The gangster-turned-ink artist trying to change country's attitude to body art

The tattoos he creates are a far cry from the Asian symbols and tribal designs that have become popular in the west.

Japanese artist Horiyoshi III creates the startling full-body 'suit' tattoos that are synonymous with the country's criminal underworld.

The mastermind was himself a member of the notorious yakuza before swapping a life of crime for a career with behind needle - but Horiyoshi III is trying to break the connection between body art and the mafia and end the widescale discrimination of tattooed people in Japan.

A group of men show their tattoos created by artist Horiyoshii III

 

Japanese tattooist Horiyoshii III tattoos a flower on the back of a female customer

Tattooed people are barred entry from scores of venues in Japan, from hot springs to fitness centres, while the mayor of Osaka recently forced city employees to fill out a survey revealing whether or not they have a tattoo.

That discrimination is tied to a seemingly unbreakable association with the yakuza, whose members' distinctive tattoos denote their association to crime families, such as the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The crime clan is believed to have about 50,000 members, who have a reputation for engaging in everything from gambling, drugs and prostitution to white-collar crime and loan-sharking.

Horiyoshi said: 'Tattoos have a bad image everywhere, but particularly in Japan they are associated with violence and yakuza, even if that is a simplistic view.'

'This image is still stuck in peoples' minds: tattoo equals criminal, criminal equals yakuza. People are now scared of tattoos.'

 

For tattoo artist Horiyoshi III, the skin into which he sinks his ink-infused needle is a living canvas for the myths and legends of Japan, where body art is indelibly linked to the violent gangsters of the criminal underworld

For Horiyoshi III, the skin into which he sinks his ink-infused needle is a canvas for the myths and legends of Japan .

The artist, who uses the modern metal variation of a bamboo stick still favoured by some traditionalists,  says his biggest inspiration is Hokusai, an artist famed for woodblock prints of a tsunami against Mount Fuji.

 

'But I am also influenced by other Japanese artists,' he said at an exhibition of his work -- with all live subjects -- last month in Tokyo, citing Utagawa Kuniyoshi, known for his landscapes, mystical animals and depictions of samurai swordfights.

 

Bare art: Two women show off tattoos that cover their entire backs

Horiyoshi's German-born apprentice Alexander Reinke, insists tattoos in Japan differ greatly from those found in Europe and the U.S.

He explained: 'The biggest difference is that tattoos in the West are created to underline a person's individuality.

'They want to make a statement or remember something they are a really big fan of.

'But in Japan some groups get tattoos not to underline their individuality because individuality is not so important in Japan, it's the group that is important," Reinke added.

That mentality often translates into tattoo clubs where members meet and show off their designs, just regular people with "normal jobs" who have a passion for body art, he said.

'Usually, a group that is tattooed by the same master kind of forms a little club by themselves, like here today where everybody who is meeting has been tattooed by Mr Horiyoshi and is just having a good time.'

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