When we look at Tattooed Ladies, we often think of them in the
context of individuality, self-expression, and self-ownership. And in
the United States, the history of women and tattoos is generally one of
self-determination and independence. But in Asia, the relationship
between women and ink is very different. Tattooing in Japan, especially,
has many threads of cultural legacy that still inform the practice and
its connotations today.
In antiquity, the Japanese were known to
favor tattooing and decoration. Visiting Chinese remarked on the
practice as "barbaric", since most "civilized" Chinese subscribed to the
Confucian ideal that tattooing was polluting to the body.
The
Chinese did practice tattooing, however - but mostly in the form of
marking criminals for life. Outside the sophisticated Confucian elite,
soldiers were readying themselves for battle by getting talismanic
tattoos of axes, and women living south of the Yangtze River were
decorating their hands with tattoos of insects and snakes.
By the
middle ages, decorative tattooing had been replaced by penal tattooing
in Japan. Serious crimes were punished by tattooing symbols of the crime
on the arms and even faces of the criminals. Such a punishment often
resulted in being shunned by family and friends, as well as strangers - a
dreadful outcome in a culture where relationships are central.
But
in more remote areas of Japan, tattooing was alive and well. The Ainu
people - who have lived continuously in Northernmost Japan for over
12,000 years - have a tradition of tattooing that is exclusively female.
The Anchipiri ("Black Stone Mouth") women were tattooed around the lips
by a "Tattoo Aunt" or "Tattoo Woman" to repel evil spirits and show
that they are ready for marriage. The pain of having a tattoo placed in
such a sensitive area was also supposed to help the young woman endure
the pain of childbirth. Though the pain may have been eased by the
incantations given along with the soot: "Even without it, she's so
beautiful. The tattoo around her lips, how brilliant it is. It can only
be wondered at."
Ainu women also tattooed their hands and arms
with braided geometric patterns. These patterns, which were begun while a
girl was as young as six, were also designed to protect women from evil
spirits. They were also similar to braided "girdles" worn secretly by
women, and their designs were handed down from mother to daughter.
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