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The a ncient history of tattooinG in Japan I R O N O O H M I - t E Y K U o O The earliest signs of the practice of tattooing in Japan are T o h f usually sought among the tribes of the Neolithic era now e known as the Jōmon period (c. 10,000 B.C. - 300 B.C.). t Because of the absence of documentary sources from the a a period itself and the often highly plausible character n t of references appearing in sources of a later date, our c t knowledge of the Jōmon period is completely derived i o from archaeological research. This mainly concerns the e o production of earthenware, in that period unglazed, n i t n made of soft clay and fired at a low temperature. g h i i s n Although the culture of the Jōmon period government was ruling over a homogeneous t was one of hunting and food gathering, Japanese archipelago in those days, yet o J implying the inconvenience of heavy baggage Jinmu-tennō’s enthronement, which is for groups that are constantly on the move, thought to have taken place in the year 660 r a a lot of earthenware was produced. Detailed B.C., is nowadays officially considered as the y p archaeological research has indicated that foundation of the Japanese Empire. 01 It is a the Jōmon people operated from small and believed that Jinmu-tennō was of divine temporary settlements, where seeds, nuts, descent, being the grandson of the sun n fruit and catch were processed and stored goddess Amaterasu. Tradition has it that the in pots. When moving to a new area, the troops of Jinmu-tennō invaded the central nomadic groups or tribes could obviously only region of Honshū, the great island of Japan, take along a few pots, so they had to produce from the southwest. This occurred between new ones whenever a new place of residence 670 B.C. and 660 B.C., an assumption based was chosen. on notes written down many centuries later. A large amount of Jōmon pots has been After having defeated several aboriginal excavated throughout Japan, especially in tribes, including the chief tribe of Nagasune- recent decades. A substantial number of the hiko, the invader settled in Kashiwabara. earthenware products show decorations that This was a small place at the foot of mount have been applied by impressing the surface Unebi in the Yamato district of Honshū. Some of the damp clay with cords. This method of time later it became the seat of the Imperial decorating is indicated by the term jōmon, court, despite the fact that the government literally ‘cord pattern’, which now has become did not rule over the whole country. During the name of the entire historic period in the following centuries, the government in question. Radiocarbon analyses have pointed Kashiwabara managed to expand its powers out that these earthenware products represent over large areas of the country, so eventually the oldest of its type known in the world the Yamato region became the centre of so far. Shards of a cooking pot with cord Japan. It held this position until the end of markings excavated in 1999 in Akita, north the eighth century. Japan, have now been carbon dated to 14,500 The aboriginals were driven to the B.C., which places the beginning of the Jōmon eastern and northern parts of the Island of period even further back. Honshū, in particular the region of Hidakami On account of the lack of factual (i.e. Hitakami), now forming the provinces of knowledge, the Jōmon culture has become Hitachi, Iwaki and Rikuzen. From there they subject of many speculations and discussions. repeatedly revolted against the invader and Even the existence of the Jōmon ruler his successors, and became known as Ebisu, Jinmu-tennō, who is currently adopted as the a term that stands for ‘Barbarians’. 0 first emperor of Japan, merely seems to have In Japan’s earliest chronicles we find 2 originated from legends and speculations a number of passages, hitherto unverified 0 formed and written down in later times. There and in some cases with dubious dates, is not a shred of evidence that a centralized revealing that from the very beginning of Best known for campaigns against the 01 See for Jinmu-tennō aboriginals is perhaps Sakanoe no (Jimmu-tennō) e.g. Papinot, E., Historical and Geographical Tamuramaro (758-811). He defeated the Ebisu Dictionary of Japan, pp. 227-228. in 801 and built the castle of Izawa in Mutsu, 02 Tajihi no Agatamori quelled a in order to offer resistance to their continuous revolt of the Ebisu in A.D. 720. incursions. Ōtomo no Otomaro was sent against rebelling Ebisu in the Through the centuries the number of northerly Mutsu, where he Ebisu gradually decreased until the aboriginals defeated the rebels in A.D. 791 with the aid of Sakanoe no formed an ethnic minority that was finally Tamuramaro. brought under complete subjection in the 03 See e.g. Gulik, W.R. van., Irezumi; eighteenth century. It is assumed that the The Pattern of Dermatography in Ainu populations now residing in Sakhalin, Japan, pp. 251-258. the Kurils and Hokkaidō, are remnants of the 04 Takayama, J., Jōmonjin no irezumi; Ebisu. The supposed relationship between Kodai Shuzoku o Saguru, Tokyo, 1969. the Ainu and Ebisu is partly founded on the resemblance of a number of geometrical motifs and patterns appearing in the culture of both people. These design motifs include some of those still used in contemporary Ainu tattoos and seem to originate from the early the Jinmu-tennō era several military ages of the Japanese Empire. At any rate, campaigns were held against the combative many excavated pots and clay figurines are aboriginal tribes. These campaigns are extant with decorations of the type of design known as Sei-i-shi (literally: sent against in question, mainly from the Latest Jōmon the Barbarians) and were led by famous period (1000 B.C.-300 B.C.). 03 commanders-in-chief such as Yamatotakeru The clay figurines, called dogū, have been no mikoto (dates uncertain, possibly A.D. the subject of much discussion, but it is now 81-113; mikoto i.e. lord, prince), Tajihi no generally assumed that the vast majority Agatamori (668-737) and Ōtomo no Otomaro represent deities associated with fertility. (731-809). 02 The first is considered one of Their motifs and patterns have been applied Japan’s most celebrated heroes of legendary by scratching the surface of the damp clay times. He is the main character of a famous with a sharp utensil. The faces of quite a few story that is based on an expedition to subdue of the figurines are decorated with concentric a revolt of the Kumaso, the aboriginals in lines around the eyes and the mouth. On the Kyūshū. On a day of festive activities of the bodies geometrical motifs and patterns can rebellious tribes the young and handsome usually be found, consisting of for instance Yamatotakeru no mikoto, disguised as a paired oblique lines, triangles, parallel lines, woman, managed to infiltrate a banquet of hatchings and spirals, very similar to the two Kumaso leaders, in spite of the tight design motifs found on many pots of the same security that was in force. He killed both period. Though the often grotesque-looking leaders with a dagger that he had held totemic dogū are products of the imagination, hidden under his clothes. Legend has it they are of course composed of visual that the aboriginals did not take revenge elements simply originating from real on Yamatotakeru. On the contrary, the everyday life. In other words, the body marks daring act commanded the aboriginals’ applied to the clay objects portraying human respect, whereupon they stopped their figures may simply represent embroidery revolt against the emperor. Among many or other kinds of decorations of the clothes other stories about Yamatotakeru is one worn those days, while the facial marks on that tells that the emperor sent him to the figurines most likely represent skin wage war against the Ebisu in the eastern decorations, perhaps including tattoos. There provinces of Honshū. When the legendary is no conclusive evidence for the presence hero crossed a prairie after negotiations of tattoo reproductions on the faces of the with the leaders of the aboriginal tribes, dogū figurines, but the idea is originated in their warriors set fire to the tall grasses Takayama Jun’s thorough study Jōmonjin no around him. Yamatotakeru got completely irezumi (‘Tattoos of the Jōmon people’). 04 surrounded by the fire, but managed to It concerns a comparison of the facial escape by mowing away the burning grasses markings of the dogū figurines with markings 0 with his sword, that after this event was appearing in the cultures of Taiwan, Southeast 2 called Kusanagi no Tsurugi, ‘Grass-cutting Asia and the Pacific islands. In spite of the 1 Sword’. lack of factual information on any pigment or F 0 I S O D A T t i 1 KORYŪSAI g 0 h h A man with kanji characters tattooed on his upper arms. e e Detail of a bookplate from Shikidō mizu no den, published 1770s. S 1 e 8 c t o h n d c e h n a t l u f r y o f

