Japanese Tattooing from the Past to the Present

Japanese Tattooing from the Past to the Present
by Mieko Yamada (© 2000 by Mieko Yamada)
The Jomon to the pre-Edo period

The origin of tattooing in Japan has been traced back to the Jomon period (10,000 B. C. ~ 300 B. C.). Jomon means "pattern of rope." Many ceramic pots with markings of rope were found in that period. Clay figurines produced in this period are called dogu. Scholars consider that some dogus show tattoo-like markings on their faces and bodies. The oldestdogus whose faces have a depiction of tattooing were found near Osaka in 1977. They are estimated to date from dated the fifth century B. C. (Richie,1980).During the Yayoiperiod (300 B. C. ~ 300 A. D.) clay figurines with tattoo markings were also found (Yoshioka, 1996).

The custom of tattooing in Japan is described in the third century Chinesehistory, Gishiwajinden,which is the oldest record mentioning Japan. Japan is called Wa, and the custom of tattooing is mentioned in this text:

The men of Wa tattoo their faces and paint their bodies with designs. They are fond of diving for fish and shells. Long ago they decorated their bodies in order to protect themselves from large fish. Later these designs became ornamental. Body painting differs among the various tribes. The position and size of the designs vary according to the rank of individuals.... They smear their bodies with pink and scarlet just as we Chinese use powder (Tsunoda and Goodrich, cited by Dalby, 1993: 22).

The Kofun period (300 A. D.- 600 A. D.) came after the Yayoi era. The word kofun means an old tomb. In this period, hilly tombs in many places were made, and the clay figures in the shape of dolls, horses and huts were also found in the tombs. The clay figures are called haniwa, which is the counterpart of dogu in the Jomon era. Markings on some haniwaare regarded as patterns of tattoos.

In 622 A. D., an envoy of China recorded the custom of Japanese tattooing in Zuisho. There is a section, "Ryukyu kokuden" in it, and the practice of tattooing among the Ryukyu women is described. The Ryukyu islands are today in Okinawa prefecture, the southern most part of Japan. When it was an independent country it was threatened by the rule of China and Japan.

This record, Zuisho, shows Okinawa and Taiwan already established trading in those days. However, it is not confirmed whetherRyukyu in Zuisho itself refers to Okinawa or Taiwan. Many scholars state that the design of Okinawan tattoo is similar to the tattooing style in a part of aboriginal Taiwanese (Yoshioka, 1996). The Okinawan tattoo may be connected not only with the custom of tattooing in Taiwan but also with South East Asia.

It was not until the eighth century that the first Japanese printed books appeared. The Kojiki (712 A. D.) mentions that there are two types of tattoos. One is a mark of distinction on a man of very high status, and the other is to identify criminals (McCallum, 1988). Later, the Chronicles of Japan, the Nihonshoki, was complied in 720 A.D. According to the Nihonshoki, a person named Azumi no Murajihamako was tattooed as punishment for treason. This was an example of the punitive application of tattooing.McCallum (1988) summarizes the practice of Japanese tattooing during the Kofun period. In the early Kofun period, the tattoo persisted as a socially acceptable practice. However, it seems to have acquired negative associations, perhaps from the middle of the period (McCallum, 1988).

Between 600 A.D. and 1600, there is little literature regarding the custom of tattooing. Tamabayashi (1956) and Van Gulik (1982) state the Joei Code issued in 1232 mentions penal tattooing. According to some scholars (Richie; 1980, Van Gulik; 1982), tattooing was used to mark and distinguish the social outcasts. Consequently, the people who were tattooed as punishment formed minority groups, called eta (the euphemism of village people) and hinin (non-humans).

Iizawa (1973) and Tamabayashi (1956) report that the custom of tattooing is also found among samurai warriors in the sixteenth century. In certain areas, the samurai had tattoos for identification.

Soldiers wore armor and had other identifying belongings, of course, but scavengers often stripped dead bodies on a battlefield , which made identification difficult. Tattoos offered certain identification

(Iizawa, 1973; 252).

During the Tensho era (1573~1591), the samurai soldiers of the Satsuma clan (now Kagoshima region) were tattooed with Japanese characters on the upper arms. However, this information is not clearly confirmed.

Tattooing in the Ainu and the Ryukyu
Ryukyu tattooing was first mentioned in 1461. However, some scholars consider the description of tattooing in the Zuisho of 622 to be the oldest record of the Ryukyu tattoo even though this information is still speculative (Yoshioka, 1996).The oldest reports of Ainu tattoos were recorded by an Italian researcher, Girolamo de Angelis in 1612 and 1621 (Yoshioka, 1996). The Ainus were tattooed on the face as well as the back of the hands and arms. The tattoos were done around the lips, cheeks, the forehead or the eyebrows.There are several motivations for Ainu tattooing: cosmetic purposes, tribal purposes, sexual maturity, religious purposes and adornment. Although only the Ainu women's tattoos were mentioned in most cases, it was also reported that the men were tattooed in some regions (Takayama; 1969, Yoshioka; 1996).

