“Japan’s hot springs rethink tattoo bans for Rugby World Cup”
Onsen, or hot spring baths, are an important part of Japanese culture and a major attraction for tourists from around the world. As the Rugby World Cup draws huge numbers of tourists from around the world, many of them are expected to be interested in going to onsens themselves - drawing attention to onsens’ age-old practices banning customers with tattoos.
Tattoos appeared to be an accepted form of body art in early China and Japan, with Jomon period clay figurines displaying markings as early as 5000 BC. In the 7th century AD, however, the political context around tattoos began to change dramatically as Japan’s rulers began to closely adopt Chinese values and practices. As the Chinese government at the time looked down upon tattoos, attitudes within Japan began to change as well, and in 720AD we see the first written record of Japanese tattoos being used to brand and identify convicted criminals.
Tattoos would continue to be used as a severe form of punishment for more than a thousand years, until decorative tattooing began to gain popularity and criminals started to cover their penal tattoos with decorative tattoos. Decorative tattoos, therefore, became associated with criminals as well, leading to the outlawing of tattooing in the 17th century (and renewed strict enforcement of these laws under the Meiji restoration). While tattoos have been legalized since liberalization of Japanese laws after World War II, their historical association with criminals and their continued association with the Yakuza have made the topic a socially sensitive issue in Japan to this day.
With the influx of foreigners for the Rugby World Cup, onsens in Oita Prefecture and elsewhere have begun re-evaluating (and in some cases, modifying or removing) their policies barring tattooed customers. In the process, they’re grappling with tough practical questions – should they specifically allow foreign tattooed customers and continue barring Japanese tattooed customers? How would that be enforced? Who is Japanese? Should they remove the ban altogether? What if they allow someone with a criminal past? Would that drive away their main domestic customer base? Would they only loosen these rules during the World Cup? What precedents would it set? With these questions in mind, about 70% of hot springs in Beppu (the Oita city upon which the article is focused) remain committed to the tattoo ban.
This news story is part of a larger conflict in long and relatively inflexible Japanese traditions and the introduction of new cultural influences through globalization. Japanese culture places a very strong emphasis on maintaining social order, and while this has proven very helpful for managing a high population density and maintaining a low crime rate, it has also led to a society that leans socially conservative. For me, however, the story also reminded me of the question of who is Japanese and who is not - a question which is particularly important to my Kyoto experience as someone grappling with his half-Japanese identity.
Arjun Kumar
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