0 F 0 KATSUKAWA SHUNRŌ F 0 KATSUKAWA 8 i 1 ( i . e . Katsushika Hokusai) i 1 SHUNSHŌ 4 g 1 g 2 The actors Onoe Matsusuke I and Segawa Kikunojō III. The actor Onoe Matsusuke I as the A hosoban print published between 1781 and 1792. palanquin bearer Gohei. On his right arm is the character matsu, tattooed in dotted lines. A hosoban print published 11/1780. F 0 KATSUKAWA 0 i 1 SHUNKŌ 8 g 5 5 An ōban published c. 1787, depicting sumō wrestler Fudenoumi Kinemon, with Sakata tattoo, posing with sumō wrestler Kashiwado Kandayu.

Courtesy of the Bridgeman Art Library & Christie’s Images, London. T t h h e e

S 1 e 8 c t o h n d c e h n a t l u f r A second change concerns the development y of different types of tattoos. The works of art o printed between the late 1760s and 1800, including both single-sheet brocade prints f and black-and-white bookplates, not only depict tattooed vows, but also large characters in outlines and pure figurative tattoos, while for the same period there seem to be no records of prints or bookplates in which tattooed family crests are present. This does not necessarily mean that crest tattoos had completely disappeared. Perhaps this type simply had gone out of vogue. In the same period, the first examples of persons with two or more tattoos are recorded, as well as some prints showing tattoos placed on other parts of the body than just the arms. To avoid a tedious and lengthy enumeration of details, only a selection of the most relevant prints and book illustrations is discussed here. The other examples are mentioned in the footnotes or completely left out because of their marginal importance.

One of the earliest full-colour prints in which a tattoo appears is a medium-sized print (large chūban, 21 x 28.3 cm) by Suzuki Harunobu, with a shunga bathhouse scene. As we have already seen, the artist is considered as the pioneer of the brocade print. He was the leading artist of the 1760s and created a style all his own, poetic and sweet, thereby focussing on idealized beauty. The print in question was published in the late 1760s, at the height of the artist’s career. It is not signed in order to avoid 0 problems with the authorities. Generally 8 erotic works were left unsigned, but in 8 some of his shunga Harunobu took the risk. In those cases the signature appears 0 8 9

