29 Yakuza Tattoo Photos That Reveal The Japanese Art Of Irezumi

Discover the 12,000-year history of irezumi, the ancient form of Japanese body art widely seen as a Yakuza tattoo tradition today.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

How The Yakuza Became One Of History’s Most Successful Organized Crime Groups

51 Amazing Vintage Tattoo Photos

33 Disturbing Photos Of The Second Sino-Japanese War That Reveal Why China Is World War II’s Forgotten Victim

1 of 30A Japanese man with an irezumi tattoo. Circa 1890-1909.New York Public Library 2 of 30A man shows off the tattoos that covers his body during the 2017 Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images 3 of 30Tattooed men at the 2018 Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo.BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images 4 of 30A Japanese man displays his tattooed back. Yokohama. Circa 1890.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 30A Yakuza tattoo on display during the 2017 Sanja Matsuri festival in Toyko.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images 6 of 30A tattooed man joins several companions in a meal. Circa 1870s.New York Public Library 7 of 30Various Japanese tattoos. Circa 1880.New York Public Library 8 of 30A Japanese man shows off his irezumi tattoo. Circa 1870s.New York Public Library 9 of 30A tattooed Japanese postman. 1902.Wikimedia Commons 10 of 30Three men show off their full-body irezumi tattoos during a festival in Tokyo. 2016.Kan Phongjaroenwit/Flickr 11 of 30A Japanese man shows off his irezumi tattoo. Circa 1868-1880.Baron Raimund von Stillfried/Wikimedia Commons 12 of 30Roshi Ensei, a legendary hero and outlaw from the Chinese story “Water Margin,” painted by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who depicts him with an irezumi tattoo. Circa 1827-1830.Wikimedia Commons 13 of 30Two men show off their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival.Colin and Sarah Northway/Flickr

14 of 30Japanese men display their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo. 2005.Jiangang Wang/Contributor/Getty Images 15 of 30A tattooed man named Senkaji Chao wringing out his loincloth, as painted by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1830.Wikimedia Commons 16 of 30A Japanese irezumi artist at a tattoo convention in Singapore. 2010.Tamara Craiu/Flickr 17 of 30A tattooed laborer in Japan. Circa 1880s.New York Public Library 18 of 30A pair of tattooed Japanese men. Circa 1870.Felice Beato/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 30Yakuza display their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo. 2017.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images 20 of 30A Yakuza, decorated with irezumi tattoos, inside of an illegal casino. 1949.Wikimedia Commons 21 of 30A Yakuza, his hands covered in tattoos, shows off the missing pinky marking him as a gangster.Armapedia/YouTube 22 of 30Wakao Ayako in the 1966 film Irezumi, about a woman with a spider tattoo.JapaneseFilmArchive/Flickr 23 of 30The mythical hero Du Xing raises up a temple bell to crush his foe in a painting by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons 24 of 30A man in Tokyo shows off his full-body tattoo. 1952.Lennox and Catherine Tierney Photograph Collection / University of Utah / J. Willard Marriott Library 25 of 30A man shows off his tattoos in Tokyo. 1952.Lennox and Catherine Tierney Photograph Collection / University of Utah / J. Willard Marriott Library 26 of 30Kanchikotsuritsu Shuki, with a tattoo covering his body, as painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons 27 of 30A Japanese woman shows the tattoo stretched across her arm. 1887.British Library/Picryl 28 of 30A woman bites down on a cloth, struggling through the pain of getting a tattoo, in a woodblock print by Wada hori Yu, made in 1888.Wikimedia Commons 29 of 30The classic Chinese fictional character Zhang Qing, with a tattoo of the Monkey King Sun Wukong on his back, as painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 30Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

29 Yakuza Tattoo Photos That Reveal The Japanese Art Of Irezumi View Gallery

For three days a year on the third weekend of May, the streets of Tokyo’s Asakusa district come alive. A great procession of men stripped to their underwear flood the streets and show off the tapestry of colors painted onto their skin thanks to the ancient Japanese tattoo art of irezumi.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

