The worst hand in a Japanese card game, but possibly
the largest criminal organisation that dwells in
blackmailing, corruption and the illegal world on the
other side. The Yakuza have a long history but one
theory was that they came from Burakumin, the
outcasts who didn’t fit into the any of the class
categories.
Based on the idea of Confucianism, some occupations were
considered impure such as slaughterhouses or undertakers, thus
there was a group of people that society considered impure,
including criminals who got marked by the government and in
an 1859 court case, it was declared that an eta, a sub group of the
Burakumin, is worth 1/7 of an ordinary person. Irezumi started to
be traditionally linked with criminals due to the misconception
of the art form with the method used by the higher-ups in
determining a person’s worth. Though, officials would only
brand on a person if they committed minor crimes, because they
would have been instantly put to death if they committed
anything truly severe. They wouldn’t be around carry markings
on obvious places such as the hand and face.
Those who did, were only convicted for mild crimes such as
stealing or shop lifting. They were people who couldn’t abide to
the living standards expected of them in society. Everything is
determined by inheritance, not merit. It is justifiable for some to
resort to acting on their own when the law is restricted by the
class system. The point is, they are not brutal people who
purposely hurt others for their own gain. But pushed to do so.
Having experience the same treatment from the
government, these group of outcast came together like
magnets as one. With companions to shield them from
the unwelcoming society, be that as it may, the brands on their
face or arm stays. Regrettably, it is now a part of their identity in
society even if it is conveying a wrong message of the qualities
that the individual truly possess. They are forever and only seen
through a one-sided view by other. Needless to say, anyone
would feel abandoned and lost. So the idea was to counter
permanent with their own convictions, by adding tattoos to
reverse the meaning behind the tattooing action mentally. If the
line has already been drawn between us and the rest of society,
then I want to be the person who holds the responsibility of
setting myself off, not any higher figures who thinks they have a
control over my very being. Without knowing it, irezumi has
become a means of catharsis.
Catharsis is when you experience a drastic change in your
emotional state from releasing the repressed emotions inside of
you. In other words, a purification or renewal from within
through a particular activity or experience. By tattooing over
those ill markings with art, it enables a spiritual counsel but
most especially, the rid of memories that haunts a person by
covering that moment with a significant part of yourself.
Sometimes, you just need to look at the motives of the present,
not the past to describe a behavior.
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