With her dyed-brown long hair and tight designer jeans, Shoko Tendo looks like any other stylish young Japanese woman — until she removes her shirt to reveal the vivid tattoos covering her back and most of her body.
The elaborate dragons, phoenixes and a medieval courtesan with one breast bared and a knife between her teeth are a symbol of Tendo’s childhood as the daughter of a “yakuza” gangster and her youth as a drug-using gang member.
The author of “Yakuza Moon,” a best-selling memoir just out in English, the 39-year-old Tendo says that police efforts to eradicate the gangsters have merely made them harder to track.
Descended from medieval gamblers and outlaws, yakuza were long portrayed as latter-day samurai, bound by traditions of honor and duty and living extravagant lives.
The largest part of yakuza income now comes from pursuits involving stocks, property and finance.
The notion that they are harder to track is peculiar since they self-identify with extreme body art and missing fingers.
#32 aren’t you the least bit embarrassed being bested by a fellow with at best a fifth grade education?
When I see you ‘best’ anyone, I’ll make sure to let you know… 😉
I’d be interested in if she had a real CHOICE when she got her first tattoo before ending up on the wrong side of right.
Tattoos have always been identified in many cultures as part of the under belly of a culture. There are exceptions, such as Polynesian cultures.
I’ve never felt the need to tattoo myself (or be tattooed) but I hope no one ever thinks that it defines them. That’s just a self-delusional shame. If, however, they believe they define themselves and thus express that through the tattoo, that’s okay, if just the slightest bit risky, medically (but no more so than any other commonly excepted choices, whether in food, body modification or risky recreational pursuits).
Personally, it would detract from my liking of the female body but probably not enough to prevent arousal if I actually fell in love with a woman.
TOO MUCH INFORMATION!
Lauren, you’re own unqualified smug assertion regarding my spelling grammatical error is derisive and equally entertaining.
I just let you know that you were bested. Accept defeat graciously so we can get back ot.
# 36 does your choice of music, fashion, hair style or literature define you better than your choice of body art?
It’s about aesthetic choice. Individuality is an illusion, get over it. People differentiate themselves through ornamentation and affectation to create a semblance of individuality or affiliation.
Mac, PC or Linux? Boxers or Briefs? Hip-Hop or Heavy Metal.
At the end of the day we are all products of the popular culture prevalent in the society in which we live. Opinion boils down to analysis of perception.
Personally, I think she looks noticeably less attractive with the tattoos but she is welcome to do to her body what she wants. Of course, she also has to accept the consequences of getting so many visible tattoos. Some people are in social circumstances where doing so is acceptable. If she decides to do nothing, go into fashion, music or film, having many visible tattoos is tolerated; however the vast majority of other professions do not look favorably on such a look. If she is rich enough that it does not matter, then lucky her.
Is there something wrong with the toes on her left foot, or is it just a funny camera angle? Looks like they were cut off! Anyways, I think she is really hot except for the feet (really needs a pedicure)…
#26 Alph, #29, S-, #30, Ben, #33, Dauragon,
Being young and stupid allows you to make many mistakes. Not always with impunity though. With age, one learns from experience that not everything is worth the price.
Ask all those former heavy metal fans if their loss of hearing was worth it.
Ask all those 35 yr old grandmothers if unprotected sex was worth it.
Ask all those guys doing heavy time if their teenage crimes were worth it.
Oh, Fusion – you’re such an old fart. Didn’t you get the scoop? Young people, for the first time in history, know everything without having experienced anything. They have wisely discovered that they are immortal; that their actions, unlike those of every human who came before them, will never have any unforseen negative consequences down the road; that uninformed opinion is every bit as valid as actual knowledge… None of us, it turns out, have ever experienced the thoughts or feelings that they do. Contrary to what we have erroneously imagined, age and it’s accompanying experience and perspective are worthless. What fools we’ve been!
I, for one, welcome our new clueless, egocentric overlords. 🙂
• • • • • • •
You’re pwned again, son.
“Lauren, you’re own unqualified smug assertion regarding my spelling grammatical error is derisive and equally entertaining.”
Wow. What a load of teenage gobbledegook!
First, it’s your, meaning ‘belonging to you’, not “you’re”.
Second, unqualified? How so, O semi-literate one? I’ve forgotten more about the English language than you’re (short for ‘you are’) likely to ever learn. Ya. Unqualified. Riiiiight. As if you know enough English to judge MY English. Yee-haw!
Third, what the fuck is a “spelling grammatical error”? Something you invented? Your (not “you’re”) grammar is what’s fucked. Apparently someone taught you how to use a spellchecker. Kudos.
Fourth, and perhaps most illustrative of your deficient language skills, is this gem: “you’re (sic) (BTW, “sic” means the error is yours, not mine) own … assertion regarding my … error is derisive…
I suppose making what you childish imagined was a snarky, sophisto comeback at my expense just made you as happy as an idiot in Idiotland on Idiots-Get-In-Free Day.
Of course it’s derisive, you clot. I was deriding your goofy statement. Now read what the word “deride” actually means.
🙂
childish = childishly [insert smilie denoting abject shame here] 😉
Lauren,
My use of You’re was a mockery of your correction. I guess I was too subtle. O ya, I forgot to delete spelling… so sue me. Also I’m familiar with deride, hence derisive, I’m glad you agree with my choice of terms.
Stooping to correct grammar or spelling shows that you don’t really have anything relevant to add to the discussion. But if it makes you feel better, I’m glad to bolster your ego.
I do find it ironic that a grammar Nazi such as yourself would use “pwnt” and “idiotland”. Don’t look now, your double standard is showing.
