with American occupation following WWII but was still not accepted within Japanese society. Japan’s Yakuza crime gangs used tattoos as a means of initiation; by receiving a large-scale tattoo, the wearer symbolically cut ties with regular society, entering a new life on the fringes that they could not turn away from. For decades, Yakuza members used tattoos to display their wealth, strength, and commitment to their gang. The government crackdown has led current members to turn away from tattoos and identifying marks to avoid suspicion. These days most clientele are foreigners and businesspeople, but the stigma surrounding tattoos and their links to organised crime linger.
In Japan there remains a deep-seated distrust of tattooed people. The former mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, sent government employees questionnaires to discover who had tattoos as he felt that they were not fit to work in a government position. This pervasive stigmatisation has led to tattooed people being banned from entering public places where their skin is revealed, such as public swimming pools and spas. This rule began as a way to ban admission by Yakuza members but has extended to anyone seen sporting a tattoo. However, in recent years hot spring baths (onsens) have been urged by the government to allow tattooed foreigners admittance in the lead-up to the expected influx of foreigners in Japan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
While tattooing is no longer illegal in Japan, tattooed Japanese people remain subject to discrimination. Many tattoo artists maintain a low profile to avoid police raids and subjection to stigmatisation, working from nondescript studios and operating through word-of-mouth. Artists report that between 60 to 70 per cent of people who receive Japanese tattoos are foreigners. The younger generation prefer Western-style geometric and fine-line tattoos over the bold imagery of Japanese tattoos, perhaps because of the lasting connotation between large-scale tattoos and yakuza members.
The legalisation of tattoos and the reclassification as a non-medical practice is a small step towards the acceptance of tattoos within Japanese society. It will take time before a significant shift in attitude is made, but with the adoption of smaller tattoos by newer generations, and the acceptance of tattooed foreigners into public places, hopefully the next few decades will see Japanese tattooing regarded as highly in Japan as it is worldwide.
Maddison Moore is a freelance writer and editor currently studying a Master of Publishing and Communications. She is passionate about social justice, body positivity, and mental health awareness.