Tattoos in Japanese Prints


Toyohara Kunichika, Actors Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Asahina Tōbei (R), Nakamura Shikan IV as Washi no Chōkichi (C), and Sawamura Tosshō II as Yume no Ichibei (L), Japanese, Edo period–Meiji era, 1868 (Keiō 4/Meiji 1), intercalary 4th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.


Toyohara Kunichika, Actors Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Asahina Tōbei (R), Nakamura Shikan IV as Washi no Chōkichi (C), and Sawamura Tosshō II as Yume no Ichibei (L), Japanese, Edo period–Meiji era, 1868 (Keiō 4/Meiji 1), intercalary 4th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.
Some of the world’s most popular tattoo motifs trace back to early 19th-century Edo (modern Tokyo), where tattoo artists took inspiration from color woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e. Today, the global popularity of tattoos has brought renewed attention to the centuries-old Japanese tradition. Drawn from the MFA’s renowned collection of Japanese art, “Tattoos in Japanese Prints” looks closely at the social background, iconography, and visual splendor of tattoos through the printed media that helped carry them from the streets of Edo-period Japan to 21st-century tattoo shops all over the world.
The exhibition features nearly 80 works by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) and his contemporaries—including his colleague and rival Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864) and his pupil Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892). Among the highlights are a selection of prints from Kuniyoshi’s best-selling series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (about 1827–30). Oral traditions among contemporary tattoo artists credit these works, based on a Chinese tale of a band of 108 heroic outlaws fighting corrupt officials, for giving rise to a new fashion of extensive pictorial tattoos. Kuniyoshi created spectacular original designs for the heroes, adorning their bodies with fearsome lions, coiling snakes, lush peonies, supernatural beings, and dragons of various kinds.
Exploring the Japanese tattoo’s evolving meanings, from declarations of religious or romantic devotion to symbols punishment and even crime, “Tattoos in Japanese Prints” presents a fascinating history of a tradition that continues to influence artists and enthusiasts today.
- Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, Level 2

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Konjin Chōgorō, from the series Sagas of Beauty and Bravery (Biyū Suikoden)
Japanese, Edo period, 1866 (Keiō 2), 12th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), Pine: Actors Ichikawa Ichizō III as Nozarashi Gosuke (R), Nakamura Fukusuke I as Asahina Tōbei (C), and Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I as Ude no Kisaburō (L), from the series A Modern Shuihuzhuan (Tōsei suikoden)
Japanese, Edo period, 1858 (Ansei 5), 7th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ruan Xiaowu, the Short-lived Second Son (Tanmeijirō Genshōgo), from the series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Shuihuzhuan (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)
Japanese, Edo period, about 1827–30 (Bunsei 10–Tenpō 1). Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. Bequest of Maxim Karolik.

Kitagawa Utamaro I, Onitsutaya Azamino and Gontarō, a Man of the World (Onitsutaya Azamino, isami-tsū Gontarō), from the series True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami)
Japanese, Edo period, about 1798–99 (Kansei 10–11). Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Langenbach in memory of Charles Hovey Pepper.

Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), A Roof-raising Ceremony on an Auspicious Day (Kisshin medetai muneage no zu): Actors Sawamura Tanosuke III, Nakamura Shikan IV (R), Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I, Ichikawa Kodanji IV (C), Ichikawa Ichizō III, and Onoe Baikō (L)
Japanese, Edo period, 1860 (Ansei 7/Man’en 1), 9th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Toyohara Kunichika, Actors Kawarazaki Gonjūrō as Takaramusubi no Gon (R), Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as Tachibana Hishizō (C), and Nakamura Shikan IV as Sanba Jafuku (L), in Unity of Three Happinesses: Favorite Actors Before a White Waterfall
Japanese, Edo period, 1863 (Bunkyū 3), 6th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Toyohara Kunichika, Actor Onoe Kikugorō V as Oniazami Seikichi, No. 6 from the series Flowers of Tokyo: Kunichika's Caricatures (Azuma no hana Kunichika manga)
Japanese, Meiji era, 1872 (Meiji 5), 9th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Adolfo Farsari, Groom (Bettō) with Tattoo
Japanese, Meiji era, about 1886. Albumen print. Gift of Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf.

Toyohara Kunichika, Actor Ōtani Tomeomon V as Danshichi, from an untitled series of actor portraits
Japanese, Meiji era, 1869 (Meiji 2), 7th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

Toyohara Kunichika, Actors Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Asahina Tōbei (R), Nakamura Shikan IV as Washi no Chōkichi (C), and Sawamura Tosshō II as Yume no Ichibei (L)
Japanese, Edo period–Meiji era, 1868 (Keiō 4/Meiji 1), intercalary 4th month. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.