Don’t look now son, but you just dug yourself deeper.
‘Idiotland’ – you might notice the capital “I”, signifying a proper noun, in the instant case, a place name. Since I created this nonexistent place, I have the right to name it anything. That means there is no ‘correct’ spelling.
‘Pwn’ is in the Oxford Dictionary of Slang.
So, again you haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re saying. Sad, really.
Nightstar,
Putting aside your fixation on language and remarkable 5th grade education, you made a statement in #38 that:
“… People differentiate themselves through ornamentation and affectation to create a semblance of individuality or affiliation.
…
At the end of the day we are all products of the popular culture prevalent in the society in which we live. Opinion boils down to analysis of perception. “
You believe that we are all owned, and imagined through, the shite we buy? Not me.
I am a product of my efforts: good, bad, or lazy.
The shite I buy may not stink like poo, but it has the same value once it has left the store. Anyone I would care to talk to would not judge me by the store-bought shite that covers me.
If you enjoy adorning your body with fancy shite, just to show the world how wonderful you are, then be my guest and become the “attention whore” you aspire to be.
I will not be clapping at your performance though.
Good Night and Good Riddance.
When I was a child – the general perception of a person, who scratched a tattoo into his or her body, was that said person wished to communicate to the world: that he or she was fundamentally unhappy; that his or her life was hard, and maybe even unfair; and that he or she would never be able to achieve the same level of success as the “average” person.
Today, some kids want to appear “bad” because they lack any vision for their lives. They think the simple perception of being bad provides a life-direction, and that they have accomplished something simply by projecting an image. Simply having a Tribal Tattoo is a badge or honor and respect, earned through a few moments of painful indulgence (perhaps at mommy and daddy’s expense).
This is the Paris Hilton strategy for success: be bad, get attention, and someone will give you money and fame for being bad and getting attention. While Paris may be riding the rocket-ship to success with this strategy, the average boy or girl with a “tat” just looks like a crack-whore to the rest of us. I don’t trust that these kids really want to look like crack-whores, but they lack the education and imagination to see themselves any other way.
Given MTV’s predilection for providing unrealizable images or wealth, acceptance, and power to kids – and those kids’ need to then soak up those messages and render themselves as “pimps and hoes” in order to fulfill the modern hoped-for vision success – is an unsustainable situation for these soon-to-be permanently disadvantaged kids. I believe these kids are the seeds of a new underclass of lost souls.
So when I see someone today with a “tat”, even a person I’d like to ask out on a date, I can’t free myself of the prejudicial thought that this person: will never be happy, will never achieve what he or she most desires, will always be confused as to why society treats him or her gruffly and with disrespect, and he or she will always wallow in the self-concocted anger and self loathing that his or her “tats” communicate.
AND PEOPLE, IT DOESN’T TAKE A BRAIN SURGEON TO SEE THAT “Shoko Tendo” HAS BEEN AN UNHAPPY CRACK-WHORE – LOOK AT HER FACIAL EXPRESSION!
For the love of God.
To all those tattoo haters: She is hot, you are not! LOL!
Mr Fusion,
I believe you referred to me as young and stupid. Do you think the only people with tattoos are young? I am flattered by that because I began my sleeve at 30 and have added to it every years since. You are being foolish and acting like a silly old man when you know full well that they are being more accepted every day. Remember when Rock and Roll was suppose to die, I do.
Very interesting thread here….. only slightly going off the topic (!)
All opinions are interesting, even the dodgy ones, and the fact everyone is different makes the world a far more interesting place to live (or blog & thread to read!)
I read Shoko Tendo’s book and it is a fascinating, albeit very dark and shocking tale. I don’t think it was made terribly clear exactly why she was tattooed (in translation? at least i don’t have the definitive answer having read the book… maybe i drifted at the wrong point, but that’s unlikely).
And Dorksters’s perception wasn’t far off (#46) – she was not only addicted to some very rough drugs over the years, but had to have complete facial reconstruction after a particularly nasty geezer smashed her head (and body) in. From the couple of pictures i’ve seen of her, including the above one, the doctors did an amazing job!
The fact that she climbed out of her own personal hell-hole – and even had the strength to write about it – should be an inspiration to people. As long as she’s happier now than she was, that is all that’s important – it makes no difference to our lives, does it? And after reading the book, i gather that she would not care in the slightest what people think of her, tats or no tats, toes or no toes….
N.B. i’d like to add a quick and, hopefully, final note to the grammar-spelling fixation (splammer, as i have renamed it). As an English Lit graduate, I believe that as long as you are able to understand what has been written, it doesn’t really make any difference how it is written! 😀 On occasion some of the finest people accidentally or unwittingly add or lose an apostrophe where they shouldnt – it is not the end of the world (!)
No fun or good can be achieved from intentionally making someone feel stupid.
just bought the her book.
a fascinating woman
I admire her how she managed to get out of where she was born and raised
Why’s everybody dissin her tats so much? If she wants to get lots of tattoos then thats her choice. If she regrets it later, that’s also her own prob. Personally, I think someone with that many REALLY likes tattoos and probably won’t. That’s a lot of money after all. I think they look pretty wicked! and she’s very pretty too =]
PS – “Yakuza” are basically the Japanese mafia for those of you who don’t know =]
#29 – S
>>You know it is hot and taboo
Haw. About as “hot” as a booger hanging out of her nose.
I want a tatto on my left nut and one on my anus.
I like it rough . RAWR eat me alive
I like to take a bath in my own urine mommy. Fuck me