Have tattoos been common among Japanese people since ancient times? When did the current tattoo culture disappear? fashion?
2024-01-07
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Japan has had a tattoo culture since ancient times.
You may hear people say that Japan does not have a culture of tattooing, but tattooing is actually an ancient Japanese culture. In Gishi Wajinden, it is written that Wa people liked tattoos, and both men and women had tattoos on their faces and all over their bodies. People in China and the peninsula don't have tattoos. It is said that these things are not done due to Confucianism. This is not a recommendation. People who don't want to don't have to.
Influence from southern Asia?
Many cultures were introduced to Japan from southern China, and there were people living in what is now Southeast Asia in the southern part. The method of preserving fish in vinegared rice, which is the origin of sushi, is said to have come from Southeast Asia, where tattoos are common. Sake is said to have originated from southern China's Shaoxing wine, which was originally made from sake-brewing technology that was brought to Japan. Northern China has a field farming culture, and southern China has a rice farming culture.
Tattoos that have been banned since the Meiji era
Tattoos began to be banned in Japan due to the influence of Confucianism. Even so, Toyama Kinshiro Kagemoto of Toyama Kin-san had a tattoo. Even judges had tattoos back then. It is said that tattoos were completely banned after the Meiji Restoration. The reason is for westernization. Even in the West, some people got tattoos, but they were only one-point tattoos, and they were not tattoos that covered the entire body like in Japan at the time. Amid these regulations, Japan's tattoo culture was inherited by the world of chivalry.
Read it together
Sphinx and Nagaoki Ikeda. Samurai takes a commemorative photo of Egypt and visits the Suez Canal
Mysterious group of samurai in front of the Sphinx
Goes to France to apologize for Idogaya Incident
The Suez Canal is a huge waterway for the colonization of Asia
Edo shogunate that canceled the Paris Agreement
Edo shogunate's country opening theory
The first photo was taken by a samurai in front of the Sphinx in Egypt. It is often introduced as a humorous image. In the scorching heat of Egypt, wearing a crested hakama seems to convey the heat. The second photo is Nagafuku Ikeda, a foreign magistrate of the Edo Shogunate who was participating in this group.
In 1863, the Idogaya Incident occurred in Japan, where three ronin, believed to be members of the Joi group, murdered a French military officer near Yokohama. A 34-person delegation, including Nagafatsu Ikeda, traveled to France to apologize and make peace with the incident.
The group arrived in Paris, had an audience with Emperor Napoleon III, apologized to the French government for the incident, and paid 195,000 francs in support to the family.
The 34-member delegation arrived in Cairo from Suez via India from Shanghai on their way to Paris, where they posed for a commemorative photo in front of the Sphinx. This is a picture of a samurai in front of the Sphinx.
The Suez Canal is an bypass built by France to allow ships from Europe to go to Asia without passing through Cape Hope at the southern tip of Africa. Ikeda and his colleagues inspected it.
Afterwards, reconciliation with France was reached in Paris, and the group, recognizing the power of Western civilization, signed the Treaty of Paris, which promised the opening of three ports, including Yokohama, as free ports.
The Edo shogunate ordered a mission to negotiate the closure of Yokohama Port, but this was difficult due to French resistance. Nagafuku Ikeda, seeing the strength of Western culture, abandoned negotiations and concluded the Treaty of Paris.
After returning to Japan, Nagafuku Ikeda appealed to the shogunate about the importance of opening the country, but it was not accepted, and the shogunate, which had a policy of closing ports, canceled the Treaty of Paris, and as punishment, Ikeda's stone allowance was cut in half. Although Ikeda was later forgiven and returned to politics, he soon resigned from his post and died at the age of 42. What kind of truth did Ikeda see during this trip?
Ikeda Nagafuku, as a member of the Edo Shogunate, called for the opening of the country. He was a member of the shogunate, which was on the opposite side of Sakamoto Ryoma, Katsu Kaishu, and Saigo Takamori, who started the Meiji Restoration. It can be said that the scale of the Western Industrial Revolution was shocking.
