Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #530835 in Books
- Published on: 2005-03-01
- Original language:
English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 224 pages
Editorial Reviews
Synopsis
History records the use of punitive tattooing in the west and the east for 2000 years. Japan was the last country to abolish punitive tattooing, in 1870. As elsewhere, the Japanese covered these marks of shame with decorative tattoos, which became increasingly elaborate as their popularity grew among wealthy city-dwellers. Tattooing was repeatedly abolished, without effect. Even today, it is illegal to display tattoos publicly, and they are mainly associated with the yakuza, the Japanese mafia. The development of the yakuza is discussed at length here, encompassing their pre-WWII history, samurai and Bushido influences, the darker side of Tokugawa rule, gambling and what happens when a highly regulated society disintegrates. Kuniyoshi's famous print series 'The 108 Heroes of the Suikoden' was the impetus behind the melding of isolated tattoo designs into larger thematic pieces covering the whole body. However, as this series has already been extensively published, works by other print artists featuring tattooed heroes and kabuki actors are the focus of this book.
The tattoo artist Horikazu of the Asakusa district is profiled and many examples of his sketches and work included, with explanations of motifs and techniques. Horikazu has been tattooing for 40 years and his clients include the rich, the dangerous and the powerful. He is the founder of his own tattooing family organised as the traditional Japanese master-apprentice relationship. Also discussed is the history of the Asakusa temple complex and the Sanja matsuri, the Shinto festival held there in May, when tens of thousands of people gather to admire the full body suit tattoos adorning members of the various yakuza gangs who reside in the district. Sidelined until very recently, tattooing is again fashionable. The authors hope this book will contribute to the growing calls for some tattoo practices to be elevated to the realm of art, of which the Japanese body suit must be the supreme example.