The early decades of the 19th century I R O N O O H M I - t E Y K U o O The practice of combining different types of tattoos t t h h and not restricting these to the upper arms any longer e e most likely originated in the 1790s, as is mentioned in the previous chapter. Such combinations also included e 1 figurative tattoos. 01 This development led to the a 9 figurative full-body tattoo style which was to become r t one of the most striking fads of nineteenth-century l h Japan. y c d e e n c t a u d r The development is also seen in shunga tattoo of the late Edo period, in spite of the e y prints by Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806), fact that the original source that indirectly s one of the most prominent artists at the turn gave rise to Hokusai’s illustrations had been of the century. For instance, in the artist’s known in Japan for many years. The original Ehon karanishiki (Picture-book of Chinese source is the Chinese novel Shuihu zhuan. o brocade), published in 1802, a boatman In Japan it is called Suikoden, ‘Tales of the f appears with three different tattoos on his water margin’. The first version of this arms. 02 The tattoos are placed at random and voluminous work was probably written or seem to be incoherent. One is representing compiled by authors using the pseudonyms a woman’s head much like the one in Torii of Shi Nai’an and Luo Guanzhong, at the end Kiyonaga’s book illustration mentioned of the Yüan period (1279-1368). The original before. compilation and a number of versions written A second interesting print to be brought during the two centuries that followed are up in this context is a shunga originating now unfortunately lost. The earliest extant from Utamaro’s Ehon hana fubuki complete version dates from 1589. (Picture-book of flowers in violent bloom), The novel deals with the legendary which was also published in 1802. In the exploits of a kind of Robin Hood gang of print a villainous figure appears whose freebooters, revolting at injustice and back is tattooed with the image of a skeleton struggling against corrupt government playing samisen, the three-stringed banjo- officials at the chaotic end of the Northern like instrument often played by female Song Dynasty (960-1125). The novel is entertainers (fig. 019, p. 099). 03 It certainly believed to have originated from a mixture of is among the earliest prints showing a tattoo fact and fiction. The brigands are said to have on the back of a person. One could say that had a hideout near the marshes of Liangshan the drawing technique used for this figurative in the western Shantung region. In an early back-tattoo is simple and rather amateurish, stage itinerant narrators spread the stories definitely beneath Utamaro’s artistic level, of the rebels’ adventures. Undoubtedly they but here the artist undoubtedly has have treated the subject matter in a creative deliberately chosen to copy the general way over the course of time, whereupon quality of the real-life tattoos of those days. the different stories were probably brought Utamaro’s two shunga, each after its own together in the 1360s. The compilation is fashion, perfectly reflect the innovative move one of China’s first long novels. tattooists and their clients made in the late The band was led by Song Jiang, starting eighteenth and early nineteenth century. with thirty-six companions and soon joined The next phase announced itself in 1805, by seventy-two sympathizers, including some when a special phenomenon emphatically women. They formed a virtuous group with 0 began to play an important role in the process. strict rules of conduct. All members had 9 That year a few illustrations by Hokusai withdrawn from society for different reasons. 0 marked the beginning of the crucial steps Their backgrounds, characters and skills towards the distinctive style of the Japanese varied a lot, but they shared idealistic woodblock-printed yomihon (a popular genre 01 Forrer, M., Hokusai, pl. 20; Tamabayashi, S., Irezumi hyakushi, of illustrated fiction, literally ‘books for p. 117. reading’), published in black-and-white. The 02 Uhlenbeck, C. and Winkel, M., first ten volumes are written by the famous et al., Japanese Erotic Fantasies; author Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848), who was Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period, followed by Takai Ranzan (1762-1838), and pl. 45c. the first sixty were illustrated by one of the 03 Utamaro’s print is illustrated in full size in Daruma, Japanese Art most prominent artists of the time, Katsushika & Antiques Magazine, 1998, no. 08 Hokusai (1760-1849). In total the publication 19, p. 47, fig. 3; For notes on the picture-book, see e.g. Uhlenbeck, spanned thirty-three years. Katsushika Taitō II C. and Winkel, M., et al., op. cit., p. (active 1821-1853) took care of the illustrations 136. beginning with volume sixty-one. 09 Of course 04 Shih Chin (Jap.: Shishin), the four tattooed heroes of the original Chinese Lu Chih-shen (Jap.: Rochishin), Chang Shun (Jap.: Chōjun) and version also appear in these illustrated Yen Ch’ing (Jap.: Ensei). volumes. Hokusai depicted them in a Chinese 05 Written by Tatebe Ayatari style, in vivid lines, with their characteristic (1718-1773) and published in tattoos on the upper part of their bodies. ten volumes. From the publication of the very first volume 06 Written by Itan Chin-en and onward, the four were the favourites of the published 1780. reading public. 07 The picture book is entitled intentions and were always thinking in terms In 1807 again a set of volumes was Suiko ga senran, ‘A hidden view of stepping into breach for the poor. Four of published, but then sequel volumes did not to pictures of the water margin’. 04 the rebels were decorated with tattoos. appear until 1828. The reason for the 08 The earliest volumes of Hokusai’s Shinpen Suiko gaden were The rebels’ adventures, their skills in martial lengthy interval remains unclear. It is published by Kadomaruya Jinsuke. arts and wrestling, and above all their honour, common knowledge that Hokusai and Bakin 09 See Sotheby’s catalogue loyalty and strong ties of brotherhood were have quarrelled over the Suikoden volumes, Collection Huguette Berès, the main ingredients that led to the enormous most likely concerning financial matters, but Paris, 2002, nr. 211, for detailed 1 descriptions of the Shinpen Suiko success of the novel. at least until /1815 the two worked together gaden volumes. It seems that the Chinese novel reached on several projects, while in the meantime 10 According to notes by the Japan at the beginning of the eighteenth their Suikoden publications had come to a cataloguer of the Tsubouchi century. At any rate, Japanese editions began standstill. Memorial Museum collection of Waseda University, the play to appear in the first half of that century. was performed at the Ichimura One of the first was a version with a simplified When it comes to the continuation of Theatre in 1809. Reference is made to a literary work written text, written by Okajima Kanzan (d. 1727), the development of tattooing from the early by Santō Kyōden (1761-1816). to unlock the Chinese novel to the Japanese 1800s up to the late 1820s, a small number See Waseda University collection number 201-0760; Toyokuni’s readership. Similar versions followed and of works of art give us something to go on. print might be the first depicting soon the novel was a favourite among literati. The recorded examples are important and of a tattoo belonging to a character In 1773 the first full adaptation for Japan was appearing in a kabuki play. much interest, as they indicate that figurative Although in the preceding years written, tailored to the general public. It was full-body tattoos already existed in the 1810s tattoos were occasionally called Honchō Suikoden, ‘Our own tales of mentioned in scripts and and early to mid 1820s. It implies that such consequently probably shown on 05 the water margin’. In no time this version tattoos predated the ones depicted on the stage, they apparently were not famous Suikoden prints designed by Utagawa represented in prints. For instance, of the exciting adventures of the hundred in the script for the play Onna and eight brigands was widely disseminated Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) between 1827 and goroshi abura no jigoku, written circa 1836 (see hereafter). The facts are as by Chikamatsu Monzaemon among the citizens of the towns and villages (1653-1724), a tattoo is of Japan. After its publication several variants follows. mentioned. Originally the play was a puppet play, premiered appeared, including Onna Suikoden, a version The earliest of the gathered examples 7/1721 at the Takemoto Theatre. in which women are the principal characters is an ōban print by Utagawa Toyokuni I In the same month it was adapted 06 for the kabuki and staged at the of the story. In 1777 a Suikoden-related (1769-1825), depicting the actor Onoe Naka Theatre, but a related picture-book was published. It included a Eisaburō as Mamushi no Kichi (i.e. Jirokichi). print depicting the tattoo is The character appears in act one of the not recorded. See Pons, P., brief summary of the original story and was Peau de Brocart; Le Corps illustrated by Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788), play Sandai banashi totoya no chawan and Tatoué au Japon, p. 34. who produced a number of drawings of the occasionally in plays of the Soga genre, such as leading characters. 07 Tamakushige akebono Soga. The performance By the first decade of the nineteenth of the scene shown in Toyokuni’s print is not century both the Chinese and Japanese recorded in current kabuki annals, but we Suikoden had become extremely popular and know from an old literary work that the print 10 in 1805 the rage was further enhanced with was published in 1809. We also know that 0 the appearance of the first of ninety-one it predates the eleventh month of that year, 9 volumes of Shinpen Suiko gaden, ‘Newly the date on which the actor changed his name 1 compiled illustrated Suikoden’. It involves a to Onoe Matsusuke II. t t h h e e e 1 a 9 r t l h y c d e e n c t a u d r e y s o f

