Japanese Tattoos

Japanese tattoos have long been associated with the Yakuza, but Japanese tattoo traditions go way beyond criminality. Like many other world cultures the Japanese had a traditional and distinctive version of tattoo art.

The History of Japanese Tattoos

The history of Japanese tattoos goes back to 10,000 BCE. The woman of the Ainu people used tattoos to make themselves look like their goddess, so that demons (who caused diseases) would mistake them for the goddess and get scared. These tribal tattoos started at an early age with a small tattoo on the upper lip. When growing older this small tattoo was expanded.

From 300 BC to 300 AD tattoos were used for spiritual and social purposes. Just like in other tattoo cultures, they were an indicator of ones social status.

From 300 AD on, tattoos were used in Japan to mark criminals. This practice is called bokukei or bokkei. Japan was the last country to stop marking criminals with tattoos (in 1870). People started covering up these marks of shame with more decorative tattoos and that's how the art started.

Japanese Tattoo Art (1870)

Tattooing in Japan reached its zenith in the 1800s, during the Edo period, a time when the power and influence of the common people was very much on the rise. One way in which people chose to use their new-found wealth was to celebrate their art and culture with tattoos. The beauty of the images created was considered a reward for enduring what was, at the time, a long and painful process.

Around 1870 the Japanese government outlawed tattoos in order to make a good impression on the Western world. As a result, Japanese tattoos went underground and became affiliated with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.

Tattooing in Japan was legalized again in 1945 by the occupying forces, but never really lost its association with crime. Even today people with tattoos are still banned from businesses like fitness centers, in an attempt to restrict the yakuza from entering their place.

Tattoos in Modern Japan

Nowadays tattoos are gaining popularity amongst the Japanese youth. They are not primarily interested in traditional irezumi though, they prefer the American style of tattooing and tribals. They are more interested in one-point tattoos, smaller tattoos on one part of the body that are usually done in one sitting.

The Western style of tattoos (which they call yobori, as opposed to wabori) is popular in Japan, especially the old school style like heart, rose and skull tattoos. Tattooing in Japan is also getting more attention among females than among males, something that used to be the opposite. They have become a fashion object.

Although tattoos are getting more popular in Japan, they still face resistance by the Japanese cultural code. That's why temporary tattoos enjoy a wider popularity than permanent tattoos over there.

Horimono or Irezumi

Japanese art

• Horimono: the Japanese word for "carving".
• Irezumi: means "insert ink".

Both words refer to the art of tattooing.

Japanese tattoo art was an offshoot of the distinctive woodblock prints, called ukiyo-e. Some of the wood carvers turned to tattooing as an adjunct to their artistic careers, others exchanged their carving-blades for tattoo needles full time as tattooing grew more popular in the 19th century. One of the most famous Japanese tattoo artists of that time, was Horiuno.

Irezumi has got its share of supporters in the West. Some travel to Japan to be tattooed by a Horishi in the Tebori way (by hand), a time-intensive, painful and very expensive undertaking. The traditional Japanese tattoo style is very detailed, what makes getting a Japanese tattoo time-consuming and expensive.

Tebori

Tebori is the art of traditional Japanese hand tattooing ( as opposed to Yobori, tattooing with a tattoo machine). Tattoo needles (larger than those in the West) are tied in a row to a bamboo stick. This tool rests on the thumb of the left hand, while it is pushed into the skin with the right hand, a technique you can watch in the following video of Hori Yen doing a tiger tattoo (just push the play button):

The advantage of tebori is that it is possible to create gradations of tone that are hard to accomplish with a tattoo machine.

The Japanese word for traditional tattoo artist is Horishi.

• Hori: means trained artist.
• shi: means master.

Symbolism in Japanese Tattoos

Here are some images that are frequently used in Japanese style tattoos:

• Mythological creatures:
  • The phoenix: the Japanese phoenix is called Ho-Oo and resembles the Chinese phoenix. This mythical bird is a symbol of justice and fidelity. The phoenix represents the element fire and the female force.
  • Dragons: the dragon is a recurring image in Japanese tattoo designs. Dragons represent the element wood and the male forces. The dragon and the phoenix are enemies and are often depicted together in Japanese art and tattoos.
• Animals: tigers, snakes, octopus, bird, butterfly, rabbit, frog, wolf
  
  
  
• Birds: crane bird, owl
• Plants: tree, flower, cherry blossom, lotus, bamboo, maple leaves, peonies
• Religious images: Buddhas and Buddhistic deities
• For backgrounds: clouds, water and waves are recurring.
• Geisha, samurai
• The Japanese sun.
• Anime tattoos.

Kanji Tattoos - Japanese Tattoo Symbols

Japanese kanji tattoo

Not done in Japan, but a trend in the West: kanji tattoos, it's what Pink, Britney Spears and Mel C have in common.

Japanese tattoo symbols are popular in America and Europe and It’s easy to see why: kanji are understated, yet impactful – both compact and elegant, a kanji tattoo is the perfect way to make an artistic statement that is both modern and meaningful.

The Japanese writing system has 3 sorts of script:

• Kanji: Japanese kanji are characters with a Chinese origin. Kanji characters are used for nouns (words like "peace" or "perseverance"). Here's an example of kanji characters, meaning "morning":
  
• Katakana: are used to write loan words (foreign words) and names. Here's the name "Emily" translated into Japanese, written in katakana script:
  
• Hiragana: are used for adjectives and grammatical stuff.

For tattoos the kanji script is used the most often, followed by Katakana for name translations.

If you are interested in having a kanji tattoo, then make sure you get the correct kanji characters. Don't rely on a website that offers you an online English to Japanese kanji dictionary for your translation, you might end up with a tattoo that means something totally different than you think it means. Use our professional tattoo translation instead, so you are sure you get the correct kanji.

