Japan: Japanese men with full body tattoo, late 19th century, c. 1890s

Japan: Japanese men with full body tattoo, late 19th century, c. 1890s

Irezumi (???, ??, ??, ??, ??, ? or ??) is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark; a form of tattooing. The word can be written in several ways, each with slightly different connotations. The most common way of writing irezumi is with the Chinese characters ??? or ??, literally meaning to 'insert ink'. The characters ?? (also pronounced bunshin) suggest 'decorating the body'. ?? is more esoteric, being written with the characters for 'stay' or 'remain' and 'blue' or 'green', and probably refers to the appearance of the main shading ink under the skin. ? (meaning 'tattooing') is rarely used, and the characters ?? combine the meanings 'pierce', 'stab', or 'prick', and 'blue' or 'green', referring to the traditional Japanese method of tattooing by hand.

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3621 x 4862 px | 50.4 MB

30.7 x 41.2 cm | 12.1 x 16.2 in (300 dpi)