The Meiji Restoration side looked overseas and considered the future of Japan, but the Edo shogunate tried to maintain isolation and the shogunate system. Ikeda, who saw the West with his own eyes, felt the same feeling as the young people on the Meiji Restoration side.
Enactment of the Organized Crime Countermeasures Act
Due to this background, tattoos came to be considered anti-social forces. This is now called Japanese culture. Furthermore, in Japan, the anti-organized crime law was enacted in １９９２, placing significant restrictions on the activities of anti-social forces in general society, and these groups are currently on the decline, with public baths now being sought after in the city. You no longer see people who were once members of organized crime groups.
Public baths where you cannot enter if you have a tattoo
Young people in Japan now have tattoos as a fashion item. In other words, they seem to be trying to create their own individuality by drawing something on their bodies, just like the Japanese of old. The pattern is a so-called tattoo that looks good on clothes. Tourists coming from foreign countries are told that if they have a tattoo, they won't be able to go to the traditional Japanese hot springs that they were looking forward to, so they wrap them in some kind of cloth to hide it, but they are told that the cloth is also bad. It seems that there are cases where the application is refused. On the contrary, it is said that young Japanese people with tattoos cannot go to hot springs, which is a part of Japanese culture.
Is it OK for men to take women's baths?
You may be wondering what I'm trying to say, but Japanese people need to protect the culture of public baths, which is unique to Japan, in a healthy manner. Nowadays, it seems that men who are women at heart are thinking about how to bathe women.
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Surprisingly few countries see the first sunrise of the year - The arrival of sunlight in Japan is connected to the sun worshiping Amaterasu Omikami
When I looked into how many countries have the custom of watching the first sunrise of the year, I found that it was fewer than I expected, with countries such as Mongolia, South Korea, Russia, the United States, and Canada mentioned. It is said that Russia, the United States, Canada, and other countries have a culture that spread from the Arctic Circle, so it is a so-called Inuit culture. There is a connection because the Inuit are said to be Mongoloids.
It is unclear why this custom spread to Korea, but the prevailing theory is that Japan's ethnic roots are Mongoloid or Caucasian, and I have seen the genetic theory of Lake Baikal. Although Lake Baikal is now part of Russia, it is thought that Mongoloid people lived at that time as well, and Kyrgyz folklore says that it was the Japanese who moved east and the Kyrgyz who moved west. . Even Japanese people are surprised at how similar Kyrgyz people are to Japanese people.
In Japan in particular, the first sunrise is also called goraiko and is considered a blessing, as it is associated with ancient Japanese beliefs. Japan's national flag is the Japanese flag and the sun. The Rising Sun Flag also has a deformed sun design to make it stand out. What does this originate from? It is a belief in the sun, which is a belief in nature. In other words, Amaterasu Omikami. Amaterasu Omikami, said to be the origin of the imperial lineage, is enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine, and there are many shrines dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami in various places. Currently, there is a debate about male-lineal succession, but if you trace the paternal lineage, you will reach the first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, and in fact, in mythology, you will reach Amaterasu Omikami. This has been the legitimate imperial line in Japan since the beginning of recorded history.
The reason that many Japanese people raise the national flag and sing the national anthem without learning anything about the history of the national flag and the Emperor (Imperial lineage), which are considered symbols of Japan, is a problem of education. Why aren't these basic things taught in elementary school? Taking up the Amanoiwato myth, the imperial lineage is written from Amaterasu Omikami, the sun god, and the sun is depicted on the Japanese flag. It's that simple.
The prohibition on religious education under the Constitution only prohibits propagating or excluding a specific religion, recommending conversion to any religion, or denying religion itself. There is no problem if you explain the customs and culture of the beginning of the year, such as Christmas, New Year's Eve bell, and the first sunrise of the year. At least many Japanese people enjoy Christmas, listen to New Year's Eve bells on New Year's Eve, and visit shrines on New Year's Day.