Here's a list of the most popular kanji symbols and their meanings:

• The kanji symbol for love (ai):

• Strength:
  
• The kanji symbol for effort (doryoku)
  
• Wisdom (chie) :
  
• Courage (yuuki):
  
• Moon (tsuki):
  

• Dream (yume):
• Warrior (bushi):
• Angel (tenshi):
  
• Heaven (tengoku):
  
• Hope (kibou):
  
• Loyalty (chuujitsu):
  
• Happiness (koufuku):
  
  
  

Can't find the word you were looking for? Don't worry, we'll do your kanji translation...

Japanese Dragon Tattoos

The Japanese dragon is the god of thunder and lightning. In Japan, the dragon is considered a benevolent creature and a bringer of good luck and wealth.

The dragon represents the element wood and male powers, as opposed to the phoenix, who represents the element fire and female powers.

Here's a video of tattoo artist Chris Garver doing a Japanese dragon tattoo:

Japanese Water Tattoos

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a famous painter and print artist from Japan. His most famous work is Beneath the Wave of Kanagawa, and has become the standard Japanese style tattoo water.

Japanese water tattoos are often combined with a koi fish. Koi can swim against the current, that's why Japanese koi tattoos are associated with perseverance. Click here to learn more about koi tattoos.

Yakuza Tattoos

The Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, are known for their tattoos. Around 70% of the Yakuza members are tattooed. Tattoos are their way of showing courage, masculinity and devotion towards the organization.

Lately however the tattoo habits of the yakuza are changing. Yakuza members want to keep a low profile and a full body suit tattoo isn't exactly low profile. Smaller tattoos in the Western style are getting more popular and some go as far as tattoo removal.

Celebrities With Japanese Tattoos

• Melanie C: has the kanji characters for "Girl Power" on her right shoulder.
• Kelis: this singer has a kanji tattoo on her right leg, meaning "God".
• Alyson Hannigan (Buffy): has a kanji meaning "Happiness" on her lower back.
• Pink: also has a Happiness kanji.
• Britney Spears: has a kanji character that was supposed to mean "Mysterious", but actually means "Strange".
• Janet Jackson: has a kanji tattoo on the back of her neck.
• Missy Elliot: rap star, has a band of kanji around her right ankle.

Japanese tattoo art has several names - irezumi or horimono in the Japanese language. Irezumi is the word for the traditional visible tattoo that covers large parts of the body like the back. Japanese tattoo art has a very long history.

Since the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on the Japanese culture, tattoo art has a negative connotation for the majority of the Japanese people. In the eyes of an average Japanese a tattoo is considered a mark of a yakuza - a member of the Japanese mafia - or a macho symbol of members of the lower classes.

Early History of Japanese Tattoo Art

Archaeologists believe that the early settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, used facial tattoos. Chinese documents report about the Wa people - the Chinese name for their Japanese neighbors - and their habits of diving into water for fish and shells and decorating the whole body with tattoos. These reports are about 1700 years old.

For the higher developed Chinese culture, tattooing was a barbaric act. When Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it a strong influence of the Chinese culture, tattooing got negative connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society.

Japanese Tattoos in the Edo Period

During the Edo period - 1603-1868 - Japanese tattoo art became a part of ukiyo-e - the floating world culture. Prostitutes - yujos - of the pleasure quarters used tattoos to increase their attractiveness for customers. Body tattoos were used by laborers and firemen.

From 1720 on, the tattooing of criminals became an official punishment and replaced the amputation of the nose and the ears. The criminal received a ring tattoo around the arm for each offense or a character tattoo on his forehead. Tattooing criminals was continued until 1870, when it was abolished by the new Meiji government of the Japanese Emperor.

This visible punishment created a new class of outcasts that had no place in society and nowhere to go. Many of these outlaws were ronin - masterless samurai warriors. They had no alternatives than organizing in gangs. These men formed the roots of yakuza - the organized criminals in Japan in the twentieth century.

Japanese Tattoo Prints

In 1827 the ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi published the first 6 designs of the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. The Suikoden were something like ancient Robin Hoods - honorable bandits. The story is based on a classic Chinese novel - Shui-Hi-Chuan, that dates from the 13th and 14th century. The novel was first translated into Japanese in 1757 by Okajima Kanzanion. At the turn of the 18th to the 19th century the story was published with illustrations by Katsushika Hokusai. The novel of the 108 honorable bandits was very popular in Japan and caused a kind of Suikoden craze among Japanese townspeople.

Kuniyoshi's Suikoden ukiyo-e designs show the heroes in colorful, full body tattoos. Japanese tattoo prints and tattoo art in general then became stylish. Tattoos were considered iki - cool - but were restricted to the lower classes.

The richness and fantasy of the Japanese tattoo prints designs shown by Kuniyoshi are used by some tattoo artists up to this time.

The Meiji Restoration until Postwar Japan

In it’s strived to adopt Western civilizations, the Imperial Meiji government banned tattooing as something considered a barbaric relict of the past. The funny thing was that the Japanese irezumi artists now got new clients - the sailors from the foreign ships anchoring in Japanese harbors. Thus Japanese tattoo art was spread to the West.

During the first half of the twentieth century, horimono remained a forbidden art form until 1948, when the prohibition was officially lifted. Some say that this step had become necessary to legalize the demand by soldiers of the American occupation forces for horimono and irezumi.

Tattoo Art in Modern Japan

Although some younger people may consider tattooing as trendy, the majority of the Japanese population still considers it as something connected to the underworld of mafia gangsters or a bad low class habit at the best. Younger people who consider tattoos as iki - a minority among Japanese youth - tend to use partial tattoos in Western style on their upper arms, where it is not directly visible.