Quote:
Originally Posted by TalnSG
That is a major point here. Having a tattoo is considered unacceptable, or at least degrading in many societies, not just in Japan.
It is a choice one makes and has to live with. If one was not aware of that at the time the choice was made that is unfortunate. Because this is rarely considered by teenagers wanting to follow the trend most places in the U.S. have passed laws making illegal to tattoo anyone who is not a legal adult without written permission of a parent or guardian.
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I agree; In my mind the 'no tattoos' rule in Onsen's is a business policy akin to 'No shirt no service'. I wouldn't walk into the Hyatt Grand's restaurant in shorts and flip-flops and then accuse them of being mindless racists if they refused me service. Same with onsen and tattoos. Other places will serve you; this rule is not a universal edict for exclusion. The problem is that tattoo's can't be removed easily, or hidden, especially in a place where you're removing your clothing.
Besides, as Tain said, it's NOT just Japan. Many cultures have histories in which tattoos and scarification are associated most strongly with violent rebels or out-right criminals and there IS no history of spiritual or cultural tattooing. In the UK, the opinion tends to be that it's the pursuit of the 'lower classes', even if that's untrue in practice. At the end of the day, in that respect, the consensus is that 'nice boys and girls' don't get tattoos.