Japanese Tattooing from the Past

The Jomon to the pre-Edo period
 The origin of tattooing in Japan has been traced back to the Jomon period (10,000 B. C. ~ 300 B. C.). Jomon means "pattern of rope." Many ceramic pots with markings of rope were found in that period. Clay figurines produced in this period are called dogu. Scholars consider that some dogus show tattoo-like markings on their faces and bodies. The oldest dogus whose faces have a depiction of tattooing were found near Osaka in 1977. They are estimated to date from dated the fifth century B. C. (Richie,1980).  During the Yayoi  period (300 B. C. ~ 300 A. D.) clay figurines with tattoo markings were also found (Yoshioka, 1996).

The custom of tattooing in Japan is described in the third century Chinese  history, Gishiwajinden,  which is the oldest record mentioning Japan. Japan is called Wa, and the custom of tattooing is mentioned in this text:

The men of Wa tattoo their faces and paint their bodies with designs. They are fond of diving for fish and shells. Long ago they decorated their bodies in order to protect themselves from large fish. Later these designs became ornamental. Body painting differs among the various tribes. The position and size of the designs vary according to the rank of individuals.... They smear their bodies with pink and scarlet just as we Chinese use powder (Tsunoda and Goodrich, cited by Dalby, 1993: 22).

 The Kofun period (300 A. D.- 600 A. D.) came after the Yayoi era. The word kofun means an old tomb. In this period, hilly tombs in many places were made, and the clay figures in the shape of dolls, horses and huts were also found in the tombs. The clay figures are called haniwa, which is the counterpart of dogu in the Jomon era. Markings on some haniwa  are regarded as patterns of tattoos.

 In 622 A. D., an envoy of China recorded the custom of Japanese tattooing in Zuisho. There is a section, "Ryukyu kokuden" in it, and the practice of tattooing among the Ryukyu women is described. The Ryukyu islands are today in Okinawa prefecture, the southern most part of Japan. When it was an independent country it was threatened by the rule of China and Japan.

This record, Zuisho, shows Okinawa and Taiwan already established trading in those days. However, it is not confirmed whether  Ryukyu in Zuisho itself refers to Okinawa or Taiwan. Many scholars state that the design of Okinawan tattoo is similar to the tattooing style in a part of aboriginal Taiwanese (Yoshioka, 1996). The Okinawan tattoo may be connected not only with the custom of tattooing in Taiwan but also with South East Asia.