The earliest indication of Japanese tattooing as a practice was markings and symbols on the face and body that date back to about 5.000 BC. However the first written record didn’t appear in Japan, but in China where it was described that young and old men would tattoo their faces in decorative ways. The Chinese throughout history would think of this as incredibly barbaric and tattooing became a way of punishment. Eventually Japan started to agree, that the tattoos were unsavory. In 720 AD the emperor sentenced an individual to get a tattoo as punishment instead of sentencing him to death for rebelling and trying to over throw the state.
By the time the 17th Century rolls around there was a sort of tattoo language that indicated why the person was an outcast or a criminal. Generally outcasts would receive an “x” or a straight line on the arm, but for criminals it was very different. The type of tattoo the criminal would receive may very upon location. For example one region would tattoo a dog on the fore head, while others would use anything from bars, crosses, circles, or double lines. When you had this sort of tattoo your family would likely disown you. Tattooing became one of the most shameful forms of punishment. This was thought to be the start of the history of what we know today as tattooing in Japan. People would often aim to cover these marks up with larger, more decorative pieces. By the end of the 17th century tattooing as punishment became almost obsolete.
In the 18th century pictorial tattooing became popularize in art. However, the Japanese government outlawed tattooing on the basis that it was “deleterious to public morals.” This, of course did not stop people from getting tattoos. Firemen, laborers, and the lower class frequently received tattoos. Tattoos caught the attention of a gang called the Yakuza because they thought it would show how tough they were as well as their loyalty to the gang. Legally, if you were tattooed you became an outlaw forever.
During the 19th century the tattooing laws changed. While tattoos were still illegal for the Japanese, Japanese tattoo artists could do work for foreigners. The Japanese tattooing began becoming more pronounced as a style with very specific ways to make art and with very specific themes. Yokohama was a hot spot for tattoo masters to hone the craft on European upper class. However, most tattoo clients during this period were sailors. By the 20th century the illegalization of tattoos for the Japanese ended, officially legalizing the art.
Duke of York, later King George V getting tattooed.
Learning about Japanese tattooing has always peeked my interest. I feel there is still a large social stigma for some, if not most of the globe regarding tattooed individuals. However, it seems especially so for people (mostly older) in Japan. The Japanese style of tattooing is so pronounced and so precise that through the ages it has withstood the centuries and is still heavily sought after and is still very recognizable. I thought it interesting that emperors and government officials used tattooing in Japan as punishment. I knew Europeans would sometimes brand criminals or individuals of a certain religion. The idea that markings on the skin would be worse than being sentenced to death because your family would disown you was shocking. I also thought it kind of odd that something that Japanese ancestors would do for decorative, religious, or perhaps social hierarchy reasons would become outlawed seemingly because China thought it was wrong. Throughout learning I also began to compare old “out cast/ criminal” tattoos to what we know today as traditional Japanese tattooing. There certainly is still a very formulated way of making each piece in order to make it true Japanese traditional style. This created another sort of dictionary so to speak of images, just as the criminal tattoos had.
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