How The Yakuza Became One Of History’s Most Successful Organized Crime Groups

51 Amazing Vintage Tattoo Photos

33 Disturbing Photos Of The Second Sino-Japanese War That Reveal Why China Is World War II’s Forgotten Victim

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

How The Yakuza Became One Of History’s Most Successful Organized Crime Groups

51 Amazing Vintage Tattoo Photos

33 Disturbing Photos Of The Second Sino-Japanese War That Reveal Why China Is World War II’s Forgotten Victim

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

How The Yakuza Became One Of History’s Most Successful Organized Crime Groups

51 Amazing Vintage Tattoo Photos

33 Disturbing Photos Of The Second Sino-Japanese War That Reveal Why China Is World War II’s Forgotten Victim

Flipboard

Share
Flipboard
Email

Flipboard

1 of 30A Japanese man with an irezumi tattoo. Circa 1890-1909.New York Public Library

2 of 30A man shows off the tattoos that covers his body during the 2017 Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

3 of 30Tattooed men at the 2018 Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo.BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images

4 of 30A Japanese man displays his tattooed back. Yokohama. Circa 1890.Wikimedia Commons

5 of 30A Yakuza tattoo on display during the 2017 Sanja Matsuri festival in Toyko.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

6 of 30A tattooed man joins several companions in a meal. Circa 1870s.New York Public Library

7 of 30Various Japanese tattoos. Circa 1880.New York Public Library

8 of 30A Japanese man shows off his irezumi tattoo. Circa 1870s.New York Public Library

9 of 30A tattooed Japanese postman. 1902.Wikimedia Commons

10 of 30Three men show off their full-body irezumi tattoos during a festival in Tokyo. 2016.Kan Phongjaroenwit/Flickr

11 of 30A Japanese man shows off his irezumi tattoo. Circa 1868-1880.Baron Raimund von Stillfried/Wikimedia Commons

12 of 30Roshi Ensei, a legendary hero and outlaw from the Chinese story “Water Margin,” painted by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who depicts him with an irezumi tattoo. Circa 1827-1830.Wikimedia Commons

13 of 30Two men show off their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival.Colin and Sarah Northway/Flickr

14 of 30Japanese men display their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo. 2005.Jiangang Wang/Contributor/Getty Images

15 of 30A tattooed man named Senkaji Chao wringing out his loincloth, as painted by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1830.Wikimedia Commons

16 of 30A Japanese irezumi artist at a tattoo convention in Singapore. 2010.Tamara Craiu/Flickr

17 of 30A tattooed laborer in Japan. Circa 1880s.New York Public Library

18 of 30A pair of tattooed Japanese men. Circa 1870.Felice Beato/Wikimedia Commons

19 of 30Yakuza display their tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo. 2017.FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images

20 of 30A Yakuza, decorated with irezumi tattoos, inside of an illegal casino. 1949.Wikimedia Commons

21 of 30A Yakuza, his hands covered in tattoos, shows off the missing pinky marking him as a gangster.Armapedia/YouTube

22 of 30Wakao Ayako in the 1966 film Irezumi, about a woman with a spider tattoo.JapaneseFilmArchive/Flickr

23 of 30The mythical hero Du Xing raises up a temple bell to crush his foe in a painting by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons

24 of 30A man in Tokyo shows off his full-body tattoo. 1952.Lennox and Catherine Tierney Photograph Collection / University of Utah / J. Willard Marriott Library

25 of 30A man shows off his tattoos in Tokyo. 1952.Lennox and Catherine Tierney Photograph Collection / University of Utah / J. Willard Marriott Library

26 of 30Kanchikotsuritsu Shuki, with a tattoo covering his body, as painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons

27 of 30A Japanese woman shows the tattoo stretched across her arm. 1887.British Library/Picryl

28 of 30A woman bites down on a cloth, struggling through the pain of getting a tattoo, in a woodblock print by Wada hori Yu, made in 1888.Wikimedia Commons

29 of 30The classic Chinese fictional character Zhang Qing, with a tattoo of the Monkey King Sun Wukong on his back, as painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Circa 1845-1850.Wikimedia Commons

30 of 30Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

29 Yakuza Tattoo Photos That Reveal The Japanese Art Of Irezumi View Gallery

29 Yakuza Tattoo Photos That Reveal The Japanese Art Of Irezumi

View Gallery

It is the Sanja Matsuri festival: the one time of year when the men of Japan’s Yakuza crime syndicates will tear off their clothes and reveal the full-body tattoos that, in the minds of many, are the very thing that mark them as criminals.

To the police watching from the sidelines, it can seem an unnerving display of strength. A whole crowd of people is there, cheering on criminals, brazenly showing off their irezumi — now commonly thought of as a Yakuza tattoo tradition.

