CONTENTS
With 47% of Westerners having tattoos, and a series of sporting events coming to Japan this year and next, Japan’s onsen culture is definitely not ready for these customers. But one Japanese company is looking to change that with a concealing spray!
Tattoos in Japan – A Very Brief History
Tattoos in Japan have a long and complicated history, originally tattoos acting as a brand on criminals and then a complete ban that stayed until the American occupation of 1948. With this, the Yakuza started to use these sometimes immaculate pieces of art to show standing. However, the Japanese also have an amazingly strong culture of tattoo artists, many learning not just the normal western style of tattooing but also irezumi a style of tattooing that is traditional to Japan.
It's this culture of Yakuza having tattoos that forced longstanding onsens to ban tattoos, not outrightly banning Yakuza from entering but to focus on the tattoos, and trying to veer away from Yakuza members anger.
Tattoos and Onsen – A world divided
Establishments that allow for tattoos and so on are few and far between.
What’s more, 45.7% of people that come to Japan, wish to experience onsen when they visit again. To those that wish to enter while having a tattoo it is hard to find places that accept them. This means that a fundamental part of Japanese culture is closed off to those that visit for something that can be such a visually stunning piece of art on their bodies. As well as this, for some, tattoos are used to cover up birthmarks or scars, so this is extra hard on these visitors.
Sporting Events in the Near Future and the Tattooed Fans That Are To Follow
With the Rugby World Cup coming to Japan this year in September and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also happening, Japan is set to see a large influx of foreign visitors.
Looking at just the amount of rugby players that have tattoos, it would be obvious that something would need to be done to help with accommodating them. Many professional sportsmen and women have tattoos, with reasons such as keeping their spirits up when travelling abroad away from family, or for making a permanent mark of their life's motto, or in the cases of people from New Zealand or other Polynesian Islands such as Samoa, Tribal Tattoos are extremely common.
Creating a Spray That Allows for Hot Springs to Accommodate Tattooed Guests!
A company run by a New Zealand born Japanese person is trying to help with the problems that tattooed visitors to Japan face. Akio Nagayama runs PAHI, which has developed a unique type of spray that is waterproof, long lasting and easy to apply. By creating such a spray those with tattoos can enter into onsens and such without having to worry about their tattoos getting them declined! With 4 different tones to choose from as well it looks to accommodate a large amount of people that have a variety of skin colours.
We actually took the spray out for a test and below you can see the result of one use of the spray. This spray was really effective, even though the sprays we had at hand weren't the perfect skin tone, and it was all done outside, the tattoos were effectively covered! With a better environment to test the spray out and the right tones to try, we feel the spray would be a great way to hide them to enter onsens!
Crowdfunding to Further Develop and Promote the Spray
On August 1st, the company behind the spray, Pahi, launched a crowdfunding project on our sister site, Japankuru Funding, to raise money to do several things. The main plan is to help fund mass production of the product. Another reason for the crowdfunding is to raise money for the promotion of the spray as well as any further development and design for it!
The target goal for the project is 1,000,000 Yen and the period it's running for is the 1st August to 29th August.
You can find the project page here: https://en.japankurufunding.com/projects/tattoo-onsen/
Details
PROFILE
Hey everyone! We hope that we can help you keep up to date with all the projects and things we have going on over at Japankuru Funding! We hope that you find the projects on the site as interesting as we do!
COMMENT
FEATURED MEDIA
VIEW MORE・The new Tokyo flagship for Volcom Japan is a center for all things skateboarding, street fashion, art, and culture, all in the heart of Shibuya! ・Volcom日本旗艦店東京澀谷登場 本格派滑板街頭潮流藝文新據點 #Volcom #japankuru #shibuya #日本購物 #日本潮流 #日本街頭時尚 #澀谷 #東京購物 #東京購物推薦 #東京潮店 #澀谷潮店 #滑板 #雪板 #衝浪 #볼컴 #시부야
Which snacks make the best Japanese souvenirs?~ Jaga Pirika ~ 일본과자 선물 뭐하지?~자가피리카 편~ #pr #calbee #jagapokkuru #japanesesnacks #japanesefood #japanesesouvenir #japantravel #japantrip #naritaairport #hokkaido #나리타국제공항 #일본여행선물 #흔하지않은기념품 #일본쇼핑리스트 #일본과자추천 #고구마과자 #일본간식추천 #일본면세점쇼핑 #개별포장 #일본감자칩 #도쿄나리타공항면세점 #현지인추천 #일본여행 #일본기념품리스트 #자가포쿠루 #자가피리카
Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in all of Tokyo, is almost here! Make sure you check out the festival route so you don't miss all the festivities this May. #asakusa #sanjafestival #sanjamatsuri #asakusashrine #sensoji #sensojitemple #japanesefestival #shintoshrine #japaneseculture #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #asakusasightseeing #matsuri #japantrip #japantravel #springinjapan #tokyotravel #japankuru #산자마츠리 #아사쿠사 #일본마츠리 #일본여행 #일본5월
Odaiba's DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is home to the famous real-size 20m-tall Unicorn Gundam, and the popular shopping center has even more Gundam on the inside! Check out the Gundam Base Tokyo on the 7th floor for shelves upon shelves of Gunpla, and the Gundam Base Tokyo Annex on the 2nd floor for cool anime merchandise. Both shops have tons of limited-edition items! #pr #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #PR #divercity #divercitytokyoplaza #tokyoshopping #gundam #unicorngundam #gundambasetokyo #anime #otaku #gunpla #japankuru #오다이바 #다이바시티도쿄 #오다이바건담 #건담 #일본건담 #건프라 #건담베이스도쿄
Evangelion, in miniature!? Tokyo's SMALL WORLDS Miniature Museum is actually a must-see for anime lovers, thanks to the tiny Evangelion Hangar and Tokyo-III... plus a whole universe of other scenes both real and fictional. #smallworlds #smallworldstokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japantrip #japantravel #에반게리온 #스몰월드 #에반겔리온 #スモールワールズ #오다이바 #아리아케
Have you sat down for a snack at Sumida Aquarium yet? This aquarium next to Tokyo Skytree is known for its penguins and garden eels, but we can't get enough of their cute snacks! There are lots of good seats around the aquarium, too, so it almost feels like one big cafe. 🐧 • Find out more at Japankuru.com! (Link in bio.) • #japankuru #sumidaaquarium #skytree #tokyoskytree #solamachi #sumida #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #aquarium #japanesesweets #themecafe #すみだ水族館 #Japan #日本 #일본 #Japon #ญี่ปุ่น #Japão #япония #japantravel #日本旅行 #日本旅遊 #japan_of_insta #japantrip #traveljapan #japan🇯🇵 #igerstokyo #explorejapan
For anime fans, the Evangelion areas at Small Worlds Miniature Museum are a must see! The tiny miniature people in the Evangelion Hangar look like ants beneath the moving Unit-01, Unit-00, and Unit-02! And over in Tokyo-III, characters like Shinji, Rei, and Katsuragi live life on a miniature scale. #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #ariake #smallworlds #miniaturemuseum #smallworldstokyo #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japankuru #스몰월드 #에반게리온 #오다이바 #오다이바관광 #오다이바스몰월드 #미니어쳐