Tattoo artists in Japan say their art is often misunderstood and associated with the "yakuza" organized crime gangs. People with tattoos are often banned from public ...

From starkly rendered waves crashing over a shoulder to a stern samurai warrior wielding a sword on one’s back, the striking designs expressed in Japanese tattoos are among the most iconic in the ...

For Horimitsu, the sound of needles painting skin is a soft, rhythmic scratching, like a solitary cricket - "sha, sha, sha". For 30 years he has tattooed by hand in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, needing nothing ...

When Mana Izumi got her first tattoo at 18, she wasn't trying to rebel or shatter any taboos -- just copy Japanese pop diva Namie Amuro's beach-bronze "surfer chick" look. In Japan, where tattoos have ...

On Tuesday, a meeting was held by Japan’s House of Councilors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense. Among the topics discussed: tattoos. Japanese society has traditionally taken a dim view of ...