Japanese tattoo art has a lot of names - Horimono irezumi and Japanese language. Irezumi is the meaning of the word so that the ink visible base that covers a large part of the body as the back. Japanese tattoo art has a very wide tradition.
Since the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism in Japanese culture, tattoo art has a bad connotation for most of the Japanese population. In the eyes of a typical Japanese ink is considered a mark of a yakuza - a member of the Japanese mafia - and an emblem of male members of the lower classes.
The early history of Japanese tattoo art
Archaeologists believe the first settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, used facial tattoos. Chinese newspapers say about Wa people - the Chinese name means to their Japanese neighbors - and the lifestyle of individuals in the water diving for fish and shells and decorating the entire skin with tattoos. These reports are in the region 1700 years old.
For the top China-developed culture, tattooing was a barbaric enterprise. As soon as Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it the strong influence of Chinese culture, tattooing harmful connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society.
Tattoos in the Edo period
In the Edo period - 1603-1868 - Japanese tattoo designs became a part of ukiyo-e - the world's culture suspended. Prostitutes - yujos - recreational neighborhoods used to enhance the beauty tattoos individuals for customers. Skin tattoos have been used also by the workers and firefighters.
From 1720 on, the tattooing of criminals became a legitimate punishment removed and replaced the nose and ears. The offender received a ring of ink around the arm support of all crimes or ink character in the temple. Criminal tattoos continued until 1870, when it was abolished by the new Japanese Emperor Meiji government.
This produced a visible punishment genre of outcasts that had no place to take part in society and in no place to go. Many of these offenders were ronin - master less samurai warriors. They had no alternative organization of the gangs. These men created the beginning of the yakuza - the Japanese criminals controlled within the interior of the twentieth century.
Japanese prints tattoo
In 1827 the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi published the original 6 emblems of the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. The Suikoden were something like ancient Robin Hood - honorable bandits. The story is based on a classic Chinese novel - Shui-Hi-Chuan, dating from the 13 and 14. The novel was translated initially in Japan in 1757 by Kanzanion Okajima. By the turn of 18 to the 19th century history was available with illustrations by Katsushika Hokusai. The novel of the 108 honorable bandits was very accepted in the area of Japan and has created a kind of tendency among the inhabitants Suikoden Japanese cities.
Kuniyoshi Suikoden ukiyo-e emblems naked heroes in colorful tattoos, body detail. Japanese prints and drawings of tattoo ink in general later became fashionable. Tattoos were considered iki - cool - however, is limited to the poorer classes.
The richness and fantasy of Japanese prints tattoo emblems shown by Kuniyoshi are used by a few ink artist so far.
The Meiji Restoration to the post-war Japan
In all its efforts to adopt Western civilizations, the imperial Meiji government banned tattooing as something thought of a barbarous relic of the past. The funny thing is that Japanese artists irezumi immediately got brand new clients - the sailors on foreign ships anchoring in Japanese ports. Therefore, Japanese ink designs spread westward.
During the first half of the twentieth century, remains an art Horimono banned until 1948, as soon as prevention was officially lifted. Some say that this step had become necessary to sanction the demand from soldiers of the U.S. occupation forces to Horimono and irezumi.
Tattoo art in modern Japan
A number of younger people, so they can think of the tattoo is cool, most of the Japanese population is still considered at the same time something related to the criminal underworld of mafia gangsters and rough low caste tradition the best. Younger people who consider tattoos as iki - a marginal among Japanese youth - tend to use partial tattoo on the inside of western style in the arms of people than somewhere that is not directly visible.
Many years ago, the time of Shogun, the Japanese authorities in criminal tattoo, so you stand out from the rest of the population. These weapons take the form of black rings. As greater conviction and sentence, so that the rings of arms.
These tattoos men get together and form gangs and eventually became known as the Yakuza. They proudly put tattoos as symbols of status and Yakuza tattoos tattoos developed a magnificent, ornate covering his body. These tattoos Yakuza have been known to take more than two years.
Yakuza is believed that one of the largest organized crime groups in the world and has been for most of the Mafia and its history dates back to 1612.
Yakuza as there is no doubt that their country of origin or social class to which it belongs, Yakuza members must be willing to die for their boss.
Today, many yakuza gang factions are patriarchal in nature, but women are an integral part of Japanese society Gangland. Wives, mistresses and girlfriends of top Yakuza figures often undergo extensive tattooing. These women sometimes use tattoos to demonstrate their affiliation with gangs. In some cases, to demonstrate their loyalty and obedience to the Yakuza members are involved.
Tattooing is the art of tattooing in Japan. That means the insertion of ink. This can be referred to a tattoo artist, the person receiving the tattoo, or tattoos.
The Japanese samurai tattoo themselves so if he died in battle also use tattoos and clothes and armor looted, there would still be a way to be recognized.
In modern Japan, is now widely thought that if you have a tattoo that is in the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. Many companies, especially hot springs and the baths will not let you enter his establishment, if you have a tattoo.
One can not but be impressed by the Japanese tattoos. The intricate details and beautiful colors Japanese tattoos aside, put them in a league of its own. They are considered by many to the art of tattooing.
Japanese tattoos are very complex and detailed. Often extend over a large part of the body, for example, all the user's back. Getting a tattoo in Japan is a long and often painful, but worth the effort and richness of detail and clarity of the scenes. Tattoos are works of art, in fact, not a terrible ink mist hit a drunk on holiday, so there are many tattoos these days.
The history of Japanese tattoo is an interesting art form. In early 1600, the tattoos are worn with pride by the Japanese people. Tattoos must be done, and were much admired. In stark contrast to today, where too often seen as the tattoos that most of society, something to cover and hide, especially in business contexts. And "one of" society ", although that stimulate the tattoos, the Yakuza.
Yakuza is basically the Japanese mafia. Strictly organized criminal community, which has spread its influence in Japanese society - politics, media, whatever, the Yakuza have infiltrated. And they brought their Yakuza tattoos increasingly mainstream. Japanese Yakuza tattoos, also known Irezumi still often hand stack - in other words, are created without using the electric tattoo needle, making tattoos more expensive real and painful they have done, not to speak more slowly - In fact, some of the more complex tattoos have been known to take years to implement