Crime and Punishment

From reader "Bruce M.":

"Hi, Love your blog, always gives me a smile to see the silly thing was "westerners" take on as cool with no idea of what it means. Anyway, At my houses Christmas party this year I got asked about the translation of a Chinese tattoo. I have been learning Katakana and Hiragana, and the guest thought I would have a clue. I instantly thought of your website and grabbed the digital camera and took a pic with a quick promise that I will find out. He has no idea what it means as he was young and stupid when the ink dried on his skin. Anyway, have a look and see if I can get a laugh out of this. Thanks"

The character means "crime". The irony is that traditionally both Chinese and Japanese tattooed their criminals and considered tattoos as a form of punishment.

From Steve Gilbert's "The Tattoo History Source Book":

"The Chinese considered tattooing a sign of barbarism and used it only as a punishment. By the seventh century the rulers of Japan had adopted much of the culture and attitudes of the Chinese, and a result tattooing fell into official disfavor.

The first record of tattooing as punishment in Japan is found in a Japanese history compiled in 720 AD. After the sixth century tattooing was widely used to identify criminals and outcasts. Outcasts were tattooed on the arms: a cross might be tattooed on the inner forearm, or a straight line on the outside of the forearm or on the upper arm.

Criminals were marked with a variety of symbols which designated the places where the crimes were committed. In one region, the pictograph for "dog" was tattooed on the criminal's forehead. Other marks included such patterns as bars, crosses, double lines, and circles on the face and arms.

Tattooing was reserved for those who had committed serious crimes, and individuals bearing tattoo marks were ostracized by their families and denied all participation in the life of the community.

For the Japanese, who valued family membership and social position above all things, tattooing was particularly severe and terrible form of punishment."

罪 = guilt; crime; fault; blame; sin