The evolution of tattoo in Japanese culture is perhaps of the more interesting ones, as its origins can be traced some 16.000 years back.

While in some areas of Japan tattoos originally developed as form of lucky charms, spirituality and devotion to a cause of one’s house, with development of big cities such as Edo tattoos became both punishment and a warning sign of criminals.

As cities grew, so did the crime, and the government established a practice of Irezumi - Insertion of Ink. Irezumi were made on the forehead of a criminal for all to see. It would usually be one vertical line, but if the offender keep up with the criminal activities and was caught, another horizontal line would be applied.

The more you messed up, the more lines you would get. Usually resulting after a while in a sign that in Kanji means “Dog” – Big shout to my N… in Brookleeeeeeeen.

But this in effect resulted in another a\meaning – it meant you were a tough guy and not to be messed with. And so it started getting a fashionable popularity amongst the couriers, construction workers, hookers and gamblers.

Later, this practice of connecting tattoos and marginalized groups became the basis of full body or full sleeve tattoos seen in Japanese mafia – The Yakuza

In aftermath of the Second World War, Tattoos were banned in Japan, as the emperor tried to improve the public image of his land. But as with all things illegal this made them extremely interesting to the criminal milieu.

Today it is considered a calling and status card of any self-respecting Yakuza member. But its undeniable aesthetics, popularized Japanese style tattoos across the globe, and it still remains one of the most coveted tattoo forms to date.

Interestingly, many civilian bathhouses in Japan won’t allow you entry if you are sporting inked skin, as it might scare regular citizens.