1 F 0 UTAGAWA 0 i 2 KUNIYOSHI 0 g 1 Tanmeijirō Genshōgo in an underwater-fight with a high-ranking general. One of the most lauded prints from the ōban series Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori, published 1827-1830 by Kagaya Kichiebei. 1 0 1 t t h h e e e 1 a 9 r t l h y c d e e n c t a u d r e y s o f

1 F 0 UTAGAWA 0 i 2 KUNIYOSHI 2 g 2 Pilgrims at their visit of the Rōben waterfall at Ōyama.

An ōban triptych published by Azumaya Daisuke, c. 1819. 1 0 3 Detail of the centre panel of figure Detail of the right-hand panel of figure 022. 022.

Tattooed pilgrims performing acts of Tattooed pilgrims performing acts of ritual purification at the Rōben waterfall. ritual purification at the Rōben waterfall. t t h h e e e 1 a 9 r t l h y c d e e n c t a u d r e y s o f

1 0 4 1 0 5

osaka I R O N O O H M I - t E Y K U o O Until the late 1950s the authors of books on Japanese O S prints have paid little or no attention to ukiyo-e produced a in the cities of Kyoto and Osaka (i.e. the Kamigata region) k between the late 1780s and the 1870s. Even in Japan a only a handful of the early publications was devoted to the ukiyo-e oeuvre of the artists active in these two cities. Genji Kuroda’s important and voluminous work Kamigata-e ichiran, published in 1929, is one of the few exceptions. Unfortunately it is only available in Japanese and therefore not easily accessible to many interested western readers. Information from other early books is scarce, usually concise and often far from accurate.

Scholars and art critics have certainly placed in its historical context and neglected this particular group of ukiyo-e thereupon it might shed some new light for a long time. Initially, the vast majority on the development of tattooing. With that of the collectors of Japanese prints showed knowledge the present author began to list no interest either. The reasons for all this and examine Osaka tattoo prints. The results are clearly pointed out by Roger Keyes and of this initial study were published in 2002. 01 Mizushima Keiko in their standard work The The research was confined to the prints Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, published in produced in Osaka, since tattoo prints 1973. Briefly it amounts to this: ‘Osaka prints originating from Kyoto appear to be extremely are scarcer than Edo prints, they were hardly rare. 02 Hence in the following we will deal available to the first collectors, scholars and exclusively with Osaka prints. The results of dealers, who bought their first prints in the the small study here may serve as a guideline. nation’s capital Edo, and Osaka prints almost As noted before, print design in Osaka invariably have as their subject matter the was strongly interwoven with the kabuki favourite actors of the kabuki theatre’. theatre, and simply because of the absence Meanwhile things have changed. In the of Suikoden-related plays the prints were past forty years quite a few publications have not greatly affected by the Suikoden craze, appeared dealing exclusively with the print as they were in Edo. In addition it can be production in Osaka and Kyoto during the inferred from the examined prints that some late eighteenth and the nineteenth century. stages of the tattoo development in Edo may Numerous publications by Prof. Matsudaira have preceded the corresponding stages in Susumu, the undisputed authority in the Osaka. Furthermore, prints depicting actors field of Osaka and Kyoto prints, became represented as tattooed labourers, fishmongers, available, but also several books, articles otokodate, and firemen, but not referring to an and catalogues by others can be added to actual performance or even to a kabuki play the publications mentioned above. All of at all, were very popular in Edo in the 1850s these have in common a great devotion, and 1860s, but are almost completely absent enthusiasm, and a fundamental aim at a from Osaka printmaking. In other words, the high degree of accuracy. Thus we now dispose characteristic features of the tattoo prints of much solid information on the subject, from Edo and Osaka show similarities as well although it took until 2002 (see hereafter) as differences, in each case highly dependent before it was linked specifically to the history on the phase of development. Nevertheless of tattooing in the Kamigata region. it is clear that they mutually influenced one In the majority of the books on Japanese another and that both contributed to the tattooing the print oeuvre of the Kamigata development of a distinct Japanese tattooing artists is completely neglected. This is style. 1 surprising, since the prints in question are 0 almost invariably related to actual kabuki Between the late 1780s and the 1870s, 6 performances that are precisely datable. an estimated one hundred and fifty artists Consequently any depicted tattoo can be contributed to the print production in Osaka. kabuki fans. The artist’s work was unique in 01 Doesburg, W.J. van., Osaka style and characterized by rather solid figures tattoos. In: Andon, Bulletin of the Society for Japanese Arts, aptly rendered by means of bold and powerful no. 72-73, pp. 102-113. lines. Most of his single-sheet prints show a 02 One recorded example is a subdued colouration. Generally he used only black-and-white koban print by four or five colour-blocks for each print. Shigehiro (active 1848-1854). It depicts Kataoka Ichizō I as Jirozō, Despite Ryūkōsai’s small output, only a few with a tattoo on his upper arms. books and about forty single-sheet prints The small print is related to the performance of Seishū Akogi ga are known today, his oeuvre has definitely ura at the Shijō Kitagawa Theatre, 11 influenced a generation of following Osaka /1851, and published in Kyoto by Sakuraji. artists. Not only did the works themselves serve as a guideline, Ryūkōsai’s specific ideas 03 The sketchbook remained unpublished, but the original about drawing faces and poses of actors, survived. It was once part of the which he specified in a sketchbook, were Okada Isajirō collection and is discussed by Haruyama 03 also passed on to his pupils and followers. Takematsu: Ryūkōsai to Shōkōsai, Naniwa nishiki-e no kenkyū. Ryūkōsai started his career in the In: Tōyō bijutsu, 1931, pp. 1-42; mid-1770s as a pupil of the painter Shitomi the present whereabouts of the Kangetsu (1747-1797). After he left the sketchbook seem to be unknown. studio of Kangetsu, in the early 1780s, 04 The manuscript Osaka dachin uma is compiled by Soketsuan Ryūkōsai soon became known as a painter Yūdōsanjin. Some of the artists are known for only one and illustrator. A manuscript entitled Osaka 05 The ōban is published 2/1792; print or a dozen at most, others have produced dachin uma (dated 1783) includes some See e.g. Gerstle, C.A., Kabuki 04 a few hundred prints or more. After having notes on the artist. The compiler mentions heroes on the Osaka stage examined thousands of Osaka prints in a vogue for folding fans with actor portraits 1780-1830, p. 84 and pl. 33. collections, illustrated books and catalogues, painted by Ryūkōsai who lives at Kameibashi ninety tattoo prints were identified. This in Kita-horie. He adds that the artist is known very small percentage can be explained from for his unique way of capturing the likeness the fact that almost every Osaka print has of an actor and for drawing the pose of the the kabuki theatre as its subject matter. actor in compliance with special wishes of the Non-theatrical subjects are only seldom patron. Unfortunately very few of the artist’s seen. Considering the total number of roles paintings have survived. performed during the period concerned, Ryūkōsai’s earliest datable work is an we may assume that the small percentage of illustration in Kyōka narabi no oka, a poetry tattoo prints is in line with the small number anthology with illustrations by different of plays in which tattoos are shown. In addition artists. The book was published in 1777. we should note that such plays achieved great The first datable graphic work of which all success and hence caught the attention of illustrations are by Ryūkōsai is an album competing artists and publishers. Usually this published in 1784. It is entitled Yakusha resulted in the publication of at least a few mono-iwai, ‘A celebration of actors’, containing different prints related to one performance. forty-nine full-length portraits of actors As the artists preferably chose the highlights produced in black-and-white. All figures are of a play for their prints, we may assume that accompanied by a haiku verse and by the a tattooed character appearing in a play as actor’s stage-clan name and pen name. In the a rule would also be represented in prints. early 1790s Ryūkōsai began to design single- Starting from the prints it was thus possible sheet actor prints, apparently stimulated by to compile a fairly complete overview of the the popularity of actor prints by artists of the appearances of tattoos in plays staged in Katsukawa school in Edo. Osaka. Combined with information originating As far as we know Ryūkōsai’s single-sheet from kabuki annals this has given us some prints are the earliest nishiki-e produced in insight into the historical development of Osaka. The earliest print dates from 11/1791 tattooing in Osaka. As a consequence we can and most of the others were published up to put the increasing popularity of tattooing in 4/1794. All of his prints are in the small and Japan in that period in a wider context. narrow hosoban format (c. 33 x 14.5 cm), except for one ōban. 05 Since in Edo from the The popularity of actor prints in Osaka early 1770s up to the early 1790s the hosoban has its origin in the last quarter of the format was by far the most popular format eighteenth century. During these years for actor prints, it seems no coincidence that 1 single-sheet prints and book illustrations by Ryūkōsai has chosen this paper format for 0 the artist Ryūkōsai Jokei (active 1777-1809?) his introduction of single-sheet actor prints 7 increasingly drew the attention of the local to the kabuki fans in Osaka. The prints were O S a k a