What do teachers who refuse to sing the national anthem teach children? Kimigayo is the very essence of Japanese culture that has been passed down since ancient times. ``Kimigayo'' is a tanka poem that appears in the Kokin Wakashu. In the Kokin Wakashu, it begins with ``Waga Kimi wa.'' It was put to music during the Meiji period, and officially became Japan's national anthem in 1999, when the ``Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem'' was enacted. Until then, it had been handed down from ancient times in Japan.
Does it matter for whom Kimigayo was composed? The main idea is to pray for the eternal prosperity of the other person's life, family, and descendants, and it is important that the concept of eternity is expressed as ``until the rocks turn into rocks and become covered with moss.'' It is included in the anthology of ancient and modern waka poems because its outstanding expressiveness moved people, and it has been passed down from generation to generation. If you were not familiar with the poems in the Heian period, it is clear that they had been written and loved long before that.
It was composed at various celebratory occasions, and it no longer matters who the author wrote it for. Since the Meiji era, songs have been written about You as the Emperor, and if you value His Majesty the Emperor, who is also a symbol of the Meiji Restoration, it is no wonder that people sing it like that.
If this song exists to help us imagine and pass on the spirituality of the ancient Japanese people when they prayed for the happiness of others, what on earth should Japanese educators teach? I wonder if it is.
The founding of Japan as seen from legends - The nation was unified by becoming subjects of the imperial line, rather than by the concept of national borders or ethnicity.
In mythology, the country of Japan is said to have originated from Awaji Island, where Izanagi and Izanami created islands from the drops that fell from the tip of their spears. The place where Ninigi no Mikoto's descendant descended is said to be Mt. Takachiho, which straddles Kagoshima and Miyazaki, and the legend of the founding of Japan first begins in western Japan.
During the pacification of Ashihara China, Ameno Kagase, who resisted the imperial lineage to the end, is said to have been cornered by Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi to the edge of what is now the Boso Peninsula, and Takemikazuchi was in Ibaraki Prefecture. There is Kashima Shrine, which is dedicated to the god of thunder, and Takemi Raijin is also known as the god of sumo. It is said that even the powerful Tsunetsu Nushikami and Takemika Raijin were unable to subdue Amatsu Onsei, and in the end it was subdued by the god of textiles named Takehazuchi. A male god is enshrined here.
For this reason, Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures are dotted with many Hoshigami shrines that enshrine Amatsu Onsei, who was a force of resistance to the imperial lineage. It is ironic that Kazuo Shii is a resistance force against the current imperial lineage, and that Shii Kazuo is from Yotsukaido City in Chiba Prefecture, that left-wingers have immigrated from all over the country during the Narita Struggle, and that powerful people of the Ritmin movement are from Chiba Prefecture.
Based on this premise, the current Tohoku region and Hokkaido are not included and are called Ezochi. Afterwards, Ezo was pacified and incorporated into Japan. What is important here is the criterion of whether or not a person becomes a vassal of the imperial line or not, and the current concept of borders and ethnic groups under international law does not exist in the first place.
It is said that many ethnic groups have come and lived in Japan since the Jomon period, and in Gishi Wajinden it is written that Wakoku was in contact with Inuya Korea, and in the Book of Later Han, it is said that Wakoku was in contact with the country of the peninsula by land. There are possible descriptions. It is said that Wakoku extended to part of the peninsula. There is also a theory that Wakoku was actually involved in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and although they deepened their friendship with Baekje and participated in the Battle of Hakusonko, they were defeated, and Japan accepted the Baekje people as refugees.
Historically, the prerequisite for being Japanese was whether or not a person would become a subject of the imperial line. Based on this premise, the first article of the Japanese Constitution states that the Emperor has been the symbol of Japan from the time the country was born to the present day. As a result, Japan is the country with the longest history in the world.
As a side note, Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa has no interest in what Japan is, he seems to have no interest in Japanese history, and he seems to have no intention of obeying the imperial line or the Japanese constitution.
Emperor Kanmu's mother was Takano Shinkasa, a descendant of the King of Baekje - Don't forget that the imperial family is inherited in the male line.
