History of Irezumi/HOrimono
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Japanese tattooing can be traced back to 5,000 BC in which evidence exists of clay figurines, recovered from tombs, whose faces were painted or engraved. These facial designs are representational of tattoos that signified social rank or defended against evil spirits or animals. When a Chinese dynastic history was compiled in 297 AD, it was recorded that men of all ages would have tattoo designs, on their faces as well as other parts of their bodies. Japanese tattoos have appeared in other Chinese historical texts as well, but with a negative connotation because the Chinese associated tattoos with punishment. By the 7the Century, decorative tattooing began to disappear because of the Chinese influence on Japanese culture and criminal punishment. Japanese tattooing as an act of punishment was first recorded in 720AD in which the Emperor declared Hamako Muraji's act of rebellion to overthrow the state punishable by the death penalty, but the Emperor instead preserved his life and sentenced him to be tattooed. Yet while tattoos were beginning to be used as punishment, the inhabitants on the far boarders of Japan, particularly the Ainu, often willingly tattooed their faces and arms while the Okinawans tattooed their hands and feet due to their love of the art form. In the urban setting however, we can see the Chinese influence further develop as punishment in the Japanese Edo period (1603-1867) when tattoos underwent periods of prohibition beginning in 1870 as Japan entered a era of international relationships (Gilbert).
During the Edo period, the Japanese turned to tattooing as a method of punishment for violent criminals. They chose to use tattooing as severe punishment for crimes considered severe such as murder, betrayal, and treason and they were also used for slave branding and outcast depicting following the Chinese influence, because it is a permanent marking. Criminals were tattooed on their foreheads in order to reveal to the public that they had committed a crime. Since each region had it’s own design, tattooing allowed people to identify where the crime had been committed. In the top left corner of image 1, the Inu symbol for dog is used to identify criminals in Hiroshima. The Hiroshima design was tattooed in a sequence shown by the bottom of image 1 in which each stroke indicated another crime committed. In Chikuzen, now Fukuoka, the tattoo consisted of a new line with each crime as shown in the top right corner. The region previously known as Awa, now more commonly known as Tokushima, tattooed their criminals with lines on both their arm and forehead. Dots were tattooed on the criminal's forehead in Takanoyama, now Wakayama to distinguish criminals as seen in the bottom left corner. In Hizen, now known as Saga or Nagasaki, a tattoo of a cross meaning "bad" was tattooed on the criminal's forehead which can be seen in the bottom right corner. As seen in image 2, arm bands and symbols were also common in distinguishing criminals. These tattoo markings were accepted as a language to identify criminals and outcasts and thus created a negative perspective towards tattoos. For instance, families would disassociate themselves from criminal relatives, and those tattooed were not allowed to participate in communal activities. Towards the end of the seventeenth century and beginning of the eighteenth, tattooing transformed from punishment to decoration. Japanese wood block print shown in image 3 was developed to create illustrations for novels and advertisements for plays, and as the printing style became more well known, it began influencing tattoo design. Also at this time however, tattooing was outlawed yet it still appeared on the bodies of those at the lower end of the social scale such as among firemen, laborers, and gangs. It was during this part of the Edo period that more people were migrating towards the urban setting in Edo, now Tokyo. These migrant workers were known as Yakuza meaning outlaws, gang members, or peasants all of whom were trying to improve their standard of living by moving to the city. Among the Yakuza, tattoos were viewed as proof of courage due to their overwhelming pain, as proof of loyalty because they were permanent, and their outlawed status deemed those with tattoos outlaws forever. As the new style of decorative tattoos developed, criminals began disguising their penal tattoos with larger, more elaborate designs, and this transformation of tattoos is thought to be where the connection originated between organized crime and tattoos. With the publication of the novel Suikoden in the 18th century, the middle and lower classes were inspired by the heroes rebelling against the government in the novel, and in turn, decided to rebel the against social standards behind tattoos. During 1827, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, a Japanese woodblock print artist, produced full color prints to illustrate the heroes in Suikoden and he chose to portray the heroes with full body tattoos. Under Kuniyoshi's influence, the Japanese began revealing their individualism through |
full body tattoos with design influence originating from the prints of the heroes. This was the beginning of the new style of Japanese tattooing known as horimono, which is based on the Japanese verb horu, meaning to engrave, puncture, or incise, which is used for other art forms such as carving, engraving, and sculpting. The Japanese used the term irezumi, meaning "to insert ink" but this word is commonly associated with punishment and disapproval of the practice. Full body tattoos are therefore more often called horimono because the word is associated with positivity and artistry (Hendry).
Japanese horimono, according to Joy Hendry, a professor with a focus in social anthropology, is the most aesthetically developed style of tattooing and typically covers the body from elbows to the core, down the back and front reaching all the way to the knees. Since the tattoos were illegal in Japan until 1945, people got these elaborate tattoos of heroes, religious figures, and flowers as the focal points with smaller designs embedded within them, and then covered the elaborate designs with clothing. Society rebelled against the ban, which Hendry describes as a form of play, through these acts of body decoration or they chose to sew colorful linings into their coats. Both tattoos and colorful linings were a status symbol that indicated wealth which is why tattooing continued to persist even during the prohibition. Hendry further tells us that these tattoos are only revealed during times of "play" through the club culture where tattoos come to life under ultra-violet light.
After 1945, when the tattoo prohibition ended, tattooing became even more prominent among the Yakuza, or Japanese mafia gangsters. Society’s image of these gangsters Hendry says, “ Was partly of terror, partly romantic, through their portrayal in films and television dramas.” Hendry further describes that these gangsters were operating in the realm of play through gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Although Japanese tattooing was legalized, few people remain that still practice the traditional horimono-style. Currently there are about 100 tattooists in Japan that still practice the Tebori method of tattooing full-body tattoos and only 2 exist in the United States, and today of the 20,000 people with Japanese horimono, only about 200 have a traditional full-body tattoo.
Japanese horimono, according to Joy Hendry, a professor with a focus in social anthropology, is the most aesthetically developed style of tattooing and typically covers the body from elbows to the core, down the back and front reaching all the way to the knees. Since the tattoos were illegal in Japan until 1945, people got these elaborate tattoos of heroes, religious figures, and flowers as the focal points with smaller designs embedded within them, and then covered the elaborate designs with clothing. Society rebelled against the ban, which Hendry describes as a form of play, through these acts of body decoration or they chose to sew colorful linings into their coats. Both tattoos and colorful linings were a status symbol that indicated wealth which is why tattooing continued to persist even during the prohibition. Hendry further tells us that these tattoos are only revealed during times of "play" through the club culture where tattoos come to life under ultra-violet light.
After 1945, when the tattoo prohibition ended, tattooing became even more prominent among the Yakuza, or Japanese mafia gangsters. Society’s image of these gangsters Hendry says, “ Was partly of terror, partly romantic, through their portrayal in films and television dramas.” Hendry further describes that these gangsters were operating in the realm of play through gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Although Japanese tattooing was legalized, few people remain that still practice the traditional horimono-style. Currently there are about 100 tattooists in Japan that still practice the Tebori method of tattooing full-body tattoos and only 2 exist in the United States, and today of the 20,000 people with Japanese horimono, only about 200 have a traditional full-body tattoo.