1 F 0 S H U N B A I S A I 2 i 2 HOKUEI 0 g 9 Actors portrayed as Suikoden heroes.

A surimono-style ōban tetraptych published c. 11/1835 by Kinkadō Konishi. A mitate scene showing from left to right Arashi Rikan II as Rōrihakuchō Chōjun, Nakamura Tomijūrō II as Ko Sanjō Ichijōsei, Nakamura Utaemon III as Nyūunryū Kō Sonshō, and Nakamura Shikan II as Kyūmonryū Shishin. 1 2 1 j t a o p d a a n y e s e t a t t o o Now tattooists who lived in Yokohama, i a district of Tokyo where many foreigners n sojourned, were allowed to resume their work, on the condition that they tattooed g foreign clients only. Their tattooing style and technique were at a high level and soon many foreigners found their way to Japan’s leading tattooists. These did not only include seamen, businessmen and tourists who came to Japan, but also quite a few members of the Western aristocracy. Even Prince George I of Greece, King George V, Nicolas II, later tsar of Russia, and Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, had themselves tattooed in Japan. Stimulated by the legalized tattooing of foreigners and the ban on tattooing Japanese people, the illegal tattooing of Japanese fellow- countrymen expanded and was practiced on a fairly large scale as early as the 1880s. The ordinance of 1872 may thus have produced little effect, but in any case tattooing continued to be officially prohibited to the Japanese. This situation would last until 1948. In that year an official of the Occupation Government of General MacArthur revoked the Meiji prohibition against tattooing, since he considered tattooing as important as other indigenous arts of Japan. He came to this point of view after having seen tattoo master Horiyoshi II (Tamotsu Kuronoma, 1914-1991) demonstrating his skill and artistic talent. The revocation of the old official tattoo ban led to an upsurge of tattooing, initially with traditional tattoos playing the leading part. Traditional tattoos were favourite among 1 yakuza, who in this time of rationing of 7 numerous products managed to earn enough 6 money with shady business to afford full-body tattoos. U H K O I R Y I VAn d THE O M collection - O E N O t o er v el er d en