The mother of Emperor Kanmu during the Heian period was a person named Takano Shingasa, who was an immigrant from Baekje. The relationship between Japan and Baekje is often unknown, but it can be speculated that it goes back a long way. In ``Gishiwajinden,'' it is written that Wa (Japan) was in contact with Inuya Korea, which means that Japanese people lived in what is now the Japanese archipelago and the southern tip of the Korean peninsula.
Before that, it was a Japanese-style tumulus. Keyhole-shaped tombs have been discovered in the Baekje region of the Korean Peninsula. If we trace the spread of polished stone tools excavated from the Iwajuku Ruins in Japan, we can see evidence of their spread to the Korean Peninsula in chronological order. Baekje was destroyed in the Battle of Baekchonggang in 663 and retreated from the Korean Peninsula. At that time, many Baekje people fled to Japan.
The family was founded by Zenko, the son of King Uija, the last king of Baekje, and was given the surname of Baekje King as a Japanese clan. It is said that her descendant was the mother of Emperor Kanmu. My memory is that a woman from the imperial family married the King of Baekje when Baekje was on the Korean peninsula, but I tried looking for it but couldn't find it. The custom of taking a commoner as a wife dates back to the post-war period, and if until then you could not become the empress of the emperor without some sort of blood relation, then it means that you had a relative relationship before then.
There have been various debates about this theory, but it is not incorrect as it is mentioned on the birthday of His Majesty the current Retired Emperor that Emperor Kanmu's birth mother was a descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje. right. I actually heard these birthday messages, but I honestly remember being surprised at what His Majesty the Emeritus said.
Based on this, many people in Korea say that the Emperor is a descendant of Koreans, but this is only because the Emperor was a descendant of the King of Baekje during that generation, and the imperial family is inherited through the male line in the first place. , I can't trace my genealogy back to my mother. Moreover, since Baekje was destroyed on the Korean Peninsula, Japan was in a position to protect it. And since they chose to assimilate with the Japanese, they are not Koreans.
Japan is a maritime nation that knows everything about the sea - there is nothing we can learn from China and South Korea.
The reason foreigners who have eaten sushi in Japan say that Japanese sushi is different is not just the skill of the sushi chefs or the freshness of the fish. Japan's fishing industry is not just about collecting fish. Depending on the characteristics of the fish, the fish are caught during the season when they are at their fattest or when they are rich in nutrients before spawning.
Yellowtail is caught in various places in Japan, but it is said that the yellowtail caught in the area of Himi in Toyama Prefecture is the highest in Japan, and the reason for this is that melted snow from the Tateyama Mountain Range covers most of the areas where humans live. Because the yellowtail is nurtured in the mineral-rich seawater that flows into Himi Bay without passing through the water, it becomes a delicious yellowtail that is incomparable to any other. Japan's fishing industry has been carried out based on careful consideration of the fishing grounds, even the river water that flows from the mountains, and the knowledge of the temperature and temperature that changes depending on the seasonal flow of ocean currents.
Looking at the reactions of China and South Korea regarding the Fukushima treated water issue, it appears that although both countries have nuclear power plants, they do not have the engineers to develop the fundamentals. They probably purchased equipment from overseas, installed it, learned how to operate it, and then started generating electricity. Even if we say that we are building a nuclear power plant in our own country, we are not talking about the basic parts, we are doing things like minor changes in a car, but we are not talking about the actual radioactive materials, what is contained in the cooling water, etc. doesn't seem to know.
People are crying out that their country's fishing industry will suffer catastrophic damage, but Japan is one of the leading environmental conservation countries among developed countries and knows everything about fish ecology, ocean currents, and seasonal changes. It is safe to say that there is nothing to learn from China and South Korea. Then, the release into the ocean was started in collaboration with an international organization.
For the next 30 years, China and South Korea will live in fear of radioactivity, but this is not a problem that Japan perceives. Japan can only properly overcome the unprecedented nuclear power plant accident, release treated water, and continue its life as a maritime nation that catches delicious fish as before.
