“Show me a man with a tattoo and I will show you a man with an interesting past.” Jack London made this quote in 1883, but it still rings true over a hundred years later for a group of people he had a great fascination with; the Japanese. In Japan, a strong connection exists between tattoos and the yakuza, the organized crime gangs similar to the Italian-American Mafia. Although more and more people who are unassociated with the yakuza are getting tattooed, policies such as those that ban visible tattoos in places such as public baths and gyms are still in place. For the government, shop owners, the yakuza, and people with no connection to organized crime who have chosen to be tattooed, these dermal designs have a meaning that is more than skin deep. The meaning which each group places on the symbol of a tattoo reveals something about the ideology of the group.
In this paper, the history of tattoo usage in the country of Japan will be examined in order to expose the roots of the discrimination that exists today. Then, the history of the yakuza will be discussed to shed light on the elusive impressive group that it is today. Current events surrounding recent dermal discrimination in the Japanese city of Osaka will be analyzed. Lastly, a symbolic interactionalist perspective will be applied to the four distinct groups involved in the tattoo culture in Japan today in order to determine the meaning behind tattoos to each group.
1. JAPANESE NATIONAL HISTORY
Evidence of the practice of tattooing in Japan, clay figures with decorations that resemble dermal injections, exists that would date it as over seven thousand years old (Vanishing Tattoo). These tattooed trinkets would have originated from the ancient Jomon era of Japanese his...
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...siderably. From a mark of criminality to an embraced art form, the body modification has represented various expressions of the bearer’s inner self. However, despite the efforts to normalize tattoos in the society, the social stigma of deviance perceived by the larger society still remains deeply etched in the art. It is apparent that the intended message a bearer wants to communicate through a tattoo may not be perceived correctly by others. These motivations behind tattoos are filtered through cultural and historical lenses that often result in unintended perceptions of tattooed bodies. In addition, the attempts of using tattoos to change social conditions often reinforce the very conditions they seek to counter. Though these stigmas and misinterpretations see no sign of fading, tattooing will remain as a powerful vehicle of self-expression and social commentary.
Japan from Prehistory to Modern times. New York: Delacorte, 1979. Print. The. Lockwood, William W. Japan's Response to the West: The Contrast with China. New Haven: n.p., 1956.
(2014). The Artification of Tattoo: Transformations within a Cultural Field. Cultural Sociology, 8(2), 142. Retrieved from http://www.galileo.usg.edu.
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Tattoos have been used as a form of decoration on the body of the Egyptian mummies. In fact, tattoos were viewed as a “beautifying operation” to the Typee natives and in Wales they were once a royal fad. There have been many eras to see the tattoo as a prestigious decoration. The Japanese also practiced a form of tattooing that covered their warriors in intimidating designs. But after years of beauty and prestige, what changed the views of people? What made tattoos rebellious and unprofessional?
Munsterberg, H. (1985) The Arts of Japan An Illustrated History Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, Japan.
Many people have been getting tattoos lately. People of all ages have been getting them and from all different backgrounds. On a nice day in just about any public place one can spot a tattoo about every five minutes, from the business man who had a portrait of his daughter put on him to a young girl with a butterfly on her ankle and even people with extensive tattoo coverage. What is even more interesting is the rise in the number of people who are heavily tattooed and that they come from all different backgrounds. Not too long ago tattooing did not experience the popularity in mainstream culture that it does now. The question that must be asked in order to understand this fascination that popular culture has had with tattoos is why people get tattoos.
Whickson, Jay P. "Workplace Discrimination on Tattoos & Piercings." Small Business - Chron.com. Demand Media. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. .
Tattoos and body modifications have been around for many generations. They first began in 3370 BC and were used by Europeans and Egyptians. Both tattoos and body modifications are defined as a cultural representation of self-expression and sometimes even religion. In the article “Tattoos and Piercing: Issues of Body Modification and the Workplace,” Dr. Elzweig states, “Although tattooing is not a new phenomenon, the number of people who have tattoos has increased significantly and continues to rise. Life magazine estimated in 1936 that only 10% of me American population was tattooed in whole or in part (One out of ten Americans is tattooed, 1936)” (Elweig, Peeples).
“The impact on the world today through the history and visual reasoning behind tattoos, lead to the inquiry of personal life changing experiences.
It isn 't uncommon to see people walking around with tattoos permanently stained on their body. It is also uncommon to know that they usually have a meaning. From Chinese symbols to images devoted to the flying spaghetti monster, people love to keep these tattoos to remind them of a message or a special someone. According to the World Book Advanced Dictionary, a tattoo is "to mark (the skin) with designs or patterns by pricking a line of holes and putting in colors. ' ' And the meaning of an individual 's tattoo can vary depending on where you are. In this essay, I will discuss contrasting elements in prison and in tribal tattoos. This will be done by doing a cross sectional study of their history, meaning and methods. Are prison and tribal tattoos similar or different?
This research paper speaks of the poem “The Tattooer” that talks about Japanese culture where men are superior and women are seen beneath the men of society. The poem "The Tattooer" shines the light on many of Tanizaki's standard society themes. And in this the tattooer desires the pleasure of his art; the tattooer takes much pride in the tattoos that he creates on the flesh of humans and also endures pleasure from putting pain on the empty canvases with his needle. In “The Tattooer” by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro the tattooer desires the pain inflicted on his canvas but then the perfect body is seen and he realizes that he must now tattoo for the beauty of the tattoo and is soon controlled by women.
Jun'ichirō, Tanizaki. “The Tattooer”. 603-102-04 Eastern Literature. Jeffrey Fyfe. Toronto, ON: CSPI – Coursepack, 2012. Print
...patronage to a belief. Through time the tattoo has been plagued with rising fear that those who receive them will automatically become an outcast of the social order. The fear of body art is calming in the general public’s eyes and whether it is a biker or a school teacher with one they are beginning to be looked at as the same. The rising population of those getting tattoos has directly leaded to the rising population of those accepting them. It took a while for cultural opinion of tattoos to swing from taboo to standard practices of people from all races, ethnicities, ages, and genders. Time has granted the sanctioned onslaught of bad looks, and snubbed noses to slowly die down and natural acceptance of body ink to be granted. It is not just the crazy neighbor next door with a tattoo but the respected doctor up the street or your Sunday school teacher at church.
Jones, Jonathan . "Tattooing: Eye Catching- but are they art?." Guardian 23 September 2011, n.