Page 9 - Fifty-fifty Aug 2021 (1)_Neat

TATTOOS IN JAPAN

A similar attitude can be found in Japan where the Japanese Yakuza [members of organised crime syndicates]
were traditionally tattooed. But my understanding is that they do not do this anymore, because it is too obvious a
link, if any members of the gang are arrested.

In fact, those who get inked in Japan in the twenty first century tend to do it because of the way the art form moulds
and adapts to your body.

Because the talk on Ta Moko occurred at the Indonesian Embassy, it is worth telling the story of a diplomatic
incident in Japan recently (last year) where the wife of a New Zealand Ambassador (who happened to be Maori,
had a tribal tattoo or moko on her face, because this was something that showed both her culture and status in New
Zealand) was refused entry to a Japanese hot spring and was talked about as if she was a criminal.
The law in Japan states that no one with a tattoo can go to a public bathhouse or a hot- springs. The refusal to
admit the ambassador’s wife became something of a diplomatic incident resulting in Japan’s prime minister Abe
himself addressing the issue and requesting operators to recognize the cultural difference and the need for
Japanese to understand, that in some cultures, tattoos actually show higher status.

TATTOOS IN BALI

There is one place in Indonesia where
tattoo art is of the highest standard. This
is in Bali where the population is largely
Buddhist and Hindu. What is interesting is
that most of the tattoo artists in the Pacific
talk about going to Bali to enhance their
craft. The tattoo artists in Bali have an
international reputation for sheer artistry
and also being amongst the cheapest (for
the work they do) in the world. When a
Balinese tattoo artist mentions that he or
she would like to do a “guest spot” at a
tattoo shop in New Zealand, the response
is unfailingly positive, and they would
have work for as long as the visa allows.

TATTOOS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
Finally, when I asked whether there was any place in the Muslim world where tattoos were looked on without
suspicion, I was told that in Egypt, the fatwah on tattooing women has been lifted as a way of ensuring girls are
kept well away from the Islamic State or Daesh.

As the Islamic State is extremely conservative, women who were captured to be used in ways that can only be
described as extremely unpleasant, still needed to be checked for tattoos. There is a rise in the number of places in
Egypt and surrounding areas where women can be tattooed and this is regarded as a form of protection.
In Turkey, there has been publicity that women can get tattoos if they would like, and in Syria this is also the case.
Farah from Mosul says” The hair salon was all I wanted. I work hard in here. People love my work. Now I’m
planning to get a tattoo machine and learn how to provide tattoos.”

As Farah’s husband cannot get a job, we wish Farah the best of luck with her new tattoo business. (/JG)

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