YAKUZA TATTOOS COLLECTOR
Perhaps not everyone knows that in the museum of the department of medical pathology of 東京 大学 (University of Tōkyō) there is a collection of as many as 105 skins of members of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, some of them even complete. They are all covered with traditional tattoos performed according to the practice called 入 れ 墨 (Irezumi)
This grisly collection began in the early decades of the twentieth century by Dr. 福士 政 一 (Masaichi Fukushi), who invented a method to preserve the tattooed skins, and was later continued by his son Katsunari: the two are known in Japan with the nickname 刺青 博士 (Professor Tattoo). The skins come from bodies of members of the Yakuza who died violently, subjected to autopsy and then donated to the university.
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I had no idea about this museum, incredible. The Yakuza that got tattoos applied with the tebori technique, which is very painful, and the time it takes to finish the tattoo can be months or even years; not tattooed with a single needle but with several. The yakuzas carry these tattoos to show that they can withstand the pain.