The Japanese word irezumi (入れ墨, 入墨, 文身, 剳青, 黥 or 刺青) refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark, in other words, tattooing. A tattoo is a mark made by inserting pigment into the skin; in technical terms, tattooing is dermal pigmentation. ...

The word can be written in several ways, each with slightly different connotations. The most common way of writing irezumi is with the Chinese characters 入れ墨 or 入墨, literally meaning to "insert ink." The characters 文身 (also pronounced bunshin) suggest "decorating the body." 剳青 is more esoteric, being written with the characters for "stay" or "remain" and "blue" or "green," and probably refers to the appearance of the main shading ink under the skin. 黥 (meaning "tattooing") is rarely used, and the characters 刺青 combine the meanings "pierce," "stab," or "prick," and "blue" or "green," referring to the traditional Japanese method of tattooing by hand. Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ...

History of Japanese tattoos

Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan is thought to extend back to at least the Jomon or paleolithic period (approximately 10000 BC). Some scholars have suggested that the distinctive cord-marked patterns observed on the faces and bodies of figures dated to that period represent tattoos, but this claim is by no means unanimous. There are similarities, however, between such markings and the tattoo traditions observed in other contemporaneous cultures. The Jomon period (Japanese: 縄文時代 Jōmon-jidai) is the time in Japanese history from about 10,000 BCE to 300 BCE. Most scholars agree that by around 40,000 BCE glaciation had connected the islands with the mainland. ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the Old Stone Age) was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. ...

In the following Yayoi period (C. 300BC – 300 AD) tattoo designs were observed and remarked upon by Chinese visitors. Such designs were thought to have spiritual significance as well as functioning as a status symbol. The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Yayoi Period. ...

Starting in the Kofun period (300-600 AD) tattoos began to assume negative connotations. Instead of being used for ritual or status purposes, tattooed marks began to be placed on criminals as a punishment (this was mirrored in ancient Rome, where slaves were known to have been tattooed with mottos such as "I am a slave who has run away from his master"). The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Yamato period. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ...

Ainu tattoos

The Ainu people, the indigenous people of Japan, are known to have used tattoos for decorative and social purposes. There is no known relation to the development of Irezumi. Ainu IPA: /ʔáınu/) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, northern Honshū, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ...

Japanese tattoos in the Edo period

Until the Edo period (1600-1868 AD) the role of tattoos in Japanese society fluctuated. Tattooed marks were still used as punishment, but minor fads for decorative tattoos -- some featuring designs that would be completed only when lovers' hands were joined -- also came and went. It was in the Edo period, however, that Japanese decorative tattooing began to develop into the advanced art form it is known as today. The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Edo Period. ...

The impetus for the development of the art were the development of the art of woodblock printing and the release of the popular Chinese novel Suikoden, a tale of rebel courage and manly bravery illustrated with lavish woodblock prints showing men in heroic scenes, their bodies decorated with dragons and other mythical beasts, flowers, ferocious tigers and religious images. The novel was an immediate success, and demand for the type of tattoos seen in its illustrations was simultaneous. A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... It has been suggested that Guo Shiguang be merged into this article or section. ... The Chinese dragon (spelled Long, Loong or Lung in transliteration), is a mythical Chinese creature that also appears in other East Asian cultures, and is also sometimes called the Oriental (or Eastern) dragon. ... This article is about a system of myths. ... Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms ( flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... Binomial name Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of tigers in 1900 (red) and 1990 (green) Synonyms Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858 Tigris regalis pink, 1867 Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four big cats in the Panthera genus. ...

Woodblock artists began tattooing. They used many of the same tools for imprinting designs in human flesh as they did to create their woodblock prints, including chisels, gouges and, most importantly, unique ink known as Nara ink, or Nara black, the ink that famously turns blue-green under the skin. Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Steel woodworking chisel. ...

There is academic debate over who wore these elaborate tattoos. Some scholars say that it was the lower classes who wore -- and flaunted -- such tattoos. Others claim that wealthy merchants, barred by law from flaunting their wealth, wore expensive irezumi under their clothes. It is known for certain that irezumi became associated with firemen, dashing figures of bravery and roguish sex-appeal who wore them as a form of spiritual protection (and, no doubt, for their beauty as well).

