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.
This sheet shows how various parts of Japan used different punitive tattoos.
A lover’s hand can be seen inscribing characters on a courtesan with a needle.
For courtesans, their kimono, their musical ability, and their appearance were essential to their livelihoods. This hand-colored woodblock print, which dates from the 1660s, shows a courtesan playing for her lover.
Written Japanese
Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji
The written Japanese language uses four different writing systems. There are the two native syllabaries: the curvy hiragana and the angular katakana. Originally, hiragana was referred to as onna-de, meaning “woman’s hand,” as court ladies used the script to write poetry. Today, the script is widely used by all Japanese, and the feminine connotations have subsided. Katakana was originally used by Buddhist monks, but these days it’s largely reserved for phonetic renditions of foreign words and onomatopoeia. Romaji, which literally means “Roman letters,” is typically used for company or product names and acronyms. Finally, there’s kanji, the pictographic characters imported from China in the fifth century. Japanese uses kanji much like English uses Latin and Greek: as root words and linguistic building blocks.
The curvy hiragana and angular katakana are Japan’s indigenous writing systems. Small children first learn hiragana before learning katana. After mastering both, they begin studying basic kanji characters, such as “ichi” (一, one) and “yama” (山, mountain).
In Japanese, each kanji character can have several different readings, and some kanji can sound the same, but have totally different meanings. For example, the Japanese word 花 (hana) means “flower,” while 鼻 (hana) means “nose.” Then there are the kanji that look similar, such as the character 人, which means “person” and 入, which refers to entering. This is where errors often arise in tattoos, with the incorrect characters being used.
The kanji used in modern China and Japan look different—so please, do not mix them! Mainland China uses simplified, modernized versions of kanji, while traditional kanji continue to be used in Japan (and also in Hong Kong and Taiwan). Japan also has its own homegrown kanji, called kokuji (国字, or “native script”) that aren’t
