The Cultural Perception of Tattoos or Irezumi in Japan

My very limited knowledge of tattoos comes from my experience of growing up in Tokyo.  In Japanese, the word for tattoo is irezumi, 入れ墨。The first two characters together, ire(ru) means, to put in, to place or to insert.  The second, sumi, is ink.  So, it’s the insertion of ink. During the Meiji era, tattoos in …

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