Tattoos on Japanese girls
Here’s an observation I’ve had over the past 3 years of living in Okinawa, and I wonder what your opinions of it.
You quite frequently see Western girls with tattoos of some descript on them; whether they be something on the shoulder blade, upper arm or the delightfully named “tramp stamp” above the butt. However, on Japanese girls they are much rarer. In Okinawa, when I see a Japanese girl with a tattoo, I will immediately think one of 3 things:
1) She’s a hardcore diver/surfer, who probably got it when she was travelling somewhere in Asia
2) She’s connected to the yakuza (usually applicable if it’s the full-back tattoo)
3) She’s got a military boyfriend/husband
The latter is the one I’d like to focus on. Firstly, the chronology of said tattoo - did she get it before the military partner (and was it done as she thought it would get her a partner?), or did the boyfriend come first. And then what caused her to get the tattoo if she started seeing the guy first - was it that she saw more western women around bases with tattoos and it became more appealing to her; was she attracted to them by her new boyfriend’s tattoos, or did she think it would make her look more westernized?
I apologise if I somehow offend anyone in this post by generalising or stereotyping. This definitely is not the case but it’s a thought that often goes through my head when I see ink on a Japanese girl. Does anyone have any thoughts on this one?
or Discuss this Article
Hi Dave,
An interesting observation and one I haven’t given a lot of thought, yet. Mainly because I don’t know too many Japanese girls/women and I can’t recall seeing a Japanese female with tattoos.
However, I do know a few Thai girls and in Thailand when I see a Thai girl with a tattoo, my first thought is that she works in the night life/entertainment industry.
I know, I know, quite a cliche, but unfortunately most likely a true one, although I do know a few Thai girls that have tattoos but are in no way related to the nightlife scene and just have them becaus they like them, they’re a minority though.
In general however, the majority of Thai girls/women won’t have tattoos. A lot of them may like them, as they say/claim, but are afraid of the pain getting them.
In general there are a lot of tattood persons in Thailand, since the traditional Thai tattoos, done by monks with bamboo, have protective powers, so a lot police man, soldiers, fisherman etc, people with high risk jobs, have tattoos done, which mostly cover their back (completely). Only guys can get tattoos done by monks though, women can’t get tattoos from monks for religious reasons.
In general I do like tattoos, having some myself.
On my list of things to do still ranks getting a traditional Japanese tattoo done, a fish or a flower on my arm, but I’m not sure if it will ever come to that.
I have asked some of my conversation students about Tattoos and honestly I would say its just changing times. More and more of them talk of getting one, but are afraid of the pain so they don’t get one. They also say that some older people frown on getting tattoos and so they hesitate to break social norms. But they seem to think they are a good way to express yourself.
Having spacers in your ears is really popular with the youth in America right now, as a way to be different and express yourself. But most adults frown on having them and don’t find them acceptable on adults. But as those spacer wearing kids turn into adults, suddenly adults are going to all say its okay.
Its the same cycle we went threw with Tattoos. It used to be that you were a long haired hippy or biker if you had a tattoo. Now they are very mainstream. All sorts of people get tattoos and its okay. I wont say we are up to saying facial tattoos are okay and all that but even in the business world tattoos are more and more acceptable.
Whats cool and whats not, whats acceptable and whats not, is always changing. Its just a cycle. Okinawans used to have cultural tattoos on women, then it was banned, now its allowed. I wont speculate on what causes the cycles, but they seem to be inevitable.
Thank you both for your comments on this subject. Crystal - thank you especially for bringing it to light in your conversation class.
Hopefully I can get more views from some of you out there in Japan ir Asia on this topic.
Crystal makes a very good point of mentiuoning the following “that some older people frown on getting tattoos”.
My wife just told me last week, that my Mother in law is afraid that my son is later going to have Tattoos!
I also agree with Crystal about how tattoos are currently viewed in the Western culture and are pretty much accepted nowadays as mainstream.
Guess it takes a little bit longer in the Asian culture to get there.
Yay - it’s 2 readers of my blog discussing something! This is what I’ve been looking for since I started writing this!
Keep it up guys
Hi Everyone,
I have a tattoo myself and from time to time I still get stares form the older generation (even though I’m no spring chicken myself). I live in Canada, where as Crystal said, tattoos have been mostly been accepted by society (younger generation). I think a lot of it has to do with perception and the older generation will always have the perception of tattoos being associated with rebellious behaviour. My parents still cringe when they see my tattoo in the hot tub! Lol. It’s funny though – in meeting my girlfriend’s parents, for the first time, I tried desperately to hide my tattoo so that I did not ‘give the wrong impression’. So maybe the perception is instilled on all of the generations – the older one looking down on those who have them and the younger generations expressing themselves with tattoos but in some way knowing that it offends the older generation, feeling guilty about offending them – try and hide their tattoos…. Does that make sense?
Oliver - thank you for the comments, they do make perfect sense. I like your way of looking at the perception from all the generations. As I don’t have one myself I can’t comment too much on them, but everyone else’s comments are really educational for me:)