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05/19/2012 07:54:04 AM · #1 |
First there is this : [URL="//www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/17/mayor-osaka-tattoos?newsfeed=true"]Mayor of Osaka launches crusade against tattoos[/URL] and now this Osaka: [URL="//www.sankakucomplex.com/2012/05/18/osaka-lady-gaga-isnt-good-enough-for-us/"]âLady Gaga Isnât Good Enough For Us!â[/URL] The second link being slightly NSFW because of adds on the left side.
Basically, the mayor of Osaka (Japan's second largest city) has decided that if you have a tattoo you are a bad breed and shouldn't be allowed to work in any public office. Tattoos use to be a way for Japanese to mark people who were criminals way back when. This then turned into a way for the Japanese mafia to signify they're belong to a family. However, over the course of the last 20 or so years, with so many young Japanese venturing out into other countries and seeing how tattoos are not for big bad scary men, and with the presence of the mafia being less and less felt, it's become like anything else: fashion.
I know plenty of Japanese who have tattoos and work in non-government paid jobs and are not frowned upon by anyone. Even parents who disapproved at first started to accept that this just wasn't worth getting angry over. The full body tattoos are still very 'mafia'...but most only get the smaller tattoos on the arms or ankles.
While talking with a younger group of friends (20's) some disagreed and thought he was just a nut while some reluctantly agreed. The conversation got a bit heated between friends. But the conversation I had with an adult student about it left me feeling a bit worried about the sanity of some of elderly. She's not old, just 40 but this is how our conversation went.
Me: OK, you're in your apartment, it's on fire. Below there are 2 firemen. One is big, strong, confident and has plenty of experience. The other is a noob, still strong but not as strong and is showing a bit more fear do to lack of experience. Which one do you want rescuing you from the fire? Oh...and the big guy has a tattoo on his arm.
Her: The other guy without the tattoo.
Now, she probably said this because she didn't want to be 'wrong'. But imagine that she was speaking the truth. A person would rather risk their life burning in a fire than be helped by a capable individual.
If you ever plan on coming to Japan there is one thing you need to remember: If you plan on visiting the hot springs or bath houses, which are great, you have to find a way to cover your tattoo otherwise they'll ask you to cover it or ask you to leave. If you point to the guy with the full body tattoo and why it's OK for him, it's likely because nobody is brave enough to ask. |
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05/19/2012 08:30:57 AM · #2 |
| It's not just men in Japan who have tattoos now. There a lot of young women who have them now too - I saw one this morning with an ankle tattoo. |
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05/19/2012 09:06:26 AM · #3 |
| the way things are going, i wouldn't be surprised if it happened in the US too. |
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05/19/2012 11:44:31 AM · #4 |
An interesting cultural difference that I was not aware of. I can see how attitudes would change over time, but the old ways of thinking can hang on for many people. Some businesses might prefer to not employ folks with tattoos, because of the desire to project a certain image to their customers. Banning people with tattoos from public jobs seems a bit extreme.
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05/19/2012 11:58:30 AM · #5 |
| Interesting history of tattooing in Japan... I am still hoping to be rescued by the sanity of the elderly. |
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05/19/2012 01:14:36 PM · #6 |
| Wow, that would cause a few problems, for sure |
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05/19/2012 02:24:21 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by tnun:
Interesting history of tattooing in Japan... I am still hoping to be rescued by the sanity of the elderly. |
Yes, I look forward to the day when the 'elderly' discover the tattoos they acquired in their youth
have also become elderly. |
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05/19/2012 03:15:11 PM · #8 |
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05/19/2012 03:32:51 PM · #9 |
| It would be one thing to fight general ill will against tattoos but when you've got Yakuza history attached (I'm pretty sure they're still functioning in society) it makes the apprehension more understandable. The only way to root the issue out is for tattoos to become a meaningless fad with no violence associated and unfortunately that'll take time. |
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05/19/2012 05:25:21 PM · #10 |
mafia related violence is almost non-existent in Japan. The Yakuza are not actually called Yakuza anymore, they are are called different names depending on which group they belong to. And when you run into someone who is part of the mafia, you wouldn't know it and wouldn't think anything of it since most have real jobs now too. I think you would see more violence associated with gangs in other countries than you would of the entire mafia in Japan. What's done in secret between the members here, that's another question.
And...a tattoo of a dolphin on a young woman's ankle hardly inspires fear. |
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05/19/2012 06:15:07 PM · #11 |
Not the point, I know, but I really don't get tattoos. It seems to me that having your body permanently decorated is like picking out a garment that really appeals to you now and committing yourself to wearing it for the rest of your life. I would like to see the fashion replaced by temporary body art.
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05/19/2012 06:44:21 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by jomari:
Not the point, I know, but I really don't get tattoos. It seems to me that having your body permanently decorated is like picking out a garment that really appeals to you now and committing yourself to wearing it for the rest of your life. I would like to see the fashion replaced by temporary body art. |
i feel you on this, when i see someone with an extreme amount of tatoos, especially "sleeves" they just look dirty to me, and I mean that in the sense of not being sanitary, not that they are dirty in their habits, its just the skin looks "dirty" to me.....just my opinion and has no bearing on this thread....
Message edited by author 2012-05-19 18:44:50. |
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05/19/2012 08:14:54 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by tnun:
I see a challenge. |
+1 |
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06/04/2012 07:33:02 AM · #14 |
omg......still tattoo is a problem here........heard a lot about they are getting easy on tattoos these days...but I think that's wrong...I don't understand what they feel wrong about tattoo?
Message edited by author 2012-06-05 01:50:11.
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06/04/2012 09:01:13 AM · #15 |
| Seems like the mayor is branding everyone with a tattoo... |
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06/04/2012 09:38:31 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by heavyj:
mafia related violence is almost non-existent in Japan. The Yakuza are not actually called Yakuza anymore, they are are called different names depending on which group they belong to. And when you run into someone who is part of the mafia, you wouldn't know it and wouldn't think anything of it since most have real jobs now too. I think you would see more violence associated with gangs in other countries than you would of the entire mafia in Japan. What's done in secret between the members here, that's another question.
And...a tattoo of a dolphin on a young woman's ankle hardly inspires fear. |
Even if we forget about the implications of Tattoos in Japan, as an Asian in a culture with zero Tattoo history I can bet the objections that exist in my culture are same as the ones that exist in the Japanese one. It's the same old argument about dying culture and traditions, equating tattoos to westernisation, equating westernisation to disrespectful youth, then equating disrespectful youth to drug use and alcoholism and general irresponsible behaviour that causes the death of family values and society as a whole. lol! Dramatic but unfortunately a mindset I know that exists. |
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