Tattoos in modern Japan

At the beginning of the Meiji period the Japanese government, wanting to protect its image and make a good impression on the West, outlawed tattoos, and irezumi took on connotations of criminality. Nevertheless, fascinated foreigners went to Japan seeking the skills of tattoo artists, and traditional tattooing continued underground. The Meiji period ) denotes the 45-year reign of Emperor Meiji, running from 8 September 1868 (in the Gregorian calendar, 23 October 1868) to 30 July 1912. ... There is still dispute as to whether Japan is a constitutional monarchy or a republic. ...

Tattooing was legalized by the occupation forces in 1945, but unfortunately has retained its image of criminality. For many years, traditional Japanese tattoos were associated with the yakuza, Japan's notorious mafia, and many businesses in Japan (such as public baths, fitness centers and hot springs) still ban customers with tattoos. History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Surrender of Japan Japan surrendered to the Allies... This article is about organized crime. ... The Mafia (also referred to as Cosa Nostra or the Mob), is a criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ...

Tattooing and other forms of body decoration and body modification, as in much of the western world, are gaining in popularity in Japan. However, Japanese young people who choose to get tattooed are most often choosing "one point" designs -- small designs that can be completed in one sitting -- usually in the American or tribal styles. More recently, however sanskrit scrypts Siddham script tattoos are becoming more and more fashionable. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... http://www. ... Siddham (Sanskrit सिद्धम्, accomplished or perfected) — is the name of a North Indian script used for writing Sanskrit. ...

Traditional irezumi is still done by specialist tattooists, but it is painful, time-consuming and expensive: a typical traditional body suit (covering the arms, back, upper legs and chest, but leaving an untattooed space down the center of the body) can take 1-5 years of once-per-week visits to complete and cost more than US$30,000.

The making of a Japanese tattoo

The prospective tattooee must first find a traditional tattoo artist. This in itself can be a daunting task (though it has been made easier by advent of the Internet) because such artists are often surprisingly secretive, and introductions are frequently made by word of mouth only.

A traditional tattoo artist trains for many years under a master. He (for they are nearly exclusively male) will sometimes live in the master's house. He may spend years cleaning the studio, observing, practicing on his own flesh, making the needles and other tools required, mixing inks, and painstakingly copying designs from the master's book before he is allowed to tattoo clients. He must master all the intricate skills -- unique styles of shading, the techniques used for tattooing by hand -- required to create the tattoos his clients will request. He will usually be given a tattoo name by his master, most often incorporating the word "hori" (to engrave) and a syllable derived from the master's own name or some other significant word. In some cases, the apprentice will take the master's name, and will become The Second or Third (and so on).

After an initial consultation during which the client will discuss with the tattooist the designs he (again, clients are most frequently male; though women do wear traditional irezumi, they are most often the wives or girlfriends of tattoo artists) is interested in, and work begins with the tattooing of the outline. This will usually be done in one sitting, often freehand (without the use of a stencil), which may require several hours to complete. When the outline is complete, the shading and colouring is done in weekly visits, whenever the client has money to spare. When the tattoo is finished, the artist will "sign" his name in a space reserved for that purpose, most often somewhere on the back.

Wearers of traditional tattoos can often afford little else. They frequently keep their art secret, as tattoos are still seen as a sign of criminality in Japan, particularly by older people and in the work place. Ironically, many yakuza and other criminals themselves avoid tattoos for this very reason.

Glossary of Japanese tattoo terms

• Irezumi (入れ墨, 入墨, 文身 (also pronounced bunshin), 剳青, 黥 or 刺青) -- tattoo (noun or verb)
• Horimono (彫り物, 彫物, literally carving, engraving) -- tattoo. This is another word for traditional Japanese tattoos.
• Horishi (彫り師, 彫物師) -- a tattoo artist.
• Bokukei, bokkei (墨刑) -- punishment by tattooing.
• Tebori (手彫り, literally to carve by hand) -- describes the technique of tattooing by hand.
• Hanebori (羽彫り, literally to carve with a feather) -- a hand-tattooing tecnhique employing a feathering motion.
• Tsuki-bori (突き彫り) -- a hand-tattooing tecnhique emplying a thrusting motion.
• Kakushibori (隠し彫り, literally hidden carving) -- tattooing near the armpits, the inside of the thighs and other "hidden" body areas. Also refers to the tattooing of hidden words, for example among the petals of flowers.
• Kebori (毛彫り) -- the tattooing of fine lines or of hair on tattooed figures.
• Sujibori (筋彫り) -- outlining, the outline of a tattoo.
• Shakki -- the sound needles make when they puncture the skin.
• Irebokuro -- from ire or ireru, which means to insert, and bokuro or hokuro, a beauty spot
• Yobori -- "Yo" (European) tattooing. The Japanese-English slang term for tattooing done with the Machine.
• Sumi -- The ink used to tattoo, traditionally mixed by the apprentice

There is also a tattoo studio by the name "Irezumi" in Chennai, a city in south india.And the website address is www.tattooschennai.com Noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... It has been suggested that Verbal agreement be merged into this article or section. ...

