Japanese Tattoos - Brian Ashcraft

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some of it bad, and all of it fascinating.

      Old Chinese and Japanese manuscripts, a mix of fact and folklore, do mention tattooing. One Chinese account dating from the late third century states that in Japan, decorative markings denoted rank or social status, and that Japanese shell divers had tattoos to protect themselves from harmful sea creatures. But by the fifth century, tattooing had an entirely different meaning: punishment and shame. Punitive tattoos were likely imported to Japan via China and were used to ostracize. In ancient China, which influenced early Japanese culture, tattoos were used to mark criminals and slaves, so it’s certainly possible that this is how disciplinary tattoos came to Japan. The Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), which dates from 720 AD and is the country’s second-oldest history text, recounts how in 400 AD Emperor Richu had a rebel tattooed on the face for attempting to plot a coup, showing just how damning tattoos were. The same text recounts a story of an old codger with a tattooed face who commits theft, with the obvious implication that tattoos marked crooks. Yet another story tells how in 467 AD Emperor Yuryaku had a man permanently inked on the face after his dog killed an imperial bird. Irezumi weren’t exactly winning in the ancient history PR department.

      Common locations for kanji irezumi include the chest and the spine. The tattoo 不惜身命 (fushakushinmyou) is sometimes translated as “not sparing one’s life for a worthy cause,” but actually, it’s a religious expression that refers to self-sacrificing dedication to Buddha or Buddhist law. The tattoo 我武者 羅 (gamushara) means “daredevil,” “hothead,” or even “lunatic.” Yikes!

      This motif depicts Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the legendary Japanese sword used to slay the Japanese dragon Yamata no Orochi. Traditionally, this dragon is said to have eight heads, but here it has one. A bonji character alluding to the Buddhist deity Fudo Myoo (see page 98) is emblazoned on the blade.

      During the seventh century, irezumi began to fade as punishment, and save for one surviving mention of punitive tattoos in a 13th-century legal code, it wasn’t until the 17th century that penal tattoos were back with a vengeance. In the early 1600s, the Tokugawa shogunate took over Japan, creating a highly stratified society and secluding the vast majority of the country from the outside world. By the later part of that century, irezumi penalties returned, along with the slicing off of noses and ears—the latter a gruesome punishment that was no longer inflicted by 1720. Punitive tattoos, however, stuck around.

      The act of applying punishment tattoos is called irezumi-kei (入墨 刑), with kei referring to penalty, sentence, or punishment.

      This shows the Japanese deities Fujin (the god of wind) with Raijin (the god of lightning and thunder). Their names are written in kanji (風神 and 雷 神) in the large round mitsudomoe, a popular symbol in Shintoism and throughout Japan. The triple tomoe mark has many meanings; in one interpretation, it represents mankind, the material world, and the celestial world. The comma-shaped tomoe is also said to represent curved ritualistic stones from ancient Japan (for more, see page 101).

      Irezumi became associated with crimes like fraud, extortion, or selling knockoff goods, as well as theft. Essentially these became a way to mark con men and to keep tabs on the lowest members of society. If anything, tattoos were perhaps another way the Tokugawa shogunate could solidify the country’s feudal system and keep people in their place.

      The idea was that tattoos could make offenders and undesirables stand out in society with a permanent scarlet letter that bled right into the skin and couldn’t easily be taken off. The characters selected were like giant billboards that screamed, “Stay away!” And the irezumi could not have been more obvious: The kanji for evil (悪, aku) was tattooed on criminals’ heads in Edo (present-day Tokyo), while in one region of western Japan (present-day Wakayama Prefecture) the character was tattooed on the bicep. In Kyushu, there was a three-strikes system: The first was a tattooed horizontal stroke, the next was a curved stroke, and the final infraction saw the addition of another curved stroke and a dash, creating 犬 (inu, the kanji for “dog”) in the middle of the forehead. In other parts of Japan, a large “X” would be tattooed above the offender’s brow.

      Not all the disciplinary tattoos were kanji inked smack dab on the foreheads of the poor offenders. There was also a complex system of lines and bars tattooed on people’s arms. As with the punitive forehead tattoos, the style of the abstract bars and stripes varied from region to region. This was because, although Japan was finally unified under the Tokugawa regime, feudal lords still ruled different parts of the country and carried out the law in slightly different ways. For example, in Kyoto, two lines might be tattooed on the bicep, while in Tokyo, two stripes around the forearm would be tattooed for the first offense. A third line would be added for the second offense. In the region of Japan known today as Yamaguchi Prefecture, the punitive tattoo was shaped like a diamond. In another region, it was a circle. Whatever the form, the message was clear: People with irezumi were bad news. The stigma of this punishment still remains. Even today, many tattooists in Japan will not tattoo the faces or foreheads of customers who live in Japan, because these markings cannot be easily hidden.

      Punishment could be permanent. Here, a punitive tattoo is inked on as a lasting reminder.

      The kanji here (南無大師遍照金剛, Namu Daishi Henjyou Kongou) is from esoteric Japanese Buddhism, and refers to praying to Koubou Daishi, who founded the mystic Shingon sect. The lotus (more on page 40) also has strong Buddhist associations.

      Tora (虎) means “tiger.” Due to the animal’s position in the zodiac calendar and its symbolic associations, tora is a powerful kanji character that is popular in calligraphy.

      Imagine walking around 17th-century Japan with “dog” tattooed on your noggin. Similarly, imagine walking around modern-day Japan with “big mistake” or “ugly” written on your body. This is why horrible kanji tattoos inadvertently feel like modern-day punitive tattoos, where the crime is ignorance and carelessness. Those who want script tattoos need to be savvy.

      PLEDGE TATTOOS

      Not all tattoos had negative connotations. They were also used to express ideas, feelings, and individualism that it sometimes felt like the ruling class was keen to stamp out. To maintain power, the Tokugawa government stratified society. It ensured that everyone knew their place by establishing dress codes—only certain classes were able to wear specific colors. Bound by Confucian ideals, priests and samurai were at the top of the heap, while the merchant class—despite its wealth—was below the farmers and artisans. Samurai protected the people, while field laborers and artisans produced food and goods. Merchants only made money, which Confucian society looked down upon. In the real world, however, cash-strapped samurai would increasingly need to borrow funds from the nouveau riche merchants.

      Since Confucianism stressed the importance of filial piety, samurai were less likely to permanently mark themselves, as it was considered disrespectful to parents. Tattooing was seen as defacing the body created by one’s mother and father. However, that doesn’t mean samurai always refrained from irezumi, whether it was a pledge tattoo or perhaps even the samurai’s clan marking. It’s said tattoos were sometimes used to identify fallen warriors whose bodies might have been stripped on the battlefield by scavengers. These irezumi served as rudimentary dog tags.

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