These people were ostracised from the community, too, as only yakuza uses irezumi in Japan.
Take a comfortable position and let momma Niu tell you something about irezumi and yakuza!
Originally urezumis started in the Edo period, in 19th century. In Japan criminals were marked with tattoos. Even if they atoned their crimes, there was no way for a criminal to return to their original social status or go to any other society class. EVER. No matter how good person you would be in your 40s, if you did a crime when you were 15 and had tattoos, you were filth of society till the day you died. Even homeless and whores were above these marked criminals.
So, what do they do? They started to cover their tattoos with replicas of ukiyo-e paintings. The original ukiyo-e paintings were so expensive only rich people - like samurais - could affort them. Wanting to have even piece of sense of wealth criminals chose ukiyo-e paintings as tattoos. With the tattoos covered with beautiful pictures, it was possible for them to start a new life and rise to a higher social status.
Even today yakuza decorates themselves with irezumi. As it’s painful - the tattoos are made with long needle one poke at time, by hand, as you can see from the photos - being able to handle the pain is a sign if strong mind, endurance and in men’s case also sign of masculinity. Completing irezumi can take more than 20 years, so it’s also a symbol for devoting yourself to the mafia and for the specific mafia family you belong to. Women are also marked, whether they want it or not, as woman’s position in Japan and especially in mafia is below a man. Japan’s old fashioned like that, but of course they won’t admit it out loud to you.
The symbols of the irezumi tell a story of the person wearing it. For example peony flowers are symbol of masculinity, the ruler of all flowers and thus the symbol of ruling others, nobility and being a good example for others. Thus men have lots of peonies in the irezumis.
As Japan has a long, long history of using tattoos as an eternal punishment of your bad choices (against the society), the old fear of tattoos still lives strongly in the society. There are, of course, always exceptions, and for example Genko Tattoo makes beautiful traditional tattoos for regular customers.
But these kind of irezumis and different variations of them you see only on yakuzas.
How do I know? Well, I’ve worked in a tattoo shop where I studied irezumi’s history on my free time, and my friend’s friend is currently working in Tokyo in a bar that’s ran by yakuza. Her boss and closest superior are heavily tattooed, and never talk about the tattoos, even when asked; she once cracked a joke at her boss “what, are you a yakuza or something?” and he only smirked a bit, never denying the accusation.
(Plus a funny side note, her closest superior - a very fun and carefree man btw - once told her “I know that it’s difficult to be a foreign woman here, as there will be men harassing you, both for you being a woman and a foreigner. But, if anyone starts to harass you anywhere in Tokyo, just tell him you work here, and he quits”. So, she gets nice salary, with a carefree mafia boss and superior, and is automatically under the protection of yakuza :’D)
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