Anthony's blog was interesting for me so I'd like to discuss about different thoughts toward 'tattoos' among the culture.
I agree there are some kind of prejudice toward tattoo(irezumi) in Japan, especially in older people's mind. Because when my parents see young people having tattoos on their body in America, they say they look like gangs. But many of my friends in high school had tattoos on their body, but they put it as one of their fashion, and of course they don't behave like gangs at all! I saw wide age-ranging Americans put tattoos on their body and I took it as one of Americans' fashion symbol. On the other hand, fashion tattoos are not generally known yet in Japan so that many Japanese people think tattoos as a symbol of gangs.
So I felt sometimes there are difference how people think toward art between cultures.
