Artworks
    Melikian Collection > Collections > Artworks > Asia/Africa > Legal Book (with Tattoo Illustrations)


TYPE: Book
DIMENSIONS: 8 1/4 X 12 inches (closed)
COMPONENTS: 200 pages
NOTES: Large and rare.
ITEM ID: 1055
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Legal Book (with Tattoo Illustrations)

DATE
Year: 1838
Decade: 1830s
Century: 19th (1801-1900)
Notes: Tenpo 9

Japanese manuscript law book; collection of many laws on things like Christianity, prostitution, debt collection, murder, etc. The main points are highlighted with red ink. It includes a fine illustration of tattoos given to criminals that would mark them for life and alert the public of their crimes. This might be why the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) proudly display tattoos today, as a sort of defiance against authority.