But an irezumi isn’t just a Yakuza tattoo, it’s the mark of a complex Japanese tradition that has been a part of the nation’s history for some 12,000 years.

12,000 Years Of Irezumi Tattoos

The earliest hints of tattoos in Japan come from the remains of people who died in the Paleolithic period. Already, back in 10,000 B.C., the people of Japan were marking their bodies with ink.

And across 12,000 years of history since, tattoos have been a part of Japanese life. The styles, the meanings, and the purposes may have changed, but tattoos have always been there since the beginning.

In fact, the earliest written reference to Japan, made by a Chinese explorer in 300 B.C., talked about the people’s tattoos:

And for the very first indigenous people of modern-day Japan — the Ainu of Hokkaido, a group believed to have coalesced in the 13th century — tattoos were a way to ward off evil spirits. Women would get their lips marked with patterns of ink, convinced it would keep them safe at night.

Body painting differs among the various tribes with the position and size of the designs vary according to the rank of individuals; they smear their bodies with pink and scarlet just as Chinese use powder.”

Irezumi was a part of their culture, a part of their pride. In those days, unlike at Sanja Matsuri today, there was no sense that a tattooed person was a criminal.

The Edo Period

During what’s known as the Edo period in Japanese history (roughly 1600-1868), irezumi underwent a revolution. Woodblock printers moved into the world of body art, developing an art form that was uniquely Japanese.

People began covering their whole bodies in incredibly complex, ornate, and colorful tattoos. Scenes of flowers and dragons would cover their backs and stretch down their arms, turning human beings into living canvases.

In part, the revolution was brought on by the classic Chinese story known as Water Margin, attributed to 14th-century author Shi Nai’an. The novel, centered around the adventures of a band of heroic outlaws, became a sensation in Edo Japan, and woodblock artists rushed to turn the scenes of the novel into works of art.

More often than not, these artists would depict the heroes coated in tattoos, covered with such intricate and powerful designs that, even when stripped bare, their bodies were infused with color.

The public loved the artwork, turning woodblock artists like Utagawa Kuniyoshi into such celebrities that their art is still displayed today. But the people didn’t just want such art on their walls. Like the heroes of the novel, they wanted the art etched into their skin.

Soon, it seemed as though everyone with the means and the courage (specifically men and especially firefighters, who wore them for their supposed sex appeal and spiritual protection) to get themselves tattooed sported irezumi with elaborate designs like those of their favorite literary heroes.

The Yakuza Tattoo Tradition

All of this changed, though, in the Meiji Period at the turn of the 20th century. The Japanese government, wanting their country to appear dignified and respectable as they first became open to Westernization, outlawed tattoos. Irezumi thus became associated with criminals — especially the Yakuza.

Now, this wasn’t the first time that irezumi had marked dangerous men. In the fifth century A.D., the Japanese government had used tattoos as a way to punish criminals.

A first offense would earn a man a line across his forehead. A second would add an arch. And if he committed a third, a final line would be added, forming the Japanese character for “dog”.

But then, only one, specific tattoo was associated with criminals. The Meiji change was different: Now every tattoo of any kind was a sign that someone was up to no good.

Eventually, the law changed again at the end of World War II and tattoos became legal once more. But the idea that irezumi was an outlaw Yakuza tattoo tradition lived on. To this day, many businesses still ban customers with ink on their skin.

A VICE report on the Yakuza tattoo tradition of irezumi.

Nevertheless, the irezumi art form is alive and well, though it is widely seen as either a Western obsession or a Yakuza tattoo tradition.

A VICE report on the Yakuza tattoo tradition of irezumi.

Still, for three days each year, when the Sanja Matsuri festival comes around, those tattoos take over the streets, giving the world a little glimpse into the Japan that once was.

After this look at the Yakuza tattoo art of irezumi, learn all about the misunderstood history of the geisha. Then, discover everything there is to know about the samurai suicide ritual of seppuku.

Discover the 12,000-year history of irezumi, the ancient form of Japanese body art widely seen as a Yakuza tattoo tradition today.#

12,000 Years Of Irezumi Tattoos#

The Edo Period#

The Yakuza Tattoo Tradition#

Discover the 12,000-year history of irezumi, the ancient form of Japanese body art widely seen as a Yakuza tattoo tradition today.

12,000 Years Of Irezumi Tattoos

The Edo Period

The Yakuza Tattoo Tradition