Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

13 Introduction
underworld (Richie, 1973; Richie and Buruma, 1980: 11-33; Levy
et al., 1979: 852-854; Rondinella, 1985: 49-53; Brain, 1979: 62­
65; Fellman, 1986).
It is in Japan that non-western tattooing developed to its most
ornate, complex, and colorful. Although it fell into official disfavor
and is currently a stigmatized practice, the art of the Japanese
hori is still practiced and a sizeable and active tattoo subculture
flourishes. In addition to its importance as a traditional art form,
Japanese tattooing is a significant modern phenomenon because
of its major impact on the form and content of contemporary
western body art.
The History oj Contemporary Western Thttooing • The ancient
tribal groups inhabiting the British Isles practiced extensive tattOOing.
The Picts were named for the iron implements they used
to create tattoo designs; the term "Briton" is derived from a Breton
word meaning "painted in various colors" (Paine, 1979: 19).
Briton males were heavily decorated with animal designs intended
to enhance their fearsome appearance. In his memoirs Julius
Caesar noted that the Britons were colored blue and carried designs
that made them "frightful to look upon in battle" (Oettermann,
1985: 11). This contact with invading Roman legions
resulted in the adoption of tattooing by the occupying Roman soldiers.
The practice became popular and continued to spread
within the military until it was banned in the third century by the
Christian Emperor Constantine who maintained that it violated
God's handiwork.
Centuries later the Anglo-Saxons continued to practice this ancient
form of decoration as members of the nobility bore tattoos
that, most commonly, displayed pledges of devotion to loved ones
or had religious significance. FollOWing the Battle of Hastings,
King Harold's mutilated body was identifiable only because he had
"Edith" tattooed over his heart. From the eighth through the
tenth centuries, western tattooing was again banned by the
Church as a form of deviltry and because it disfigured the body
created in God's image. During the campaigns to wrest control of
the Holy Land from the Muslims, tattooing again became a
frequent practice as crusaders had themselves marked with the