Breaking taboos: Japan's tattoo fans bare their ink

Breaking taboos: Japan's tattoo fans bare their ink

Tokyo, Japan Photography by Reporting by
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Shodai Horiren (pictured below) got her first tattoo as a lark on a trip to Australia nearly three decades ago. Now, tattooed head to foot, even on her shaven scalp, she is one of Japan's most renowned traditional tattoo artists.

. Warabi, JAPAN. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Horiren prays in front of an altar before tattooing a customer at her studio.

"Your house gets old, your parents die, you break up with a lover, kids grow and go," said Horiren, 52, at her studio just north of Tokyo.

"But a tattoo is with you until you're cremated and in your grave. That's the appeal."

Horiren belongs to a proud, growing tribe of Japanese ink aficionados who defy deeply-rooted taboos associating tattoos with crime, turning their skin into vivid palettes of colour with elaborate full-body designs, often featuring characters from traditional legends.

. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Restaurant owner Hiroshi Sugiyama lies in the water at a Japanese public bath called a "sento”.

Banned from spas, hot spring resorts, some beaches and many gyms and pools, the enthusiasts hope the presence of tattooed foreign athletes at last year's Rugby World Cup and next year's Tokyo Olympic Games - postponed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic - will help sweep away suspicion.

. Warabi, JAPAN. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Horiren walks in rain.

"If you watch the All Blacks do the haka with all their tattoos, it makes your heart beat faster," said Horiren, referring to New Zealand's national rugby team and their pre-game ceremony.

"Basketball players are really stylish, too. But here, even boxers cover up with foundation.

. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
People with tattoos attend the annual meeting of the Irezumi Aikokai (Tattoo Lovers Association) in Tokyo.

Tattoos have been linked to criminals for as long as 400 years, most recently to yakuza gang members, whose full-body ink-work stops short of hands and neck, allowing concealment under regular clothes.

. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tattoo model Yuki, 30, performs on set for French pop group Supernaive's music video in Tokyo.

The popularity of Western rock music, though, with musicians increasingly sporting tattoos, has eaten away at this bias.

A court decision last year that tattoos were for decoration, and were not medical procedures, helped clarify their murky legal status and may signal a shift in attitude - perhaps leading the industry to regulate itself, giving it a more mainstream image.

. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
"I usually cover it up, so nobody even in the neighbourhood can say that guy has tattoos. But if I'm walking somewhere or using the train or something, police stop me a lot and ask me to roll up my sleeves to see if I'm using drugs, or if I'm in a gang,” said construction worker Hiroshi Yoshimura.

Referring to them as tattoos rather than "irezumi" - literally meaning "inserting ink" - as is becoming more common, may also help give them a stylish, fashionable veneer.

. Niiza, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Mari Okasaka and her son Tenji pose for photographs at their home in Niiza.

"Some people get tattoos for deep reasons, but I do it because they're cute, the same way I might buy a nice blouse," said Mari Okasaka, 48, a part-time worker who got her first tattoo at 28. Her 24-year-old son, Tenji, is working towards having his whole body covered in ink and colour.

. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
People attending Nemoto’s annual gathering that he organises for Irezumi Aikokai (Tattoo Lovers Association), pose for a photo.

Tattoo devotees are edging into the open as well, meeting at large parties to bare and share their designs.

"We may have tattoos but we are happy and bright people," said party organizer and scrapyard worker Hiroyuki Nemoto.

. Isumi, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
"Have I had any trouble on beaches because I have a tattoo? Yes, definitely. If I don't hide them, I won't be able to come up on the beach, according to regulations in Kanagawa Prefecture," said Takashi Mikajiri.

Surfer and TV set-maker Takashi Mikajiri, though, is still stopped on some beaches and ordered to cover up.

. Warabi, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Yoshihara shows tattoos on her back as she poses for a photograph at her home.

Rie Yoshihara, who works in a shop dressing tourists in kimonos, said her shocked father has still not seen her full back tattoo, while Okasaka wears long sleeves to take out the garbage so her neighbours won't talk.

. Hitachinaka, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Nemoto, 48, poses for a photo with his one-year-old daughter Tsumugi at their home in Hitachinaka.

"In America, if you have a tattoo, people don't really care. There's not really any reaction," said Mikajiri.

"That's the ideal. It'd be really good to just be taken for granted."

