A former yakuza member became an artist and devoted himself to tattooing

"Tattooed people don't have the best image anywhere, but this is especially pronounced in Japan, where tattoos are equated with crime, and crime with yakuza," Horiyoshi said.
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Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.
Ažurirano: 17.06.2012. 13:14h

Japanese artist Horiyoshi III was once a member of the yakuza, a Japanese mafia characterized by full-body tattooing, and today works as a tattoo artist with traditional motifs.

He left the world of crime and tries to break the prejudices that exist in Japan towards tattoos, which are often associated with crime.

Due to the connection between criminal groups and tattoos, tattooed people in Japan are victims of discrimination.

They were banned from fitness centers, and the mayor of Osaka offered employees of the city's public companies to fill out a survey about whether they have a tattoo.

Horiyoshi replaced the bamboo stick with a metal tool

The Japanese fear of tattooed people stems from the inextricable connection between tattoos and the yakuza.

Tattooing with a bamboo stick

The yakuza are also proud of their tattoos because of the painful traditional method of working with the help of a bamboo stick.

"Human skin and a needle are for him a means of painting"

The yakuza have around 50.000 members and are involved in almost all illegal activities, from gambling, drugs and prostitution to financial machinations, cybercrime and racketeering.

"Tattooed people don't have the best image anywhere, but this is especially pronounced in Japan, where tattoos are equated with crime, and crime with yakuza, so tattoos cause fear," said Horiyoshi.

Horiyoshi III replaced the traditional bamboo stick with a more modern variant made of metal, and human skin and a needle are for him a means of depicting Japanese myths and legends.

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