Anime characters love their tattoos. Think of characters good and bad like Trafaglar Law (One Piece), Greed (Full Metal Alchemist), Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail) and Kiyomaa Senji (Deadman Wonderland). Anime Fanatiks also love having anime characters such as Ryuk of Deathnote or pokemon like Bulbasaur or Pikachu tattooed on their bodies. Tattoos are a huge element in the anime scene, but strangely not in anime’s motherland. 

Japan’s relationship with tattoos is a very interesting subject as its history is far deeper than non-Japanese realise. Tattoos in Japan date as far back a the Jomon period (14,000 – 300 BCE). Infact the first records of tattooing in Japan were discovered as early as 5000 BC and historians found clay figures from that era, their faces and bodies adorned with what seem to be tattoo imprints. An old text titled History of the Chinese Dynasties (300 AD) reported that Japanese men covered their faces and bodies with tattoos.

The earliest records of tattoos being used in Japan as part of a punishment was in 720 AD. One can imagine seeing a criminal with serious offences walking about, the shame of his crime inked on his forehead, a good way to keep honest people far away from criminals. In the Edo Period (1603 – 1868) tattoos also started to be a fashion statement, partially inspired by the Chinese novel Suikoden, which featured characters covered in tattoos. Some consider this era the golden age of tattoos in Japan. The rulers in the Edo period was not impressed and tried to ban tattoos since the characters in the Suikoden story were underdogs, tattooed men who challenged the oppressive rule of authority. This may have started part of the stigma Japanese citizens developed against tattoos, but there are more factors involved.

With the influence of Western culture in 19^th century Japan the next step of the banishment of tattoos started, the Japanese government outlawed tattoos, fearing that it would make the Japanese nation seem barbaric and backwater to the Westerners. These laws remained until the ban on tattooing was lifted by U.S occupation forces in 1948. But then another ‘bullet’ strikes against tattooing – the popularity of Yakuza films, especially in the 1960s.

Tattooed yakuza in movies inspired young wannabes, aspiring mobsters and bad boys, who of course wanted to be just as cool as their silver screened heroes. This caused the believe in the general public that tattoos are bad news and many still believe it today. But Japan is slowly warming up to tattoos and becoming more tattoo-friendly, especially towards tourists. Question is: do we have to cover our tattoos in Japan? Well, sometimes.

Many onsen still prefer that their patrons use their facilities with their tattoos covered. Smaller tattoos are covered with a bandage or plaster. If you have bigger tattoos, it is best to look for an explicitly tattoo-friendly onsen. One of our sources in Japan Timothy also stated that “When you work in Japan with customers or the public and you have a tattoo, then you must sign a waver that it will never be visible.” We must respect their views, in our country tattoos may simply be seen as fashion statements by most. Maybe by being polite and friendly we can help build a bridge over the stigma and more people will warm up to tattoo enthusiasts.