History of tattoos in Japan 297ad- 1900
Tattooing is believed to be done in 5000bc in Japan. Clay figures from that time were painted with designs depicting tattoos, but the first written recording is from a Chinese text from 297ad, which talked about the barbaric Japanese, that tattooed their face and bodies with various decorations, that they were very proud of. No Japanese texts or Japanese records of tattoos are known of from this time, just several Chinese observations of Japanese tattoos.
The first Japanese recording is from 700ad, when tattooing was viewed very negatively. This started when a cultural shift occurred and the Japanese attempted to imitate the Chinese in many ways of life, including a view that tattoos were barbaric. This then started the use of tattoos as punishment, similar to Europe, to help identify criminals.
Over time, the identification tattoos became more complex with various pictures to symbolize crimes, along with the region or town the crime with committed. The tattoos varied in placement but all were pretty small, at most a few inches in diameter. Common placement were the face and head early on, and the forearm and shoulder later on. With the introduction and standardization of prisons in 1500ad, a system was used with prisoners being tattooed ID numbers on their forearm.
Prison ID tattoos were the precursor to the traditional large tattoos of Japan that are still around today. Around 1600ad, prisoners started to get large, decorative tattoos to cover up their prison tattoos. Soon after this, the Tokugawa regime came to power and outlawed tattoos, but tattoo artists continued to tattoo people illegally, and tattoos are looked at as rebellion against the unpopular Tokugawa regime.
In 1586, the Chinese novel Suikoden was published and became a best seller in Japan. The novel talks about 108 warriors that rebel against a repressive government. The 3 main protagonists are heavily tattooed. The main hero, Shishen had nine intertwining dragons covering his body. The character Busho fights tigers, and is tattooed with a tiger covering his whole back, legs and arms. The romantic hero, Rochoshin, is covered in various types of flowers. The success of this book and the subject, made tattoos a further symbol of rebellion and being a common man. These same motifs of stylized dragons, tigers and flowers are still being used in traditional Japanese tattoos.
The Yakuza founded in the 17th century use these tattoos as symbols of what they stand for. The Yakuza imitated the samurai's way of life and their code of honor, and tattoos helped this in ignoring pain, being dedicated for life, and being proud to be a part of the organization. In 1850, Japan opened its borders to other countries. In 1867, the last Tokugawa shogun was disposed of, and the emperor was restored to power.
The emperor strictly enforced the ban on tattoos, but legalized the tattooing of foreigners, so many sailors got traditional Japanese tattoos from the masters and the practice of illegally tattooing Japanese continued.
Japanese tattoos are known as the most refined and perfected tattooing because the same style and images have been used for hundreds of years. To this day, the traditional Japanese tattoo, worn by all Yakuza members, is a main center subject of dragons, tigers, or classic legendary heroes, with the tattoo extending onto the arms, legs, and chest, with the background being flowers, waves, clouds, and/or lightning.