History of
Tattooing in Japan

          The Edo period was also the beginning of tattoos as punishment for criminals, called bokkei or irezumi kei tattoo penalty, by the authorities. Since there were no prisons in Japan at that time, the only way of informing society about criminals were through facial tattoos and so individuals who committed serious crimes become easily recognizable (Shafiga 2020). Murderers had head tattoos, while theft might result in an arm tattoo. This practice replaced the more bloodthirsty decapitations and removal of limbs that preceded it. However, head tattoos also operated on a three strikes system, each crime punished with a single stroke of a Chinese symbol (大), after which was death. Each region had its own symbol representing both crime and location, rendering it possible to immediately identify the details of the act committed. In Hiroshima people were tattooed with dogs; Chikuzen, lines; Takayama, dots; and Hizen, crosses (Pen 2020). Bokkei or irezumi kei tattoos were considered a punishment since the physical pain the offender goes through, and the permanent status he gets in public was enough to change a person's life. Fortunately the custom of penal tattooing was abolished in 1870. However, tattooing was still perceived in a negative way by the Japanese population.