More Japanese Now See Tattoos in Good Light

 

Shodai Horiren got her first tattoo¹ on a trip to Australia nearly 30 years ago. Now, she is tattooed² from head to foot. She even has tattoos³ on the skin on her head.

Horiren is one of Japan's most well-known traditional tattoo artists.

"Your house gets old, your parents die, you break up with a lover⁴, kids grow and go," she said. But a tattoo is with you until die and are buried.

The 52-year-old spoke⁵ with Reuters reporters from her tattoo business north of Tokyo.

Horiren belongs to a growing group of Japanese tattoo lovers⁶ who reject cultural taboos⁸ connected with this art form. They are turning their skin into colorful pictures with complex⁹ full-body designs. Often, these designs involve images from ancient Japanese stories.

In Japan, tattoos are banned from bathhouses, hot spring areas, some beaches and many places where people swim and exercise.

For hundreds of years, tattoos in Japan have been seen as things criminals¹⁰ have. Most recently, they have been linked to members of the yakuza, an organized crime¹¹ group. Yakuza members' full-body images end at the hands and neck, helping¹² them hide the tattoos under clothing.

But tattoo fans in Japan hope opinions will change. They believe that popular foreign sports stars with tattoos will help bring about this change. That includes athletes from the 2020 Rugby World Cup and the Tokyo Olympic Games set for next year.

"If you watch the All Blacks do the haka with their tattoos, it makes your heart beat faster," Horiren said. She was talking about New Zealand's national rugby team and their ceremonial dance.

Mari Okasaka got her first tattoo when she was 28. Now 48, Okasaka says, "Some people get tattoos for deep reasons." But she said she does it for fashion, the same way she might buy a nice piece of clothing.

Okasaka's 24-year-old son, Tenji, hopes to one day have his whole body covered in imagery and colors.

Rie Yoshihara works¹³ in a shop that lets vacationers try on traditional kimono clothing. She said her father has still not seen her full back tattoo. And Mara Okasaka covers her arms when she goes outside so her neighbors will not talk badly about her.

Still, many tattoo wearers are less afraid now to show their body art. They can be seen at large parties showing their tattoos to others.

Takashi Mikajiri is a surfer who works in the television industry. He says he is still sometimes stopped by officials at beaches and ordered to cover his tattoos.

"In America, if you have a tattoo, people don't really care," Mikajiri said. "There's not really any reaction."

Hiroyuki Nemoto is a party organizer¹⁴ and scrapyard worker. He said of himself and others: "We may have tattoos but we are happy and bright people."

Words in This Story

tattoo -- n. a picture, word, etc., that is drawn¹⁵ on a person's skin by using a needle and ink

taboo⁷ -- n. something that is not acceptable¹⁶ to talk about or do

beach -- n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

athlete -- n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

fashion -- n. a popular way of dressing¹⁷ during a particular time or among a particular group of people

surfer -- n. a person who rides on ocean waves using a surfboard

scrapyard -- n. a place where you can buy, sell, or leave junk

1 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

2 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 lover   

n.情人，恋人；爱好者

参考例句：

• Every lover sees a thousand graces in the beloved object.情人眼里出西施。
• Mr.Smith was a lover of poetry.史密斯先生是一名诗歌爱好者。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

7 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

8 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

9 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

10 criminals   

n.罪犯，犯人( criminal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is not one of your garden-variety criminals. 他不是个普通的罪犯。
• All citizens should help the police in tracking the criminals down. 所有市民都应该帮助警察追捕罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

14 organizer   

n.组织者，编制者，创立者

参考例句：

• A good organizer pays attention to detail.善于组织者考虑问题无微不至。
• She was the organizer of the meeting.她是会议的组织者。

15 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

16 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

17 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。