LITMIR.BIZ

      In this sculpture, a Japanese tattooer is using the tebori hand-poked method to tattoo a woman’s back with a dragon.

      This system has created close-knit tattoo families called ichimon. Even after graduating and setting up shops of their own, former apprentices continue to have close relationships with their master and are expected to take care of their teacher should something happen. Not all of Japan’s best tattooists have gone through an apprenticeship. What they all share is a serious study of tattoo motifs and design, whether with a mentor or not.

      A LIFESTYLE CHOICE

      People in Japan get irezumi for a variety of reasons. Some get them to protect their bodies, or for religious reasons. Others get tattoos because they look good.

      Whatever the reason, irezumi is a lifestyle choice—and in Japan, a brave one at that. Even today, when tattooed people in Japan go out in public, unless it’s a specific special occasion, such as a religious festival; or a safe environment, such as a bohemian district of a big city, most cover up their ink. This is because of the widespread belief that only Japan’s gangsters, the yakuza, have irezumi, so if you are tattooed you are dangerous. Covering up one’s ink is not only a courtesy to avoid unsettling others, but is also to protect from discrimination, whether applying for a job or renting an apartment. My local bartender in suburban Osaka has had his biceps inked with Polynesian-style “tribal” designs. When I asked him why he hadn’t gone with Japanese irezumi motifs, such as flowers or Buddhist gods, he replied, “Because I don’t want to be confused with a gangster.” There are also notions in Japan that tattoos are dirty, because unclean needles spread a whole array of diseases, as well as a Confucian belief that it is disrespectful to modify the body bestowed on you by your parents.

      There is, however, a long, proud tradition of firemen, blue-collar workers, and artisans getting tattooed for religious convictions, to protect their bodies from hazardous work, and simply because irezumi look damn cool.

      UNDERGROUND TATTOO CULTURE

      Although largely hidden, irezumi culture remains strong. If you look closely, you’ll catch glimpses. A glimpse of red under a sleeve. Some black at the edge of a pair of shorts. Flashes of yellow or blue. Irezumi are designed to be covered and worn under clothes. But because tattoos aren’t out in the open in Japan as they are in the West, when you finally do see them, they have enormous impact and power. This is what makes irezumi unique; this is their appeal. Generally speaking, irezumi are personal and private, unlike Western-style tattoos, which often seem to be for show.

      In Japan, foreigners with tattoos are less likely to be judged harshly than the locals who have them. The common assumption is that Western-style tattoos are for fashion, while Japanese ones are for unsavory types. This is why inked celebrities like Johnny Depp or athletes like Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. can appear on television or in print ads with their tattoos on display. Meanwhile, many tattooed Japanese celebrities tend to cover their irezumi for fear of alienating fans or being misrepresented. Most people in Japan don’t see tattoos during daily life. The chances of you seeing someone’s irezumi at a PTA meeting, at a convenience store or McDonald’s, or even on the subway are very, very low.

      For all of that is made of irezumi’s connection to Japanese organized crime, it’s important to remember that, during the periods in which tattooers were persecuted and could be arrested for practicing their craft, it was the yakuza who kept tattooers employed. Regardless what you think of yakuza or their activities, if you like Japanese tattoos, the fact that yakuza have kept the tradition alive should be respected.

      The wooden doll (called a kokeshi) makes a striking comparison between the courtesan and the doll itself. Kokeshi can be tokens of friendship, but are sometimes compared to phalluses, underscoring the lush, sexualized themes in this tattoo.

      Hannya masks (see page 112) are iconic and powerful. The back is the body’s biggest canvas for irezumi—and what better way to make a statement than with a giant Hannya?

      TATTOO PROHIBITION

      Today, tattooing isn’t banned in Japan, but the practice exists in a legal gray zone. In 2001, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare classified tattooing as a medical procedure, with the rationale that only a licensed health care professional can penetrate the skin with a needle and insert pigment. The government, however, does not issue tattoo licenses, and the industry continues to be unregulated. In some parts of the country, there are large, open tattoo shops right on the street with clearly marked signs. In other regions, tattooers work out of unmarked studios and rented apartments.

      From the late 19th century to the end of World War II, tattooing was illegal in Japan. During the U.S. Occupation (1945–1952), the tattoo ban was finally lifted after an American officer under General Douglas MacArthur met with Horiyoshi II of Tokyo. (Note: this Horiyoshi family is different from the Yokohama Horiyoshi line.) The U.S. military might have been more accepting of the craft due to its tradition of service members getting inked.

      Irezumi prohibition had been part of an effort to modernize and align Japan with Western morals. During the 19th century, officials issued various edicts against tattooing (one 1811 edict pointed out that, horrors of horrors, irezumi were fashionable among the country’s youth). These went largely ignored, but in 1872, the Tokyo government announced the Ishiki Kai ordinance, which was soon followed by a similar national decree. The Ishiki Kai ordinance banned major and minor social transgressions, including peeing in front of stores, being naked in public, mixed communal bathing, selling pornography, and tattooing. Those who violated serious infractions, such as tattooing, were fined. Those who couldn’t pay the fine were whipped. People who already had ink could avoid police trouble by paying for a permit.

      The ban, however, applied only to Japanese people. The government never anticipated that some foreign visitors, including those from the upper echelons of society, would become enamored of tattoos. There was an obvious gap in how foreigners saw irezumi and how the Japanese ruling class saw them. Lord Charles Beresford, an admiral and a member of British Parliament, got tattooed in Japan, and later recalled how the country’s upper crust was astonished because they thought it was only for the “common people.”

      A traditional American black panther design infused with Hannya mask elements.

      Irezumi have provided plenty of fodder for Japanese pulp writers.

      Not all the 20th-century pulp stories were set in the modern day. This one shows a traditional horishi at work.

      No Tattoos Allowed

      Check Your Ink At The Door

      At hot springs, public baths, swimming pools, and gyms across Japan, you’ll see signs that state the same thing: folks with tattoos cannot enter.

      It wasn’t always so.

Скачать книгу