Symbolism in Japanese tattoos

Some common images in traditional Japanese tattoos are:

• Mythological beasts and monsters: Dragons, Kirin, Foo Dogs, Hō-ō (鳳凰, Phoenixes)
• Animals: Birds, Koi (Carp), Tigers, Snakes
• Flowers: Peonies, Cherry Blossoms, Lotuses, Chrysanthemums
• Other plants: Bamboo, Maple leaves
• Characters from traditional folklore and literature, such as the Suikoden
• Images of the "Floating World" inspired by ukiyo-e prints: geisha, samurai
• Buddhas and Buddhist deities such as Fudō Myōō and Kannon
• Shinto kami (deities) such as tengu
• Backgrounds: clouds, waves, wind bars.

Japanese mythology is a very complex system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion. ... The Chinese dragon (spelled Long, Loong or Lung in transliteration), is a mythical Chinese creature that also appears in other East Asian cultures, and is also sometimes called the Oriental (or Eastern) dragon. ... A qilin of the Qing dynasty – note the antlers, closer in style to the Japanese version (Kirin) A painting by the court artist depicting one of Zheng Hes giraffes in 1414. ... Categories: Fictional dogs | Stub ... Fenghuang sculpture, Nanning city, Guangxi, China. ... Binomial name Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) Koi (鯉（こい）, Rōmaji: koi, pronounced IPA: ) are ornamental domesticated varieties of the common carp Cyprinus carpio, originated from China and widely spread in Japan. ... Binomial name Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater fish distantly related to the common goldfish, with which it is capable of interbreeding. ... Binomial name Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of tigers in 1900 (red) and 1990 (green) Synonyms Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858 Tigris regalis pink, 1867 Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four big cats in the Panthera genus. ... blue: sea snakes, black: land snakes Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation). ... Species See text The peony or paeony (Paeonia) is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. ... “Cherry Blossom” redirects here. ... Binomial name Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. ... Species Chrysanthemum aphrodite Chrysanthemum arcticum Chrysanthemum argyrophyllum Chrysanthemum arisanense Chrysanthemum boreale Chrysanthemum chalchingolicum Chrysanthemum chanetii Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Chrysanthemum coronarium Chrysanthemum crassum Chrysanthemum glabriusculum Chrysanthemum hypargyrum Chrysanthemum indicum Chrysanthemum japonense Chrysanthemum japonicum Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium Chrysanthemum mawii Chrysanthemum maximowiczii Chrysanthemum mongolicum Chrysanthemum morifolium Chrysanthemum morii Chrysanthemum okiense Chrysanthemum oreastrum Chrysanthemum ornatum Chrysanthemum... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Binomial name Acer palmatum Thunb. ... It has been suggested that Guo Shiguang be merged into this article or section. ... Ukiyo (浮世) or The Floating World is a term used to describe the pleasure-seeking lifestyle and culture of Edo Period Japan (1615-1857). ... View of Mount Fuji from Numazu, part of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō series by Hiroshige, published 1850 Ukiyo-e ), pictures of the floating world, is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of... Women posing as maiko (geisha apprentices), Kyoto, Japan wearing traditional furisode and okobo Geisha ) are traditional, female Japanese entertainers, whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as music, singing and dancing. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... Media:Example. ... Also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa. ... Kuan Yin (Pinyin: Guanyin; also written Kwan Yin or in other variants which hyphenate or remove the space between the two words) is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists. ... Shinto ) is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. ... “Megami” redirects here. ... Tengu and a Buddhist monk, by Kawanabe Kyōsai. ...

Further reading

• Joshua Andrews, The Art of Tattooing
• Donald Baruma and Ian Ritchie, The Japanese Tattoo
• Sandi Fellman, The Japanese Tattoo

External links

• Tattoology - The Science of Tattoos and Tattooing
• Tao of Tattoos - The Art of Japanese Tattoos
• BMEZine - Body Modification EZine
• Irezumi - Irezumi by Horiyoshi III