1 7 7 t c h o e l l v e a c n t i d o e n r

v e l d e n

All the prints included in this section have been selected from Print sizes: the Van der Velden Collection of Japanese woodblock prints, ōban, appr. 26 x 38 cm a collection primarily focusing on ukiyo-e depicting tattoos. chūban, appr. 19 x 26 cm The selection has been composed from the perspective of koban, appr. 9 x 12 cm giving the reader insight into the fascinating and fashionable world of tattooing in nineteenth-century Japan. The reader In other cases dimensions are given in centimetres, should note that the prints are not arranged in chronological with height preceding width. order but after the ideas of the designers of this publication, in order to create a balanced and aesthetic visual unity. C 0 Y O S H I T O S H I Title: Shikason tsukiyo Kyūmonryū The represented man is one of the most famous heroes of A 0 (1839-1892) (Kyūmonryū Shishin on a moonlit night the Suikoden novel. He is usually shown in a feat of strength, in the village of the Shi-clan). but here he is sitting quietly on a bench. The hero’s tattoo is T 1 Series: Tsuki hyakushi composed of nine dragons covering large areas of the body (One hundred aspects of the moon) and is among the examples frequently admired and followed Signed: Yoshitoshi by tattoo fans. Artist’s seal: Yoshitoshi Publisher: Akiyama Buemon Date: Meiji 18, eleventh month (i.e. 11/1885) Block carver: Yamamoto Eizō (seal Yamamoto tō) Size: ōban C 0 KUNICHIKA Ichimura Kakitsu IV. In one of the tattoos shown in the prints of this set of ten a A 0 (1835-1900) dragon is depicted, in all of the others floral motifs appear. Series: Edo no hana isami zoroi The dragon tattoo is not represented as if it were a real tattoo, T 3 (Flowers of Edo, a set of chivalrous men) but as a painted or printed decoration on a short-sleeved shirt Signed: Kunichika hitsu worn by the actor Bandō Hikosaburō V. Artist’s seal: Toshidama Publisher: Shimizuya (trademark Kiyo, in the publisher’s name read as Shi) Date/censor’s seal: 5/1865 (an intercalary month), aratame Number: 1 Size: ōban C 0 KUNICHIKA (Clockwise) Nakamura Fukusuke II, Sawamura Tosshō II, A 0 (1835-1900) Bandō Mitsugorō VI, Ichikawa Kodanji IV. T 4 Series: Edo no hana isami zoroi (Flowers of Edo, a set of chivalrous men) Signed: Kunichika hitsu Artist’s seal: Toshidama Publisher: Shimizuya (trademark Kiyo, in the publisher’s name read as Shi) Date/censor’s seal: 6/1865 (an intercalary month), aratame 7/1865, aratame (no. 10) Numbers: 7, 8, 9, 10 Size: ōban C 0 KUNICHIKA Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Kyūmonryū Shishin (l.) and Ichikawa This triptych and the two following are related to a very A 2 (1835-1900) Sadanji I as Kaoshō Rochishin (r.), in the play Suikoden no successful performance of a kabuki play incorporating a danmari, Shintomi Theatre, 5/1886. stylised choreographed version of a fight between two famous T 9 Suikoden heroes. The performance attracted many visitors, Signed: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu not only because of the fascinating movements and poses laid Artist’s seal: Toshidama down in its choreography, but also because of the elaborate Publisher: Komiyama Shōhei tattoos shown on the stage, one with cherry blossoms and the Date: 5/1886 other with dragons, adding a very striking visual element to Block carver: Noguchi Enkatsu (seal chōkō Enkatsu) the scene. Size: ōban triptych

C 0 H I R O S A D A Kataoka Gadō II (l.) as Heiji and Kataoka Ichizō I as Jirozō (r.), In this scene of the present play Jirozō is hit on his right lower 10 A 3 (active as print artist Hirosada in the play Seishū Akogi ga ura, Ōnishi Theatre, /1851. leg by a stone thrown by Heiji. The first, who is grasping his right leg with both hands, is sporting a magnificent tattoo with T 7 1847-1853) Title: Akogi monogatari (The story of Akogi) a pattern of whirlwinds and cherry blossoms and the head of a Signed: Hirosada woman holding a letter between her lips. Date: 10/1850 Size: chūban diptych

C 0 K U N I S A D A Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as tobi (firefighter) Sakichi, in the play Only a few months after the publication of this print Kunisada 7 A 3 (i.e. Toyokuni III, 1786-1864) Hachiman matsuri yomiya no nigiwai, Ichimura Theatre, /1860. included a print depicting the same actor and role in a series of half-length portraits (see hereafter). On the whole the T 8 Title: Go-sairei (festival; referring to the decorations on the actor’s clothes are similar in the two prints, autumn festival at the Hachiman Shrine) but the motifs in the tattoos differ, making clear that ukiyo-e Signed: Toyokuni ga artists not always exactly copied what was shown in kabuki. Publisher: Ebiya Rinnosuke Date/censor’s seal: 8/1860, aratame Size: ōban C 0 K U N I S A D A Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as Omatsuri Sashichi (i.e. Sakichi). In the tattoo on the actor’s right arm are the back, tail feathers A 3 (i.e. Toyokuni III, 1786-1864) and a wing of a phoenix, referring to the feather robe Series: Shin butai isami no yakuwari (hagoromo) of feminine Buddhist angels. T 9 (New theatre with actors as In the upper part of the print the strong wood grain of the block chivalrous men) for dark grey can be seen. The text in the circular cartouche Signed: Toyokuni ga deals with the role of Sashichi. It is written by Hananoya Kōju. Publisher: Kiya Sōjirō (seal Bakurō-shi Kiya han) Date/censor’s seal: 10/1860, aratame Block carver: Yokogawa Takejirō (seal Yokogawa hori Take) Size: ōban C 0 YOSHIHARU The hero Rōshi Ensei standing on a rock by the sea. This powerful print and the next two are from a series of six or A 5 (1828-1888) more, much in the style of the Suikoden prints by Yoshiharu’s Series: Suikoden gōketsu kagami teacher Kuniyoshi. Apparently the artist was a tattoo devotee, T 2 (Mirror of heroes of the Suikoden) seeing that flamboyant tattoos in this series are shown in five Signed: Ichibaisai Yoshiharu ga of the six prints recorded. Publisher: Yamaguchiya Tōbei (seal Yamaguchi, with trademark) Date seal: 12/1856 Censor’s seal: aratame Size: ōban C 0 YOSHIHARU The Suikoden hero Rōrihakuchō Chōjun fighting a dragon. A 5 (1828-1888) Series: Suikoden gōketsu kagami, T 3 (Mirror of heroes of the Suikoden) Signed: Ichibaisai Yoshiharu ga Publisher: Yamaguchiya Tōbei (seal Yamaguchi, with trademark) Date seal: 12/1856 Censor’s seal: aratame Size: ōban C 0 SHIGEHIRO Nakamura Fukusuke III as Sanjaku Fukuroku (l.), Onoe Tamizō II Although this triptych is dating from the period following the A 6 (active 1865-1878) as Baikaku Tamazō (centre) and Jitsukawa Enjaku I as Karigane hey-day of Osaka printmaking, it is showing a strong design no Enkichi (r.). and striking tattoos. The actors are portrayed as firefighters T 7 holding a standard (matoi). The characters have fanciful names, Title: Kawatake yūfu mitate which indicates the three prints are not related to a kabuki (A mitate of the valiant men of performance but simply and solely designed as fashionable Kawatake) portraits of popular actors. Signed: Ryūō Shigehiro, and kakihan seal Publisher: Tamanoi (seal Tamanoi han) Date: c. 1877 Size: chūban triptych

