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Japan Tattoo
Tattoos in Japanese Prints
SieboldHuis
Rapenburg 19, 2311 GE Leiden
The Netherlands
http://www.sieboldhuis.org
18 December 2009 -
7 February 2010 (extended for another week!)
The exibition
 The
Society for Japanese Arts wants to honour
its long-time Chairman professor Willem van
Gulik by presenting him the curatorship of
the exhibition ‘Japan Tattoo, tattoos in
Japanese prints’. An exhibition of over sixty
woodblock prints from the 19th century and
partly from the 20th century has been brought
together from museum collections and from
private collections of members of the society.
The event will be accompanied by several
lectures some with live demonstrations
from workers in the field plus a symposium
where several aspects will be put into focus.
Every Saturday there will be free guided tours at 11:30 hours.
Contact
for more information. History of tattooing in Japan
In the Western world a small or large body tattoo
has become very popular. It is quite unknown to
the general public that the habit of tattooing
started in Japan already in the 13th century as
penal tattooing applied to the face of
criminals. Around 1600 in the Tokugawa period
these shameful sanctions of the law were also
put on arms and the desire to hide these marks
gave way to innovative body decorations. This
developed into a fashion, so much so that the
law finally was abolished in 1870.
Tattoos in ukiyo-e
Japanese woodblock prints featuring tattooed persons
existed already around 1820. The real craze
started after the publication of a story about
Chinese Heroes some of which were tattooed. At
first only common people working with their
bodies partly uncovered like palanquin bearers,
firemen, otokodate (Robin Hood like
figures) and craftsmen (like carpenters) sported
tattoos. In the 19th century the Kabuki theatre
became increasingly popular and certain roles
where the central figure had a tattoo became
favourites of the supporters. The actors were
not tattooed themselves but wore body suits. The catalogue The
exhibition ‘Japan Tattoo, tattoos in Japanese prints’ will be accompanied by a full colour catalogue, an
Andon Special, featuring all the
prints on show and four scholarly articles written by experts on
the subject.
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