“I am a canvas of my experiences, my story is etched in lines and shading, and you can read it on my arms, my legs, my shoulders, and my stomach.” ~Kat Von D

 

 

“Tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.”

 

― Michelle Delio

Japan

japanese house

 

Japan is a place that has seen completely different realms and ideas to what the idea of tattooing has meant as time has elapsed. In the Paleolithic era, where tattooing first began to make its mark, it was mainly used as a way to express spiritual and artistic feeling. However, for a slight period of time, the idea of tattooing began to die down. It was not until 300 B.C. when the Chinese paid the ol’ Japanese a visit and reintroduced its beauty. It was then that Japan used tattooing only for the “floating world culture.” This culture was something that identified different types of people and their status in society. For example, most people who had them were:

● firemen

● manual workers

● prostitutes

● and criminals

This reason being so that people could easily identify and eventually isolate and avoid these types of people in society. Eventually the idea of markings for the public eye for shame was abolished, but its history lived on.