C 0 K U N I S A D A Nakamura Fukusuke II as Danshichi Kurobei. In Danshichi’s tattoo a dragon is confronting a tiger. A 8 (i.e. Toyokuni III, 1786-1864) The composition is completed with stylised clouds, wind, Series: Mitate yami no zukushi flames, rocks and clusters of leaves of a sasa bamboo. T 0 (A mitate of night scenes) These motifs form a traditional combination in which the Subtitle: Natsu no yami (Summer darkness) confrontation of the two animals here may express that the Signed: Toyokuni ga mythological animal’s power is stronger than that of the tiger, Publisher: Hayashiya Shōgorō (trademark Shō) since the dragon takes a prominent place in the tattoo in this Date: 4/1855 powerful print by Kunisada. Censor’s seal: aratame Block carver: Yokogawa Takejirō (seal hori Take) Size: ōban

2 8 3

Glossary of Japanese terms I R O N O O H M I - t E Y K U o O Ainu Japanese people of an old race G J akebono-mikiri fading of colour over a wide area L A aragoto a bombastic style of acting O P azami thistle bakuto itinerant gamblers S A baren disc-shaped printing pad S N beni-e eighteenth-century hand-coloured print A E benizuri-e mid-eighteenth-century two-colour print R S bijin beautiful woman Y E biwa a lute-like instrument bokashi graded colour O T botan tree peony botan-mikiri a tattoo-border modelled after tree-peony petals F E bugaku ‘dance-music’, court dance and music R bunraku puppet theatre M butsugiri tattoo with a hard edge S chiku bamboo chōnin ‘townsmen’, merchants and craftsmen chūban a paper format, appr. 19 x 26 cm daikon a large white radish daimyō feudal lord daimyō-bikeshi fire brigades serving feudal lords dengaku ‘field-music’, folk dances, rustic celebrations dōgu clay figurines Edo modern Tokyo eguri chest tattoo showing a low neckline ehon illustrated book eta ‘highly dirty ones’, social outcasts ga picture, drawn by gaen servant fireman geiko female professional entertainer geisha female professional entertainer gigaku ‘skill-music’, masked drama-dance performance gō pseudonyme, nom de plume gofun opaque white pigment made from shells haigō name used by actors for signing poetry haiku seventeen-syllable poem han published by hana-fuda a popular card game with floral designs hanamichi ‘flower-path’, the catwalk of kabuki hanebori hand-tattooing with feathering motions hanga woodblock print haniwa a burial mound clay figure hanmoto publisher, published by hanshita-e a finished design ready for carving hanten a half-length coat, often padded haori a formal jacket varying in length happi a lightweight hip-length coat hiiki renjū fan club 2 8 hikae tattooing of the shoulders and upper breast 4 hinin ‘non-humans’, social outcasts hitsu drawn by hō-ō a fabulous phoenix-like animal hori carved by, engraved by, tattooed by horimono a tattoo, tattooing horimono-shi tattoo master horishi carver, tattooist, tattoo master hōsho a type of thick soft and strong kōzo paper hosoban a paper format, appr. 33 x 14.5 cm hosokawa a type of kōzo paper used for woodblock prints ikebana traditional Japanese flower arrangement irebokuro ‘putting in a mole with ink’, tattooed love dots irezumi ‘application of ink’, often denoting penal tattoos jigoku hell jō-bikeshi professional fire brigades jōmon cord pattern jōruri chanted narration kabuki Japan’s popular theatre kaen flames kagura ‘god-music’, Shintō shrine dances kai-awase a traditional shell-game kai-ōi a traditional shell-game kajibanten a fireman’s coat kakemono hanging scroll kakemono-e vertical ōban diptych kame tortoise kame no kō ‘turtle back’, tattooing of the back and buttocks kami spirit Kamigata Kyoto-Osaka region kamuro a young girl apprenticed to a courtesan kana-zōshi a popular genre of fiction kanji Chinese characters used in Japanese kaomise opening of the new theatre season kappa a mythical creature, a water monster karashishi a mythical animal, a lion-dog karasu-tengu a mountain goblin kawakiri ‘skin cutters’, moxa pellets kawara-mono ‘riverbed people’, discriminated citizens keisei courtesan ken a type of double-edged straight sword kendō ‘the way of the sword’, a martial art kentō register mark kiku chrysanthemum kimono Japan’s traditional T-shaped garment kishōbori a tattooed vow or pledge kitsune fox koban a term used for various small paper-formats koi carp kōmori bat kōzo paper made from mulberry fibres 2 kumadori a stylised make-up used in kabuki 8 kumo cloud 5 I A L N L D U S B T I R B A L T I I O O G N R A C P R H Bibliography E Y Bowers, F., Edmunds, W.H., D Japanese Theatre. Pointers and Clues to Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art. I Tuttle Co., Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, 1974. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1934. T S Carella, A.L., Fagioli, M., Il fuoco sulla pelle; l’arte del tatuaggio Shunga, images du printemps. tradizionale giapponese, Europalia catalogue, Musée d’Ixelles, Castelvecchi Editore, Roma, 2011. Bruxelles, 1989.

