Japanese Tattoos
Tattoos have an interesting history in Japan. The first indigenous people of Japan, the Ainu, used facial tattoos, as did (and still do) many of their Polynesian neighbors. Yet, similar to the attitude of colonizers towards the "primitive" natives almost everywhere, the dominant culture in Japan has had a mostly negative attitude towards tattoos. Tattoos in Japan, until quite recently, have mostly been associated with the Yakuza organized crime family. The spiritual influences from neighboring China, in the form of Buddhism and Confucianism, helped to give tattoos their negative "outlaw" connotation. For the aristocratic dynasties of ancient China, and later Japan, such a primitive art was beneath their dignity. This attitude continued in the Edo period, around the 1700s, when tattoos became popular among prostitutes, laborers and various underground types. At this time, criminals also began to be punished with tattoos, which gives some idea of what most people thought of having a tattoo! This branding of people with tattoos as deviants, however, also helped to create an underground, romanticized feeling about the art which remains to this day. The forced tattooing of criminals created an instantly recognizable class of outlaws, some of whom became the famous Samurai warriors. This, over the years, eventually evolving into the notorious Yakuza. More recently, as younger Japanese both rediscover some of their own traditions and take on popular trends of the West (such as rock music and fashions), tattoos are becoming, if not quite respectable, at least more mainstream than in the past. There is something intrinsically rebellious about tattoo art, so it will probably never become completely acceptable to everyone. Japanese tattoos are now becoming popular among Westerners and people from everywhere in the world. Before getting a Japanese style tattoo, you should definitely do some research. This is an ancient and highly complex art, and you want to be sure you know what something means before you have it permanently marked on your body! A good guide for anyone considering a Japanese tattoo can be found here: Click Here!
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