I am having construction done on our bath so I have to use the public bath for the next month. There is a little sticker saying "no tattoos" on the lockers.

They wouldn't really stop me from going in, would they?

>They wouldn't really stop me from going in, would they?

Yes, probably, but not because of any tattoos you have...

From my understanding, almost all Japanese bath houses disallow tatoos. The reasoning being that it keeps out the Yakuza.

Except at the ones owned by the yakuza... ;)

Although it depends on your overall appearance and other factors, you do need to realize that it can be kind of creepy for other guests. There're sometimes guys with big tattoos at my local pool, and I could really do without it. Whether this rises to the level of a civil rights thing where they have a right to be there and I just need to accept it, I don't know. I tend to think it's a self-inflicted thing and doesn't confer you with any particular right of entry. On the whole, I think tattoos are a really, really stupid thing to do.

Ah, but I think in this case Pete, it's because of the historical "significance" that tattoos have meant over the years in Japan (as Dav points out the Yakuza)... I am surprised by this, given the ongoing changes to the culture. I've been reading all over the news about teenage kids getting tattoos which is the first generation to do this just for fun. Some think it's to help break the stereotype but it's probably more of a fad, like multi-coloured hair... I've got no clue, but either way it goes beyong a simple civil rights issue.

It’s called discrimination, as in “discrimination against [insert favorite color here] skin color” and it's something they hide behind the yakuza taboo… because it’s easier and Japanese people have a hard time trying to even think about breaking taboos, especially the *ooh! spooky* yakuza *ooh! spooky* dont’t-go-there-girlfriend subject…

The “XXIst” in front of “century” is a fake value here, in Japan, as far as the social evolution is concerned. Hell, if “no tattoos allowed” surprises you, how about “women-only train cars"? :)

It is a problem and I think it touches a lot on freedom of expression and basic liberties…

Joi's Moblog: No Tattoos Allowed! They actually have signage for that. Amazing....

Where I got ordered to cover my tattoo