Multiple factors come into play, the
traditional customs of filial piety in
Confucianism is one. In which
marking one’s body with tattoos
would deface the body bestowed by
our parents. But another crucial
thing to be aware of, was that
tattooing in Japan is a craft. It was
performed by artisans back then and
they were highly respected for their
craftsmanship in both uikyo-e and
irezumi. All they have, is a long stick
with multiple rough needles stuck at
one end. It takes advanced skills and
precision as to inject the pigments
onto the skin by hand. There were
no sterilization or air conditionings.
The client would be lying on the
tatami mats by the s unlight or
candlelight, unlike today, tattooist
have to mix their own colors and
often they have to yield to using
unsafe pigments. From this, we can
see the devotion and affirmation that
one has to go through in getting an
Irezumi piece, much less being the
person controlling the scheme of it.
Hiroyoshi III mentions that, “I’d call
this tattoo “traditionalist”. Calling it
“traditional” is disrespectful to the
tattooist of the past who worked
under the threat of being arrested.”
When a higher figure comes into the
picture and installs a sense of fear
towards a particular subject, so does
the norm of society.
What does it mean to truly
SEE?
Everything consists of a primary
quality, and a secondary quality.
Primary quality is the general
appearance of something, it is
objective and universally agreed
upon as it is what you see or
capable of measuring such as the
dimensions of an object. Secondary
quality on the other hand focuses
the idea that immediately comes up
when you see that object. Which
also means that it varies within every
person since there is always the
possibility of us perceiving the very
same object in a different manner,
no matter how compacted we
believe ourselves to be. Primary and
secondary qualities can’t exist with
one another. Without primary
qualities, there wouldn’t be a
common ground in the first place.
Without secondary qualities, you
would only be seeing without
knowing. It is what our mind renders,
and when it involves how we perceive
the nature of something, it is often
more than what people say to be.
Above ; Hiroyoshi the 1st tattooing a
dragon with traditional tebori method
Below; chest, arm sleeve tattoo of cherry
blossom. The Yakuza never tattoo
underneath the arm.
Photo courtesy to Yokohama Tattoo
Museum
We recognize images and symbols
through the size, the color, the
subject, but most importantly, our
impression of a tattoo is based off
the appearance of the person
wearing it. So what appeared to be
an individual’s natural interpretation
is only based on the immediate,
apparent appearances that masks a
deeper reality of cultural influences.
When there was a ban on tattoos
from the emperor, those cultivating
the irezumi art is out of business.
With a clear ban of their
craftsmanship, they have to resort to
operating underground. That’s when
an emergence of the two ‘outlaw’ of
society began: The Yakuza.
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