# Japanese professor: "If people in Japan see that you have tattoos..." **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950 "2011-02-02T23:23:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/21 "2011-02-03T07:29:46Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Some Japanese people think that Americans/Europeans etc. are just there to start shit, ogle women, and so forth. And they aren’t? 😛 (kidding, kidding) ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/22 "2011-02-03T07:42:38Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > And they aren’t? 😛 > (kidding, kidding) Well I for one am there to ogle the fellers…and start shit, etc. (oddball user name notwithstanding, I’m female.) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/23 "2011-02-03T07:42:56Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > And they aren’t? 😛 > (kidding, kidding) Heh, well, this one gaijin did his fair share of one of those two things until he got zapped with the Relationship Beam 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/24 "2011-02-03T07:58:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Anecdote: my oldest son has 3/4 sleeve tattoos, his back is covered and so is much of his chest. … It was quite a deflating experience for him, as he thought he was quite cool. I know he’s your son and all but… he really, really wasn’t thinking, uh? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/25 "2011-02-03T09:30:25Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > The average foreigner with tattoos will not be considered a Yakuza member, but they are nevertheless frowned upon. for the tats, or for being a foreigner? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/26 "2011-02-03T11:48:12Z")
Lately, you see many more young people of both sexes with tattoos. And even some who aren’t both sexes ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/27 "2011-02-03T11:50:37Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > for the tats, or for being a foreigner? This is really going into a whole another thread’s worth of material, but, to put it simply, the tats. In my experience, the only time I felt I was being looked down upon simply for being a foreigner was when I was in Yokosuka, a town with an American naval base. I only stayed there for a month though. Where I live currently I feel that I’m appreciated, or at the very least viewed as a strange, benign presence. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/28 "2011-02-03T15:55:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I know he’s your son and all but… he really, really wasn’t thinking, uh? Yeah, I really don’t like it, or even remotely understand it. His wife also has a fair amount of tattooing. I heard the number $10,000 batted around at one time. At least he had the sense to make sure it can be covered up for job interviews, etc. When I see extensive tattoos, I think “ex-con”, and I’m sure most other people in the over-50 age group have the same mental reaction. He also has a buzz cut and a goatee, which sort of completes the image, even though he’s not a neo-Nazi or even a brawler. I wonder how he’ll feel about all that when he’s 65. . . ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/29 "2011-02-03T16:12:11Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Heh, well, this one gaijin did his fair share of one of those two things until he got zapped with the Relationship Beam 😛 Yah, I hear those things are brutal - especially the 1920s models. I hear the Soviets dumped a whole load of confiscated units in the Marianas Trench in the 1960s - but some assholes went on a 20-minute speed run down there and picked up a bunch, so they’re floating around again. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/30 "2011-02-03T16:14:38Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > the Soviets dumped a whole load of confiscated units in the Marianas Trench in the 1960s Yup. That’s what a relationship beam does is confiscate your unit. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/31 "2011-02-03T17:22:12Z")
> [@storyguide3](#): > > Makes perfect sense to me. The baths don’t want yakuza in there but putting up a sign that says “No Yakuza Allowed” is not likely to go over well with the gangs (“Nice onsen you have there, shame if something were to…happen to it”) Also, how do you tell, aside from tattoos, who the yakuza are? **They probably don’t have membership cards to check.** Well, they do sort of. Jake Adelstein, a western reporter, wrote a pretty interesting book, “Tokyo Vice,” about his experiences covering the crime beat for a Japanese newspaper. Anyway, in it he talks quite a bit about the Yakuza and mentions that a lot of them carry business cards and operate fairly openly. Some even have offices akin to local Elks or Masonic lodges here in the U.S. Here’s a link to an NPR story about the book. [http://www.npr.org/2009/11/09/120237244/an-american-in-japan-investigating-the-tokyo-vice?ps=rs](http://www.npr.org/2009/11/09/120237244/an-american-in-japan-investigating-the-tokyo-vice?ps=rs) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/32 "2011-02-03T17:37:08Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Oh come on :), there are still sailors with an anchor tattoo on their biceps? > Does he eat a lot of spinach? > > Seriously, **Guinastasia** you had never heard of the Yakusa?? Or did you mean something else by saying that? Is it that hard to believe? I’ve heard of the Japanese mafia, but didn’t know the term Yakusa until it was explained here. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/33 "2011-02-03T18:17:11Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Is it that hard to believe? I’ve heard of the Japanese mafia, but didn’t know the term Yakusa until it was explained here. _shrugs_ Depends on where you hang out. I’ve known what Yakuza means for a long time, but I am also interested in Japanese culture. You’d probably be shocked to know that I knew what the SS was but was a teenager before I knew what Stasi meant. Thinking about it, TLC used to air a documentary on tattoos and Yakuza back around 2000. ---