Clark, T. and Ueda, O., Fagioli, M., The Actor’s Image; Print Makers of the Shunga; Stampe Erotiche Giapponesi. Katsukawa School. Cantini publ., Firenze, 1990. The Art Institute of Chikago, Chikago, 1994. Fellman, S. and Thomas, D.M., Crighton, R.A., The Japanese Tattoo. The Floating World; Japanese popular prints New York, Abbeville Press, 1986. 1700-1900. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1973. Fiorillo, J., Hashimoto, R. and Menon, S., An electronic transmission analysis of metallic Daily, M.C., particles in nineteenth century Japanese Utagawa Kuniyoshi. woodblock prints. Springfield Museum of Fine Arts exhibition In: Andon 65, Bulletin of the Society for catalogue, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1980. Japanese Arts, Leiden, 2000.

Doesburg, W.J. van., Forment, F. and Brilot, M., ed., Ōsaka Kagami, Huys den Esch publ., Tatu-Tattoo! Dodewaard, 1985. Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Brussel, 2004. Doesburg, W.J. van., Osaka tattoos. In: Andon 72-73. Bulletin of Forrer, M., the Society for Japanese Arts. Leiden, Hokusai. 2002. Rizzoli publ., New York, 1988.

Doesburg, W.J. van., Forrer, M., et al., 2 What About Kunisada?, Hokusai and his school. 9 Huys den Esch publ., Dodewaard, 1990. Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem, 1982. 6 2 9 7

Date and censorship seals, 1791-1875 I R O N O O H M I - t E Y K U o O Censors’ seals d s 01. kiwame (approved) 1791-1842 a e (the square variants only on special issues such as fan prints) t a 02. Take (Takeguchi Shōemon) 1842 e l 03. Taka (Takano Shinemon) 1842 s 04. Fu (Fukatsu Ihei) 1843-1845 05. Tanaka (Tanaka Heijirō) 1843-1845 A , 06. Watari (Watanabe Jiemon) 1843-1845 N 07. Mura (Murata Heiemon) 1843-1845 D 1 08. Hama (Hama Yahei) 1843-1846 09. Yoshimura (Yoshimura Gentarō) 1843-1846 7 10. Muramatsu (Muramatsu Genroku) 1843-1846 c 9 11. Kinugasa (Kinugasa Fusajirō) 1845-1846 e 1 12. Murata (Murata Heiemon) 1846 13. Hama and Kinugasa 1847-1848 n - 14. Muramatsu and Yoshimura 1847-1848 s 1 15. Mera (Mera Taichirō) and Murata 1847-1850 o 8 16. Kinugasa and Yoshimura 1849 17. Kinugasa and Watanabe r 7 (Watanabe Shōemon) 1849-1850 s 5 18. Hama and Magome (Magome Kageyu) 1849-1853 h 19. Fuku (Fukushima Giemon) and Muramatsu 1849-1853 20. Kinugasa and Murata 1851-1853 i 21. Mera and Watanabe 1851-1853 p 22. aratame (examined) 1849-1851 23. aratame (examined) 1853-1857

2 9 8 01 01 01 01 01

02 03 04 05 05 06 06 06

07 08 09 10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20 21

22 23

2 9 9 Date seals, 1800-1817 d s a e t a e l s 1/1800 1/1800 3/1800 6/1805 6/1805 8/1805 10/1805 A , N D 1 7 c 9 10/1805 10/1805 12/1805 12/1805 12/1805 12/1805 12/1805 12/1805 e 1 n - s 1 o 8 r 7 s 5 1/1806 1/1806 1/1806 1/1806 1/1806 1/1806 2/1806 2/1806 h i p

2/1806 2/1806 2/1806 5/1806 6/1806 (?) 6/1806 6/1806 7/1806

7/1806 7/1806 7/1806 8/1806 8/1806 9/1806 10/1806

10/1806 10/1806 11/1806 11/1806 12/1806 12/1806

1/1807 2/1807 2/1807 3/1807 3/1807 3/1807 3/1807 3/1807

3 0 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 2 /1807 /1807 /1807 /1807 /1807 /1807 /1807 /1807 6/1807 6/1807 6/1807 7/1807 8/1807 8/1807 9/1807 9/1807 10/1807

10/1807 11/1807 11/1807 11?/1807 12/1807 12/1807 2/1807, 2/1808, or 2/1809 with kiwame

4/1808 4/1808 4/1808 4?/1808 5/1808 6/1808 7/1808 7/1808 7/1808

8/1808 8/1808 8/1808 8/1808 8/1808 8/1808 9/1808 9/1808 11/1808

11/1808 12/1808 12/1808 1/1809 2/1809 3/1809 3/1809 3/1809

4/1809 6/1809 7/1809 7/1809 8/1809 8/1809 8/1809 ?/1809 ?/1809

8/1810 8/1810 8/1810 10/1810 2/1811 2/1811 with kiwame

3 0 7 8 8 /1814 /1814 /1814 1817 3 Date/aratame seals on fan prints, 1815-1840 d s a e t a e l s 1815 1815 1815, 1827, 1839 1815, 1827, 1839 1815, 1827, 1839 A , N D 1 7 c 9 1816 1816 1817 1817 1817 e 1 n - s 1 o 8 r 7 s 5 1818 1818 1819 1819 h i p

1820 1820 1820 1821 1822

1823 1824 1825, 1837 1826

1828 1828 1829 1829 1829 1830

1831 1832 1833 1835 1838

3 1 6 1839 1840 Date/kiwame seals on fan prints, 1835-1864

1835 1836 1858

1859 1859 1860 1861

1862 1862 1863 1864 1864

3 1 7 U H K O I R Y I O M - O E N O t o