Quote:
Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery
I have a question about a tattoo, but it's unrelated to the OP. I just didn't want to make a new thread.
So as far as right now goes, I have zero tattoos. I'd never really wanted that one THAT badly, and especially when I toyed around with the idea of going to Japan, I kind of actually used some of that as a justification for not getting one. Everyone knows about the stigma of having tattoos in Japan (although I've never seen the same answer twice), but every time I've seen an inquiry about tattoos in Japan,it's always after the OP already has a tattoo and is concerned about how it will affect them in Japan.
My case is a bit different though, since I don't actually have a tattoo yet. The reason why I brought the topic up now, however, is because I've been considering getting one while I'm on vacation in the US. The tattoo concept itself is a tribute piece to one of my best friends who had an untimely death last year, and the design itself pulls inspiration from one of his own tattoos (This is really just saying that it's not something stupid like a kanji).
But I'm afraid that people may not care about what the tattoo represents but instead simply that it's a tattoo. It's popular in western culture to get things like tattoos, but I'm afraid Japanese society may not be so accommodating to my cultural choice.
So if you don't have a tattoo now, would you consider getting one anyway even if you were planning on living in Japan? If you already do have one and are in Japan, do you regret having it and would have refrained from getting it if you knew you were going to be living in Japan?
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I have a tattoo, in kanji, that actually make no sense to those who do not understand its meaning. It's my pen name, 龍涙, and it is based on a calligraphy work. If anyone asks me why the hell the dragon's tears, I tell them (if i am in a cheeky mood) that even the biggest dragons cry (I am 6.4 and athletic), and that i am a very sensitive alien form.
To which they reply, あ,そうなんですか？ And then I do a surprising roar attack from Shrek or Jaws.
1. More and more Japanese have tattoo's so it is not as shocking as it was in Edo period.
2. As James said, we are foreigners, so we are "expected" to have one (I would not expect anything less to be expected of)
3. You can go into public baths, very few won't let you in, and if they don't you call the manager and ask him if he wants you to make a call to Kabukichou.
4. I do not really care if someone likes it or not, it's my tattoo, and I love it (so does my teacher , who is 73, and other 60 years old comrades of the brush, to my great surprise). I did not make it for others to like or understand. Oh yeah, and I live here since 2001.