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Japan: What my tattoo means to me

Japanese people explore their country’s historical and cultural relationship with tattoos and the controversy today.

What my tattoo means to me
Asami Kouzma, 35, who works in the music industry, got her first tattoo 20 years ago. While she likes her tattoos, she says they can make it difficult to find work. Asami has a 'Wabori' – a traditional Japanese tattoo - depicting wolves, who are said to mate for life. Her tattoos are often a topic of conversation when she meets new people, she says. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
By Taro Karibe and Yuichi Yamazaki
Published On 28 May 2018

Tokyo, Japan – Three years ago, 25-year-old Rui Tanaka got her first tattoo.

“I’d wanted to get tattooed for many, many years,” she says, showing one at the top of her right arm.

She now has seven.

“First of all, my tattoos are for me,” Rui, who works in a live music club, explains. “That’s why I had all of them … [written backwards] so that I can read them whenever I look in a mirror.”

But in a country where tattoos are widely frowned upon, they also help her to screen people with prejudices, she says.

“For a long time, I’ve been hurt by society’s lack of sympathy for minorities, but after I got tattoos, I stopped hearing such prejudicial opinions. Because it’s obvious that I’m [now] a minority, so people surrounding me are cautious [about expressing such views].”

Tattooing has a long, rich and complicated history in Japan, with clay figurines dating from around 5,000 BCE thought to depict facial tattoos, and the first written record of Japanese tattooing appearing in 297 AD.

But over time the practice of decorative tattooing – often used by ethnic minorities, the working class, and women – fell out of favour with Japan’s rulers who by the 17th century began using tattoos as a form of punishment for criminals.

Despite – or perhaps in part because of this – members of Japan’s organised crime syndicates, known as the yakuza, embraced tattoos, often opting for full body suits that could take years to complete, but which remained concealed when fully dressed.

It was this association with criminal activity that was used in the 18th century to justify outlawing tattooing, and which is often echoed today to explain the stigma that continues to surround tattoos.

The ban was lifted by the occupying US forces in 1948, but tattoos and tattooing remain a controversial and divisive issue in Japan, with many public swimming pools, beaches and hot springs imposing bans on people with tattoos – and a landmark legal battle hanging over the future of the country’s tattoo artists.

WATCH: Japan’s Tattoo Outlaws – meet the tattoo artist challenging the law that criminalises his work

What my tattoo means to me
Hikaru Tsukada, 18, works in a used clothing shop. When he moved to Tokyo to follow his dream of working in the fashion industry, he got a tattoo to symbolise choosing his own path in life. At times having tattoos can be inconvenient when he wants to go to a public swimming pool or bath, but says it isn't such a big problem as there is a public bath in his neighbourhood that accepts people with tattoos. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
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What my tattoo means to me
Emi Tamaru, 28, is a translator. She got her first tattoo, which she designed herself, at age 18 while living in the US. She says tattoos are an art form and a good way to get to know people. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Ren Takahashi, 19, is a painter. He got his first tattoo last year. It's the same design as one he saw on a YouTuber he respects. He says choosing to get tattoos with the money he earns gives him a sense of freedom, but he sometimes feels the prejudice of others. He has a tattoo of a compass to symbolise directing his own life and the Arabic for 'My life is freedom' on his forearm. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Senya Ishikawa, 20, is a carpenter and got his first tattoo several years ago. He says he likes having tattoos because they represent how he lives his life, but they can sometimes make it difficult when looking for work. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Ayaka Abe, 22, got her first tattoo in July last year. Her parents are opposed to it, and she sometimes feels uncomfortable when going to a public swimming pool or hot spring. She chose a lotus flower design because she respects it and her favourite movie character has the same one. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Misato Yamaguchi, 22, works in a clothing shop and got her first tattoo three years ago to mark changing her job and direction in life. She says her mother was shocked when she saw it and told her not to get any more. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
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What my tattoo means to me
Masayuku Shibuya, 39, is a chef. He got his first tattoo when his father and dog died seven years ago as a way to express his love for them. He says having tattoos has never made him feel uncomfortable. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Abdullah Taqy Takazawa, 46, is an ear and body piercer and an imam. He got his first tattoo when he was 16 and recalls his mother being angry when she saw it. He believes tattoos are a way for people to express their inner thoughts and their essence. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Haneri Abe, 26, works in an office and got her first tattoo three years ago. She says her colleagues don't mind it, but she keeps it hidden from her clients. 'For me, tattoos are like an anchor to come back to when I lose my identity,' she says. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Rui Tanaka, 25, works in a live music club and got her first tattoo three years ago. Most of her tattoos involve Japanese text. She thinks of them as a form of 'permanent fashion' and says since getting her tattoos, people with prejudices tend to avoid her, which makes life much easier. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Riki Miyaguni, 20, got his first tattoo last year. For him, they are a fashion statement and he says he plans to get more. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Yuji Yamada, 23, works in a karaoke bar. He says he started to get tattooed last year because he likes tattoo culture. 'I'm half Japanese, half Chinese and my tattoo is designed with a motif of that.' His dream is to become a tattoo artist. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Hirohito Ogawa, 24, is a delivery man and got his first tattoo when he was 18. He grew up in Italy and says he struggled with a huge culture gap when he came to Japan. 'I got a tattoo of an owl because it's a symbol of wisdom. I realised every culture has both good and bad aspects and I want to have eyes to distinguish good from bad,' he explains. He says it's difficult to find a job when you have tattoos. [Yuichi Yamazaki/Al Jazeera]
What my tattoo means to me
Shin Yahiro, 38, is a photographer. He got his tattoo when he visited Tibet at the age of 23. A fan of Tibetan art, he got a tattoo of a Tibetan-style lion as a symbol of going his own way. He feels it is inconvenient when he can't take a bath in hotels, which have only public baths. [Al Jazeera]