Peiyuan Xu
yakuza
Illustration
2023
Japanese tattoo, popular among gangsters and bandits
“A large part of Japan’s aversion to tattoos is thanks to the yakuza, or the Japanese mafia. Traditional Japanese tattooing is known as irezumi, hand poked tattoo. In the 1600s, Japanese government enacted a policy that all criminals must be tattooed — an act known as bokkei. This would make it difficult for them to gain acceptance again in society. Even in modern Japan there are “no tattoos allowed” signs at public bathing facilities, saunas, gyms and more.”