PHOTO EDITING MARIKA KOCHIASHVILI; TEXT EDITING TOM HOGUE; LAYOUT JULIA DALRYMPLE

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Truck driver Hideyuki Haga, 44, posing in front of his truck decorated with the same design as his tattoo, said: "When this painting was done I think I was about as excited as when my tattoo was done. The tattoo is now part of myself. I definitely feel proud of it.”
. Hiki, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Truck driver Hideyuki Haga, 44, posing in front of his truck decorated with the same design as his tattoo, said: "When this painting was done I think I was about as excited as when my tattoo was done. The tattoo is now part of myself. I definitely feel proud of it.”

Nemoto, 48, poses at the scrap yard where he works in Hitachinaka.
. Hitachinaka, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Nemoto, 48, poses at the scrap yard where he works in Hitachinaka.

Office worker Hideyuki Togashi, 48, said: "My leg was amputated in March last year. I think that because of the tattoos part of me became stronger psychologically, and because I was so strong I was able to recover quickly.”
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Office worker Hideyuki Togashi, 48, said: "My leg was amputated in March last year. I think that because of the tattoos part of me became stronger psychologically, and because I was so strong I was able to recover quickly.”

A man looks at a person's tattoos at the annual gathering of the Irezumi Aikokai.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

A man looks at a person's tattoos at the annual gathering of the Irezumi Aikokai.

Takamura wears a traditional Japanese loincloth called a "fundoshi" as he attends the annual meeting of the Irezumi Aikokai in Tokyo.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Takamura wears a traditional Japanese loincloth called a "fundoshi" as he attends the annual meeting of the Irezumi Aikokai in Tokyo.

"In the 2000s, tattoo magazines began to increase and even women began to get more tattoos. I thought there was hope that tattoos would finally be accepted the way they are in Europe," said Author Hiroki Takamura.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

"In the 2000s, tattoo magazines began to increase and even women began to get more tattoos. I thought there was hope that tattoos would finally be accepted the way they are in Europe," said Author Hiroki Takamura.

Part-time worker Tenji Okasaka, 24, said: "Some people probably look at me funny, but I don't pay attention to it anymore. Yes, there are times when people think I'm part of a gang, but I don't worry about it that much. I'll keep on going until I don't have any skin uncoloured.”
. Niiza, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Part-time worker Tenji Okasaka, 24, said: "Some people probably look at me funny, but I don't pay attention to it anymore. Yes, there are times when people think I'm part of a gang, but I don't worry about it that much. I'll keep on going until I don't have any skin uncoloured.”

Bookkeeper Mina Yoshimura, 40, who works at her husband Hiroshi Yoshimura's company, touches a new tattoo that Hiroshi got on the same day, at their home in Tokyo. “If I had tattoos and he didn't, he'd be able to go places that I couldn't. But since we're both the same, we can go anywhere together. I think that's nice," said Mina.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Bookkeeper Mina Yoshimura, 40, who works at her husband Hiroshi Yoshimura's company, touches a new tattoo that Hiroshi got on the same day, at their home in Tokyo. “If I had tattoos and he didn't, he'd be able to go places that I couldn't. But since we're both the same, we can go anywhere together. I think that's nice," said Mina.

Construction worker Hiraku Sasaki, 48, washes his body at a "sento”.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Construction worker Hiraku Sasaki, 48, washes his body at a "sento”.

Burlesque dancer Aya Yumiko, 40, who performs under the stage name 'Aya Mermaid' poses with her tattoos at a bar where she often performs in Tokyo. "Customers who see me dance with my tattoos, they're really clearly divided between those who like them and those who hate them," she said.
. Tokyo, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Burlesque dancer Aya Yumiko, 40, who performs under the stage name 'Aya Mermaid' poses with her tattoos at a bar where she often performs in Tokyo. "Customers who see me dance with my tattoos, they're really clearly divided between those who like them and those who hate them," she said.

Horiren tattoos Yoshihara at her studio.
. Warabi, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Horiren tattoos Yoshihara at her studio.

Horiren shows her needles. “The fact that it's done by hand makes my work of an old-fashioned type. I take a bunch of needles and pull them together with thread, then hold it all with wax. Then I sterilize it. I think the biggest difference is that I don't use electricity," said Horiren.
. Warabi, Japan. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Horiren shows her needles. “The fact that it's done by hand makes my work of an old-fashioned type. I take a bunch of needles and pull them together with thread, then hold it all with wax. Then I sterilize it. I think the biggest difference is that I don't use electricity," said Horiren.

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