Asia Culture Center

!steemitworldmap 35.146426 lat 126.920029 long Asia Culture Center Gwangju d3scr

Introduction to Tattooed Asia

It is hard to read so here is a summary: Tattoos are thousands of years old and are a relic of human civilization. Throughout history they have held a negative connotation and only for 'savages and criminals' but today they are seen as art and have a fashion to them.

This exhibition examines the culture and history of tattoos from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan.

The Exhibit started with a brief history of tattoos from other areas of the world. The first being this Maori tattoo mask.

The Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand.

A brief history of Tattoos in Korea. Primarily tattoos were used to brand criminals; however, some people used tattoos to show love and friendship near the end of the Joseon Dynasty. In some mountainous areas tattoos were also used for medical purposes.

An explanation of scarification, a process that involves scarring the body to produce designs. Popular in countries of people with darker skin tones. If you have seen Black Panther, Killmonger has these kinds of tattoos.

Thailand

Examples of the Sak Yant.

Examples of magical talismans commonly found in Thailand. I feel these are the kind of things you would find in tourist traps in Thailand, with a salesperson telling you they will bring you a lot of money or fortune.

I wish there was more of a description for these masks. I'm interested to know if they are each a kind of deity or what.

Examples of the Wai khru, which are to respect teachers and religious leaders. Often the Sak Yant and Wai khru are received together as two parts of one tattoo.

Based on this, I am not sure if a foreigner would be able to get a Sak Yant since you have to offer a tribute. You also have to follow the religious practice of the master giving the tattoo or the tattoo has no powers.

Taiwan

Taiwan is particularly fascinating because of their hand tattoos. Basically the bigger and more intricate the tattoo, the higher position in society it shows.

It is heart breaking that this part of Taiwanese history is being lost. Hopefully, cultural preservation attempts like this exhibit can help keep the tradition going or reinvent it in some way.

The Philippines

Whereas the indigenous people of Taiwan are nearly extinct along with their tattoo culture. In the Philippines, the technique for giving their tattoos rest in one woman, Whang od Oggay.

This is Whang od Oggay, she turned 100 in 2017 and is the only living traditional tattooist in the area. People from all over the world come to receive tattoos from her. I hope that she can teach her technique before passing on though.

A set of traditional tattoo tools used by Whang od Oggay.

How far we have come, crazy a tattoo can be given with just some sticks and a piece of metal.

Photos of her at work.

Japan

After the last section, I was told not to take photos.....uhm....oops 🤗 I am providing a link to another blog about Japanese tattoos. What I can remember from the exhibit is there were two styles of tattoos.

One of them showcased the 'perfect man' and was thought to be beautiful on men, usually these tattoos involved samurai. The other showed work or class status, such as fishing hunting or gardening. The Japanese possession of colored inks allowed for beautiful tattoos.

Despite the government trying to outlaw tattoos, foriengers were able to get tattoos and spread the popularity of Japanese tattoos. Today, I am sure you are most familiar with Japanese tattoos than any other style that I have mentioned earlier.

That was my experience of the tattoo exhibit. Let me know what your favorite style is below or let me know any other tattoo style or history that you think is interesting 😀

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