Perception of Tattoos: Now and Then. Japan vs. the Western World

Abstract

The main purpose of the essay is to determine the tendencies in perception of tattooing by general population in Japan as opposed to the West, an umbrella term used to denote Europe, Polynesia (New Zealand, Samoa and Hawaii) and North America. The choice of regions for comparison is not arbitrary, as modern Western tattoo tradition has its roots in Polynesian tattooing, brought back to the Old, and then the New World, by Captain James Cook.In this essay a general introduction is given to the history of tattooing Japan, divided into three subchapters for three major periods in Japanese history. After that the history of tattooing in the Western world is outlined, starting with the short description of European tattoo, which leads to Polynesian and North American, much like Captain Cook, an Englishman, sailed to Polynesia and not long afterwards the tattooing, on the bodies of sailors came to North America. Finally, in the last chapter the problem of modern-day perception of tattooing is discussed.As well as written research, an online survey was conducted and shared with residents of Japan and the Western countries, where they were asked about their attitudes towards tattooing in general and to tattooed individuals in particular, as well as statistical information about age, gender and nationality. Several informal interviews with residents of said countries were also conducted and taken into consideration.The author hopes that the subject of perception of tattoos will receive much needed attention, as the problem of perception of tattoo as a negative stereotype is acute in Japan as well as in the West.