**Author:** ![storyguide3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@storyguide3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyguide3)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/34 "2011-02-03T18:32:43Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Well, they do sort of. Jake Adelstein, a western reporter, wrote a pretty interesting book, “Tokyo Vice,” about his experiences covering the crime beat for a Japanese newspaper. Anyway, in it he talks quite a bit about the Yakuza and mentions that a lot of them carry business cards and operate fairly openly. Some even have offices akin to local Elks or Masonic lodges here in the U.S. > > Here’s a link to an NPR story about the book. > > [An American In Japan, Investigating The 'Tokyo Vice' : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2009/11/09/120237244/an-american-in-japan-investigating-the-tokyo-vice?ps=rs) I shall have to check that out when I get home from work. I had heard of Adelstein before as he is known in gaming cricles as the guy who got the yakuza to [review a video game about yakuza.](http://boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html) The man is made of balls. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/35 "2011-02-03T19:29:30Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Yup. That’s what a relationship beam does is confiscate your unit. Fortunately, some of us are immune to the Relationship Beam. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/36 "2011-02-03T19:53:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Fortunately, some of us are immune to the Relationship Beam. If life is anything like a romantic comedy, the beam is locked onto you and you just sealed your fate. A close relative is the 1920’s Style Death Beam, which hits you if you show a fellow solider pictures of your family, or mention that you’re three days from retirement. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/37 "2011-02-03T20:11:34Z")
> [@storyguide3](#): > > I shall have to check that out when I get home from work. I had heard of Adelstein before as he is known in gaming cricles as the guy who got the yakuza to [review a video game about yakuza.](http://boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html) The man is made of balls. Thank you very much for this link. I really enjoyed that. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/38 "2011-02-03T20:13:00Z")
In Japan, isn’t the term “Yakuza” the rough equivalent of the American term “gangster?” Whether or not you are officially in a Yakuza gang, the term generally implies someone who lives a criminal lifestyle. Or am I wrong about that? I would assume that Japanese people who are prejudiced against the tattooed assume that foreigners who have tattoos are or were criminals in their home country. Hell, they’re are plenty of Americans who still associate tattoos with criminals. And to be fair, lots of American criminals are heavily tattooed. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/39 "2011-02-03T20:26:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, I really don’t like it, or even remotely understand it. His wife also has a fair amount of tattooing. I heard the number $10,000 batted around at one time. At least he had the sense to make sure it can be covered up for job interviews, etc. When I see extensive tattoos, I think “ex-con”, and I’m sure most other people in the over-50 age group have the same mental reaction. He also has a buzz cut and a goatee, which sort of completes the image, even though he’s not a neo-Nazi or even a brawler. I wonder how he’ll feel about all that when he’s 65. . . Given how tattoos have become more common he’ll probably think it fairly normal. And he’ll complain about the “silly implanted video displays kids these days have, by God in my day we stuck to tattoos and liked it!” ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950/40 "2011-02-04T02:17:40Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > In Japan, isn’t the term “Yakuza” the rough equivalent of the American term “gangster?” Whether or not you are officially in a Yakuza gang, the term generally implies someone who lives a criminal lifestyle. Or am I wrong about that? The implication is a _yazuka_ type of gangster and not just a petty theft or an independent operator. [The caricature of a _yakuza_](http://moribe-lab.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-post_14.html)is the _punch perm_ scars and missing fingers. In a society with an extensive organized crime syndicate, such as Italy or Japan, there is the crime syndicate itself, and then the surrounding people around who help interface with the rest of society. These people are also called _yakuza_ At my first job, we had a client who seemed to be a normal businessman, but during a meeting he had to take a call and suddenly turned into fowl-mouthed, fire-breathing monster from hell, spewing out wild threats in the stereotypical _yazuza_ guttural voice and language. My boss and I looked at each other, and with a nod decided we were out of there. Sure, he may be just pretending, but why take a chance. > [@](#): > > I would assume that Japanese people who are prejudiced against the tattooed assume that foreigners who have tattoos are or were criminals in their home country. I don’t think so. [Japanese style tattoos](http://psyten.exblog.jp/9317372/), favored by the _Yakuza_ are different than Western tattoos, and there’s a different word for them, _irezumi_. Western tattoos are called by the English word “tattoo.” I don’t think you can assume a Japanese would look at a foreigner with a tattoo as a criminal. As more young people start getting Western style tattoos, any association with tattoos and criminals will become weaker, much as the previous association in the 70s and 80s with Mercedes with _yakuza_ has now completely gone away. _Yakuza_ still continue to drive Mercedes, but so many other people have them, it’s no longer a defining characteristic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-professor-if-people-in-japan-see-that-you-have-tattoos/569950.md?page=3)