Wabori: Traditional Japanese Tattoo

A newbook on Japanesetattoosgetsdeep under theskin of the art's
greatest masters

SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMESDEC 7, 2013ARTICLE HISTORYPRINTSHAREIt may not
have been theirsolepurposes for visiting Japan during their respective
reigns, but Queen Victoria’s grandson George V and thelast emperor of
Russia, Nicholas II,bothreceivedtattoos on visits to Japan, despite the
government’s ban on acraft reservedprimarily for thebranding of
criminals. It may befair then, toassume thateven in thosedays it was
impossible to keep the techniques of Japanesetattoo masterssecret or
confined toold Tokyo’s sketchierparts of town,where Yoshiwara’s
courtesans andstreet ruffiansbecame thefirst irezumi (tattoo)
aficionados at the turn of thecentury.