As VanishingTattoo points out, some criminals even had the Japanese for "dog" (犬) inked on their foreheads. Advertisement During the following century, however, tattoos became fashionable.

Japanese tattoo lovers defy taboos Location: Warabi (SOUNDBITE) ... Tattoos have been linked to Japanese criminals for centuries and are banned in spas, hot springs, ...

You might think there's no way the elephant tattoo on your ankle could be seen as being linked to criminal gangs - but you'd be wrong. Fans and players heading to Japan for the Rugby World cup ...

Japan's Bunshin Tattoo Museum in Yokohama is dedicated to the work of Yoshihito Nakano, who is better known in the body art world as Horiyoshi III, a master of traditional Japanese tattooing. The ...

While tattoos are becoming more fashionable among younger Japanese, they remain stigmatized and often associated with the yakuza, the Japanese criminal syndicate. Advertisement ...

Masafumi Monden, a lecturer in Japanese studies at the University of Sydney, says Japanese people often conceal their tattoos "because of the ideas that connect [tattoos] to criminal activities ...

In most Asian cultures, tattoos are viewed as a symbol of gang activity, violence or criminal behaviour. As a result, many children choose to hide their tattoos to avoid conflict with their parents.