Ainu girls were first tattooed when they were 10 to 13 years old. Some women started when they were 5 or 6 years old. Their tattoos were completed by the time they reached marriageable age.The patterns of the Ainu tattoos are related to their tribal clothing.

Tosabayashi (1948) presents the study on the patterns of the Ainu tattoo in detail. He mentions that the patterns of the tattoos are similar to the chastity belt that the Ainu women wore, and that Ainu tattoos symbolize virtue or purity. The Ainu tattoo is also used for protection from the atrocities committed by other tribes.

The Ryukyu tattoos, on the other hand, were done on only the back of the hands, including the fingers, the wrists and the knuckles. There are no examples offacial tattoo (Glacken, 1955). Tattooing is not practiced in every Ryukyu island. In some parts, both men and women got tattooed, but in others, only women had tattoos. In other parts of Ryukyu, no one was tattooed. The age at which tattooing began was different, depending on the areas of the Ryukyu islands or generation (Yoshioka, 1996).The Ryukyu tattooing symbolized religious beliefs, sexual maturity, indication of marriage, body adornment, distinction of sex, and tribal customs. Glacken (1955) reports that the purpose of the Ryukyu women's tattooing was to prevent being carried off to brothels in Japan. Kidnappings were frequent occurrences in the Ryukyu history and the Ryukyu people knew that the Japanese disliked tattooed women (Haring, 1969).

There are examples of therapeutic tattooing among the Ainu and the Ryukyu. It was believed that tattoos would heal the affected parts (Yoshioka, 1996). This is different from the medical tattoos, but more likely to be magical. The Edo period (1600 -1867)

Socio-cultural Background
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period, unified the country and set political power in Edo (the present Tokyo). He set the rigid social system and divided it into four classes, shi (samurai warriors), no (peasants), ko (artisans) and sho (merchants). These ranks were based on Confucianism. Samurai warriors were the highest rank. Peasants and artisans were a higher status than merchants, because they contributed to the country as producers. In those days, taxes were paid with the staple food of rice. Therefore, the peasants were seen as second class citizens.Ieyasu continued to issue strict regulations, stressing religious thoughts. In 1614, he banned Christianity. Ieyasu's proclamation against Christians clearly states that Japan is the country of the gods. Interestingly, Ieyasu also quotes the Confucian doctrine. Kung-fu-tze also said: "Body, hair and skin we have received from our father and mother; not to injure them is the beginning of filial piety. To preserve one's body is to revere god"

(Ballu, 1945: 131). Filial piety is one of the important elements in the Confucian philosophical thoughts, and consists of filial duties toward parents: obedience, responsibility, and loyalty. It is the foundation of feudal ethics. Furthermore, Neo-Confucian philosopher, Chu Hsi's system was later guided by Hayashi Razan, one of the famous scholars of the early Edo era. Chu Hsi emphasizes human relationships in the Five Human Relations: between father and son, ruler and subject, husband and wife, older and younger brother, and friends (Sansom, 1963).

The Buke Shohatto (Rules for the Military Houses) was announced in 1615, and was the fundamental code of the samurai. It consists of thirteen clauses, and strictly mentions the way of the samurai in daily life from education to marriage, including a dress code. The tenth clause in the Buke Shohatto states: "All costumes and ornaments are to be appropriate to the wearer's rank, and not extravagant in colour or pattern (Sansom, 1963:8). The restrictions about costumes in the Edo period were very strict. Ieyasu

issued the orders regarding clothing repeatedly during his regime. As for commoners, the dress code was also established in detail (Dalby; 1983 and 1993, Minnich; 1963, Sansom; 1963, Tanida and Koike; 1989).

Following the development of the samurai culture in the city of Edo, the population of common people also grew in both rural and urban areas. Merchants, the lowest class, gradually gained power by the eighteenth century and this led to the growth of the economy. The rich merchants were often employed by government officials and became richer than the samurai.Thanks to the economic prosperity, the standard of living among townspeople was improving. They enjoyed a peak of material wealth and a flourishing of the arts.

Considered in retrospect, the most attractive feature of this era is the gaiety of colour and pattern in clothing and decoration which reflected the mood of the times. It is an especially interesting aspect of the social history of Japan that the rise of a prosperous class of shopkeepers and craftsmen was accompanied by a lively creative phase in the arts (Sansom, 1963: 153).

This is called the Genroku era (1688-1704), in other words, ukiyo, or

"floating world." The word ukiyo stems from the Buddhist expression, and originally means "the dark, shifting world of existence, or transience of life." As society changed through the centuries, the meaning became "floating world." The novelist Ryoi initially used this term in his work, Ukiyo Monogatari,"Tales of the Floating World" (Williams, 1983). He describes the life in the early Edo era, that is, the ukiyo world.

The wealthy townspeople surrounding him were not worried about future salvation but rather enjoyed their materialistic, temporal existences and those pleasures appealing directly to the senses. They lived for the moment : "the fleeting moment" (Williams, 1983: 1).Many prominent art works were produced, and chonin bunka, culture of the townspeople, was fully developed in this period.